chapter 14: the industrial age section 1: the expansion of industry
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 14: The Industrial Age
Section 1: The Expansion of Industry
CAPITALISM
An economic system where profit is the motive
Characteristics of capitalismPrivate ownershipCompetitionStrive for efficiencyGoal of unlimited profits = success
Why did it work for the US? Vast resources Immigration – a large labor supply Inventiveness – creative Transportation system – railroads/water
bodies Excess of money – more people were
beginning to make more profit Generous gov’t practices – subsidies/tax
breaks
Natural Resources Fuel Industrialism
BLACK GOLD: nickname for crude oil
EDWIN DRAKE drilled the 1st oil well in Titusville, PA
Steel ProcessesMESOBI RANGE in Minnesota
was the site of the US’s largest iron field
In order to make steel cheaper and efficient, manufacturers developed the BESSEMER PROCESS.
Inventions promote changeThomas Edison was one of
US’s most famous inventors.Called the “Wizard of Menlo
Park”Did not invent light bulb, but
improved it (incandescent)Utilized DIRECT CURRENT (DC)
GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE
Utilized ALTERNATING CURRENT (AC)
Electricity (AC) allows manufacturers to locate anywhere, not just near power source.
More inventionsInventor of
typewriter:Christopher
Scholes
Inventor of telephone:Alexander
Graham Bell
Inventions Open Jobs for WomenAverage clerical worker:
SingleNative-bornAge: 15-24
Seen by businesses that women can do clerical as good as men, but pay less to do it.
Chapter 14; Section 2
The Age of the Railroads
Railroad TimeA need to develop a new time
system (27 different local times in IL alone)
Professor C. F. Dowd made our current time system.
Time Zone begins at Greenwich, Eng. (0 Degrees Longitude)
Company TownsPULLMAN
Company started by George Pullman. Made a town (Pullman) which revolved
around his company (Pullman Railroad) Made sleeper cars (Pullman cars) Town located on the outskirts of Chicago.
Another IL company town: LECLAIRE
Located on the outskirts of Edwardsville Made iron works.
Problems With Interstate CommerceProblem focused on railroads. RR had
unfair rates on farmers and other businesses.
The Supreme Court ruled a state could not set rates on interstate commerce.
Solution: Congress passed The Interstate Commerce Act.Reestablished the right of fed gov’t to
supervise railroad activities.Establishes a 5 member commission to
do this (ICC)
Chapter 14; Section 3
Big Business Emerges
STEELEmergence of ANDREW CARNEGIE
His company: Carnegie Company Made more steel in 1899 than all of England.
Ways he succeeded: Made better products more cheaply Used new techniques & machinery and
hired chemists/metallurgists to improve quality
Detailed accounting system to watch costs Attracted talented people (offered stock) Encouraged competition among his
workers to increase production & cut cost
Business strategies of Carnegie
VERTICAL INTEGRATION:
Bought out all suppliers (coal & iron mines, ore freighters, & railroad lines). Able to control all aspects in the production & movement of steel.
HORIZONTAL CONSOLIDATION:
Bought out other steel competitors, thus monopolizing the steel market.
Growth & ConsolidationOLIGOPOLY:
A market in which only a few sellers provide a particular product and they would join together.
Usually ends up as a mergerCase/IH
MONOPOLY:Complete
control over an industry’s production, quality, wages paid, and prices charged.
Holding Company:
A corporation that would buy out the stock of other companies
Largest holding companies ever:UNITED STATES STEELHeaded by: J. P. MORGAN
(banker)Bought out Carnegie Steel
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER
Started STANDARD OIL
Define TRUST:When stock is given to a group of trustees (people who run separate companies as one large corporation). In return, the companies received certificates that entitle them to dividends on profits earned by the trust.
Carnegie & Rockefeller were called ROBBER BARONS:Named derived from the feudal lords of
the Middle Ages. This is not a compliment.
To help keep a positive view of themselves, they often started to practice PHILANTHROPY: The giving of money to people/charities.
