question 1 what is your general opinion of “big business” in america? how do you view the owners...

Question 1

• What is your general opinion of “big business” in America? How do you view the owners of these major corporations, etc.?

• Is “big business” good for the American economy and consumers?

• Do you think the owners of major corporations are inherently more talented than other businessmen?

The Growth of Big BusinessI. Businesspeople & Investors pool

resources to create huge companies

A. Robber Barons or Captains of Industry?

Robber Baron or Captain of Industry?

1. Robber Baron – steal from public to build fortunes, exploit workers, etc.

2. Captains of Industry – Serve nation in a positive way by create jobs, etc.

3. Most were both!

II. Social DarwinismA. Society & Government should do as little as

possible to interfere with someone’s pursuit of success. – laissez- faire

B. Those “fit” would succeed and become rich, those “unfit” would not

C. Survival of the fittest D. Adam Smith – Father of Capitalism

Question 2

• Do you agree with the concept of Social Darwinism? Explain.

How Big Business Differed from in the Past

Business was growing on a larger scale than ever before. Why…1.Larger pools of Capital2.Wider Geographic Span3.Broader Range of Operations4.Revised Role of Ownership5.New Methods of Management

V. Types of Big BusinessesA. Oligopoly – a few large profitable businesses

dominate an industryB. Monopoly – One company has complete control

of a product or serviceC. Cartel – competing businesses form an alliance

to control prices without officially merging

Andrew Carnegie

III. Andrew CarnegieA. “Gospel of Wealth” – people should be free to

make as much money as they can…then give it back to society in positive ways.

B. Carnegie Steel Co. – Pittsburgh, PAC. Vertical Consolidation – control all businesses

that make up all phases of a product’s development

A. Carnegie gave away 350 million by his death 1919. Great Philanthropist!

John D. Rockefeller

IV. John D. Rockefeller A. Standard Oil Co. – Cleveland, OHB. Horizontal Consolidation – Bring competitors

into the same business. “buy them out” and combine operations.

C. Created a Trust – A board of trustees was formed to run all companies as one

D. Gave away over 500 million to charities & institutions by his death

Question 3

• In what ways was business changing from that of business in the past?

• In your opinion, who used more ruthless tactics to control their respected industry Carnegie or Rockefeller? Explain.

New precedent of Govt. regulation

VI. Government ResponseA. Sherman Anti-Trust Act 1890 – outlawed any

combination of companies that restrained interstate trade or commerce.

B. Limits on industrial competition bad for consumer – prices rise

C. Sherman Anti-Trust Act ineffective1. To hard to define a trust2. Courts were pro-business

Question 4

• What role do you think the government should play in our economy?

• Should the government have the right to break up monopolies? Explain.

Captains of Industry Project• Get into groups of 4. You must do your best

to have 2 girls and 2 boys in each group.• Assign someone to be the “team leader”, and

send them up to see me to get the directions for the project.

• Ignore this slide for now

Industrialization and Workers

• Cities crowded in mid-late 1800s (urbanization)

• 14 million people immigrated to US between 1860-1900

• 8-9 million Americans moves off farms to cities in late 1800s.

• 1860 = 20% urban workers / 80% rural• 1900 = 40% urban / 60% rural

Industrial Revolution changed ways of life

1. People moved from countryside to cities2. People took jobs in factories

3. This created problems in the citiesa. No sanitationb. Small, dirty houses (row house)c. Not enough schools for all the kidsd. Povertye. Crime/Violencef. Overcrowdedg. Fires

4. Factory and mine conditions were bada. People worked 14 hour daysb. People worked 6 days a weekc. Wages were lowd. Children as young as 6 worked in factories and minese. Dangerous machines / Harsh foreman / Fast pace

• Piecework = those who produced the most, the fastest got paid the most

• Sweatshops = long hours, low pay, poor conditions

• Division of labor = brake tasks down into steps• Took joy, pride, and quality out of work• Childhood labor common = 5% of industrial

labor in 1880s.• Uneducated kids, stunted growth, health

issues, vices, etc.

Coal Tub

Jacob Riis

• Very little change due to social Darwinism.• Public made aware by “muckraking”

journalists such as Jacob Riis• Children of the Poor• How the Other Half Lives

Jacob Riis

Question 5

• How was the “way in which” work was getting done changing in the 1800s from previous times?

• What impact did industrialization and Urbanization have on working class Americans and life in our cities?