In 1900 national markets started to develop throughout the country. A market is where a buyer meets a seller. The buyer buys a product from the seller and becomes a consumer. Advertising is getting someone to like and buy your product. The different types of advertising in the late 1800s, early 1900s is word of mouth, poster, newspaper, and billboard. People wanted to convince consumers to buy their product instead of their competitors because every company has competitors.   Have you ever been a seller? What have you sold? Tell about your experience.

In the 1800s, milk spoiled really fast and made people ill because there were no refrigerators. Gail Borden invented condensed milk and put it in a can. It was much safer and healthier than fresh product because it lasted longer.  At first people thought milk in a can was gross so Borden had to advertise his product. After advertising condensed milk it turned out to be a success. If you lived during this time would you have tried Bordens milk? Why or why not?

Gustavus Swift was a cattle dealer that wanted to convince people to buy meat from him instead of their local butcher. In the 1870s, cattle were shipped by train to eastern cities, where they were slaughtered by local butchers. Often the cattle got sick and lost weight while traveling, which lowered their value. Butchers’ slaughter houses were small and didn’t save all parts of the cow. Labor cost were high for local butchers, too. Swift found a better way. He built a huge slaughterhouse in Chicago where he butchered cattle and shipped the meat to the east.  Swift also advertised to convince people that his meat was as safe as the local butcher’s. He also sold his meat at a lot lower price than local butchers did. Over time many people bought meat from him.

In 1897, Boston opened the nation’s first subway train. After awhile many other cities built trolley systems. It was now possible for people to live miles away from work or the nearest store. Department stores were opened in the cities and they sold a lot of different products such as clothing, appliance, ect.  Department stores also had mail order catalogs.  People who lived far away could order from a catalog without having to go to the store.  If you lived far from a department store would you rather take the subway into the city order from a mail order catalog?  Explain.  

When Gail Borden invented condensed milk, milk in a can, nobody bought it. Gail Borden did everything he could to get people to buy it. He started advertising his product by telling people it was safer than real milk because it wouldn’t spoil.  Real milk would spoil because there were no refrigerators.  The more Borden advertised his product the more people bought it.  If you lived during this time would you buy condensed milk? Why or why not?

   

  When Gustavus Swift built a large slaughterhouse in Chicago, Illinois where he could butcher many cows at once.  He butchered the cows and then packaged them to be shipped by trains all over. Buying meat from Gustavus was cheaper than buying from local butchers since he could butcher more than one at a time like local butchers could. People were scared to buy from him at first because the meat had traveled so far. Swift’s meat was safe because it traveled in refrigerated train cars.  He began to advertise and people started to buy his meat.  If you lived during this time would you buy meat from Swift?  Why or why not? Do you think that it was fair/right for local butchers that he could charge lower prices than local stores could? Explain.  

   

In the early 1800’s most people got supplies from neighbors or other local places.  However, by 1900 markets became national.  A market is a place where people buy something.  This means that people could now buy from businesses anywhere in the U.S. In national markets it takes longer for you to get your products whereas in a local market you can get it right then and there.  Would you continue to buy your supplies locally or would you buy them nationally?  Explain.  Do you think the creation of national markets was a good thing or a bad thing? Explain.

     Advertising was a new way to to tell people about your product.   Advertising helped business make money and sell their product. Some business made a lot of money from advertising but others didn’t. If you lived back in 1900 how would you use advertising? Explain.

In the early 1800’s if you wanted a product you would have to make it yourself, get it from a neighbor, or buy it at a local store.  However, by 1900 markets became national.  This means you can now buy products from the other side of the country.  The new markets led to advertising.  Companies advertise to get people to buy their products.  If you lived during this time would you buy from a local seller or a national seller?  Why?

   

One person who needed to advertise was Gustavus Swift.  Gustavus Swift was a cattle dealer who built a large slaughterhouse in Chicago, Illinois.  Swift shipped his meat in refrigerated train cars after it was butchered.  He had to use advertising to convince people to buy his meat instead of from a local butcher.  If you lived during this time would you buy Swift’s meat or from a local butcher?  Why?

