New technologies in the latter half of the nineteenth century revolutionized everyday life and transformed the world's economy. What were some of those new technologies, and how did they affect society?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

ANSWER:
After 1850, the industrialization that had begun in Britain spread to other parts of the world, especially Germany and the United States. Railroads boomed after 1850, and many thousands of miles of new track were laid each year. Steel ships made transport quick and inexpensive, and telegraph cables made worldwide communication almost instantaneous. The innovations of Henry Bessemer and others made steel cheap readily available. This led not only to more steamships and expanded railroads, but also to larger bridges, buildings, ships, and weapons, and even to the proliferation of the humble "tin" can. The chemical industry was responsible for many new inventions and innovations, such as chemical dyes (which impoverished the nations that harvested vegetable dyes) and powerful explosives, which revolutionized war. Electricity powered the next generation of factories, as well as lit homes and public thoroughfares. Electric streetcars and subways relieved cities of congestion. Sanitation problems caused by horse-drawn trolleys and steam locomotives were also alleviated. Far-flung corners of the world were brought into the global economy as a result of electricity. The world was drawn into an increasingly global economy at an unprecedented scale and rate.