Chapter 18 - PHS
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Transcript Chapter 18 - PHS
Chapter 18
Industry, Immigrants, and Cities
The Gilded Age
The Gilded Age
Term applied to late 19th century America that refers to
the shallow display and worship of wealth characteristic
of that period
Term was first used by Mark Twain
Used to satire people’s obsession with materialistic items
of the day
Great Dilemma
New wealth was being created, but poverty was
increasing as well
Dilemma of the time was to reconcile these
contradictions and provide opportunity for a decent life
to all
Philadelphia symbolized this issue in 1876
Philadelphia in 1876
Centennial Exposition
Celebration of America turning 100
People came to witness new technologies and inventions
by Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell
Celebration vs. Reality
Country was in the midst of a Depression; Not a hopeful
time
Typical Philadelphia worker’s daily wage was $1.00
Cost of admission to the exposition was 0.50 cents
Many were forced to celebrate elsewhere…
Centennial City
Collection of cheap bars, cheap hotels, and small
restaurants
This is what most could afford
Had their own celebration, and it wasn’t fancy or
sophisticated
New Industry
Huge switch takes place
The United States moves from primarily an agricultural
nation into the world’s foremost industrial nation
The Electric Age
Steam engines and electricity meant manufacturers were
no longer dependent on water power
Management could now substitute machines for workers
This had a great impact on city life: electric lights,
appliances, store bought food
Electric Light Bulb
Invented by Thomas Edison
Light Bulb
Edison astounded everyone when he was able to get bulb
to burn for 45 minutes!
The race was on to see who could invent a way to light
the world cheaply and efficiently
Whoever was able to do this would gain a huge fortune
Edison would NOT be that guy
Elihu Thompson
High school Chemistry teacher
Look like Hutch at all?????
Purchased a company (which you all have heard of) from
Edison
Company he Purchased?
General Electric
Established a research and development division
By 1914, they were producing 85% of the world’s light
bulbs
The Corporation and its Impact
Corporation an association of individuals with legal
rights and liabilities separate from those of its members
Key feature? separation of ownership from
management
Raise oney by selling stock to shareholders
2 Advantages of Corporations
Does not dissolve (end) when a partner dies, as
partnerships did
Limited liability shareholders are not responsible for a
corporation’s debts
Share of Stock
Vertical Integration
Consolidation of production functions under the
direction of one firm
Meatpacking industry was a good example
Gustavas Swift
Refrigerated Railway Cars
He realized it was possible to ship meat from Western
ranges to Eastern markets
Eliminated the need to transport live cattle
Railroads were skeptical and were not eager to buy his
special railway cars
Oh, Canada!
Swift was able to convince Canadian railway to buy his
cars
Also built refrigerated warehouses in Omaha and Kansas
City
He controlled the production, transportation, and
distribution of his products
Was it successful?
Swift was shipping $200,000 worth of meat per week!
Horizontal Integration
Merging of competitors in the same industry
Standard Oil Company
Owned by John D. Rockefeller
Used threats and deceit to acquire competitors
Controlled 90% of the nations oil refinery
Other Examples of Horizontal
Integration
James Duke Cigarettes
Andrew Carnegie Steel
The Changing Nature of Work
Huge wave of immigrations into the United States looking
for work (Europe and Asia)
Received very little pay
Eastern Europeans made up 75% of the steel workforce
and were paid $12.50 per week
Corporations were making HUGE profits, but were not
protecting worker safety
Unsafe Working Conditions
30,000 railroad workers killed in 1881 alone
25% of workers at U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh would be killed
or injured
Those working in the Chicago meatpacking plants faced
terrible conditions
Chicago Meatpacking
Workers grew careless from fatigue and long term
exposure to extreme temperatures
Often worked rapidly with sharp knives
Would not notice that they had sliced the fingers off of
their numb hands
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
The Jungle
Chronicled the killing floors of the meatpacking plants in
Chicago
“It was to be counted as a wonder that there were not
more men slaughtered than cattle”
Typical worker worked 10 hour days six days a week
By Sunday, workers would be so exhausted all they did
was sit.
