Performance Task Industry

By: Sandra Moua

Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period in which fundamental changes occurred in agriculture, textile and metal manufacture, transportation, economic policies and the social structure in England. Agriculture occupied a prominent position in the English way of life of this period. Prior to 1760 the manufacture of textiles occurred in the homes, by people who gave part of their time to it. One finds the working conditions and practices of coal mining in the l8th and l9th centuries to be risky, at best, and suicidal at worst. Improvements in the iron industry came in the early l8th century. As an integral part of determining the cost and availability of manufactured products and as a means of improved communications, and as an industry unto itself, the improvement of transportation stimulated the course of the Industrial Revolution. Prior to industrialization in England, land was the primary source of wealth.

Industrial Revolution
The development and subsequent application of steam power was undoubtedly the greatest technical achievement of the Industrial Revolution. In the l8th century the population grew at a faster rate than ever before. If the conditions in which people lived in these factory towns were considered bad, then the conditions in which they worked can be appropriately characterized as being horrendous. The movement was beginning to free workers from the injustices of the factory system. Political leaders called for reform legislation which would address these injustices.

Robber Barons

Robber Barons
The Robber Barons of the Industrial Revolution were: John D. Rockefeller Cornelius Vanderbilt Andrew Carnegie J. Pierpont Morgan These four were called Robber Barons because they were businessmen in the industry world who made a lot of money. They gained money by oil, coal, steal, or trains. They used different methods to gain money. They were all Philanthropists, they donated money to a worthy cause like libraries, schools, churches, or hospitals. These four also were the most powerful businessmen because they used monopolies to control companies to make their own profits.

John D. Rockefeller

John. D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller was famous because he first controlled the Standard Oil Company thus controlling all oil production in the United States and coal and many mines of iron and steel. His development was important in the United States and the world because he set a nation wide distribution system that reached nearly every American town. He got/made oil in Ohio and it expanded into the Pennsylvania Oil Regions. The impact on the environment was that the problem was that the oil was "sour" -- that is, it had a very high sulfur content so it smelled like rotten eggs. Even worse, when it was refined into kerosene and used in lamps it produced too much soot, which coated the lamp chimneys. Oil over the years is now used for different things like cooking oil. The cost was the air and the land, but the benefit was that we could light lamps and use oil for other things. These benefits and costs dont really outweigh each other.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt was famous because he controlled the railroads. His development was important in the United States and the world because transportation was important for trading, importing, exporting, and traveling. He started at first in New York City. There wasnt any impact on the environment, but on the society because the people had to pay a lot to get on the train and all the profits went to Vanderbilt. The type of energy trains used was coal, iron, and steel. To this day many people get on the train but it isnt owned by just one person. It still makes trips to places for traded in traveling, and it is still expanding to other places. The cost is people paying to get on the train, coal, steel, iron, and natural gas; the benefit is trading, travel, import, and export. The benefits do not outweigh the cost because for cost we are using our fossil fuels too much.

Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie, a self-made steel tycoon and one of the wealthiest 19th century U.S. businessmen, donated towards the expansion of the New York Public Library. His development was important in the US and world because he owned steel companies, and since railroads used steel, he owned them as well. He made steel and owned many other materials in Homestead, Pennsylvania. Today steel is made everywhere and used in everyday life. Railroads have grown and now travel everywhere. The sale earned him more than $200 million. Carnegie, an avid reader for much of his life, he donated a lot of money to other buildings.

J. Pierpont Morgan

J. Pierpont Morgan
J.P. Morgan, founder of J.P. Morgan & Co., was a master of finance and is considered one of the country's leading businessmen. His development was important to the US and world because his company became one of the leading financial firms in the country. He was in Hartford, Connecticut. Morgan dominated two industries in particularhe helped consolidate railroad industry in the East and formed the United States Steel Corporation in 1901. A crucial material in the extensive growth of the nation, U.S. Steel became the world's largest steel manufacturer. The government, concerned that Morgan had created a monopoly in the steel industry, filed suit against the company in 1911.

Citations
Montagna, Joseph. "Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute."yale.edu. Yale-New Haven Teachers, n.d. Web. 7 Dec 2012. <http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1981/2/81.02.06.x.html>. "The Rockefellers ." pbs.org. The American Experience, n.d. Web. 7 Dec 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rockefellers/peopleevents/p_rock_jsr .html>. stfrancis.edu. University of St. Francis. Web. 7 Dec 2012. <http://www.stfrancis.edu/content/ba/ghkickul/stuwebs/bbios/biograp h/vanderbi.htm>. "Andrew Carnegie Biography ." biography true story . A E Networks, n.d. Web. 7 Dec 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/andrew-carnegie9238756>. John D. Rockefeller." biography true story . A E Networks, n.d. Web. 7 Dec 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/john-d-rockefeller-20710159>.

Citations
"J.P. Morgan." biography true story . A E Networks, n.d. Web. 7 Dec 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/jp-morgan-9414735>. "Cornelius Vanderbilt." biography true story . A E Networks, n.d. Web. 7 Dec 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/cornelius-vanderbilt9515195>.