   

Gail Borden invented canned milk called condensed milk.  Regular milk would spoil faster because there was no refrigerators.   He had to convince people to buy his product by advertising. Borden told people it was a good product to buy because lasted longer and didn’t spoil. If you were Gail Borden what you use in the 1900s for advertising? Explain.  Different ways to advertise in the 1900’s include magazines, newspapers, books, billboards, and signs. 

Ben stores

In the 1800’s food was grown close to home by your neighbors, bought from local stores, or you made it.  The farthest was 100 miles between the buyer or consumer and the seller.  Near the end of the 1800’s the markets became national, meaning you could buy products made on the other side of the country.  This created a need for advertising to promote products and hope that people thought your product was better and buy from you. Advertising could include billboards,  building windows, city benches, in the newspaper, catalogs, magazines, on trolleys, etc. If you lived during this time where would you put your advertising for your product?  Why?

In the 1800’s it was really risky to drink milk because there were no fridges to keep it cold.  Therefore, Gail Borden invented condensed milk, which did not have to be kept cold because it was in a can so it lasted longer.Condensed milk tastes sweeter than regular milk and today most people use it for cooking. To get people to buy his milk, Borden had to advertise.  He said his milk was healthier and lasted longer.  If you were a consumer for milk would you buy condensed milk or regular milk?  Explain.

Gustavus Swift, a cattle herder, started butchering meat.  He built a large slaughterhouse in Chicago, Illinois.  He tried to convince people to buy his meat instead of from local butchers.  He shipped his meat in refrigerated rail cars cart to keep the meat cold. His price was a lot lower than local butchers so that made people buy his. Swift made hams and bacon and lots of other meats too!!! To convince people to buy his meat, Swift also had to use advertising.  If you lived during this time would you buy meat from a local butcher or from Gustavus?  Why?

Before malls there were department stores. Department stores also had mail order catalogs.  Catalogs were sent to houses to order items. Then they were shipped directly to your house.The first three stores were opened in Boston. In 1893 Boston opened up the first subway train. Trolleys were also opened up in other cities.This is why in the 1900s markets became national. If you lived during this time would you shop at department stores or order products from catalogs?  Explain.  

Gabe the Machine Age

In 1876 the U.S. celebrated its 100th birthday by having the Centennial Exposition. The Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It ran from May to November and was a huge success. On some days more than 200,000 people came. These people saw hundreds of different machines and gadgets. The two most exciting inventions were the telephone and the Corliss Steam Engine.If you went to the Centennial Exposition, which would be more interesting to you the telephone or the Corliss Steam Engine?  Why?

The 1800’s was called the Machine Age because people were improving on other products or making new things, such as the light bulb made by Thomas Edison. The light bulb made it so industries could work at night and make more things to sell for more money.  Thomas Edison also invented the copy machine, phonograph, and the movie picture machine.  

What improvements have been made to the light bulb since Thomas Edison invented it during the Machine Age?  Explain.

Railroads  made it safer to ship oil and also shipped lumber. The railroads impacted other industries because Carnegie needed workers to make steal since he sold everything he owned to build an industry  workers had  to make steal and put it on the railroads because it was easier to work with than iron.if you had a chance to make a big risk and sell everything to make an industry would you.

John D. Rockefeller had a monopoly in the oil industry. He only paid railroads half of what his competitors had to pay. After a while his competitors began to run out of money and Rockefeller bought them. He started to sell other products such as lube, gas, and motor oil.  Rockefeller got even richer.  If you were Rockafeller would you be as selfish as he was?  Please elaborate.

Not all people prospered during the Machine Age. People who made specific products like shoes no longer got any business. This is because shoes were made in factories where they could make more products faster.  These factories stole their customers so they didn't earn any money and they went out of business.  Life was hard for them. If you were a shoemaker and went out of business what would you do?  Explain.  

History

In 1876 America celebrate its hundredth birthday by having a Centennial Exposition.  The exposition was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and took place from May to November The visitors saw hundreds of new or improved machines inventions with some of the most popular ones being the Corliss Steam Engine and the telephone.  All these machines needed electricity to work. Would you have went to the Centennial Exposition?  Why or why not?  If you went to the Centennial Exposition which invention would you be most excited to see?  Why?                

