Immigration 5-3.4 Summarize the impact of industrialization, urbanization, and the rise of big business, including the development of monopolies; long hours, low wages, and unsafe working conditions on men, women, and child labors; and resulting reform movements.

The growth of Big Business was both a CAUSE and EFFECT of increased immigration. Big Business encourage the USA to continue an open immigration policy so the workforce would be plentiful and cheap. Big Business was also caused by the availability of natural resources (land), new inventions and technology, capital investment, and the role of entrepreneurs. Immigrants were attracted to jobs created by Big Business and enabled the businesses to grow bigger because they worked for low wages and therefore helped businesses to make a greater profit.

Entrepreneurs helping Big Business Men like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller developed practices that allowed them to create monopolies. Carnegie controlled the steel industry and Rockefeller controlled the oil industry. These monopolies kept wages low and kept labor unions from being effective.

REMEMBER…… As industries grew, the USA shifted from an agrarian economy based on agriculture to an industrial economy based on manufacturing. Farmers were able to produce more crops because of mechanization.

Living in the cities.. By the 1920’s, the majority of people in the USA lived in the cities because: Prices of crops fell for farmers. So, they were then unable to pay their farms, land, and homes because of low profit. African American sharecroppers and tenant farmers left the south in search of jobs in factories and to escape the Jim Crow Laws.

As the cities grew…. The increase in immigrations and movement from the farm, middle class Americans were concerned about the living conditions and corruption (dishonesty) of city government. Crowed Conditions= problems providing sanitation for water and housing. Also corruptions among city officials who were often supported by their ethnic constituents (citizens).

Over crowed cities

Middle Class Americans They lived in the cities too and paid taxes for city government! They began being called the Progressive Reformers.

Progressivism Progressivism was largely a middle class movement that promoted the idea that society’s problems could be solved by the passage of laws. The movement started as a political response to problems at the city government level and moved to the state and national level.

Progressive Reformers Advocated (encouraged) City parks Beautification projects Safer housing Sanitation Promoted teaching immigrant to adapt to their new country using settlement houses where social skills were taught.

Progressive Reformers Concerned about unsafe conditions in factories and long hours that workers (particularly women and children) were expected to work. Didn’t support labor union actions such as collective bargaining and strikes to address these issues. Advocated passage of laws.

Women and Child Labor

Media helping the Progressive Reformers Publicized conditions in factories with photographs of unsafe working conditions. These writers were called muckrakers and they exposed the corruption of the system.

Progressive Reformers Advocated (encouraged) Restricting child labor and passing laws requiring children to attend school. Of course a lot of the families didn’t like the child labor law restriction idea because many of the families depended on their children to help out with their wage.

Resentment from the workers.. Workers sometimes resent the interference of reformers in their lives. Some compulsory school attendance laws were passed at the state level, but a federal child labor law was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The federal government did not successfully enforce child labor laws or minimum wage and maximum hours laws for workers until the New Deal reforms following the Great Depression.

Progressive Reformers and Big Business Progressives were very successful at the federal level in addressing problems associated with Big Business. They feared Big Business had too much control over the economy and trusts had too much influence over the American government. A trust is a business entity formed to create a fixed prices (a monopoly)

Progressive Reformers and Big Business

Sherman Anti-Trust Act Law passed because of the Progressives declaring monopolies, or trusts to be unlawful. However, the law did not end monopolies because the Supreme Court limited its effectiveness.

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt became president of the USA in 1901. He was an assertive(aggressive) progressive who was now in the White House. He was encouraged by muckraking writers. He began to use the Sherman Anti-Trust law to successfully break up trusts and earned the name “trust-buster”.

President Roosevelt-Trust-Buster

Muckrakers who helped President Roosevelt Ida Tarbell Upton Sinclair- Exposed the oil trust Exposed the meat-packing trust

Theodore Roosevelt.. The Trust-Buster Protected the rights of the consumer by pushing for the passage of: Meat Inspection Act Pure Food and Drug Act Regulation of railroads.

Progressive Presidents Presidents William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson continued to work in a progressive manner and are known as the Progressive Presidents.

Let’s recap about Teddy Roosevelt and the Progressive Era

Additional concerns of the Progressives Improving society by controlling the moral behavior of all Americans particularly of the immigrants. Wanted to limit the consumption of alcohol (The Temperance Movement) especially from the influx of immigrants.

The Temperance Movement Some states passed prohibition laws and others passed blue laws to limit the sale of alcohol.

Connecting historical events… When World War I started, propaganda against the Germans, who are known for their beer drinking, and voluntary rationing of grain, help progressives push through Congress a national prohibition amendment and sale of alcoholic beverages.

18th Amendment Outlawed the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. Prohibition is the legal act of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation and sale of alcohol and alcoholic beverages.

Prohibition However, it couldn’t stop people from drinking and thus promoted illegal actives such as bootlegging and speakeasies. Bootlegging is the making and selling of alcohol illegally. Speakeasies are private clubs that illegally would serve alcohol.

Prohibition-Bootleggers

Prohibition-Speakeasies

21st Amendment The 21st amendment repealed (abolished) prohibition.

Let’s check out this short video about prohibition…