bell ringer which invention do you believe is the most important one in history? explain

Bell Ringer

• Which invention do you believe is the most important one in history? Explain.

The Triumph of Industry

Chapter 6

Technology and Industrial Growth

• In the mid-1800s new tools and methods had led to increased guns, ammunition, medical supplies, and uniforms– This increase in production was also made

possible by improvements in transportation technology such as railroads

– Government also encouraged immigration to assist with labor demands (we had more jobs than people)


• America’s rise came from abundant supply of natural resources– Coal mines fueled steam locomotives and

factories– “Black gold” was discovered in Titusville, PA

• Oil had been difficult to get when the only source was whale blubber but now with drilled oil it was relatively cheap and easy


• Vas numbers of Europeans and Asians moved to the U.S.– Most left their homes due to political upheaval – By 1905 the U.S. saw nearly 1M new immigrants

per year• Competition for jobs was fierce

– Companies had a very large, willing supply of workers thus driving wages down• Why is it that the company didn’t have to pay a “fair”

wage?


• Capitalism encouraged the idea of “rags to riches”– Do you believe that this can happen?

• Entrepreneurs, people who took risks to make a profit by opening a business, were heroes– How is this different from today?


• Government implemented two policies to try and protect the growth of businesses– Protective Tariffs: taxes on imported goods so

that they would be more expensive than goods made at home

– Laissez-faire: Government involvement (regulations) are kept to a minimum• What are some government regulations?


• People were lining up to get patents for new ideas– What are patents?

• Thomas Edison was one such inventor– What did he invent?– By the late 1800s New York was completely

electric– What company did he create? HINT: They are

still around today…


• Alexander Graham Bell’s invention revolutionized communication– Do you know the name of the company he

created? HINT: It’s still around today…• Steel was revolutionized during this time

period as well– The Bessemer process made steel stronger but

lightweight• This allowed for better construction projects like

suspension bridges


• Another new idea arose out of transportation needs…Time zones!– The world was divided into 24 time zones in

order to better regulate train schedules• Again, in transportation we see that people

take to the skies– Orville and Wilbur Wright get the first airplane

off the ground in 1903

Project

• See handout for details

The Rise of Industry, the Triumph of Business

• Before the Civil War most businesses were small, family owned

• By 1900, multinational corporations had emerged and were run by some extremely wealthy, powerful men:– Andrew Carnegie– Jay Gould– John D. Rockefeller

• Businesses grew, but technology grew faster– In 1876 American celebrated the centennial anniversary of the

Revolution with a technology themed expo


• When Thomas Edison opened his lab in 1876 he had already invented the mimeograph, multiplex telegraph, and the stock ticker– By 1879 Edison has invented the light bulb and brought 3000

people to see his street and shop lit up with 100s of lights– In 1882 Edison created the Edison Electric Light Company which

brought power to New York City• While trains had served as the major push in the first

industrial revolution (and continued to carry freight across the country) automobiles would be the next major innovation in transportation– Henry Ford began tinkering with the internal combustion engine


• Mass production allowed America to make goods faster and cheaper than anyone else– It depended on technology, economies of scale, assembly lines,

and coal• With all the new goods to buy, someone had to sell them

– Catalog orders, free delivery for rural areas, and money orders became new ways to purchase goods

– Companies like Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward created a common market where you could shop for various items in one place

• Sears sold everything from watches to oatmeal and summer sausages– Grocery chains such as the A&P opened up

• This led to antichain lobbyists to protect small businesses


• With mass retail came mass advertising– Francis Wayland Ayer, the first advertising agency, increased

revenues from $8M to $102M for companies like Proctor & Gamble and National Biscuit Company (Nabisco)

• These corporations grew because of shrewd decision making such as combining/integrating with one another to make mega-corporations– Vertical integration occurred when a company would control all

the resources involved in making a single product (for pencils they would own the rubber, lead, wood, etc.)