Electricity made it possible for Thomas Edison to invent many new inventions.  Some of his new inventions were the copy machine, phonograph, light bulb, and moving picture machine.  Which of Edison’s inventions had the biggest impact?  Explain.                                                                                                                

John D. Rockefeller became a leader in the oil industry.  He made secret deals with the railroad companies to pay half to get his oil shipped when other companies would pay full price. Rockefeller would be getting rich while they would be losing money.  After a while other oil companies would go out of business and Rockefeller would have a monopoly in the oil industry.  What do you think about Rockefeller’s secret deals with the railroads?  Explain.

The first Centennial Exposition, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was to celebrate the nation's 100th birthday.  At the celebration there were thousands of new or improved inventions on display.  The two most important inventions were the Corliss steam engine made by George Corliss and the telephone invented by Alexander Graham Bell. If you were an inventor during this time what would you invent? How?  Why?  

The Machine Age got this nickname because there were lots and lots of improved or new machines invented during this time. Electricity was the very important because it led to more jobs and was needed for machines to run and function properly. Thomas Alva Edison invented many new things like the copy machine, the light bulb, the moving picture machine, and the phonograph.  Of all of Edison's inventions, which do you think is the most important?  Why?

Railroads had many problems but luckily they figured out solutions. The first problem dealt with time zones.  For instance, if you were in Chicago, illinois and it was 12:30 and you were heading on the train to Denver, Colorado you would have no clue what time you were going to arrive. To solve this problem standard time zones were created.  There are 24 time zones worldwide with 4 in the United States.  The second problem was that the tracks were different distances apart so people and goods had to switch trains a lot.  Train companies got together and had a meeting about what to do. Their solution was make standard gauges so you didn't have to switch trains a lot. The final problem was safety.  Air brakes and steel rails were made to improve on safety problems.  The railroads had a big impact on other industries like the oil and steel industries.  John D. Rockefeller was the leader of the oil industry and Andrew Carnegie was the leader in the steel industry .

Not all the people were happy about the new machines being built.  For example,  farmers who planted and harvested crops by hand no longer had to do that once machines were invented. The other people who were impacted negatively were shoe makers and blacksmiths. They were really good at their jobs but they couldn't sell their products because factories were making things better and faster.  A shoemaker could make 2 a day where a factory could make 200 a day.   How would you feel if you were a shoemaker when factories began making shoes?  Why?

John D Rockefeller ran an oil refinery and bought out smaller oil companies like Hanks Oil.  Rockefeller made a secret agreement with the railroads to ship is oil and controlled oil prices for everyone.  Everybody had to pay him whatever he wanted making Rockefeller rich.  If you were a citizen during this time how would you feel about Rockefeller charging you high oil prices?  Explain.

Machine Age

The Centennial was held to celebrate America’s 100th birthday.  The celebration was referred to as an Exposition, and it was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the exposition 100s of new machines, inventions, and gadgets were on display. How would you feel if you walked into the Centennial Exposition and saw all those machines?  Why?

                        

Electricity played a big role during the Machine Age and was in hot demand. Thomas Edison invented many new machines that needed electricity.  He invented the copy machine, phonograph, moving picture machine, and the incandescent light bulb.  Now that we have electricity, especially the light bulb, places can stay open at night.  If you were a worker during this time how would you feel about staying open and working through the night and why?     

Railroads also played a massive role, but there were some problems with them as well.   Clock times were a pain because people never really knew what the exact time was. When time zones were created they helped keep people on schedule so they wouldn’t be late for things, which was a huge benefit  to the railroads. Width differences between tracks also caused a problem.  When railroads consolidated it helped with this problem because railroad owners made all the tracks the same size by using the sames gauges to measure the tracks.  Safety was the biggest problem of all.   Air brakes were invented and steel rails were installed making railroads safer. How hard do you think your job would have been if you worked for the railroad during this time and why?  Railroads also Impacted other industries. Steel mills increased in demand to build trains and lay tracks with Andrew Carnegie as the owner.  The oil industry grew because it was shipped from place to place, John D. Rockefeller was the main owner.  Would you rather be Andrew Carnegie or John D. Rockefeller?  Explain.   

