Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
“ The Big Little City,” also commonly know as the city of Pittsburgh, is one of the largest cites in the state of Pennsylvania. With over 144 square kilometers of land area, and approximately seven square kilometers of surface water (Pittsburgh Pennsylvania), the city of Pittsburgh is large by anyone’s standard. The city, which is located in western Pennsylvania, has a very diverse geography which sets it apart from many other cities in the United States. Pittsburgh and its suburbs are known for steep hillsides covered with buildings, streets which have steps for sidewalks, and sidewalks which are named streets. From the highest point in Allegheny County, 1,401 feet at River Hill in Forward Township, to the 710
…show more content…
Shortly after the revolutionary war, the small town of Pittsborough, then renamed Pittsburgh began to develop into a very important center, specializing in trading and industry. The convenience of natural resources and technological advancement has ranked Pittsburgh as one of the leading industrial cities in the United States in the past. Historically, the city of Pittsburgh has created numerous manufacturing plants responsible for producing steel, iron, and other products for the U.S. economy that still exist today. The Encyclopedia Britannica explains Pittsburgh's economic might during this period:
" Pittsburgh's strategic location and wealth of natural resources spurred its commercial and industrial growth in the 19th century. A blast furnace, erected by George Anschutz in 1792, was the forerunner of the iron and steel industry that for more than a century was the city's economic mainstay; by 1850 it was known as the "Iron City." The Pennsylvania Canal and the Portage Railroad, both completed in 1834, opened vital markets for trade and shipping. After the American Civil War, great numbers of European immigrants swelled Pittsburgh's population, and industrial magnates such as Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and Thomas Mellon built their steel empires there. The city became the focus of historic friction between labor and management, and the American Federation of Labor was born there in 1881."
Pittsburgh’s industrial past has
Andrew Carnegie was one of the wealthiest men in America but his wealth didn’t come without hard work and dedication. Carnegie was born in “Dunfermline, Scotland on November 25, 1835” (Tyle). According to Laura B. Tyle, the invention of the weaving machine unfortunately pushed Carnegie’s family in to poverty “In 1848, Carnegie’s family left Scotland and moved to Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, where his father and eventually him worked in a cotton factory” (Tyle). After leaving the cotton factory “Carnegie became a messenger boy for the Pittsburgh telegraph office and eventually made his way up to telegraph operator” (Tyle). According to Laura B. Tyle “Thomas A. Scott, the superintendent of the western division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, made Carnegie his secretary at the age of eighteen.” Later, Carnegie took over Scott’s position of the railroad. Furthermore Carnegie “began to see that steel was going to replace iron and by 1873 he organized a steel rail company” (Tyle). According to Laura B. Tyle he continued to build his company when he “cut prices, drove out competitors,
Without Carnegie, the steel industry, and the second industrial revolution in general, would never have progressed as much as it did. Carnegie did what was necessary to make the steel industry more productive and more efficient, for less money. He was a shrewd, ruthless, businessman who’s aggressiveness made the steel, railroad, and oil industries so economically successful. These characteristics, though not always looked upon as nice or sympathetic, were sometimes necessary. He had paid his time as a poor factory boy, and now it was his turn to live comfortably and aid others less fortunate to work towards the same success.
The beautiful city of Baltimore, Maryland, nicknamed “Charm City” is full of historical cites and landmarks. It was founded July 30, 1729, and it was named after Lord Baltimore, the first proprietary governor of the Province of Maryland1. It was founded to serve the economic needs of 18th century farmers2. The waterways in Baltimore have been a passage for ships carrying commercial cargo and new citizens since the 1600s. Baltimore became the second leading port of entry for immigrants to the United States during the 1800s. Shipbuilding was one of the earliest industries in Baltimore, and it increased during the Revolution and the War of 1812. When the British controlled Philadelphia in 1777, Baltimore became the meeting place of the
The Carnegie Steel Company was a successful factory, which employed many hundred of workers. Andrew Carnegie, who was the owner of the company, wanted a large successful business, which he had achieved already, but he was always looking for ways to save and make more money. By 1892, unions had been formed
Let us first look at Mr. Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie was a mogul in the steel industry. Carnegie
It was not long before Andrew had built his own blast furnace, inspired by Bessemer and his ideas. This was in 1870, and in Braddock in 1874, he had open his steel furnace. Henry Frick was one of his many partners, although he always wanted to stay in control of his ventures.
