The Building of Modern America, Part 2. The Big Business Era and Organized Labor Movement

Transcription

1 The Building of Modern America, Part 2 The Big Business Era and Organized Labor Movement

2 SSUSH11 The student will describe the growth of big business and technological innovations after Reconstruction. a. Explain the impact of the railroads on other industries, such as steel, and on the organization of big business. b. Describe the impact of the railroads in the development of the West; include the transcontinental railroad, and the use of Chinese labor. c. Identify John D. Rockefeller and the Standard Oil Company and the rise of trusts and monopolies d. Describe the inventions of Thomas Edison; include the electric light bulb, motion pictures, and the phonograph, and their impact on American life SSUSH12 The student will analyze important consequences of American industrial growth. a. Describe Ellis Island, the change in immigrants origins to southern and eastern Europe and the impact of this change on urban America. b. Identify the American Federation of Labor and Samuel Gompers. c. Describe the growth of the western population and its impact on Native Americans with reference to Sitting Bull and Wounded Knee. d. Describe the 1894 Pullman strike as an example of industrial unrest. SSUSH14 The student will explain America s evolving relationship with the world at the turn of the twentieth century. a. Explain the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and anti-asian immigration sentiment on the west coast.

3 The Rise of Big Business

4 Expanding markets, now linked by railroads, led to the creation of corporations in the late 19 th century. Corporation a business in which ownership is shared by a number of people Technology connected the nation, allowing corporations to expand their businesses across the country. The Market Expands

5 Corporations Gain Control Corporations worked to maximize profits in several ways, even attempting to destroy their competition and form a monopoly Monopoly complete control over a product or service To form monopolies, companies either bought out the competition or drove them out of business. With no competition, companies could charge whatever prices they wanted for essential products or services. Other corporations worked to eliminate competition by forming cartels. Cartel businesses producing the same product agree to limit their supply thus keeping prices high. (taking advantage of supply and demand Supply and Demand - the amount of a product or service available and the desire of buyers for it, considered as factors regulating its price.

6 Corporations Gain Control Some laws prevented one company from buying out another company. To get around this, some businessmen formed trusts. In a trust companies assign their stocks to a board of trustees who combine them into a new, more powerful organization.

7 Horizontal vs. Vertical Integration Horizontal integration when a company consolidates many firms into one business Ex. All oil companies formed in to ONE. Vertical integration when a company gains control of all the phases involved in the production of a product Ex. One company owns the oil well, the oil pipeline, the tankers that transport and the gas stations.

8 Robber Barons Many began to see business practices like monopolies and trusts as giving unfair advantages to corporations. Monopolies, cartels and trusts kept prices for products high; rich were making money at the expense of the poor. These robber barons (the heads of the large corportations) were seen as getting extremely rich off the labor and hardships of the poor However, many of these men also made major contributions to charities and dealt heavily in philanthropy work Providing job opportunities for the poor Providing housing for homeless Founding charitable organizations

9 Robber Barons and Philanthropy Despite the negatives, some saw the Robber Barons as captains of industry. They brought jobs to the masses and were allowing America to compete in the global markets. Rockefeller and Carnegie also practiced philanthropy; they gave away millions of dollars to fund education programs, build libraries and museums.

10 John D. Rockefeller Oil tycoon/baron The Robber Barons Founded the Standard Oil Company Adjusted for inflation, Rockefeller is the richest man to have ever lived. He was worth more than an estimated $336,000,000,000 (in today s currency) when he died in 1937 (equal to 1.5% of the US income at the time)

11 John D. Rockefeller

12 The Robber Barons Andrew Carnegie Steel tycoon/baron Expanded the steel industry in both the US and throughout the British Empire Second richest man in US history (behind Rockefeller) Donated almost 90% of his wealth to charitable foundations and educational institutions Thought the best thing wealthy people could do was to use their money to better society

13 J. P. Morgan Banking tycoon/baron Created the General Electric (GE) Company through a merger between the Edison General Electric Company and Thomson-Houston General Electric Company Dedicated to modernizing America Founding member of the Morgan & Chase Banking Company (now just Chase Bank) The Robber Barons

14 The Robber Barons Charles Schwab: - Steel and Banking tycoon/baron - Founded the Charles Schwab Investment Company Cornelius Vanderbilt: - Railroad tycoon/baron - Financed the building of Grand Central Station Henry Flagler: - Oil tycoon/baron - Co-founded Standard Oil Co. - Father of Miami, Florida John J. Astor IV: - Real Estate tycoon/baron - Died aboard the Titanic James B. Duke: - Business tycoon/baron - Created the modern cigarette - Founded Duke University John W. Gates: - Oil tycoon/baron - Founded the Texaco Oil Company

15 Social Darwinism 1859 Charles Darwin coined the phrase natural selection the belief that only the strongest of a species will survive. This idea was also applied to the business world and called Social Darwinism Social Darwinism refers to the idea that the value of a person is determined by how much money one had. According to Social Darwinism, the rich are the most fit to continue on; the poor are unfit and will die out.

16 Trust-Busters The formation and growth of corporations and trusts, and the idea of Social Darwinism caused anger and rage to grow against the Robber Barons In order to calm the rising resentment Congress steps in and passes the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in 1890 Proposed by Senator John Sherman from Ohio (the brother of Union General William T. Sherman who captured Atlanta during the Civil War) The Sherman Anti-Trust Act began a trend towards the federal government limiting the power of corporations.

17 The Organized Labor Movement

18 The Hazards of Factory Work In the late 19 th century, factory owners used numerous methods to maximize their profits and minimize their labor costs. Companies hired immigrants and children who would work for very low wages (sometimes pennies a day) Companies increased work shifts to 12 hours a day and 6 days a week Conditions in factories were often times dangerous and little thought was given to protecting the employees (as a result many workers died on the job)

19 Labor Unions are Born Even though prices on goods were low many jobs didn t pay the workers enough for even basic necessities Workers began to practice a new policy: Collective Bargaining with their employers Collective Bargaining - negotiating for higher wages and better working conditions. One form of protest used was to go on strike Strike - when workers refuse to work until their demands are met.

20 Samuel Gompers American Federation of Labor 1886 Gompers founded the AFL (American Federation of Labor) The AFL union worked to improve wages, working conditions, and working hours for its members.

21 The Pullman Strike George Pullman owner of a company that produced luxury railroad cars In May 1894, workers began a strike protesting wage cuts and layoffs. The strike grew violent with many protestors destroying rail lines and equipment. The Pullman Strike is the best example of industrial unrest in American history

22 The Pullman Strike The Pullman Strike interrupted the delivery of the US Mail and the operations of the US Postal Service and became violent In order to stop the strike and resume operations President Grover Cleveland dispatched US troops to put down the strike 12,000 US troops were dispatched under the command of General Nelson Miles (who would go on to be commanding general of US forces during the Spanish American War in 1898 When troops arrived, riots broke out In the end 30 people were killed during the strike and the strike was put down

23 The Pullman Strike After the Pullman Strike and other instances of industrial unrest, many employers began to use the court system to reduce the power of labor unions. For the next 30 years (until 1924) the federal government would attempt to act as mediator between labor unions and employers over numerous work-related issues.

24 History of Labor Day

25 Labor Unions T.O.D. Imagine you are a worker during the Pullman Strike in It is your job to create a protest sign that you would carry at one of the demonstrations. Your sign must include some reference to the Pullman Railway Cars AND one or two demands of your labor union. These will be taken up and graded.