Industrialization

By: Caitlin Heinly & Lindsey Schiefelbein

Background on Industrialization

The United States was still a large agricultural nation after the Civil War. But, 60 years later it became the leading power of industry in the world.

Industrialization is the process in which a country transforms from an agricultural society into one based on the manufacturing of goods and services.

Several factors led to this tremendous industrial boom. These factors included natural resources, inventions, government support for business, immigration & migration, and a growing urban population that provided both cheap labor and markets for new products.

There were many factors that led to industrialization in America, but we will be discussing government support for business and immigration/migration.

Factor: Government Support for Business

Andrew Carnegie:

• One of the first to make his own fortune from his rise from rags to riches.

• Entered the steel business in 1873 after witnessing the awesome display of the Bessemer process in action. Started the Carnegie Steel Company.

• His success was due partly to his management practices. For instance, he continually searched for ways to make products better more cheaply, and he found talented workers by offering them stock in his company.

• Attempted to control almost as much of the steel industry as he could.

Vertical & Horizontal integration:

• Vertical- a process in which Carnegie bought out his suppliers in order to control the raw materials & transportation systems.

• Horizontal- when Carnegie attempted to buy out the competing steel producers. He did this by merging with companies producing similar products.

Government Support for Business

Social philosophers said Carnegie’s success could be explained scientifically by a theory called Social Darwinism, which grew out of Charles Darwin’s theory of biological evolution.

Economists found this theory a way to justify the doctrine of laissez faire, or the French term meaning “allow to do,” or broadly meaning “let it be.” Another definition for this doctrine is “an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies.”

The new definition for success became the premise of “survival of the fittest.” This supported individuality and responsibility. According to Social Darwinism, the poor must be lazy because riches were a sign of God’s favor.

Government Support for Business

Growth and Consolidation:

• Monopoly- complete control over its industry’s production, wages, & prices.

• The Standard Oil Company was established by John D. Rockefeller. This corporation joined with competing companies in trust agreements. In a trust, participants turned their stock over to a group of trustees- people who ran the separate companies as one large corporation. Using trusts, Rockefeller was able to gain total control of the oil industry in America.

Lack of support for labor unions:

• Many small, independent labor unions began to arise because of the unsafe working conditions and wages, so laborers of all kinds joined together to improve this.

• The unions not only increased the labor movement’s strength, but also caused tension between labor and management.

• Union activity was seen as a threat to the entire capitalist system from the government’s perspective.

Factor: Immigration

• Many people longed to travel to America lured by the promise of a better life. Some even wanted to escape religious or political persecution, famine, and land shortages.

Europeans:

• Religious persecution was a big issue in this country: Jews driven out of Russia.

• Rising population also caused Europeans to leave their homeland. This led to scarcity of land for framing and competition for industrial jobs.

Chinese & Japanese:

• Many came to seek their fortunes after the discovery of gold came about in the U.S.

The West Indies & Mexico:

• Many left their homelands because of jobs being scarce and they wanted to come to America where their seemed to be a promise of work for everyone.

• Mexicans also escaped to find work, as well as flee from political turmoil.

Immigration

Once immigrants arrived, they didn’t realize how cheap the labor was and how difficult it became for many.

Immigration gave rise to nativism, or favoritism toward native-born Americans.

There was a lot of racial tension, and American-born individuals were very unaccepting of other cultures and ideas.

Migration

As inventions such as the McCormick reaper and the steel plow came about, farming became more efficient, but not as many laborers were needed to work.

Many rural people moved to cities to find whatever work they could, and many of these were African Americans. They migrated to escape racial violence, and economic hardship.

But, many found that discrimination still existed in the North, and job competition between whites caused even more tension.

REVIEW GAME!!

1. The process in which a country

transforms from an agricultural society

into one based on the manufacturing of

goods and services is ___________.

2. After the Civil War ended, the United States went from a country relying on ___________

to a country dependent on ___________.

3. Government support for businesses, immigration,

migration, inventions, and natural resources ultimately

led to________________.

4. What is Vertical and Horizontal integration?

5. What is Social Darwinism?

6. Immigrants entered the

United States through __________ in the East and

________ in the West.

7. What is Monopoly?

8. The Standard Oil Company was established by

______________.

9. What is Migration?

10. Many African Americans migrated in hopes of

escaping ____________, and ______________.

Answers:1. Industrialization

2. Agriculture and Industrialization

3. Industrialization in the United States

4. A: Vertical integration- a process in which Carnegie bought out other steel companies.

B: Horizontal integration- a process in which companies producing similar products merge.

5. Survival of the fittest. The stronger and hard-workers will succeed and survive over the lazy and poor.

6. Millions of immigrants entered the U.S. for promise of a better life, religious/political freedom, and to escape difficult conditions such as famine.

7. Ellis Island and Angel Island

8. John D. Rockefeller

9. People moving from the country to the cities hoping to find bigger variety of available jobs.

10. Racial violence and Economic hardships