Bell Ringer What is mass production? Why is mass production good? What is a market economy?

Bell Ringer

• What is mass production?

• Why is mass production good?

• What is a market economy?

Bell Ringer

• What is Social Darwinism?

• Who made up the work force during the industrial revolution?

• What is division of labor

CH 14-15: People & Society During the Industrial Revolution

Mass Production & Assemble Lines• Mechanization was a huge

part of the economic boom, but so were new methods of production

• Producers knew that machines only helped if they could produce items in large quantities.

• Factories were studies scientifically to determine the most efficient way to produce a good.

• It was determined the fastest way to produce an item was to reduce it to a series of simple tasks that anyone could master, and required almost no training. Division of Labor

• While it was extremely fast it the down side was employee dissatisfaction.

• Henry Ford was one of the first to capitalize on these ideas. – Workers made $5 a day, but Ford

hired 52,000 workers in 1 year to staff a factory of 14,000

The Working Class• The Industrial Revolution led

to the development of “have” and “have not” (Social Darwinism)

• Those who succeeded were elevated, those who didn’t were crushed down.

• Those crushed were the working class.

• The workforce included men, women, and children (Blacks, Whites, & Immigrants)

Child Labor• Children were Employed for

two reason:– Even with both parents working

it was often impossible to survive on just two incomes

– Children earned less than adults, so factories would hire them because they were expected to do the same amount of work as an adult, but they were cheaper

• Children experienced some of the most dangerous working conditions (could fit into running machinery, or into smaller coal mines)

Working Conditions• Owners were not overly

concerned with Worker Safety• Many worked in sweatshops,

small/crowded/ unventilated rooms, where the spread of diseases was common.

• People continued to work in such conditions because with the increasing number of immigrants entering the country any protest could result in being replaced.

Triangle Waist

Company

The Labor Movement• In the late 1800s early 1900s workers

– Had low pay– Worked in dangerous and unhealthy

conditions– Children could not go to school– Often feared that their wages would be

reduced without notice, or their jobs lost– Had ZERO ability to negotiate

• Meanwhile owners LOVED the situation

• Workers realized they needed to stay together, so they formed Labor Unions

• Labor Unions were groups formed to protect the interest of the workers.– Higher wages, shorter hours, better conditions

• These unions then began to band together to form national groups

• Early unions were poorly organized, and easily defeated by owners.

• People often signed contracts not to join a union to ensure they had a job.

• Unions would use collective bargaining, negotiating for all workers at once

• Their most powerful weapon was a Strike, or a total shut down of a factory.

• However some unions started to succeed– Knights of Labor, American Federation of

Labor (AFL), Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

Knights of Labor

• 1869• Recruited skilled &

unskilled laborers, women, and blacks

• Died out because of competition from AFL & IWW

American Federation of Labor (AFL)• 1886• Samuel Gompers (Favored

cooperation over strikes)• Focused specifically on

Skilled Laborers • Focused specifically on

shorter hours and higher wages

• Had 1 million members at it’s peak

International Workers of the World (IWW) Wobblies

• 1905 • Eugene V Debbs• Debbs introduced Socialism

into the labor movement, that the workers should own the factories and not the capitalists

• He sought to unite all unions into one super union and eliminate capitalism

• Had 100,000 members

Railroad Strike of 1877

• In West Virginia Railroad workers were not happy, and went on strike

• Others would strike in support of WV, and soon half the countries railroads were shut down

• The Strikes turned violent, and President Hayes would call in the Army

• After about two weeks 100 were dead and there was millions in property damage

• This event would lead to a huge spike in Union membership

Haymarket Affair• Chicago 1886• Started when striking workers &

scabs fought• A group of Anarchist called a

strike meeting the next day• About 1000 people showed

up (remained calm)• About 180 Chicago police

showed up, a bomb was thrown into the crowd and set off, the cops started to blindly fire into the crowd (At least 4 dead)

Homestead Strike• 1892 Homestead, PA• Carnegie Steel Factory- Workers

Strike• Carnegie in Europe, Henry Frick in

charge• Frick hired Pinkerton men to

protect the factory (Private Security)

• When the Pinkerton men showed they got into a gun fight with the Strikers, Strikers won

• Strikers took control of the town, but scattered when the governor called in the state militia

Pullman Strike• 1894- Chicago• Pullman Palace Car Company (Fancy

Train Cars)• Workers lived in company housing

and bought company goods. In 1894 Pullman cut worker wages by ¼ but kept the prices for everything the same

• The Workers went on strike, and other rail unions supported them. This stopped the transport of mail, which is a Federal crime

• President Grover Cleveland sent the military in to break the strike up by force.

