Industrial Age and Unions Unit 6C. 40 years – 1880 to 1920 – many changes What changed from 1880 to 1920? Cities grew out and up. Transportation.
Post on 17-Jan-2016
216 Views
Preview:
Transcript
Industrial Age and Unions
Unit 6C
40 years – 1880 to 1920 – many changes
What changed from 1880 to 1920?
Cities grew out and up.
Transportation Lighting Entertainment
Late 1800s / Early 1900s #1 Industry Railroads
Basis for trade Connecting sections of country together -
interdependency Sub industries of steel, coal, etc. related Financial crisis related to Railroad bubble – Panic
of 1873 #1 later in 1900s, Automobile Industry. What
would it be now?
What Changed America in the Industrial Age?
1. Steel 2. Oil 3. Electricity - and the men who built their empires
(Robber Barons)
What changed America? Steel
Bessemer Process – injects air to remove impurities Makes steel stronger and lighter Brought over from Britain (and perfected by American
William Kelly) Andrew Carnegie – invested in process; controlled
industry in late 1800s
Why did Pittsburg become the Steel City? 3 Major Items needed
Iron ore – from Mesabi Range (Minn) Coal – from Ohio River Valley Limestone – from upstate NY What you do think they needed the most? Why Pittsburg?
Changes
Cities grow up and out. Skyscrapers Elevators (Elisha Otis
invented safety elevator in 1850s)
Subways, rail lines expand out
U.S. Steel Corporation Using vertical
integration, Carnegie had over 20,000 workers and a bigger operation than Britain’s complete industry.
Sold to J.P. Morgan and others in 1900 as the world’s first billion dollar corporation.
Oil In the early 1800s, one of the most important
industries in America was whaling for it’s oil. By the 1840s, Kerosene was being used in lamps. 1859 – Edwin Drake drills 1st well in PA. Begins
boom. John D. Rockefeller used horizontal
consolidation to control over 90% of U.S. refineries with Standard Oil.
Any guess why Rockefeller didn’t want electricity to light the cities?
One by-product not used – gasoline.
Electricity Thomas Edison
Over 1000 patents – phonograph, motion picture camera, and??
Connection to J.P. Morgan? Menlo Park (NJ) lab Ft. Myers (FL) winter home (Who were his neighbors in Ft.
Myers?)
Nikola Tesla – modern alternating current (AC) design
George Westinghouse Transformer for high-voltage current (much safer!)
Other Inventions of the late 1800s Typewriter – 1867 – Christopher Sholes (Why the qwerty
board?)
Telephone – 1876 – Alexander G. Bell Kodak Camera – 1888 – George Eastman Safety Razor – 1895 – King Gillette Hundreds of Thousands of patents issued R&D – Research and Development divisions in
corporations
Robber Barons By 1900, 4000+ millionaires Many claimed to be “self-
made men” like Carnegie, but truth was most born into wealth.
Rockefeller, Carnegie, Morgan
Cornelius Vanderbilt - RRs Gustavus Swift – Meat
packing Isaac Singer – Sewing
machines
Gospel of Wealth By Andrew Carnegie “use wealth for good of
community” Gave back over $325
million Was he trying to erase
image from Johnstown flood and Homestead strike?
American Dream? Horatio Alger books
Dime Novels “Luck and Pluck”
series Inspirational rags to
riches stories
Social Darwinism with businesses Strong survive, but
what if they Robber Barons used bribes, unsafe practices?
Laissez-Faire (“hands-off”) economics
no gov’t intervention
Corporations Multiple people will own business, but
business is legally an “individual.” 14th Amendment was used to defend actions
of corporations as you can not make laws to discriminate against individuals. (today’s effect – Citizens United case)
Idea of limited liability helped in laissez-faire economics and the caveat emptor attitude.
Monopolies As Robber Barons became richer, gov’ts
starting cracking down on Monopolies. Business tried to get around laws by calling
them different things: pool arrangements, trusts, Holding Companies. Used Vertical Integration or Horizontal
Consolidation Sherman Anti-trust Act (1890)
Supposed to stop monopolies, but had little effect at that time.
It did not have enforcement provisions Actually used against labor unions
Boom and Bust After the Civil War, the economy of the U.S.
fluctuated wildly. This caused some major economic downturns.
Panic of 1873 – over expansion of RR, Banks failed Panic of 1893 – Banks crisis, extreme unemployment
Great divide between rich and poor. 1899 average salary in factories – men $498, women
$269 Carnegie made $23 million that year (and
incomes/stocks/bonds not taxed) Taxing policies still based on Tariffs and Excise
taxes. How would fit into the Populist ideas?
Union Growth in late 1800s Early labor unions with women in Lowell
system National Labor Union (William Sylvus) died out
in 1873 Against women workers (drove down wages)
Molly Maguires – not a true union, but used violence against coal mine superiors
Knights of Labor Led by Terrance Powderly Welcomed skilled and unskilled labor Downfall came in 1886 Haymaker Square
Riots Bomb by anarchists killed 7 and injured over 60 Union died out in 1890
AFL – American Federation of Labor Led by Samuel Gompers in late 1800s Focused on “bread and butter” philosophy Excluded unskilled workers and had only
skilled workers Why did help it to be more successful?
Long lasting – still around today
Union Info to know Collective Bargaining –
power of workers in union to negotiate together.
Strikes – main weapon Scabs – replacements
when on strike What is a sit-down strike?
Unions were usually associated with socialists, communists, and anarchists.
Also many immigrants involved.
Will be targeted in the future in fights against communism
Other Union Info Why did Unions grow in the late 1800s/early
1900s? Hours – lowered working day hours Safety / Working Conditions
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Company towns – forced to live in them (Pullman
Strike when rent was same after pay cut) Against Child labor (why?)
Mother Jones
Strikes to Know In most strikes, the gov’t usually always sided with
factory owners.
Homestead Steel Mill Strike – owned by Carnegie, hired Pinkerton Agents to guard scabs. Broke union with national guard. 1892
Pullman (Sleepers) Strike (1894) – workers lived in company town. Wages cut, but rent and prices in store not. Led by Eugene Debs who would later run for
President as Socialist.
2nd Industrial Revolution Extreme differences in incomes of the Robber
Barons and the working class. But how did the advancements make life
better for the working class? How did the United States compare to the rest
of world by the end of the 19th Century (1800s)?
Reflection Questions 1. What industries changed the face of
America in the late 1800s 2nd Industrial Revolution?
2. How did the idea of Social Darwinism helped to develop monopolies?
3. Why did the AFL succeed as a union when the Knights of Labor had failed?
4. What did the unions fight for besides higher wages?
5. How was the expansion of industry good for the American poor even if they did not profit nearly as much as the very rich?
Links http://
www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/rise-industrial-america-1877-1900 - Industrial Timeline
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P17JrdZJcFY&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLB40AC55D5CB1BC06 – union beginnings (why have them in 1800s) good info.
http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/industrial-age-america-robber-barons-and-captains-industry - robber barons lesson
http://mises.org/daily/2317 - robber barons article
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6MggpmJk1E&feature=relmfu – trusts review video
top related