INDUSTRY COMES OF AGE CHAPTER 24

Transcription

1 INDUSTRY COMES OF AGE CHAPTER 24

2 Railroad Boom By 1900 the U.S. had more track than all of Europe combined 1890

3 Govt. Help for Railroads The U.S. govt encouraged railroad building in a # of ways Gave RR comp. $ to build and land along the route Govt. got good rate on postal and military needs Also great for the burgeoning economy

4 Trans-Continental RR The 1st was built through the North during the Civil War Union Pacific RR - built from the west From Omaha, used primarily Irish laborers Central Pacific RR - built from the east From Sacramento, used Irish & Chinese laborers Led by the Big Four - Leland Stanford

5 Trans-Continental RR

6 Trans-Continental RR The two sides met at Promontory Point, Utah

7 Other Trans-Continental RRs Northern Pacific, Atchison, Southern Pacific, Great Northern (James Hill)

8 Consolidation & Improvements Cornelius Vanderbilt Made lots of $ by getting the Transcontinental RR built off his existing lines Railroad Improvements Steel track Standard track size Air brakes Pullman cars time-zones

9 Effects of the Railroad Boom Created huge markets and tied the economy together Sped up the movement of raw materials Boost for the steel industry Encouraged farming and mining Cities in the west grew Increased immigration New class of millionaires

10 Railroad Corruption Stock-watering Inflated claims about a RR line and its potential for profit Led prices of stock to rise Led to high rates to ensure profit Bribed judges and legislators, free passes, pooling, rebates

11 Government Intervention Most of this corruption was allowed until the Panic of 1873 open eyes to it The Grange, the Farmer s Alliance, the Populists Wabash cases State laws attempting to regulate the railroads Unconstitutional b/c were an attempt to regulate interstate commerce

12 Government Intervention Interstate Commerce Act (1887) Prohibited rebates and pools RR had to publish rates publicly Outlawed charging more for a short haul Set up the Interstate Commerce Comm. Weak, not much enforcement power Impt. b/c was the first large-scale attempt by the govt. to regulate business

13 Rise of Business A.G. Bell Thomas Edison Lots of capital available Lots of resources Coal, iron, oil Immigration brought more labor Mass production Steel!

14 Trusts A combination of firms or corporations for the purpose of reducing competition and controlling prices in an industry 2 types Vertical Integration - Carnegie & U.S. Steel Horizontal Integration - Rockefeller & Standard Oil

15 Steel Industry Steel had been very expensive Rare and much of it was imported Bessemer Process - led to drop in prices Andrew Carnegie - U.S. Steel Located in Pittsburgh Controlled every aspect of production which allowed him to produce a quality product for a cheaper price

16 U.S. Steel J.P. Morgan bought U.S. Steel for $400 million Formed the U.S. Steel Corporation 1st billion dollar business J.P. Morgan

17 Standard Oil Cartoon

18 Oil Industry Only became huge with the invention of the automobile John D. Rockefeller - Standard Oil Controlled over 95% of the the nation s oil production Provided a good product at a cheap price

19 Other Trusts Meat-packing (Swift & Armor) Leather Sugar Tobacco - James B. Duke Cigarette rolling machine

20 Gospel of Wealth These industrial giants saw their riches as a result of Social Darwinism If you were poor you didn t work hard enough or weren t capable Justified their riches Believed God gave them their money The good Lord gave me my money They gave away their money, but only to people who could handle it

21 Govt. & Trusts State governments first tried to regulate them but failed Sherman Anti-Trust Act Forbade any combinations in restraint of trade The Act was intended to prevent arrangements designed to, or which tend to, increase the cost of goods to the consumer. Again, no power to punish those who violated it (not until 1914) Actually used to go after labor unions

22 The South & Industry The South still produced a smaller percentage of manufactured goods in 1900 than before the CW Region was still predominantly rural and agricultural A major obstacle was that the rates for goods traveling to the South were lower than those finished goods going North Had good rates for raw materials going north RRs helped keep them from developing

23 Impact of the Ind. Revolution Textile industry did grow in the South Wealth of the U.S went way up Standard of living went up Cities grew Govt. becoming more and more involved Time sped up, more regimented Class divisions grew Critics more vocal - socialists & radicals Women - more opportunity, married later Typewriter, telephone

24 Impact of the Ind. Revolution Women - more opportunity Typewriter, telephone Led to marrying later and smaller families With growth of factories, the workplace was much more depersonalized Wages were low - plenty of laborers Rise of labor unions

25 Problems for Labor Unions The $ of big business made it hard for unions in this period Federal courts would stop strikes yellow-dog contracts & ironclad oaths Tools to make sure workers did not join unions Black Lists Names of union agitators and organizers went on lists

26 Unions in the Late-1800s National Labor Union Lasted 6 years Over 600,000 members Black National Labor Union Knights of Labor Led by Terence Powderly Pushed for all workers to join one big union Skilled and unskilled Wide array of goals

27 Haymarket Square Riot Occurred during a protest in Chicago Knights of Labor and some anarchists A bomb went off during the demonstration and killing several dozen, including police 8 anarchists arrested, 5 given death sentence Helped end the Knights of Labor

28 Haymarket Square Riot Occurred during a protest in Chicago Knights of Labor and some anarchists A bomb went off during the demonstration and killing several dozen, including police

29 Haymarket Square Riot 8 anarchists arrested, 5 given death sentence Helped end the Knights of Labor Along with admission of unskilled workers

30 American Federation of Labor Led by Samuel Gompers Only skilled workers Was not one large union Was an association of self-governing unions Broad range of goals closed shop - all union labor By 1900 the public view of labor was becoming more sympathetic and positive