Industrial Revolution

Lecture Notes

The Bessemer Process

• Henry Bessemer (Eng.), and William Kelly (U.S.) developed new process for making steel– cheaper and easier– allowed for mass production

Carnegie and the Corporation

Vertical integration- consolidation of all functions related to a particular industry

Horizontal consolidation- merger of competitors in the same industry

Railroad Innovations

• Railroads were greatly expanded, and the industry was consolidated– time zones, standard

track gauge• Credit Mobilier

scandal (1867) tarnished Republican Party, President Grant’s administration

The Grange and the Railroads

• Giant companies controlled most rail mileage– workers were poorly paid, shipping rates remained

high• “Grangers” worked to elect sympathetic candidates,

pushed for protective laws• Interstate Commerce Act (1877) created a

commission to regulate railroads, but remained ineffective until 1906

• Panic of 1893 hit railroads hard, led to corporate consolidation (Vanderbilt, J.P. Morgan)

The Triumph of Technology

• New inventions stimulated industrial output and created new demand for consumer goods– sewing machine (Singer – 1860s)– telephone (Alexander Graham Bell

– 1876)– light bulb (Thomas Edison – 1879)

• Edison’s research lab provided a blueprint for corporate innovation– phonograph, motion-picture

camera, power plant

Social Darwinism

• Social Darwinism stated that the human race only evolves through competition – wealth reflects fitness; poverty, weakness.– Riches were a sign of “God’s favor”

• Gospel of Wealth:– Theory popular among industrialists that aiding

the poor was of doubtful benefit

Andrew Carnegie: The Gospel of Wealth

1. According to Carnegie, what are the benefits of having an upper class? Has it always existed?

2. What are the three modes in which surplus wealth can be “disposed of”?

3. What is the responsibility of a “Man of Wealth”?

Cost & Benefits of Economic Growth

Benefits• The U.S. became the

world’s industrial superpower

• Consumer demand was encouraged by both innovative products and extensive advertising

Costs • Small companies

were often bankrupted by predatory corporations

• Industrial growth led to exploitation of unskilled labor, environmental destruction

Migrants and Immigrants

• Over 10 million European immigrants came to America from 1860 to 1890– Ellis Island, New York

• Many also came from Mexico and Asia– Angel Island, San Francisco

• Motivated by both “push factors” and “pull factors”

“Push Factors” and “Pull Factors”

“Push Factors”• Overpopulation• Crop failure• Famine• Religious Persecution• Violence• Economic depression• Unemployment

“Pull Factors”• Promise of good wages• Broad range of jobs• Abundance of cheap land

• Many rural Americans were also drawn to cities for similar reasons

Adjusting to an Urban Society

• Immigrants often settled near others from the same country or town– “chain migration”

• Maintained cultural traditions, many became American traditions– encouraged to “Americanize”

• Those who spoke English and practiced a skilled trade had relatively few problems– others experience “culture shock”

The Rise of Nativism

• Many believed in the idea of America as a cultural “melting pot”– others disliked immigrants, formed anti-

immigrant groups

• Anti-Asian sentiment led to government action– Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) led to

prohibition of Chinese immigration until 1943– Gentlemen’s Agreement limited

immigration from Japan during early 1900s

Slums and Ghettos

• American cities were plagued by poverty, crime, and disease– immigrants housed in

overcrowded tenement buildings– unsafe water, poor sanitation

conditions, frequent fire, rampant crime

• Jacob Riis documented life in slums in How the Other Half Lives (1890)

“The Gilded Age”

• Term taken from the title of a Mark Twain novel, referenced false sense of prosperity in America

• Time of new technology, growth of industry, growing divide between the rich and poor

Bosses and Machine Politics

• “Political machines” controlled many city governments– provided aid to the poor in exchange

for votes– characterized by corruption, graft,

and kickbacks• Tammany Hall machine stole

millions from New York City– “Boss” William Marcy Tweed– exposed by political cartoons of

Thomas Nast

Civil Service Reform

• Many criticized the spoils system– Promotions based on power rather

than skill • Pendleton Civil Service Act

(1883)– required examinations for office-

seekers– prohibited federal employees from

soliciting or receiving contributions from government workers

– new emphasis on merit and skill

Expanding Public Education

• Public schools embraced a “factory model”– stressed efficiency, standards, punctuality– “Americanization” of immigrants

