Chapter 14: The Industrial Age

Section 1: The Expansion of Industry

CAPITALISM

An economic system where profit is the motive

Characteristics of capitalismPrivate ownershipCompetitionStrive for efficiencyGoal of unlimited profits = success

Why did it work for the US? Vast resources Immigration – a large labor supply Inventiveness – creative Transportation system – railroads/water

bodies Excess of money – more people were

beginning to make more profit Generous gov’t practices – subsidies/tax

breaks

Natural Resources Fuel Industrialism

BLACK GOLD: nickname for crude oil

EDWIN DRAKE drilled the 1st oil well in Titusville, PA

Steel ProcessesMESOBI RANGE in Minnesota

was the site of the US’s largest iron field

In order to make steel cheaper and efficient, manufacturers developed the BESSEMER PROCESS.

Inventions promote changeThomas Edison was one of

US’s most famous inventors.Called the “Wizard of Menlo

Park”Did not invent light bulb, but

improved it (incandescent)Utilized DIRECT CURRENT (DC)

GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE

Utilized ALTERNATING CURRENT (AC)

Electricity (AC) allows manufacturers to locate anywhere, not just near power source.

More inventionsInventor of

typewriter:Christopher

Scholes

Inventor of telephone:Alexander

Graham Bell

Inventions Open Jobs for WomenAverage clerical worker:

SingleNative-bornAge: 15-24

Seen by businesses that women can do clerical as good as men, but pay less to do it.

Chapter 14; Section 2

The Age of the Railroads

Railroad TimeA need to develop a new time

system (27 different local times in IL alone)

Professor C. F. Dowd made our current time system.

Time Zone begins at Greenwich, Eng. (0 Degrees Longitude)

Company TownsPULLMAN

Company started by George Pullman. Made a town (Pullman) which revolved

around his company (Pullman Railroad) Made sleeper cars (Pullman cars) Town located on the outskirts of Chicago.

Another IL company town: LECLAIRE

Located on the outskirts of Edwardsville Made iron works.

Problems With Interstate CommerceProblem focused on railroads. RR had

unfair rates on farmers and other businesses.

The Supreme Court ruled a state could not set rates on interstate commerce.

Solution: Congress passed The Interstate Commerce Act.Reestablished the right of fed gov’t to

supervise railroad activities.Establishes a 5 member commission to

do this (ICC)

Chapter 14; Section 3

Big Business Emerges

STEELEmergence of ANDREW CARNEGIE

His company: Carnegie Company Made more steel in 1899 than all of England.

Ways he succeeded: Made better products more cheaply Used new techniques & machinery and

hired chemists/metallurgists to improve quality

Detailed accounting system to watch costs Attracted talented people (offered stock) Encouraged competition among his

workers to increase production & cut cost

Business strategies of Carnegie

VERTICAL INTEGRATION:

Bought out all suppliers (coal & iron mines, ore freighters, & railroad lines). Able to control all aspects in the production & movement of steel.

HORIZONTAL CONSOLIDATION:

Bought out other steel competitors, thus monopolizing the steel market.

Growth & ConsolidationOLIGOPOLY:

A market in which only a few sellers provide a particular product and they would join together.

Usually ends up as a mergerCase/IH

MONOPOLY:Complete

control over an industry’s production, quality, wages paid, and prices charged.

Holding Company:

A corporation that would buy out the stock of other companies

Largest holding companies ever:UNITED STATES STEELHeaded by: J. P. MORGAN

(banker)Bought out Carnegie Steel

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER

Started STANDARD OIL

Define TRUST:When stock is given to a group of trustees (people who run separate companies as one large corporation). In return, the companies received certificates that entitle them to dividends on profits earned by the trust.

Carnegie & Rockefeller were called ROBBER BARONS:Named derived from the feudal lords of

the Middle Ages. This is not a compliment.

To help keep a positive view of themselves, they often started to practice PHILANTHROPY: The giving of money to people/charities.

