History Alive Slide Lecture Slides

The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, 1883

Andrew Carnegie

IndustryKey PersonSignificant Facts SteelAndrew Carnegie 1883-Brooklyn Bridge < symbol of American transition Bessemer process < turn iron into steel Skyscrapers

Pioneer Run, Pennsylvania

John D. Rockefeller

IndustryKey PersonSignificant Facts OilJohn D. Rockefeller Standard Oil 1st successful oil well drilled in 1859

Cornelius Vanderbilt

IndustryKey PersonSignificant Facts RailroadCornelius Vanderbilt American Railway Assoc. divided the nation into 4 time zones

“Captains of Industry” vs. “Robber barons” – controlled the major industries of the nation and much of American Society

Social Darwinism – “survival of the fittest” preserved the strong in society and weeded out the weak relieved any unwelcome guilt they may have felt about poverty in society

Gospel of Wealth – God’s chosen for those who found Social Darwinism distasteful religious rationale for wealth Carnegie took this one step further by saying that society’s fittest had both the talent and responsibility for deciding what was best for society.

Laissez –faire economics – “to let one do” government’s proper role was to leave the economy alone government interference would disrupt the natural forces at work in the economy