Day 92: Industry Comes of AgeBaltimore Polytechnic Institute

January 24, 2012A.P. U.S. History

Mr. Green

Students will analyze to what extent the big monopolies (steel, oil, railroad) contributed to class conflict by describing the role of the industry leaders.

OBJECTIVE

Objectives: Explain how the transcontinental railroad network provided the basis for an integrated national market and the great post–Civil War industrial transformation.Identify the abuses in the railroad industry and discuss how these led to the first efforts at industrial regulation by the federal government.Describe how the economy came to be dominated by giant trusts, such as those headed by Carnegie and Rockefeller in the steel and oil industries, and the growing class conflict it precipitated.Describe how new technological inventions fueled new industries and why American manufacturers increasingly turned toward the mass production of standardized goods.

AP FocusEnormous immigration, mass production, and the presence of low-skill jobs drive down workers’ wages.A catalyst for postwar industrial and economic expansion is the railroad industry, which not only facilitates trade, commerce, and transportation, but also makes locomotive production a major industry. The government plays a major role in the industry’s development and importance by providing the companies with millions of acres of free land—a giveaway, some say.

Industry Comes of Age 1865-1900

CHAPTER THEMESAmerica accomplished heavy

industrialization in the post–Civil War era. Spurred by the transcontinental rail network, business grew and consolidated into giant corporate trusts, as epitomized by the oil and steel industries.

Industrialization radically transformed the practices of labor and the condition of the American working people. But despite frequent industrial strife and the efforts of various reformers and unions, workers failed to develop effective labor organizations to match the corporate forms of business.

Chapter Focus

Focus Questions Chapter 24-Due Wednesday January 25th, no exceptions

Announcements

The wealthy class is becoming more wealthy; but the poorer class is becoming more dependent. The gulf between the employed and the employer is growing wider; social contrasts are becoming sharper; as liveried carriages appear; so do barefooted children

Henry George, 1879To what extent do you agree or disagree with

the above quote? How is the above argument utilized in today’s

political narratives?

Drill

Capital Goods vs. Consumer GoodsCan you explain the difference1870’s-Vanderbilt imported steel from Britain

to update iron rails1900-U.S. produced 1/3 of world’s steelBessemer process-cold air blown on red-hot

iron caused the metal to become white-hot by igniting the carbon eliminating impurities

The Supremacy of Steel

Accumulated capital and entered steel business in Pittsburgh

1900-produced ¼ of U.S. Bessemer steelFinancial giant-J.P. Morgan

made money and reputation by financing railroads, insurance companies and banks

Carnegie sold holdings to Morgan for $400 millionCarnegie spent the rest of his life giving away his

moneyMorgan reorganized the holdings to form U.S.

Steel capitalized at 1.4 billion

Carnegie and Other Sultans of Steel

Drake’s Folly initiates oil boom in 1859Kerosene burns brighter and is the 4th most

valuable exportEdison makes kerosene obsoleteInternal combustion engine gives oil a 2nd chanceJohn D. Rockefeller organized Standard Oil in OhioControlled 95% of refineries in US by 1877Consolidation made oil cheaper and betterTrusts developed in sugar, tobacco, leather,

harvester A new rich develops

Rockefeller Grows an American Beauty Rose

God given right to wealthSocial Darwinists

rich demonstrated greater abilities than the poorHerbert Spencer coined the phrase “survival of

the fittest”This theory justified imperialismThe new rich gained wealth on their own14th amendment utilized by the monopolies to

define a corporations as a person, affording the business the right to due process

The Gospel of Wealth

Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890largely ineffective except to ban unions which restrained trade

Government Tackles the Trust Evil

Plantation system degenerated into share-cropping

Machine-made cigarettesJames Buchanan Duke-American Tobacco

Company/Duke UniversitySouth kept subservient to Northern

manufacturingTextiles brought to the South for cheap laborEntire families worked at Mill Towns, earning

credit to buy food from the company store

The South in the Age of Industry

Using the Textbook from pages 583-592, identify 10 impacts of the new industrial revolution in America. Number your paper to ten. Each impact should be at least one sentence. You need to include labor unions as well as family impacts.

The Impact of the New Industrial Revolution on America

You will read two primary source documents and answer the following questions for each selection

1. In Praise of Mechanization (1897)a. How does Levasseur (author of the

selection) appraise the overall impact of mechanization? Is he convincing? Explain

b. What differences does Levasseur see between work conditions in Europe and those in the U.S.?

C. What does Levasseur identify as the principal complaints of U.S. workers? Does Levasseur consider them justified?

Unions

You will read two primary source documents and answer the following questions for each selection

A Tailor Testifies(1883)a. What changes in work conditions

had the tailor seen in his lifetime? Explainb. Were the above changes for better

or worse? Be specific c. What did the changes imply for his

family life?

Unions-cont’d

Begin Reading first ½ of Chapter 25 Prepare for 10 question reading check on

Chapter 25 on Friday Chapter 25 Focus Questions Due on

Monday. No late assignments will be accepted.

Homework