Only had time to eat and sleep during the week
Impact on Families
Families moved closer to factories to reduce the time
spent going back and forth
Industrial wastes polluted rivers and streams near the
plants
Workers and families could never escape the filth and
pollution of these plants
Child Labor
Child Labor
Pg 473
In Pennsylvania, children were made to work in coal
mines all day long
Girls under the age of 16 made up 50% of the workforce
in Scranton, PA
No Protection
Laws were passed to prevent child labor but they were
rarely enforced
Parents who were desperate for income would lie about
the children’s age
Working Women
Women looked for work out of necessity (Page 474).
Men could not support a wife and kids on his own
Women were often paid less than men
In one St. Louis factory, women were paid $4/per week
compared to $16/per week for men
Prostitution
Some women were forced to work as prostitutes
They could earn 4-5 times more
These women were treated as outcasts
“Is it any wonder that a tempted girl who receives only
six dollars per week working with her hands sells her
body for $25 per week?”
New Invention
The invention of the typewriter transformed clerical
(office) work
Before the typewriter, men held these jobs
Women were said to have greater dexterity and
“tolerance for repetition
Nurturing Professions
Women were slowly gaining access to higher education
They were still restricted from high profile jobs, such as
doctors and lawyers
Found work as teachers, nurses, and library work
Responses to Poverty and Wealth
Jacob Riis
How the Other Half Lives (excerpt on page 477)
Essay on the poor in New York City
“The half that is on top cares little for the struggles, and
less for the fate of those who are underneath so long as
it is able to hold them there and keep its own seat
Tenement Apartments
Apartments in urban slums that were known for their
lack of ventilation and light
The Hull House
The Hull House
Most famous settlement house
Founded by Jane Addams
Provided the poor with facilities and education to help
them improve their environment and eventually escape it
The Gospel of Wealth
Thesis that hard work and perseverance lead to wealth
Implied that poverty was a character flaw
Some people fought against this idea, but the majority of
others simply accepted it as truth
One who Fought it
Andrew Carnegie
Felt it was the responsibility of the rich to set an example
for the working class and return some of their wealth to
the communities in which they lived
Social Darwinism
Flawed attempt to apply Darwin’s theory of evolution to
human society
Used as a justification for the growing gap between the
rich and poor
The fit survive and become wealthy; The poor are simply
weak
Believer of Social Darwinism?
John D. Rockefeller
“The working out of a law of nature and a law of God”
Workers Organize
The Great Uprising
Railroad strike of 1877
Railroad workers in Baltimore went on strike to fight pay
cuts
The Great Uprising
President Hayes sent troops to guard the railroad’s
property
Once word got out, railroad workers in other states
started to strike as well
In Pittsburgh, state militia opened fire on strikers and
their families, killing 25 including a woman and three
children
Knights of Labor
Union founded in Philadelphia in 1869 that grew
drastically after the Great Uprising
Welcomed black workers and women
Led the movement for an 8-hour work day
Haymarket Square Incident
Haymarket Square Incident
Police killed four unarmed workers during a skirmish with
strikers in Chicago
A bomb later exploded at a meeting to protest the
slaying, killing seven policemen and four strikers (100
wounded)
Eight strike leaders were tried for the deaths, and despite
a lack of evidence linking them to the bomb, four were
executed
American Federation of Labor
AFL
Emphasized collective bargaining negotiations between
management and union representatives
AFL did not admit black or female members
Went through two major strikes
The Homestead Strike
Homestead Strike
Involved Andrew Carnegie
Carnegie announced he would negotiate with workers
ONLY; not collectively bargain
Union workers were locked out and they hired 300
replacement workers Scabs
Fighting Erupts!
Governor of Pennsylvania sent militia to protect the nonunion workers
Pullman Strike
Ownership cut workers’ wages but did not cut the rent
workers owed for their company owned housing
Eugene Debs
Head of American Railway Union
Ordered a boycott of any trains that sued Pullman cars
Management Reaction
Railroads fired the workers who refused to work with
Pullman cars
Debs ordered all workers nationwide to walk off the job
President Cleveland issued an injunction and sent troops
to enforce it
Debs was arrested