Generating Change
Organizational and technological innovations in electricity around 1900 ushered in a new industrial revolution. Electrical lighting and motors changed the look of factories and cities. Centrally generated electricity allowed businesses to locate in new areas and become more efficient. These successes relied on the creation of large integrated systems, mostly run by corporations as state-regulated monopolies.
Olympia Mills, Columbia, South Carolina, about 1905
The all-electric Olympia Mills opened in 1899. Explosive cotton dust in the air made the switch from open gas lamps to electric lights desirable.
Underwood & Underwood Glass Stereograph Collection, 1895-1921
Westinghouse motor, 1888
Steam engines disappeared slowly. In 1899, electricity provided less than 5 percent of primary horsepower in manufacturing, 50 percent by 1919, and 75 percent by 1929.
Edison carbon lamp, about 1886
After his 1879 public demonstration of lighting, inventor Thomas Edison developed the many other necessary pieces of an electrical system—including dynamos, transformers, and meters.
Westinghouse tantalum mill lamp, about 1908
Improved lighting drove industry to adopt electricity. The use of motors came later.
Westinghouse stopper lamp, about 1894
Between 1893 and 1897, Westinghouse made two-piece stopper lamps. This made the company more competitive by avoiding Edison’s one-piece bulb patent.
Westinghouse transformer, about 1889
Westinghouse promoted AC (alternating current) while Edison favored a DC (direct current) system. While less safe than DC, the AC system made transmission easier.
Reddy-Kilowatt advertising puppet, 1934
Even demand is important to the efficient operation of electric systems. Power companies advertised electricity to increase demand and recover investment in infrastructure systems.
The success of electricity required a way to distribute it. Inventions such as insulated cables, transformers, and generators made the widespread distribution of electricity possible.
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