Industrialization of America 1877-1918

STD 11.2.5Objective:Evaluate the industrial leaders and their policies.

APK

• Who are the workers we search out for jobs?

• What was different about the jobs during the industrialization?

Importance

• Some business leaders in the late 1800s were called "robber barons" because they

A. required their workers to address them as royalty.

B. spent time in Europe buying up art treasures.

C. stole from the rich to give to the poor.

D. used ruthless business tactics to get rich.

Main Points1. After the Civil War, the United States

became one of the world’s leading industrial powers.

2. Industrialization touched every aspect of life.

3. There were new products and conveniences for consumers.

4. There were new sources of wealth for business-owners.

Rise of American Industry

• Major factor was our economic system-capitalism (free market or free enterprise)– Wealth is privately owned– not controlled by the government.

• Laissez Faire – allow to do – Hands off• New machines = more factories and mass

production• Badly-treated workers = organized labor unions

CFU:Define Capitalism.Define Laissez Faire.

Reasons for the Rise as an Industrial Giant

• The spread of railroads– Transcontinental railroad connected east and west.

• New inventions– Bessemer process – steel– Telegraph (Morse) – communication– Telephone (Bell) – communication– Light Bulb (Edison) – new uses for electricity

• Rise of Corporations– Larger sums of money could be raised through the sell

of stocks

Pair Share:How would railroads and new inventions lead to growth in industry?

Business Leaders

Heroes or Villains?Titan of Industry or Robber Baron

Business LeaderYou Decide…• Andrew Carnegie – Steel producer

– Born poor– Became world’s richest man– Sold steel at low prices and put other steel

companies out of business– Forced workers to put in long hours at low wages– Stopped them from joining unions– Later gave large sums of money to education,

libraries, and arts.

Pair Share:Would Carnegie be good boss?Does giving money to charity negate any bad he did?

This is a view of the Edgar Thomson Works at Braddock taken from the hills across the Monongahela River. Andrew Carnegie's first steel plant, "ET" was built in 1875 to make steel rails for the rapidly expanding railroads and named after the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad at the time.

Business LeaderYou Decide…• John D. Rockefeller – Oil refiner

– Formed Standard Oil Company– Controlled most of the oil refinery business– Forced railroad companies to give him

special low rates while they charged higher rates to his competitors

– Later gave money to education and science

Pair Share:Would Rockefeller be good boss?Does giving money to charity negate any bad he did?

This is the Standard Oil Building that stood at 26 Broadway in New York City.

% of Billionaires in 1900% of Billionaires in 1900

CFU:What does the graph show

Pair ShareWhat does this chart say about American wealth?

CFU:What does the graph show

Pair ShareWhat does this chart say about American wealth?

% of Billionaires in 1918

% of Billionaires in 1918

Importance

• Some business leaders in the late 1800s were called "robber barons" because they

A. required their workers to address them as royalty.

B. spent time in Europe buying up art treasures.

C. stole from the rich to give to the poor.

D. used ruthless business tactics to get rich.

Closure• During the second half of the 19th century,

government commitment to the principles of laissez-faire contributed to

A.healthy and positive competition between businesses.

B.the growth of small business firms.

C.friendly working relationships between labor and management.

D.the growth of business monopolies and trusts.

Closure

• In a capitalist system,

A. the state controls economic activity.

B. private citizens control economic activity.

C. elected officials control economic activity.

D. the dictator controls economic activity.

Closure

• The term robber-baron was used to criticize the

A.tactics of big-business leaders.

B.corruption of government officials.

C.dishonesty of carpetbaggers.

D.unskilled labor of illegal immigrants.

Closure• U.S. industry needed international trade during the

late 1800s and early 1900s to

A. obtain spare parts for railroad cars and steamships.

B. obtain raw materials and sell more goods to new markets.

C. keep the United States dollar on the gold standard.

D. provide American consumers with a choice of products.

Closure

Closure