440 C
HAPTER 14
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Industry Changes the
Environment
By the mid-1870s, new ideas and technology were well on the way to changing
almost every aspect of American life. The location of Cleveland, Ohio, on the shores
of Lake Erie, gave the city access to raw materials and made it ripe for industrializa-
tion. What no one foresaw were the undesirable side effects of rapid development
and technological progress.
FROM HAYSTACKS TO
SMOKESTACKS
In 1874, parts of
Cleveland were still
rural, with farms like
the one pictured dot-
ting the landscape.
The smokestacks of
the Standard Oil
refinery in the dis-
tance, however,
indicate that
industrialization
had begun.
REFINING THE LANDSCAPE
Industries like the Standard Oil refinery shown in this
1889 photo soon became a source of prosperity for
both Cleveland and the entire country. The pollution
they belched into the atmosphere, however, was the
beginning of an ongoing problem: how to balance indus-
trial production and environmental concerns.
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A New Industrial Age 441
A RIVER OF FIRE
Industrial pollution would affect
not only the air but also the water.
Refineries and steel mills dis-
charged so much oil into the
Cuyahoga River that major fires
broke out on the water in 1936,
1952, and 1969. The 1952 blaze,
pictured above, destroyed three
tugboats, three buildings, and the
ship-repair yards. In the decade
following the 1969 fire, changes in
the way industrial plants operated,
along with the construction of
wastewater treatment plants,
helped restore the quality of the
water.
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THINKING CRITICALLY
THINKING CRITICALLY
1. Analyzing Patterns Locate the Standard Oil Company
on the map of Cleveland. What can you conclude about
where industry was located as compared with the loca-
tion of residential neighborhoods?
2. Creating a Thematic Map Pose a historical question
about the relationship between industry and areas of
the Midwest. For example, what types of industry devel-
oped near Chicago and why? Then research and create
a map that answers your question.
SEE SKILLBUILDER HANDBOOK, PAGE R32.
IRESEARCH LINKS
CLASSZONE.COM
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