Question

Help Will give medal to best answer! What were three important innovations of the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries, and how did each innovation change life in the United States?

Answer 1

The Creation of a National Market-The early American economy was characterized by smaller, local markets, centered around big cities. The vast expansion of the railroads in the late 1800s changed this, tying the country together into one national market, in which goods could be shipped for sale across the country. The railroads also provided a tremendous impetus to economic growth because they themselves provided such a massive market for goods – steel and lumber, for example. In the late nineteenth century the railroads represented the first "big business." The railroad industry was the largest single employer of labor in the U.S., and helped standardize America economically, socially, and culturally. , Territorial Expansion-The rapid expansion of the railroads made vast areas of land available for commercial agriculture, with 430 million acres coming under cultivation between 1860 and 1900 (more than doubling the available acreage). Twelve new western states were added to the union between 1867 and 1912. 1890 was a significant turning point, bringing both an end to Indian resistance (symbolized by massacre at Wounded Knee, South Dakota) and the "closing" of the American frontier – the West had become so populated by this point that there were no longer any unsettled frontier regions. and Technological Innovation-An astounding rush of inventions and technological innovations transformed America and its economy in the late nineteenth century. In the entire period up to 1860, the government issued 36,000 patents. But 440,000 were issued in the 30 years between 1860 and 1890. Some of these inventions, such as the refrigerated railroad car and the cigarette-rolling machine, formed a basis for new industries and fortunes. Other inventions, such as the typewriter (1867) and adding machine (1888), mechanized office work and allowed record keeping to keep up with the flow of products and the vastly expanding volume of sales. The telephone (1876) revolutionized social and economic life. Even more important were the invention of the gasoline engine (1878), and the spread of electricity (the light bulb was invented in 1879). (via) http://www.westga.edu/~hgoodson/Economic%20Trends.htm

Answer 2

Thanks soo much!!!!!!

Answer 3

You are welcome. :)