In the mid-19th Century, two eastern empires were humiliated by industrialized powers. To avoid further humiliation, they both decided to industrialize themselves. In the late 19th Century, Russia and Japan went through rapid modernization. But which of the two succeeded would shock everyone, come 1905. In this episode, we will cover: The emancipation of the serfs in RussiaThe Witte SystemJapanese proto-industrializationThe Meiji RestorationAnd the Russo-Japanese War Be sure to check out...

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...

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 internationalismParis CommuneThe Great Upheaval of 1877The Haymarket MassacreThe Homestead and Pullman strikesThe Belgian General Strike of 1893And more! This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast,...

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 BackwardFrench SolidarismFerdinand Lassalle, Eduard Bernstein, and the German Social DemocratsThe Fabian SocietyHenry George and his treatise, Poverty and ProgressMikhail Bakunin and anarcho-collectivismPyotr Kropotkin and anarcho-communismThe...

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. This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at...

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,...

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,...

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...

Since we talked about America’s railroad age in Chapter 57 – and because it’s Black History Month – this is the perfect time to discuss an iconic American folktale: The legend of John Henry. It’s the story of a Black railroad worker who defeats the machine that threatens his job – but he pays the ultimate price for it in the end. And the real history behind this story strikes at the heart of the nation’s complicated past.

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...

For our third Holiday Special, Dave walks us through the evolution of Santa Claus as we know him today – in particular, how modern Santa was the result of an increasingly globalized and industrialized world. (Available until January 2022.)

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.