THE RISE OFBIG
BUSINESS
Homework: Due at the Start of Next Class
Write a dialogue between a factory owner and a worker that might have taken place in 1900. Your dialogue must:
Begin with these opening lines: Worker: We on the
assembly line aren’t happy.
Owner: Well, what’s your beef?
Worker: I’ve got a list of complaints and I want to know your response. To begin with…
Contain at least 4 concerns of workers at the turn of the century.
Contain accurate responses by the factory owner to each of the worker’s concerns
Use the following terms: assembly line, working conditions, labor union, strike, profit
Use appropriate language that reflects the passionate feelings held by workers and owners.
Be free of spelling and grammatical errors.
Changes in American Society
America went from an
agricultural (farming)
society to an industrial
(factories) society.
Industrialization Industrialization:
using machines to do work usually done by people
Increase in the use of factories Age of Steel:
In 1872, a Scottish immigrant named Andrew
Carnegie brought a technique for making cheap
steel to America.
Steel is stronger than iron, and soon was used
to make many different products.
Bright ideas! 1870s: Thomas Edison developed the electric light
bulb.
1876: Alexander Graham Bell invented the
telephone.
Telephones made American industry more competitive
because suppliers, producers, sellers, and customers could
communicate quickly and easily.
Assembly Line Made popular by Henry Ford.
The assembly line was like a conveyor belt,
where a product was assembled one piece at
a time.
Each factory worker was responsible for one
part of the product.
The assembly line made creating products
faster and cheaper.
Urbanization Urbanization: the growth of cities
Immigrants and rural Americans flocked to
cities looking for jobs.
As cities swelled with workers, demand for cheap
housing exploded. To meet the demand,
developers threw up cheap apartments called
tenements.
Tenements were overcrowded and usually
didn’t have running water.
…comes new problems…
With new technology…
Working Conditions
Working conditions in factories were
horrible!
Low wages (women earned ~$1-$3/day!)
Long hours, no breaks
Hot in summer, cold in winter
No fire escapes or sprinkler systems
Dangerous machinery
20 minutes!! With a partner, read the passages about
the Triangle Factory and answer the questions.
Watch, Listen & THINK!
Complete the FQR on the next slide as you watch a video clip about the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. What Facts do you hear? What Questions do you have? How do you Respond to what you see?
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
F.Q.R.Facts I Hear
Questions I Have
Responses I Feel
Onlookers watching the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory burn
Hole in glass sidewalk skylight from a falling worker
Policemen cover the fallen bodies
Th
e b
roke
n fi
re e
scape
ladd
er
The 9th floor after the fire was out.
Vocabulary Labor Union: Organization of workers who join
together for collective bargaining and mutual protection
Assembly Line: A production system of machines and workers arranged so each person does one task again and again building efficiency
Working Conditions: environment in which business occurs. These can be both positive and negative
Strike: a stopping of work by workers to force an employer to meet demands
Profit: Remaining money after expenses are paid for
Homework: Due at the Start of Next Class
Write a dialogue between a factory owner and a worker that might have taken place in 1900. Your dialogue must:
Begin with these opening lines: Worker: We on the
assembly line aren’t happy.
Owner: Well, what’s your beef?
Worker: I’ve got a list of complaints and I want to know your response. To begin with…
Contain at least 4 concerns of workers at the turn of the century.
Contain accurate responses by the factory owner to each of the worker’s concerns
Use the following terms: assembly line, working conditions, labor union, strike, profit
Use appropriate language that reflects the passionate feelings held by workers and owners.
Be free of spelling and grammatical errors.