 

Not all people prospered during the Machine Age. Farmers struggled because agricultural machines replaced hand labor. Skilled workers lost their jobs because factory machines made goods quicker and they could make a lot more. Who do you think had a tougher time during the Machine Age, the farmer or skilled worker?  Explain.                        

           


          John D. Rockefeller ran an oil refinery, which became very powerful.  Rockefeller bought out smaller companies and he even had a secret deal with railroads to ship his oil to other places for half price. He eventually controlled the entire oil industry and created a monopoly.  What would it be like to be a customer of Rockefeller and why? 

THE WEST

The west, I wouldn’t live there, but during this time a lot of people did.  In the west there were three different frontiers, which are farming, ranching, and mining. Two of the frontiers, ranching and farming, needed the railroads to be opened.  Railroads allowed for cattle and crops to be shipped from the west to the east.  Goods such as furniture, stoves, and better tools came to the west from the east.  If you lived during this time would you rather stay and live in the east or move to the west?  Explain.  

In the farming frontier people could get 160 free acres under the Homestead Act of 1862.  To get this land they had to stay on the land and farm it for five years.  If they didn’t do this they would lose the land.   In the ranching frontier, cowboys no longer had to go on long cattle drives because of the railroads.  They could graze the cattle in the west and ship them east.  The final frontier was mining.  The majority of  miners went to California but some went to Colorado too.  It started when James Marshall found gold in Sutter’s Mill.  If you lived during this time would you rather be a miner, farmer, or rancher?  Explain.  

There were two kinds of houses that settlers living in the Great Plains could build, a dugout and a soddie. A soddie is a house made of a layer of grass covered dirt called sod.  Settlers could find sod almost anywhere.  A dugout is a hole dug into the side of a hillside. When you want to build a dugout you have to find a place that has lots of hills. Unfortunately, there are not many hills in the Great Plains. What would you rather live in a dugout or a soddie? Why?

In the late 1860s the United States government forced many Native Americans to live on a reservations.  Reservations are piece of land that Native Americans were forced to live on.   Native Americans didn’t like reservations because they were on dry, barren land and they had to leave their sacred burial grounds.  However, the majority of Native Americans will end up on reservations.

If you lived in 1840’s what would you have done? You may have gone looking for gold, building railroads, or even farming on 160 acres of free land. Though there was also some downsides like pushing Native Americans of their land and forcing them onto dry useless land in reservations.

In the year of 1848 gold was found at Sutter’s Mill by James Marshall and news of this spread like wildfire, which lead to the gold rush. The miners became known as 49er’s for the year they came.  Each miner hoped to find gold and “strike it rich.”  Whenever gold was found a boom town popped up very quickly full of people who wanted to take the gold. After gold was found somewhere else people would get up and move leaving a ghost town in their wake. If you were a miner during this time would you move in an out of a town quite often as gold was discovered in other places? Why or why not? Very few miners found gold, but ended up happy in the west. Would you be willing to go west to find gold even if the chance of it was small? Explain.

                                 

    Later people looked around the Great Plains and saw a land of opportunity. They began to farm under the Homestead Act of 1862. The act said that if you farmed on 160 acres of land for 5 years you could have all the land for free. That means if you moved off the land after 4 years you would lose all of it. Would you have taken 160 acres of free land and farmed it for 5 years or keep looking for gold? Explain.  As people kept taking land in the Great Plains, Native American were forced off their land. I bet you can tell what happens next. The Natives got angry and fought back. Then treaties were made that said people would stop moving onto Indian land and and the Indians wouldn’t fight back. It took a long time for news to get around in during this time, so settlers kept moving in.  The settlers either didn’t know about the treaty or just didn’t care. The Natives anger turned into hatred as they were pushed farther and farther of the land they had for generations. They lashed out at the settlers and fought many battles such as the Battle of Little Bighorn. General George Custer and all his men were killed by the natives being lead by Chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. However, this was the last big victory for the Indians before they were forced onto reservations by greedy white men.  In the end the army came and slaughtered Tenton men, women, and children. After that most Native Americans, in shock, went to reservations.If you were a Native American at this time would you have fought to keep the land you and your people had live on for centuries or give in to reservations? Please explain.

