Objective: To examine the growth of the railroad industry. Railroads in 1890

- Once the gauge, or width, of tracks was standardized, railroads formed a network, or system of connected lines. Growth of Railroads Top: Railroads in 1890 Right: Railroads in 1918

- Large companies bought smaller ones or forced them out of business. Cornelius Vanderbilt and James Fisk are shown in a race for control of New York's rails. Vanderbilt unsuccessfully tried to take over the Erie R.R. by buying out its stock.

+= Contemporary Application – Mergers / Consolidation

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- Cornelius Vanderbilt was one of the richest men in America, and the most powerful railroad baron.Cornelius Vanderbilt - Railroad companies began to consolidate, or combine, in order to compete with large companies, such as Cornelius Vanderbilt’s.

The Breakers, Newport, RI

- The 1895 Cornelius Vanderbilt II mansion, facing the Atlantic Ocean, is perhaps the finest example of American Renaissance architecture. - Cornelius Vanderbilt II became the Chairman and President of the New York Central Railroad system in Cornelius Vanderbilt II was the grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt. - The Breakers is the grandest of Newport’s summer “cottages” and a symbol of the Vanderbilt family’s social and financial preeminence in turn of the century America.

Marble House, Newport, RI

- Completed in 1892 for Mr. and Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt, the interior Marble House is designed almost exclusively of imported Italian marble. - William K. Vanderbilt was the grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt. - The mansion cost $11 million to build, $7 million of which was for the marble. - The house was given to Mrs. Alva Vanderbilt as a gift on her 39 th birthday. - Alva used the house frequently to hold rallies in support of women’s suffrage.

- This forced many small railroad companies out of business. Abuses: - Railroad companies offered rebates, or discounts, in order to keep or win customers. - In order to end competition and keep prices high, railroad companies agreed to divide up business in an area and set high prices. This was known as pooling.

- The railroads opened up the country to settlement and growth. Effects on Industry: - The railroad industry created thousands of new jobs. Examples: steelworkers, lumberjacks, miners, railroad workers Anti-railroad propaganda

Objective: To examine the growth of the steel industry in America. Read the following quotations made by Andrew Carnegie. “I started life as a poor man and I wish to end it that way.” “The man who dies thus rich, dies disgraced.” What message was Carnegie trying to make in these quotations, and do you agree with this message? Why, or why not?

Examples: railroads, skyscrapers, nails, pins The Steel Industry 1850’s – The Bessemer Process allowed steel to be produced cheaply.Bessemer Process · Therefore, the steel industry grew rapidly. Henry Bessemer Bessemer converter, Kelham Island Museum, Sheffield, England (2002)

Steel: Vertical Integration Raw Materials Example: Iron Ore Melting Hot air is pumped into a furnace, melting iron at 1600 degrees Celsius. (2,912 degrees F) Refining Impurities are removed and alloys are added from the molten metal through the use of a ladle. Casting The liquid steel is cast into billets and slabs. Rolling The billets and slabs are heated and rolled into finished products

· Carnegie reportedly gave $350 million of his $400 million fortune to charities, including $60 million to build libraries. Harper's Weekly April 11, 1903

Andrew Carnegie’s best known philanthropy was founding libraries. The first was in his hometown, Dunfermline, Scotland, opened in By 1919, 2,811 libraries had been founded at a total cost of $56,704, U.S. libraries – 1,946 - British libraries – 660 (England and Wales, 423; Scotland 147; Ireland 90) - Canadian libraries – New Zealand – 23, South Africa – 13, West Indies – 6, Australia – 4, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Fiji – 1 each

· Scottish immigrant Andrew Carnegie became the “King of Steel”, producing the majority of America’s steel.Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie

Caption reads: "Forty-Millionaire Carnegie in his Great Double Role. As the tight-fisted employer he reduces wages that he may play philanthropist and give away libraries, etc.” Andrew Carnegie in his “Great Double Role” This cartoon originally appeared in the July 9, 1892 edition of The Saturday Globe, a pro-union weekly out of Utica, New York.

Objective: To examine the causes and effects of the Sherman Anti-trust Act. Name as many oil/gas companies as you can. John D. Rockefeller Sen. John Sherman J. Pierpont Morgan

Standard Oil Trust · John D. Rockefeller formed the Standard Oil trust in 1890.John D. Rockefeller

“The Modern Buccaneers”

· The Standard Oil trust ended competition, forming a monopoly. · The Sherman Antitrust Act was passed in 1890, banning the formation of trusts and monopolies.Sherman Antitrust Act

· By 1901, Morgan became head of the U.S. Steel Company, which became the first U.S. company to be worth over $1 billion.U.S. Steel Company · By 1898, Morgan controlled most of the major rail lines in America. The Role of Banks · J. Pierpont Morgan used profits earned as a banker to purchase other major corporations.J. Pierpont Morgan

“Congress—Who’s In It and Who Owns It”; cartoon by Jacob Burck reflecting the opinion that big money interests were able to maneuver the politicians.