List the five most important inventions of all time

 Why did people’s daily lives change in the decades following the Civil War?  What effects did the development of railroads have on industrial growth?

Transcontinental Railroad Railroad stretching from east coast to the west coast of the U.S Line was connected in 1869 in Promontory, Utah By 1890 there is 180,000 miles of rail in the U.S. What immigrant group was used for construction labor on the railroad?

 Why were American industrialists of the late 1800s called both “robber barons” and “captains of industry?  How did social Darwinism affect Americans’ view on big business?

 What is it?  Exclusive control of a good or service in a given market  Problems with monopolies?

Andrew Carnegie Carnegie steel was a monopoly Used new business practices of vertical & horizontal consolidation Vertical = buy out all suppliers Horizontal = buy out all competition

John Rockefeller Standard Oil Company was a monopoly Standard Oil processed 90% of nations oil by 1880 Paid low wages and undersold competition then jacked prices up when other companies went out of business

 Anything to gain the edge; drive competitors out of business, dominate market—oligarchy, monopoly  Carnegie Steel bought all facets of steel business—vertical consolidation.  As production increases, the production cost of each item drops—economies of scale.  Standard Oil gathers many refineries under one umbrella—horizontal consolidation  Government responds with Sherman Anti-Trust Act in  Sherman Antitrust Act: Gov’t unsuccessfully tries to limit power of big business/trusts.

 Did Carnegie & Rockefeller hoard their wealth or did they share it?  What modern day institutions benefit from the philanthropy of Carnegie & Rockefeller?  Is it ok to achieve wealth in their style as long as you give it back?  The Gospel of Wealth ?

 Applies Darwin’s theory of evolution to human society  Developed by Herbert Spencer  “Survival of the fittest”  How does survival of the fittest apply to business? Herbert Spencer

 Business tycoons like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller amass fortunes, own huge corps.  Did they steal from workers (Robber Barons) or add to public welfare (Captains of Industry)  AC’s “Gospel of Wealth”—make as much as you can then give it away.  Social Darwinism—”natural selection” applied to society, govt should do nothing to interfere with people’s pursuit of success.

 What were the goals of the early labor unions in the United States?  What were the causes and outcomes the major strikes in the United States during the late 1800s?

 Gap in classes cultivates resentment among poor, new political/economic philosophy grows favoring public control over resources.  Karl Marx writes Communist Manifesto outlining virtues of socialism, bridge to communism  Socialism: economic & political system based on gov’t control of economy, wealth should be equally distributed throughout society.  Socialist economy lacks free enterprise, private ownership, individual freedom, incentive to excel

 What is a labor union?  Why does the gov’t distrust labor unions?  What are some reasons why workers would seek to join labor unions?  Low pay  Long hours  Dangerous work conditions  What is the main method that labor unions use to achieve their goals?