The Industrial Giant
Arrives in Pennsylvania
L E S S O N 2 4
Key Questions
1. What was the Age of Big
Business in Pennsylvania?
2. What new products and
industries developed in our
state during this time?
3. How did several keymen
contribute to the industrial
growth of Pennsylvania?
4. What natural resources helped
Pennsylvania to become an
industrial giant?
KeyWords
industrialist
steel
aluminum
oil refining
air brakes
Key People & Places
WilliamKelly
Henry Bessemer
Andrew Carnegie
Pittsburgh
Henry Clay Frick
Charles Hall
John Rockefeller
GeorgeWestinghouse
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Chapter 8
Age of Big Business
Y
ou have read that the AmericanCivil
War was really the beginning of the
Industrial Revolution. Between 1860
and 1900, the industries of our state grew
very fast. Because of this rapid growth, this
time period became known as the
Age of Big
Business
. Men who started these new
industries were called
industrialists
. Most
of them became very successful and very
rich. Today, it would be hard to become as
richas did the industrialists of this time. This
is because they didnot have to pay taxes!
During this time, Pennsylvania became a
really big, industrial giant. Many of our
older industries such as coal mining, iron-
making, and the railroads continued to
grow. This was also a time when new
industries and products began to develop.
Among them were steel, coke, oil refining,
and aluminum.
By the 1860s, iron was about to be
replaced by a better product. Iron had one
major problem. It was not strong enough for
some of its uses. It broke too easily when
muchweight was placed on it. In the 1850s,
twomen invented a process for turning iron
into amuch stronger metal known as
steel
.
These two men invented the process at the
same time but in different places. One was
William Kelly
of
Pittsburgh
; the other
was
HenryBessemer
of England. For some
reason, this new way of turning iron into