Did Unions Work?Success

• Between 1890- 1915 workers– Worked less hours (54->

49)– Made more Money

(17.60 -> 21.30)• More importantly unions

gave workers a voice and stopped owners from doing whatever they wanted unchecked

Failure• The Government strongly

backed the owners at this time

• The Government used the Sherman Antitrust Act to hurt unions (the exact opposite thing it was made for)

• Many Americans were still unsure of unions because of the violence that was associated with them.

Immigrants: Push & PullPush

• Europe had a population boom: overcrowded cities, lack of jobs, scarce food,

• Lack of good (arable) land due to mechanization

• 1840s- Irish Potato Famine• Pogroms- organized anti-

Jewish attacks in Russia

Pull• Free & Democratic Society• US had large amounts of

farmland (West). Many Immigrants were farmers

• Immigrants also knew of the gold in sliver in the US. Many were previously miners

• Large amounts of unskilled labor appealed to Irish, Italian, Polish, & Hungarians

• Letters back to the homeland described America as a “land of milk & honey,” making more want to move here

The Modern Moses

Entering the USA- Ellis Island• Ellis Island– Built 1892, New York

City– Most Immigrants

entered here– 6 second exam: if you

looked sick you got pulled aside

– Those determined incurable would be deported

– Only about 2% were denied entry

Entering the US- Angel Island• Angel Island– Built 1910, San

Francisco Bay – “Ellis Island of the

West”– Largely designed

to enforce the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

Old Immigrants Vs New Immigrants• Old Immigrants (Before 1890)– Northern & Western Europe (English, Germans,

Norwegians) [Protestant]– Literate & Skilled– Quickly Assimilated/ understood democracy– Had some money on arrival

• New Immigrants (After 1890)– Southern & Eastern Europe (Italians, Poles, European

Jews) [Catholic, Orthodox, & Jewish]– Illiterate & unskilled– Reluctant to assimilate/ politically radical– Had NO money

New Europeans• New Europeans were generally poor, uneducated, and not

welcome in the US• Many would stay in low wage jobs, and live in the slums• For help immigrants could turn to their family, communities, or

their church• Settlement Houses would be community centers in Ethnic

neighborhoods that would help immigrants with education, health care, and support the community.

Asians-Chinese• Thousands of Chinese had come to

the US to help build the railroad.• Thousands more would come for

the Cali Gold Rush (California= Gold Mountain)

• Many Asians also farmed and would do jobs that Americans refused to do

• 1870s- drought severely hurt California’s economy. The Chinese were blamed & anti-Chinese sentiment grew

• Chinese Exclusion Act (1882): Prohibited Chinese from entering the USA for 10 years

Asians- Pilipino, Koreans, Japanese• Koreans-limited number to Hawaii• Pilipinos- worked in southern CA on fruit

farms• Japanese- leased land & became very

successful farmers• Early 1900s- Anti-Asian feelings led San

Francisco to become segregated• Theodor Roosevelt spoke with Japan and

came to the Gentleman’s Agreement (1907) restricting the immigration of Japanese Laborers, but allowed wives, children, & parents to enter the US

Mexico• With the restrictions placed

on the Japanese & Chinese workers were needed -> Mexicans

• Large numbers already lived in the US because TX, NM, AR, CA were once MEXICO!!!

• US had higher wages• 1910 Mexican Civil War pushed Mexicans towards the US

Canada• 1865-1900: 900,000 Canadians Immigrated to the

US• Many were French speaking Catholics• Stayed in New England working the textile or

lumber industry• Largely refused to assimilate and clung to their

French heritage (Still Do)