Ch. 14, sec. 1 critical thinking #5

Which invention or development described in this section had the greatest impact on society? Justify your choice.

The development that that had the greatest impact on society was the Bessemer Process. By injecting air into molten iron one manufacturers could remove carbon and other such impurities, thereby; decreasing the weight and chance of rust and increasing the flexibility of it. The metal that was form by using the Bellemer Process was called steel.(p.437)
Steel had many different uses. Railroads quickly became the biggest cutomers because of the thouasands of miles of track. But it was used for many other things as well. Joseph Glidden invented barbed wire using steel and McCormick and Deere invented farm machines to help turn dirt into fertile soil.(p. 438)
Steel was also the main factor in the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. Steel cables attached to high towers were used as the main weight-bearing component for the bridge. William Le Baron Jenney designed the first skyscraper with a steel frame, this allowed architects to build the buildings as high as they wished, unlike the weight bound iron clad buildings built before. (p. 438)
Steel was by far the most important development on society at this time.