Question

In what way did the successful drilling for oil in 1859 contribute to the economic development of the United States in the nineteenth century?

Answer 1

In the 1850s, new types of machinery being produced increasingly needed oil for lubrication. And the main sources for oil at the time, whaling and collecting oil from seeps, simply couldn't meet the demand. Someone had to find a way to reach into the ground and extract the oil.

Answer 2

Started the oil boom in the United States

Step-by-step explanation:

George H. Bissell first founded the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company (later the Seneca Oil Company) with the intention of exploiting the oil deposits in the state of Pennsylvania. Oil was then considered a valuable fuel for lighting. Oil at the time was mostly tapped from open-ground deposits. Bissell hired Edwin Drake and Billy Smith to drill for oil. After months of fruitless search, on 27 August 1859, Drake finally struck oil at 21 m (69 ft) below ground. Unlike oil wells of the past decades, which were usually dug by hand, Drake's well was drilled by a steam-powered machine created for that purpose. The invention of well drilling machine created a major oil boom, first in Pennsylvania, and then in the whole United States.

Oil played a major part during the industrialization of the United States. First used as lighting fuel, processes for oil refining were invented during the latter part of the 19th century. Other valuable products were then created, such as gasoline and asphalt. During most of the 19th century, the United States was the largest producer of oil in the world.