It illustrated the poor conditions of labour, which contributed to industrialization and a labour union, which took care of fighting for benefits and the working conditions of these child labourers. Andrew Carnegie’s article (as seen in document D) proposes the idea of the rich using their wealth to improve society, as he believed that the fact that a person was rich, showed that he was more fit than others. Carnegie acknowledged that the living conditions were poor and wanted to help change that. This introduced industrialization into the Gilded Age. In the late 19th Century, Carnegie led the enormous expansion of the American steel
Drovers, people who herd large groups of cattle, heading up the Chisholm Trail toward the railroads the final stop for any last-minute supplies was Fort Worth, Texas. Beyond that you’d cross the Red River and into Indian Territory. During the years of 1866 and 1890, drovers herded over four million head of cattle through Fort Worth. The city soon became known as “Cowtown.” As the railroad arrived in 1876, Fort Worth developed into a shipping port for livestock, so the city built up the Union Stockyards. Despite the Union Stockyards lacking the essential funding to buy enough cattle to attract local ranchers, President Mike C. Hurley welcomed wealth Boston capitalist Greenleif Simpson into Fort Worth hoping he would find interest and invest
On our journey to Brownsville the first struggle we encountered was with transportation to get to Broadway Junction. Of course the MTA isn't always reliable but there were frequent stops in between stops. While waiting for the train to get up and running again various people said things like “ugh not again,” “Something always happens on the A” and other similar phrases as well as others that seemed accustomed to train issues. Now if you think about it, the A train is highly populated by Hispanics and Black people. Could this have to do with why the MTA hasn't attempted to fix their transit situation. On another note most of the trains heading toward Brooklyn and the Bronx have the older not modernized train carts than the ones heading toward Manhattan or Queens. Theres a huge change in atmosphere just in the manner of transportation.
“Chicago and the nation entered the Progressive era. …The 1901 steel strike ended in defeat for the union, and the once powerful Amalgamated slipped into irrelevancy. Chicago’s steel mills remained unorganized, yet U.S steel tried to sidestep Chicago radicalism by developing a whole new town just across the border in Indiana. Gary, Indiana became the center of the region’s steel industry. Not overtly planned in the tradition of Pullman but nonetheless a company town…”
This leader provided the town with sustenance, protection, and leadership that the people needed to function properly. As the town’s diameter grew larger towards the city walls, space became scarce, and the walls were knocked down and expanded to accommodate more people. And when the town grew too big for its walls, another town was created in a new location. As time progressed, so did the expansion of human developments and technology. Man developed the boat, the railroad system, and most importantly, the steam engine. These things greatly broadened the horizons of travel, trade, and economic prosperity. In the mid 1800’s, America experienced the start of the industrial revolution, and wealth became abundant to the merchant class (the owners of product developing companies). With this new wealth, the business leaders found that life in the busy cities was not to their liking, so they began the suburban movement to the country. Here they found life to be much more tolerable and rewarding. However, this life was only shared among the economically elite, (which was only a fraction of the total population), and did not see a massive interest until William Levitt created Levittown.
The Erie Canal was not the only new development that attracted people; America built some of the first factories as well. Factory production before now was almost nonexistent. A cotton-spinning mill was first built in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Over the next decades textile was the dominant industry of the country. This made way for hundreds of companies being built across the nation. (C-114) The iron industry also helped make way for better jobs which lead to more immigration. Pennsylvania’s furnaces and rolling mills were fast supplanting small local forges. Philadelphia had developed a high pressure steam engine that was used for a variety of industrial purposes. Within a few years it powered ships, sawmills, flour mills, and printing presses. The demand for labor in these facilities created more and more immigration. Until about 1830, the increase in population was fed mainly by newcomers from New England. However, the tide shifted in the 1840’s, millions of people from Ireland, Germany, and other countries moved to America. In just over ten to twenty years, major
Carnegie and Frick represented the corporations looking to take advantage of the poor that were unable to empathize with ordinary citizen. However, surprisingly, the author reveals that both Carnegie and Frick came from humble backgrounds. Considering their mass exploitation of the immigrant worker and their ruthless fights against any form of workers union, they had to struggle to reach their goals. However, their own life experiences gave them no sympathy towards their fellow man, which is a blatant example of the ugly side of capitalism that Finn has described (1). The Homestead mill was the product of Carnegie’s first success in the steel mill business. It quickly became the most famous steel mill in America. It was famous for producing the steel used for America’s first skyscrapers and suspension bridges. However, the conditions were abysmal. It was reported that workers slept in the alleys behind the mills, and that there was no sewage system. Instead, trenches were used that would stagnate in the rain. These terrible conditions came on top of a job that paid 14 cents an
Detroit, once the New York City of its time, nick named the “Motor City” as it contained one of the leading car manufacturing centers of the automobile industry. As a metropolis for the first half of the twentieth century, Post World War II, Detroit became an economic fortress and focal point in American History. Detroit’s economic stronghold placed the city in a position that was once beneficial. From the surging employment opportunities perpetuated by the booming automotive market to the development, and implementation of substandard housing and the casual labor market, Detroit became the land of opportunity that loomed with an air of new beginnings. Today, however, Detroit continues to reap the aftermath of contradictory political
The covered wagon was used to open up commerce to Pittsburgh and Ohio after the American Revolution