– Horizontal integration occurred when a company owned all the stores that sold that good (like a monopoly-owning all of a color), which allowed them to set the prices/amounts produced


• Because small businesses believed that integration limited competition they pushed for Congress to make a law– In 1890 Congress passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (which

ironically prevented unions from developing because it limited “free flow of labor”) which outlawed “every combination…in restraint of trade”

– The Act was not successful early on—by 1910 all the major corporations that controlled American business were in existence

• U.S. Rubber, Goodyear, General Electric, Westinghouse, Nabisco, Armour, and Eastman-Kodak


• 90% of the wealthy business owners were Protestant• They believed that their acquisition of wealth came from

God– “To make money honestly is to preach the gospel.”

• Men like Andrew Carnegie, born poor and worked his way to wealth, said that “there is no genuine, praiseworthy success in life if you are not honest, truthful, and fair-dealing”– Carnegie gave away most of his fortune by the time of his death

• Others, like Jay Gould were not so righteous– Gould prided himself on abusing others to climb to the top of the

railroad industry

Labor in the Age of Big Business

• Big Business developed the harsh philosophy of Social Darwinism, or “survival of the fittest”

• Horatio Alger published “rags-to-riches” novels that celebrated self-made men– But could the nation afford progress achieved by such

principles?

• The “gospel of work” preached the virtue of hard work, thrift, and individual initiative– Honesty and competence should be the

cornerstone of society and labor a blessing and a badge of moral responsibility


• Labor began to shift—less people were self employed, more people were employees– By 1900 2/3rds of all Americans were wage earners

• People fled the farms for city jobs– 10M immigrants fled from Europe between

1860-1890• Most left from Southern and Eastern Europe• By 1910 53% of all wages workers were foreign born

– This led to competition for jobs between Americans/foreigners and changed the relationship between boss/employees


• Companies had previously allowed employees dictate how to do their own jobs while they supplied the materials– Frederick Taylor said “take all important decisions…out

of the hands of workmen”– Managerial teams were set in place while workers were

forced to meet higher quotas under constant supervision– As technology became simpler the employees were

replaced by unskilled workers—women, African Americans, and immigrants would be welcomed by large factories

• Some jobs were still off limits (especially for African Americans and Chinese)

Women at work in a paper mill in Maine


• Working conditions were quite hazardous– Employers would lock fire escapes, fail to mark high voltage

wires– Mineshafts were prone to having the air suddenly turn

poisonous as well as being subject to cave-ins

• Employees worked 10-12 hour days (up to 16 during busy seasons)– Couldn’t sit down, carry on “unnecessary”

conversations with customers– Women still preferred this to domestic work since

they were on call 24/7 if they worked as a live-in house servant


• Working was tough, but losing your job was worse– Major depressions occurred in 1873-79 and 93-97– “Minor” recessions occurred in 66-67, 83-85, and 90-91– From 66-97 there were only 14 years of prosperity– Some said that it seemed like you were worked like dogs

one day and then had to be for work the next

• $500/year was the poverty line (40% were at or below) – The average skilled worker made

$800-$1000/year– Unskilled was at $1.50/day (~$400/year, if lucky)


• Knights of Labor: the first nationwide industrial union– Called for an 8 hour workday– Equal pay for women– Abolition child labor– Typically opposed strikes, used boycotts– Supported arbitration, a third party who settles

disputes among two parties– Had minor success until a member was convicted of

throwing a bomb that killed several people


• American Federation of Labor (AFL) was led by Samuel Gompers– Rejected socialist and communist ideas, and stayed out of

politics– Fought for small gains such as higher wages– Used strikes but preferred negotiations– Three main goals were: convince companies to recognize

unions, push for closed shops (companies could only hire union members) and promoted the 8 hour work day

– Today the AFL is merged with the CIO (Congress of Industrial Organizations)

• In general women were not represented in the unions, so they established the Women’s Trade Union League which fought for minimum wage, end of evening work for women and abolition of child labor

Homework

• Write a one page opinion piece on whether you think unions are useful or not.– Be sure to differentiate between 1800s and

today.

bell ringer which invention do you believe is the most important one in history? explain

Documents

transportation technology

industrial growthin

industrial growthcapitalism

industrial growthamericas

industrial growthpeople

industrial growthgovernment

easy technology

new immigrants