• Many states adopted compulsory attendance laws– lower class families relied on children working– Catholics formed separate schools– upper class parents preferred private schools

• Colleges and universities grew in number, but remained out of reach for lower class

Education Influences Culture

• Art school known as “realism” captured nature and scenes of physical strength– Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins

• New strands of American literature emerged– Regionalism (Mark Twain)– Realism– Naturalism

Winslow Homer

Thomas Eakins

Higher Education for African Americans

– Educational opportunities remained limited for African Americans

• African American leaders differed in their views on segregation and inequality– Booker T. Washington stressed

compromise, and the learning of vocations

– W.E.B. DuBois challenged discrimination

Legal Discrimination: Jim Crow Laws

• Laws enforced discrimination and segregation in the South

• Du Jure segregation: legal segregation

• De Facto segregation: segregation by custom

Legal Discrimination: Literacy Test

• Could you pass this test in 10 minutes?

• Voting restrictions limited the impact of the 15th Amendment– Poll taxes, literacy tests,

grandfather clause, threats of violence (Ku Klux Klan

Plessy v. Ferguson 1896

• Supreme Court’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson upheld the legality of segregation– “separate but equal”

American Leisure

• Expanded “free time” led to growth in leisure activities– amusement parks (Coney Island,

NYC)– bicycling– spectator sports (baseball, boxing)– vaudeville shows (P.T. Barnum)– “ragtime” music

The Origins of Reform

• Social conditions revealed a need for reform– economic depression– labor violence– ineffective government– economic inequity– harsh working conditions• Triangle Shirtwaist Fire (1911)

Reforming Local Government

• City problems and natural disasters led to changes in municipal government– City councils, city managers

• Reform mayors tackled urban issues– unemployment– schooling– transit– parks– public ownership of utilities

State Level Reform

• Reform governors led passage of laws regulating railroads, mines, etc.– Robert La Follette (Wisconsin)

• Progressives pushed for laws to end child labor, limit working hours– Illinois prohibited child labor in 1893 – “Oregon” cases led to limits on workdays

Reforming Elections

• States adopted electoral reforms– Initiative– Referendum– Recall

• 17th Amendment (1913)– direct election of senators

Roosevelt’s Path to the White House

• Teddy Roosevelt became president when McKinley was assassinated in 1901– youngest American president

(42)• Rejected conservative

approach of “Gilded Age” presidents– “Square Deal”: conservation,

consumer protection, control of corporations

Taft in the White House

• TR handpicked William Howard Taft as his successor– defeated William Jennings

Bryan in 1908• Roosevelt hoped that Taft

would carry out his policies– supported conservation,

income tax, antitrust policies– TR criticized Taft when he

appeared “disloyal”

The Election of 1912

• Roosevelt, frustrated with Taft, challenged him for the Republican nomination– Taft won the nomination

• TR formed the Progressive (“Bull Moose”) Party

• Democrats nominated Woodrow Wilson

• Roosevelt and Taft split the Republican vote– Wilson won easily in the electoral college

Campaign Issues in 1912

• You will be responsible for exploring one of the main campaign issues during the 1912 election. Be prepared to jigsaw your research next class!– Women’s Suffrage– Race Relations– Labor– Tariffs– Regulation of Trusts– Conservation – Direct Democracy

Progressivism Under Wilson

• 16th Amendment led to first income tax (1913)

• Federal Reserve Act (1913)– reorganized the nation’s

banking system– adopt policies to prevent

financial panics

Racism and Progressivism

• “Progressives” had a mixed record on race relations– few outspoken critics of racial injustice– President Wilson did little to address

issues of race• Racism was problematic in the North as

well– “Great Migration”

• Southern violence remained a major problem– Revival of the Ku Klux Klan aided by

success of The Birth of a Nation (1915)

Progressivism and the Constitution

• Sixteenth Amendment (1913)– granted Congress authority to tax income

• Seventeenth Amendment (1913)– direct election of senators

• Eighteenth Amendment (1919)– prohibition of alcohol

• Nineteenth Amendment (1920)– granted women the right to vote