What is the American Dream?

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Movin on Up!

Thomas Edison (Wizard of Menlo) is inventingElectricity becomes widespreadHenry Ford and the assembly line

Capitalism is taking hold

New Technologies and Industry

An economic system that values private property and profit over collective ownership“Captains of Industry” and Robber Barons become popular terms due to the immense amount of wealth being accumulated

What is Capitalism

Not everybody was able to share in the wealth and many people were upset by what they saw as corruption Monopolies and Trusts became very prevalentGovernment had to step in to regulate what was happening.

Does government have to step in today?

Was everybody happy?

The idea of natural selection applied to society.“Only the strong survive”The poor were just weaker

Social Darwinism

The telegraph used ____________ to send messages. The telegraph cables mainly followed the ___________. This all changed when Alexander Graham Bell invented the ______________.

Other major innovations were the discovery of ________ allowed for a different fuel source. As well as the production of _________ which Andrew Carnegie capitalized on.

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Because of the increased production and ability to move around the country (cars, railroads, airplanes) capitalists realized they could make money by selling products nationwide.

To create more product (supply) capitalists needed more productive labor.Henry Ford develops the assembly line.

New Technologies = New labor

LandLaborCapital (any asset that can be used to produce an income)

Factors of Production

Because many small business owners did not have the capital to expand they formed corporations.Corporations exist independently of their owners and are funded through investments and the selling of stock.Capitalists control corporations by buying large amounts of stock

Corporations

Corporations gave consumers choicesMany powerful corporations attempted to get rid of competition.

John Rockefeller often eliminated competition by buying them out or merging with other companies. He also made deals with railroad companies to ship his oil at a lower price allowing him to sell it cheaper and forcing smaller business out of the market because they couldn’t afford it.Created a monopoly

Competition

Summarize how Rockefeller created a Monopoly

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Corporations grew by:Horizontal integration= joining firms in the same industryVertical integration= taking control of each step, from production to distribution

Carnegie took complete control of the steel production.

Big Business and the Government

Big business was limiting competition= rising pricesGovernment took a laissez faire approach= hands off, leave business aloneBelieved in Social Darwinism- business should be allowed to either survive or die.

The reality was government helped many of the corporations through land grants, low interest or even zero interest loans, having no regulations protecting consumers or the environment and favorable tax policies.Often times politicians would be bribed to pass laws favorable to companies.

Corporations and People

Outlawed monopolies and trusts Was written by lawyers who favored laissez faireNot enforced wellGovernment was controlled by business and filled with people who agreed with laissez faire

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

What effect did the assembly line have on labor?

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Society looked great– like gold but was actually not

The idea that behind all the wealth and innovation most people were hurtingCorruption was widespread

The Gilded Age

Entrepreneurs -establishers of new business – were getting very wealthyMost workers though made only 440 dollars a year. This is compared to 25 million for capitalists like Andrew CarnegieThis was justified by the idea if you work hard you could be that wealthy. “Rags to Riches”Carnegie argued wealthy people had a duty to be a philanthropist- someone who gives money to worthy causesWhat do you think? Is charity good?

Wealth Gap

Many thought the corruption and unequal wealth pointed to the immorality of people like Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Morgan

Others thought despite the shady deals and actions they had a positive effect overall

What do you think?

Robber Barons or Captains of Industry

How many hours a day should you work?How many days a week?How much should you be paid?Should the doors be locked while you are working?What would you do if you didn’t have those things?

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Triangle Shirtwaist Factory146 workers died because they couldn’t escape the fire due to the door being lockedMany workers formed unions

Labors Response to Industrialism

Working class- those that sell their labor for incomeConditions were terrible often times hazardous Child laborCouldn’t afford to live anywhere but a slum in rundown tenements.

Conditions of the working class

Labor formed unions- group of workers organized for their common good. Unions advocated for an alternate economic system known as socialism- means of production owned by the workers rather than capitalists. Unions would enter into collective bargaining –negotiations- with their employers for better pay, conditions and other terms of employment

The Labor Movement

Describe the conditions workers found themselves in?

What was labors response to these conditions?

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Unions would often strike to make sure their demands were being met.Strikes= stoppage of work.

These often turned violent.

Strikes

Haymarket- After Chicago police killed a worker a protest was called. At the protest a bombing happened after which police fired into crowd.Homestead- Iron and Steel workers at Carnegie plant. Pinkerton’s (a company hired to break up strikes and unions) were hired. Pullman- against Chicago’s railroad builders, cut wages by 25 percent. Led by Eugene Debs.

Three of the biggest strikes

Government favors owners not workers.Unions were seen as dangerous and violentFound that strikes= monopolies because it effected tradeHowever Unions won small gains

Results

Read Annotate and Cornell notes 14.4 and 14.5

Homework.

Why was child labor so widespread?

In general were corporations understanding of strikes? Was government?

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As you watch be thinking about how and why employers, workers, and government would take the positions that they did. Homestead Strike http://www.history.com/topics/homestead-strike/videos#homestead-strike

The Realities of Striking

Read more about the Haymarket Riot, the Homestead Strike and the Pullman Strike and complete the RAFT about each.

Be ready to discuss these on Tuesday!

The Realities of Striking

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