Unit 5 – The Industrial Revolution and Gilded Age (1865-1900)
After the Civil War, American scientists, inventors, and entrepreneurs, encouraged by capitalism and the government, transformed the U.S. into an industrial powerhouse.
Natural Resources Fuel Growth Coal Mines Forests Farm Land Electricity! 1859 – 1st Oil Well drilled in
PA (Edwin Drake) Oil replaced whale blubber Scientific Management
changed production Immigration – Peaked at 1 M
a year in 1905
Laissez-faire Economics The U.S. Gov’t policy was
“hands off” Businesses had little
gov’t regulation, subsidies, and protective tariffs
When gov’t did intervene, it was to aid businesses in starting up
Economy 100% governed by the Laws of Supply and Demand!
Railroads Lead the Way! As the USA was
united by rail (1st Transcontinental R.R. 1869), problems resulted for trains, freight, and people
Solar time was no longer adequate
1883 the U.S. and most of world adopted International Standard Time
Electricity Changed Lives! Thomas A. Edison
1. Phonograph (1877)
2. Electric Light (1880)
3. Power Plant (1882)
4. Motion Picture (1888)
We have had electricity for only 130 years!
Con Edison Steam StationLower Manhattan, NYC
Advancing Communications Samuel F.B. Morse
used Morse Code to transmit telegraph messages in 1844
By 1900 Western Union was sending 63 M messages a year
Alexander G. Bell’s telephone (1876) led to the formation of AT&T in 1885
The Rise of the Steel Industry
Bessemer Process made steel production more efficient
John A. Roebling’s Brooklyn Bridge (1883)
“Race to the Skies” = Skyscrapers and RR’s improved too
Roebling Bridge (1866)
Brooklyn Bridge1883
It is the longest cable suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere.
Arthur Ravenel, Jr. BridgeCharleston, SC – July 2005
Many Corporations Merge Corporation – people get a charter & sell
shares of stock to raise capital (P. 108) Monopoly – Corporations combine to
control an entire industry or service Trust – Companies ally and turn assets
over to board of trustees, may offer many brands, but really ran as one company
The goal was to restrict competition and maximize profits!
Is Wal-Mart a monopoly????
Are Monopolies Good or Bad? Interstate Commerce Commission
(1887)- established to monitor the RR industry by investigating unfair practices.
Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) – Outlawed business practices that restricted free trade. But it was rarely enforced for 15 years – Why?
Andrew Carnegie and Steel 13 yr-old Scottish
Immigrant earned $1.35-wk (1848)
Carnegie Steel (1889)
Used Vertical Integration (coal, RR’s, iron mines) to force competitors out
John D. Rockefeller and Oil 1st oil well in Titusville,
PA (1859) Cleveland, OH
Refinery built in 1863 Standard Oil Trust
formed in 1870 via Horizontal Integration (P. 110)
He drove his competitors out of business as he sidestepped laws
Social Darwinism and the “Gospel of Wealth” The “Gospel of Wealth” -
Carnegie said “millionaires are the bees that make the most honey”
Based on Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution (1859)
Social Darwinism – a theory held that gov’t shouldn’t interfere with business and the fittest will become rich
Robber Barons or Captains of Industry?
Did the wealthy “rob” from the public trust (politicians), workers, and environment to build empires?
Did their contributions (jobs, goods, services, and philanthropy) outweigh the bad?
Industrialization and Workers
It was a family affair Child Labor – 1/5
ages 10-16 worked! No welfare only over-
burdened charities! 12-hour days, 6- day
weeks! Unsafe conditions –
1882 avg. 675 deaths/ week – 120 today
The Rise of Labor Unions 1820s - Collective Bargaining
– negotiating as a group for better wages or benefits
Strike - the most potent collective bargaining method – it is a work stoppage to voice demands
Socialism – favors government not private control over major industries and sharing of the wealth! Labor leaders influenced by philosophy.
Early Labor Unions Knights of Labor
(1869) – skilled and unskilled
American Federation of Labor (1886) – craft unions – more exclusive than the Knights
1890 Census – 9% controlled 75% of wealth
The Great Strikes! (Pg. 118) 1877 RR Strike –
President Hayes uses federal troops to break strike: violence in many cities b/c of pay cut.
Haymarket Square (1886) – Chicago, 8 HR Day, bomb!, dozens killed! Knights of Labor’s was blamed and union membership declined.
Homestead, PA (1892) – Carnegie Steel – he cut wages then used violence to break the steel union!
Pullman Strike (1894) – 120,000 ARU and Eugene V. Debs protested 25% pay cut – 30 killed- Pres. Cleveland sent in troops – Debs to jail