industrialization and the gilded age. america industrializes after civil war – second industrial...
TRANSCRIPT
Industrialization And The “Gilded Age”
America Industrializes
• After Civil War – “Second Industrial Revolution” – rapid industrialization
• Occurred during the decades after Civil War
New Inventions and Technology
• Bessemer Process – made production of steel more economical • Wood --- Iron - Steel • Before -1 Day = 5 tons of steel• After – 15 Minutes = 5 tons of steel
Steam Engines
• Steam engines powered pneumatic drills, cutting deeper into the Earth• 1860 – 14 million tons of coal• 1884 – 100 million tons of coal• Oil drilled in Pennsylvania in 1859• First internal combustion engine used
gasoline, from oil
Electricity
• Alexander Graham Bell created telephone to increase communication
• Thomas Edison combined gas and metal filament to create electric light bulbs.
• Electricity replaced steam and coal in factories
• Also used on streetcars and subways
• Each new invention increased people’s standard of living.
Growth of Railroads
• Transcontinental Railroad completed in 1869 at Promontory Point, Utah
• Built in the west by Chinese Immigrants• Worked 12 Hour Days, and 6-Day Weeks• Made $26-$35 a month
• Trip across U.S. was reduced from several months, to a few weeks.
A National Market
• Railroads now linked both coasts of the United States
• Raw goods and materials are linked to larger markets
• National Producers could make and ship goods cheaper than local producers
• Creation of Department Stores, chain stores and mail order houses.
Railroad Impact on Population
• Between 1850 and 1900 the population more than tripled.
• High Birthrates and increased immigration
• Created a favorable condition for buisness expansion• Demand for goods increased• Supply of cheap labor increased
New Types of Business Organizations
• Before Civil War, most businesses were owned by individuals or partners
• After the war, corporations became popular• Separate “person”• Allows for many people to pool money together
Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy
• By 1870’s entrepreneurs began to have a dominant influence on American business
• Lowered the price of goods and improved their quality
• Made HUGE profits for themselves
• Known as “Captains of Industry” because they forged modern industrial economy
• Also known as “robber barons” – used ruthless tactics to destroy competitors and keep wages low
Andrew Carnegie
• Scottish Immigrant, began his life penniless
• After Civil War, he invested in ironworks and built steel mills in Pittsburgh
• Used profits to buy more mills and created Carnegie Steel Corporation
Carnegie
• Controlled all phases of steel production• Iron ore fields, coal mines, steel mills and ships• Paid low wages, and crushed attempts at unions
in his mills
• Later in life, he gave away $350 Million to build libraries and endow universities
John D. Rockefeller
• Built an oil refinery in Cleveland, Ohio
• In 1870 founded the Standard Oil Company
• By 1879, he controlled 90% of oil refining in the U.S.
• Created a monopoly• Forced the railroads to pay “secret” low rates,
and charged his competitors higher rates
Rockefeller
• Like Carnegie, Rockefeller gave millions of his fortune away
• Founded University of Chicago and Rockefeller Foundation
Interstate Commerce Act (1887)
• Railroads charged higher rates to local farmers on shorter routes
• U.S. Supreme Court said only national government could regulate interstate commerce
• The Interstate Commerce Act prohibits unfair practices by railroads
• Created Interstate Commerce Commission to enforce the act
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
• Was created to stop monopolies
• Marked a significant change in Congress’ attitude towards big business• Before – Laissez-faire – little government
interference • After – More control by Congress
Conditions of Labor
• Average workday – 10-14 hours
• Average work week – 6 Days
• Average pay - $3-$12 a week
• Even lower wages for immigrants, women and children
Poor Conditions
• Workers became nothing more than a cog in a companies machine
• Work became less skilled, more repetitive and boring
• Very little if any safety.
• Thousands killed or injured every year
Child Labor
• Textile Mills and Coal Mines used children to preform special tasks• Smaller hands fit well into small parts of
machines
• 1/5 Children worked outside the home in 1910• Work = no school = little chance of increased
standard of living
Rise of Unions
• Knights of Labor – joined together all skilled and unskilled workers
• Demanded an 8 hour work day, higher wages and safety codes
• Grew rapidly in 1880’s, but fell apart after failed strikes
American Federation of Labor (AFL)
• Founded by Samuel Gompers in 1881
• Sought “Closed Shops” where only union members could be hired
• AFL became weakened by the exclusion of unskilled workers
• By 1910 less than 5% of American workers were unionized
Government and Unions
• Business leaders often contributed to politicians campaigns
• Politicians saw workers as greedy and businesses as good for American prosperity
• Most Americans believed that businesses should have the right to hire and fire employees as they pleased
Government and Unions
• Between 1880 and 1900 there were 20,000 strikes involving 6 million workers
• Government saw this as a disruption of the American economy
• Supreme Court ruled that unions were illegal combinations in restraint of trade
Haymarket Strike of 1886
• Haymarket Affair of 1886- labor leaders were blamed when a bomb exploded during a demonstration of strikers in Chicago.
• 7 Policemen killed and 67 severely wounded
Pullman strike (1894)
• Begin in Pullman, Illinois
• ARU (American Railway Union) led by Eugene Debs vs. the railroads
• @ its height involved over 250,000 workers in 27 different states
• 30 people killed
• Army was eventually called in to many cities to restore order
• Debs eventually goes to prison for violating a court order