To help control monopolies, Congress passed the SHERMAN ANTI-TRUST ACT:
This law was easily avoided by most companies because it didn’t specify what a trust really was (too many loopholes)
Supreme Court’s view of the act: Refused to support it (they threw out 7 or 8
cases) Most likely the Supreme Court was
primarily comprised of what political party?Republican (pro- big business)
Chapter 14; Section 4
Workers of the Nation Unite
The 1st large scale national organization of laborers was called:NATIONAL LABOR UNIONHeaded by William SylvisAble to legalize an 8-hour
day for gov’t workers
KNIGHTS OF LABOR Allowed all workers to join; regardless of
race, gender, or degree of skill Main demands: 8 hour day & equal pay for
equal work (men & women) Main leader: TERRANCE POWDERLY Largely used ARBITRATION:
Settlement of disagreements by an impartial person.
MEDIATION: Use of an impartial person to advise to settle a disagreement.
Emergence of Craft Unionism:
An organization of labor which included all skilled workers from many different industries
American Federation of Labor (AFL)Leader: SAMUEL GOMPERSExtensively used COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING: Negotiations between the representatives
of workers and employers to reach agreements on wages, benefits, hours, and working conditions.
ARU
American Railway UnionHeaded by:
Eugene Debs
Rise of SOCIALISM:A system that features government
control of business and property and equal distribution of wealth.
What union embraced socialism? IWW (Industrial Workers of the World)
Headed by: William “Big Bill” Haywood
Their nickname: WOBBLIES
Company which was effected by the Great Strike of 1877:
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad(commonly known as the B&O RR)
Great Strike of 1877 Strike took place due to 2nd pay cut to
employees RR workers, across the nation, began to
strike. The strike was ordered by the president
(Hayes) to end Reason: strikers were impeding interstate
commerce. Hurt the welfare of the nation (stopped mail)
The Haymarket Affair
Took place in Chicago (Haymarket Sq.)People gathered there to protest the
killing of a striker at the McCormick Harvester plant on the day before.
Basically workers and police had a face-off
Suddenly a bomb was thrown at the police line
Police responded by firing on the crowd
The Haymarket Affair
Casualties: 7 police & several workers were killed
No one knows who really started itEventually 8 workers were arrested for
the bombing.All 8 were convicted.
Of those, 4 were hanged and one committed suicide
The Haymarket AffairThe Rest of the Story:
Of those who were convicted of the crime, only 3 were actually as the square.
At least one innocent person (maybe 4) were executed
Pro/Cons of the Death Penalty?Most Americans blamed the KOL for the
incident and unions were severely affected by this.
Homestead Strike
Aimed against Carnegie SteelWages were cut causing the strikeThe company hired the PINKERTON
DETECTIVE AGENCY to protect the plant.
Many STRIKEBREAKERS were brought in to work in plant They were called SCABS
Many of the members and leaders of unions became targeted by businesses
Common practices against these people were:Fired from their jobsMany BLACKLISTED: when
companies keep a list of names of individuals who never get a job in an industry
Women in LaborMost noted female leader was MARY
HARRIS “MOTHER” JONES She is buried at Mt. Olive, IL (a big coal
mining community)A “mother” is one who organizes strikes
(particular the spouses of the strikers)Mother Jones was a member of the UMW
United Mine Workers
Women in LaborPAULINE NEWMAN: leader of the
International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU)
Led a strike against a company which made shirtwaists: tailored women’s blouses.
The tragedy of the TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST COMPANY fire. Reasons why the fire was so bad:
Lot of fuel: oil-soaked machines & piles of clothes Fire occurred on the 7th, 8th, & 9th floors All exits, except one, were locked
Done to keep out unionizers & prevent theft The unlocked door was blocked by the fire
No sprinkler system Only one fire escape
It collapsed almost immediately It only went to the 2nd floor
Many jumped to their deaths Landed on sidewalks & impaled on spikes of steel fence
Death toll: 145
New Legislation From the Fire
Establish strict fire codes54 hour work-week for women & minorsNo work on SundayNo child labor under the age of 14
Legal Actions to Help Stop the Labor MovementForced new employees to sign
YELLOW DOG CONTRACTS: A pledge swearing one would not go on
strike and/or join a unionGovernments issued INJUNCTIONS
stopping labor action. A court order