In Chapter 4, you learned how Pennsylvania slowly developed its
industries. In fact, by the 1860s, the way goods and services were
produced changed dramatically fromsmall scale to large scale
manufacturing. These changes occurred so rapidly that the time
frame from1860 to 1890 became known as the
Industrial
Revolution
and
The Age of Big Business.
Revolutionmeans a “turnaround” or drastic change. The
American Revolution was a war in which the United States fought to
gain its freedom fromEngland. It was a huge political change for our
country’s government. Revolution can occur in society, economics,
industry, medicine, or evenmusic.
When you think about it, we are still experiencing industrial
revolutions. In technology and telecommunications, the recent arrival
of the personal computer, the Internet, andmoble communications
has revolutionized today’s world. Revolutions are also happening in
the entertainment and gaming industries.
In this chapter, you will learn how older and newer industries grew
to gigantic proportions in our state. Rapid industrial growth came with
a price tag. Some of the problems that accompany a society
undergoing tremendous industrial growth will also be described.
This chapter’s final lesson summarizes how improving
technologies changed lifestyles throughout Pennsylvania in the 20th
and 21st centuries.
2000
1975
1950
1941-45
1,250,000
Pennsylvanians
serve in
WorldWar II
1954
Jonas Salk discovers
a vaccine for polio at
the University of
Pittsburgh
1968
Last Pennsylvania
state constitution
adopted.
1976
The nation
celebrates the
bicentennial
1979
The ThreeMile Island
Nuclear Reactor is
shut down due to an
accident
2001
A terrorist attack
causes a plane to
crash in Shanksville,
Somerset County
2008
Barack Obama
is elected as
the nation’s
first African-
American
President
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