To help control monopolies, Congress passed the SHERMAN ANTI-TRUST ACT:

This law was easily avoided by most companies because it didn’t specify what a trust really was (too many loopholes)

Supreme Court’s view of the act: Refused to support it (they threw out 7 or 8

cases) Most likely the Supreme Court was

primarily comprised of what political party?Republican (pro- big business)

Chapter 14; Section 4

Workers of the Nation Unite

The 1st large scale national organization of laborers was called:NATIONAL LABOR UNIONHeaded by William SylvisAble to legalize an 8-hour

day for gov’t workers

KNIGHTS OF LABOR Allowed all workers to join; regardless of

race, gender, or degree of skill Main demands: 8 hour day & equal pay for

equal work (men & women) Main leader: TERRANCE POWDERLY Largely used ARBITRATION:

Settlement of disagreements by an impartial person.

MEDIATION: Use of an impartial person to advise to settle a disagreement.

Emergence of Craft Unionism:

An organization of labor which included all skilled workers from many different industries

American Federation of Labor (AFL)Leader: SAMUEL GOMPERSExtensively used COLLECTIVE

BARGAINING: Negotiations between the representatives

of workers and employers to reach agreements on wages, benefits, hours, and working conditions.

ARU

American Railway UnionHeaded by:

Eugene Debs

Rise of SOCIALISM:A system that features government

control of business and property and equal distribution of wealth.

What union embraced socialism? IWW (Industrial Workers of the World)

Headed by: William “Big Bill” Haywood

Their nickname: WOBBLIES

Company which was effected by the Great Strike of 1877:

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad(commonly known as the B&O RR)

Great Strike of 1877 Strike took place due to 2nd pay cut to

employees RR workers, across the nation, began to

strike. The strike was ordered by the president

(Hayes) to end Reason: strikers were impeding interstate

commerce. Hurt the welfare of the nation (stopped mail)

The Haymarket Affair

Took place in Chicago (Haymarket Sq.)People gathered there to protest the

killing of a striker at the McCormick Harvester plant on the day before.

Basically workers and police had a face-off

Suddenly a bomb was thrown at the police line

Police responded by firing on the crowd

The Haymarket Affair

Casualties: 7 police & several workers were killed

No one knows who really started itEventually 8 workers were arrested for

the bombing.All 8 were convicted.

Of those, 4 were hanged and one committed suicide

The Haymarket AffairThe Rest of the Story:

Of those who were convicted of the crime, only 3 were actually as the square.

At least one innocent person (maybe 4) were executed

Pro/Cons of the Death Penalty?Most Americans blamed the KOL for the

incident and unions were severely affected by this.

Homestead Strike

Aimed against Carnegie SteelWages were cut causing the strikeThe company hired the PINKERTON

DETECTIVE AGENCY to protect the plant.

Many STRIKEBREAKERS were brought in to work in plant They were called SCABS

Many of the members and leaders of unions became targeted by businesses

Common practices against these people were:Fired from their jobsMany BLACKLISTED: when

companies keep a list of names of individuals who never get a job in an industry

Women in LaborMost noted female leader was MARY

HARRIS “MOTHER” JONES She is buried at Mt. Olive, IL (a big coal

mining community)A “mother” is one who organizes strikes

(particular the spouses of the strikers)Mother Jones was a member of the UMW

United Mine Workers

Women in LaborPAULINE NEWMAN: leader of the

International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU)

Led a strike against a company which made shirtwaists: tailored women’s blouses.

The tragedy of the TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST COMPANY fire. Reasons why the fire was so bad:

Lot of fuel: oil-soaked machines & piles of clothes Fire occurred on the 7th, 8th, & 9th floors All exits, except one, were locked

Done to keep out unionizers & prevent theft The unlocked door was blocked by the fire

No sprinkler system Only one fire escape

It collapsed almost immediately It only went to the 2nd floor

Many jumped to their deaths Landed on sidewalks & impaled on spikes of steel fence

Death toll: 145

New Legislation From the Fire

Establish strict fire codes54 hour work-week for women & minorsNo work on SundayNo child labor under the age of 14

Legal Actions to Help Stop the Labor MovementForced new employees to sign

YELLOW DOG CONTRACTS: A pledge swearing one would not go on

strike and/or join a unionGovernments issued INJUNCTIONS

stopping labor action. A court order