                                        

          When white people took the land in the west, Native American land, they decided to build a transcontinental railroad. That means settlers could link goods from the east to the west. This created a lot of jobs for many people to make railroads. Thousands of people had to work day and night to finish the job. Finally, the two railroads, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific, were complete. They connected at Promontory Point, UT where the governor of CA was to drive a golden spike into the ground to symbolize the linked railroads. The first swing he missed completely but the second hit perfectly. Everybody in the USA cheered.  Would you have cheered for the linked railroads? Why or why not? From then on the East and West  were able to send goods back and forth.

          If you decided to move west during this time what role would you have played?  Would you be a miner, rancher, or farmer?  Would you be an American soldier trying to help move the Native Americans to reservations?  Please explain.  

  

The West

The three frontiers in the west were mining, farming, and ranching. The mining frontier was when people started moving west for gold. These people were called forty-niners.  The farming frontier came after there was no gold left and people needed to farm. The ranching frontier was made to herd cattle in open fields and was at the same time as farming. The farming and ranching frontiers were only possible because of the railroads.  Railroads allowed for the transfer of goods.  Which of these three frontiers was the most important in the west?  Why?

The settlers kept moving on the Indian’s land and the government tried to make treaties with them. However, the treaties didn’t work because people didn’t know about them or didn’t care.  Since we took the Native American land they were put on reservations, which were on dry desert land. So they had battles with settlers. The last great victory for the Indians was the Battle of Little Bighorn where General George Custer lost all of his men and was killed by chiefs Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. After that the Americans won and forced Indians onto reservations. The Massacre of the Wounded Knee stopped the war because lots of Indian women, men, and children were killed.  If you were working in the government how could you try to help the Indians?  Explain.

Farmers in the west had to deal with cattle destroying their crops.  Then Joseph Glidden invented the barbed wire to stop that. Barbed wire is wire that has sharp points every few inches and after cattle are scratched a couple of times they will eventually stop.  Water was also scarce in the Great Plains so farmers used dry farming.  Dry farming is when farmers dig small ditches to collect rain and after it rained farmers would flip the soil to get the water closer to the roots.  Which of the inventions listed above is the most important?  Why?

The people in the west were hard working and do it yourself people that did everything by hand and with family and sometimes friends. For fuel because the didn’t have a lot of wood for fuel so they used cow chips as fuel and cow chips are dried cow poop. There wasn’t a lot of rain either so the farmers took up dry farming which was making a one foot hole in the ground and they planted crops and when they did they had to turn the soil so the water could get to the crops and they would have food. Would you move back to the cities where others were or would you stay in the plains? Why?

When the First Transcontinental Railroad was finished people that lived in the great plains could have lumber to make houses instead of living in a soddie or a dugout. Nine new states joined the Union. There were new jobs opening and they were train conductors, miners, industrial workers that helped make steel plated plows introduced by John Deere and tools and making barbed wire introduced by Joseph Glidden and steel drivers for train tracks. If you could have any one of those four jobs which one would you have and why?

The west opened up when people wanted to get away from it all and they got 160 acres of land in the Homestead Act, they had to live there for five years or they had to pay for it hundreds of dollars because it was $12.25 an acre. Before they had trains the ranchers would have to go on cattle drives that took almost a year to get to the place they were selling the cattle at and when the railroads came cattle drives were barely done anymore because now the ranchers could get their cattle to the market in two or three days. If you could get 100 acres of land but you had to live there for five years would you? Why?

                       

        People living in the west used to be really hard working. They had to take care of the animals and do a lot of chores. They also had many problems they needed to overcome.  For example they had to deal with rock hard soil.  The soil made the land harder to farm.  John Deere invented the steel bladed plow, which made farming easier.  How does farm machinery change the way farmers farm today?  Explain.  With all of these new farming products we need steel.  The Bessemer Process was used to make steel.  Are there things you use today because of steel production?  Explain.  Another problem they faced was wandering cattle going into other people’s yards and destroying their crops.  Joseph Glidden invented barb wire fence.  Barbed wire has sharp wire that will poke the cattle as they go by.  The final problem was there was not enough water and water was important because their crops need it to grow.  Farmers began to use dry farming.  In dry farmers they would dig holes about a foot deep next to each row to catch water when it rains.  Then they flip the water to get the water close to the crops roots.  

