Transcript Industrialization

Industrialization in the
th
Late 19 Century
1st Transcontinental Railroad
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Pacific Railway Act of 1862
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Central Pacific
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Started in Sacramento, CA
Union Pacific
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U.S. Government hired Union Pacific and Central Pacific
Railway Company to extend railways across the United
States.
Started in Omaha, NE
The two railroad companies met in Promontory,
Utah to drive the “Golden Spike” on May 10,
1869
Promontory, Utah May 10, 1869
The Workers
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Workers were mainly Chinese and Irish
immigrants
Working conditions were poor
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Reasons:
Weather
 Rough terrain
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Railroad Developments
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Train problems:
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1869 George Westinghouse:
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Dirty, noisy, uncomfortable
Development of air brakes
1887 Granville Woods:
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Telegraph system for train communication
Time Zones
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Scheduling was a major concern
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Set clocks according to solar time
Time differences from town to town created
confusion.
1883: National System of Time Zones
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How many total time zones does the USA
have?
USA Time Zones
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Name the time zones!
Who did the Railroad Impact?
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Native Americans
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called it the Iron Horse
Helped Westward expansion
Trade much easier
Became crucial to the U.S. economy – shipping
costs dropped drastically.
Hurt farmers economically
Made deals with wealthy businessmen
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Corruption
Legislation
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Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 – put in
place for Govt to supervise railroad activities
Led to more financial problems (railroads were
forced out of business, which led to the Panic
of 1893)
This caused the Large Firms to start buying up
the railways, which paved the way for Big
Businesses
Industrialization Factors
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Unskilled and semi-skilled labor in abundance
New, talented entrepreneurs
Oil
Inventions
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New technology that allows mass production
Bessemer Process
Railroads
Changes in business strategy
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Vertical Integration & Horizontal Consolidation
Social Darwinism
How was steel produced
in mass amount???
The Bessemer Process
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Henry Bessemer
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English businessman
William Kelly
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Kentucky businessman
Developed new way of
making steel:
Melt iron, add
carbon, remove
impurities
Brooklyn Bridge
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Old way to Manhattan to Brooklyn was ferry
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John Roebling
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German began building
Dies in mid construction
Washington Roebling completes
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Winter: ferry could not run because of ice
Son
Disabled by accident during construction
Completed on May 24, 1883
Growth of Big Business
Robber Barons or Capitals of Industry
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Robber barons: business leaders who
built fortune from stealing from the public.
Capitals of Industry: business leaders
served their nation in a positive way.
Social Darwinism
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Charles Darwin – survival of the fittest
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Social Darwin theory evolved:
Society should do as little as possible to interfere
with peoples pursuit of success
AS A RESULT
Government did not TAX or REGULATE businesses!!!
So what happens?
Monopoly
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How does the game
work?
What is the goal of
the game?
Big Business Emerges!
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Monopoly
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Cartel
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to have complete control
of a product or service.
businesses who make
the same product –
agree to limit supply to
keep prices high.
Trust
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separate companies
placed under a single
managing board – Board
of trustees
Vertical and Horizontal
Integration
Who did this??
Andrew Carnegie
$ Scottish businessman
$ “Gospel of Wealth”
(1901).
$
Inequality is inevitable
and good.
$ Vertical Consolidation
$ Wealthy should act as
“trustees” for their
“poorer brethren.”
80% of fortune went to
education.
$ At time of death, he
had given away – 350
million.
$
Andrew Carnegie
John D. Rockefeller
$ Standard Oil Co.
$ Eventually owned all
oil companies in US.
$ Horizontal
consolidation
$ 40 companies
John D. Rockefeller
Standard Oil Co.
The Reorganization of
Work
Frederick W. Taylor
The Principles of Scientific Management (1911)
The Reorganization of
Work
The Assembly Line
Mass production
The Changing American
Labor Force
Child Labor
Child Labor
Conditions
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Long hours
Less than $1.00 per week
Difficult, dangerous and unhealthy work
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Heavy machinery
Could lose finger, arm or be scalped by
machinery
Dusty, cold/hot respiratory conditions
Corporal punishment
Child Labor today?
Management vs. Labor
“Tools” of
Management
 “scabs”
 lockout
 blacklisting
“Tools” of
Labor
 collective
Bargaining
 informational
picketing
 organized
strikes
A Striker Confronts a
SCAB!
Knights of Labor
Terence V. Powderly
An injury to one is the concern of all!
Goals of the Knights of Labor
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Eight-hour workday.
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Abolition of child and prison labor.
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Equal pay for men and women.
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Safety codes in the workplace.
Labor Unrest: 1870-1900
The Great Railroad Strike
of 1877
Haymarket Riot (1886)
McCormick Harvesting Machine Co.
Haymarket Martyrs
The American Federation
of Labor: 1886
Samuel Gompers
How the AF of L
Would Help the Workers
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Catered to the skilled worker.
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Represented workers in matters of national
legislation.
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Maintained a national strike fund.
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Evangelized the cause of unionism.
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Prevented disputes among the many craft
unions.
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Mediated disputes between management
and labor.
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Pushed for closed shops.
Homestead Steel Strike
(1892)
Homestead Steel
Works
The Amalgamated
Association of
Iron & Steel Workers
A “Company
Town”:
Pullman, IL
Pullman Cars
A Pullman porter
The Pullman Strike of 1894
The Pullman Strike of 1894
Government by injunction!
The Socialists
Eugene V. Debs
International Workers of the
World (“Wobblies”)
“Big Bill” Haywood of the
IWW
 Violence was justified to
overthrow capitalism.
IWW
Labor Union Membership
Discussion Questions
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What were the cost and benefits of the
industrial transformation of the Post- Civil
War era?
Was the growing class division of the time a
threat to American democracy? Why or why
not?