CHAPTERS 13 & 14

Industrialism

New Inventions and Technologies

Capitalists provided financial backing for the scientific research that led to many new inventions Provided funds to build railroads, mills, and factories

furnished with machinery and supplies Telegraph lines brought dramatic progress in

communications Messages could quickly be sent anywhere in the country

where there was a telegraph lineThe invention of the telephone led to commercial

lines Allowed businesses, and eventually individual homes, to

quickly contact each other

Telegraph Lines

Edison Power Plant in NYC

New Inventions and Technologies

Oil becomes a cheap fuel source Oil companies throughout the U.S. were created

becoming a huge industry Supplied oil for lamps, machinery, and gasoline (a little later)

Bessemer Process makes steel a cheap and useable building commodity Steel was used by railroad companies and by builders for

construct longer bridges and taller buildingsElectric power stations brought light to the

nation Artificial light allowed business to stay open longer Homeowners could enjoy a night life and have appliances

Explosion of Industrial Growth

Frederick Taylor’s time-and-motion studies determined the most efficient way to perform each task in a production process Industrialists such as Henry Ford applied these principles to their

factories, creating assembly lines This increased productivity and resulted in cheaper goods

Corporations were formed to provide businesses with the capital (money) necessary to expand Run by the stock owners, who profit from the corporation’s

successMonopolies, such as Rockefeller’s Standard Oil,

dominate an industry by eliminating competitionTrusts were sets of companies managed by a small

group of trustees Prevented companies in the trust from competing with each other

Big Business and the Government

New big businesses were different from traditional companies because of their size and profitability Big businesses were impersonal and profit-driven Those who ran them seldom knew their workers Were responsive to their investors

Horizontal Integration led to larger companies because it joined together businesses in the

same industry Vertical Integration

led to large companies because it involved acquiring other businesses that contribute to making a product

Most politicians at this time favored a laissez-faire policy because of their belief that the market, would regulate itself Many people also believed that business was a matter of survival of

the fittest, and that the strongest businesses would naturally survive and prosper without the government’s involvement

The Gilded Age

Some historians refer to industrialists as robber barons They gained their wealth through ruthless, shady

business practices that hurt workers, corrupted officials, and damaged the environment

Some historians refer to industrialists as captains of industry They were hard workers who took advantage of new

technology and new forms of business organization to make their companies more productive This created jobs for millions of Americans and improved

working and living conditions over time

Conditions of the Working Class

Workers worked long hours for little pay 6 days/week for 10 hours/day Earned about $1/day

Work was repetitive and boringMany work environments were hazardous

Worker safety was not of concernMany children worked in factories for longer

hours than adults and in more dangerous conditions Child labor laws were ignored by business owners and not

enforced by statesMany workers lived in cramped, unsanitary

tenement housing Disease and fire were always constant dangers

The Labor Movement

Workers formed labor unions Unions threatened to strike when necessary Unions joined forces to form national labor organizations Goal was to get higher wages, shorter hours, and better

working conditionsEmployers attempted to undermine unions:

Owners threatened to fire workers who joined unions Forced new employees to sign “yellow-dog” contracts

Would not hire if refused to sign Owners circulated blacklists of union members and

refused to hire listed workersBegan collective bargaining practices

Compromise between labor unions and employers concerning wages, and working conditions

Strikes Across the Nation

Railroad Strike of 1877 Rail workers around the country went on strike after

railroad companies slashed wages during the depression Strikers burned and looted railroad property President Hayes used federal troops to restore order and

break the strikeHaymarket Affair, 1886

After a fight between strikers and “scabs” was broken up by police, anarchists arranged for a demonstration

Chicago police stormed a PEACEFUL meeting of a group of anarchists in Haymarket Square and fired into the crowd Five protesters and seven police officers died in the incident

Strikes Across the Nation

Homestead Strike, 1892 Pinkerton agents were hired to protect the plant from striking

workers Agents gave up after a daylong gun battle with strikers at the

Carnegie Steel plant in Homestead, Pennsylvania The strikers took control of the town until Henry Frick brought in

nonunion workers to run the plant Union was shut out for the next 40 years

Pullman Strike, 1894 Workers at the Pullman Palace Car factory went on strike after

the company cut wages but not rent or other charges Employees lived in the town, company housing, and purchased things

from the company stores Strike was supported by the American Railway Union

Shut down most of the rail traffic in the Midwest Because the strike interfered with the delivery of the mail,

President Cleveland sent in federal troops and the strike ended

Unions Successful?

Setbacks: The federal government generally opposed union

activities Sent in troops to break up strikes and issued injunctions

Unions failed to gain the support and respect of Americans Strikes were viewed as violent led by dangerous radicals

Gains Work hours and wages for union workers over 25 years

54 hrs.->49 hrs. and $17.60/week -> $21.30/week Same happened for nonunion workers-just not as much Unions won some recognition of workers’ rights

Workers were people too!