The Second Industrial Revolution more or less coincided with the lifespan of the German Empire. From 1871 to 1914, the new nation adopted a fairly democratic constitution, saw massive population growth, and experienced extraordinary economic development. Along the way, they created innovative new goods and services, as well as worker protections unseen anywhere else in the world. It was largely thanks to the leadership of the Iron Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. But after his fall from high politics, the empire redirected its gains toward militarization. And by 1918, that program would prove to be the empire’s doom. Support the podcast and get access to the footnotes and all bonus episodes at patreon.com/indrevpod.

In this bonus episode, Dave interviews Dr. Joseph Sassoon about his book on the Sassoons, a major merchant trading family in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The comes out in paperback in the UK on Thursday, February 29th. This episode will be available for non-patrons until April 2024. Patreon supporters can access any bonus episode anytime. To become a patron, sign up at https://www.patreon.com/indrevpod.

Dave interviews historian Anton Howes on his paper for Nesta, "Lessons from the age of coal", about the energy transition of the First Industrial Revolution and how it relates to our transition away from fossil fuels today. Read the paper here: https://www.nesta.org.uk/feature/what-the-history-of-energy-tells-us-about-the-age-of-renewables For more of Dr. Howes' work, see: https://www.ageofinvention.xyz This episode will be available for non-patrons until April 2024. Patreon supporters can access any bonus episode anytime. To become a patron, sign up at https://www.patreon.com/indrevpod.

At the end of the 19th Century, workers throughout the world were fighting increasingly bitter, bloody battles against their capitalist bosses and the governments protecting them. In this episode, we will cover such topics as: Worker internationalism Paris Commune The Great Upheaval of 1877 The Haymarket Massacre The Homestead and Pullman strikes The Belgian General Strike of 1893 And more!

During the late 19th Century, socialism fractured into numerous schools. In this episode, we explore the growing field of socialist thought, as well as its many colorful characters. Topics in this episode include: Edward Bellamy and his novel, Looking Backward French Solidarism Ferdinand Lassalle, Eduard Bernstein, and the German Social Democrats The Fabian Society Henry George and his treatise, Poverty and Progress Mikhail Bakunin and anarcho-collectivism Pyotr Kropotkin and anarcho-communism The Pittsburg Proclamation and anarcho-syndicalism Watch my 2022 Mill Talk here! https://industrialrevolutionspod.com/episodes/2022/12/4/podcast-special-from-textile-workers-to-rideshare-drivers-the-never-ending-history-of-creative-destruction Support the podcast: https://industrialrevolutionspod.com/supporters

Beginning in the 1870s, the Neoclassical School of Economics emerged. Borrowing the idea of marginal analysis from calculus, and applying it to the ethical theory of Utilitarianism, they revolutionized the way economics was discussed. Today, we discuss the various “Marginalists” of this school, and the impact they had on the history of economic thought.

As industrialization drove economic growth all over the Western World, financial systems had to keep growing in complexity and value. And as they did, they continued to drive industrialization further in turn. And, then as now, they were susceptible to greedy players, bad decisions, and panic.

Americans had long believed their country was a classless society. But by the end of the 19th Century, that myth had been shattered. In the Gilded Age, a super-rich elite emerged. They spent lavishly on houses, parties, and luxuries, while also investing in education and philanthropy. In this chapter, we’ll discuss this new upper-class, as well as how wealth in the United States became so imbalanced. We’ll explore topics like homesteading, Reconstruction, immigration, political corruption, corporate consolidation, and more.

The live recording of my recent Mill Talk at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation.

In the mid-19th Century, two new industrial developments were underway. In the UK and US, new discoveries were made for the refining of crude petroleum into numerous useful oils. Meanwhile, in France and Germany, engineers were starting to produce the first commercially viable internal combustion engines. Together, these two breakthroughs would open up a world of possibilities and, in time, put an end to the Steam Age. If you’re in the Boston area, be sure to catch Dave’s upcoming Mill Talk at the Chares River Museum of Industry and Innovation on Tuesday, November 15th! Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mill-talk-from-textile-workers-to-rideshare-drivers-tickets-425845614697

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Electric power has become a staple of our daily lives. In this episode, we’ll discuss how it was made possible. Topics covered include: The rise of the modern engineer and the many technological breakthroughs made in the late 19th Century; The life of Thomas Edison; The development of the lightbulb; The spread of electrical distribution; and The War of the Currents. Get Surfshark VPN at https://surfshark.deals/INDREVPOD – Enter promo code INDREVPOD for 83% off and 3 extra months free!

It is simply impossible to imagine life today without the mass-production of steel and rubber, made possible during the Technological Revolution. In this episode, we’ll discuss the inventions of the Bessemer converter and the Siemens-Martin process for steel making, the expanding steel empire of Alfred Krupp in Germany, and the efforts of Alexander Holley and Andrew Carnegie to make the U.S. the global leader in steel production. We’ll also talk about how steel was adopted for bridges, skyscrapers, and more. Finally, we’ll turn to the expanding uses of rubber, how rubber companies cultivated the market, and how they exploited the Global South to get it. Get Surfshark VPN at https://surfshark.deals/INDREVPOD - Enter promo code INDREVPOD for 83% off and 3 extra months free!

More so than in the First Industrial Revolution, the Second Industrial Revolution saw big changes in consumer markets. Thanks to mail-order catalogs, dry goods palaces, and new department stores, consumers had more options than ever before. Whether it was clothing, furniture, grooming products, cameras, musical instruments, processed food, or bottled soft drinks, people from all backgrounds could buy stuff they didn’t used to have available to them. And with more disposable income, lower prices, and increasingly-creative advertisements targeting them, buy stuff they did. Get Surfshark VPN at https://surfshark.deals/INDREVPOD - Enter promo code INDREVPOD for 83% off and 3 extra months free!

In this episode, we talk about the many changes to American life brought about by the railroads in the late 19th Century. Topics include: New construction tools like dynamite; George Pullman’s sleeper cars; Railroad tycoons like Cornelius Vanderbilt and Jay Gould; The development of modern corporations; Innovations in time management; The growth of the American beef industry; and The spread of consumer catalogues. Get Surfshark VPN at https://surfshark.deals/INDREVPOD - Enter promo code INDREVPOD for 83% off and 3 extra months free!

A quick introduction to the Second Industrial Revolution. Become a patron of the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/indrevpod

In the mid-19th Century, scientists would upend everything human beings understood about themselves and the world around them, and they would drive that world forward into a second industrial revolution. In this chapter we discuss the new fields of genetics and evolutionary biology, the philosophy of Positivism, the development of thermodynamics, the discovery of the electromagnetic field, and the births of new technologies for electrical engineering.

In an age of expanding railroads, steam-driven ocean liners, transnational telegraphs, and more, the world experienced its “First Wave of Modern Globalization.” In this episode, we discuss the ways it played out in the mid-19th Century, including massive waves of migrations, gold rushes, remittances, trade, foreign investment, international cooperation efforts, missionaries, the new tourism industry, world’s fairs, and more. To support the podcast on Patreon – and to get access to the ad-free stream and footnotes – go to https://www.patreon.com/indrevpod.

In the wake of the Industrial Revolution, human beings were becoming increasingly aware of the things that united them and the things that divided them, as they identified themselves more and more along the lines of nationhood. In this episode, we discuss that push-and-pull as it started in the 19th Century, with special attention paid to Italy, Germany, and India.

In this episode, we talk about the super-deadly conflicts that happened between the First and Second Industrial Revolutions: The Crimean War, the U.S. Civil War, the Paraguayan War, and the Taiping Rebellion. Click here to become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/indrevpod