                              

        There were five transcontinental railroads completed by 1893. These railroads lured people to the West because they created new jobs, such as people worked in mills, produced steel for farm machinery, worked on tracks, and loaded railroad cars.  Railroads also allowed people in the West to get goods from the East.  There were nine new states were added to the Union by 1893 . What do you think it would have been like to ride on the transcontinental railroad?  Explain.

                            

     

    There were many events that helped to open up the west. Comstock Lode in Nevada was land that produced a lot of silver. Abilene, Kansas becomes a cattle boom town. Also Levi jeans were invented by Levi Strauss. They were rugged pants that miners really liked and they became know as blue jeans. A golden spike got hammered into the ground in Promontory Point, Utah. This marked the completion of the railroad that crosses the whole country.

The people living in the west during this time were hard working and invented many new things to make their life easier.  In the Great Plains the cattle kept getting away and it was hard to keep them together.  The cattle would destroy crops.  So farmers tried to plant bushes to keep the cattle together, but the cattle stomped them down. In 1874 Joseph Glidden invented barbed wire. If you were a farmer during this time what would be the positives to having barbed wire? What would the negatives be  Why?  Water was scarce in the Great Plains.  Water was important to farmers because they needed it for their crops to grow.  Therefore, farmers began dry farming. This is where you farm with little water.  You make a little ditch and collect water when it rains. The last problem farmers had to deal with was the rock-hard soil because a wooden plow would not work.   John Deere invented the steel- bladed plow instead. Would you use the steel-bladed plow instead of the wood plow? Explain.

  By 1893, there were five transcontinental railroads, which opened a door to a frontier.  Now there were nine new states added to the Union. Railroads also created many new jobs such as, building the railroads and mining in the west. Would you like to build railroads? Why or why not?

There were many different reasons why the west was opened.  Abilene, Kansas became the ‘‘Cattle Town’’.   More and more cattle were transferred out of Abilene to the east.  At Comstock Lode, in Nevada,  three men found blue rocks that had bits of silver in the them but they did not know it.  They sold the land to some Californians for a couple thousand dollars but they were cheated.  The land ended up being worth millions of dollars. In Promontory Point, Utah a golden spike was driven into the ground to mark the completion of the first transcontinental railroad which crosses of the country. What would it have been like to be the person who got to drive in the golden spike?  Explain.

The Wild West

Native Americans have a rough life, between 1868 and 1875 the Native Americans and soldiers fought 200 battles. On June 25, Chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse fought General Custer at the Little Bighorn River. Custer and all his men were killed. This was known as the Battle of Little Bighorn. Little Bighorn was the last big victory for the Native Americans. Why do you think this was the last big victory and how did Americans change after that?

In 1877 more and more Native Americans were giving up the fight to white settlers. That year the great Nez Perce leader Chief Joseph laid down his weapons. By 1885 almost every Native American had been forced onto a reservation. A reservation is a place where Native Americans were forced to live by white settlers.  The land were reservations was often bad land not suitable for farming.  If you were an Indian would you fight to save your land or would you go to a reservation? Why?In 1886 the Apache leader Geronimo was captured by white settlers, which lead to his tribe heading to reservations as well.

In 1890 the Massacre of Wounded Knee in South Dakota occurred. Army soldiers killed hundreds of Teton men, women, and children. It was the last time the Plains Indians would fight. From then they have always lived on reservations or tried to adapt to white society. The Americans took away everything they had. Their old way of life would never be the same again. It was called a massacre because the Teton Indians were surprised and weren’t ready for the attack.  It is also a massacre because they  didn’t have their weapons ready and women and children were killed. If you were a member of the Teton tribe would you run and hide or try to fight back once the white settlers began attacking? Why?

When people lived in the west they had to live in soddies, homes made from sod, or dugouts, homes dug into the side of a hill.  In the west began to spring up and one room schools were built.  More people started to invent things like the telegraph.  The telegraph allowed messages to get from people in the east to people in the west.  Some major problems for farmers were tornados, grasshoppers, and drought. What do you think would be the biggest problems for farmers? Why?