U.S. History and Government Industrialization U.S. History and Government

Innovations and Industrialization Edwin Drake figures out how to use a steam engine to drill for oil Most oil was made into kerosene Gasoline was a byproduct and often thrown away Henry Bessemer and William Kelly both figure out how to take the carbon out of iron to make iron into steel (Bessemer process) Steel could be used on the railroads, for barbed wire, and machinery

Popular Inventions Thomas Edison perfected the light bulb around 1880 At this time electricity is becoming safer and less expensive Now factories didn’t have to be next to rivers

Popular Inventions Christopher Sholes invented the typewriter in 1867 Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Watson invented the telephone in 1876 These inventions dramatically changed the way people worked Impact of mechanization?

Railroads 1869, the first transcontinental railroad was completed Mostly immigrant laborers doing the work to help the nation prosper, Irish, Chinese, etc. Railroad time Before railroads, noon in Boston was 12 minutes off from NYC Railroad expansion helped created a push for uniform time Established 24 time zones (not adopted by Congress until 1918)

Abuses of Power Railroad companies understood their significance and power Took advantage of land grants Fixed prices Different rates for different customers Cost more for short hauls than longer hauls Munn v. Illinois States could regulate railroads Interstate Commerce Act Restored interstate commerce power to the federal branch

Big Business Andrew Carnegie Steel mogul Rags to riches Philanthropy “Gospel of Wealth” Vertical integration Own the entire process… (resources, manufacturing, distribution) for one product Horizontal integration Own all portions of one step of production Carnegie actually did both

Natural Laws of Business? Social Darwinism Survival of fittest Natural selection Natural law, government should not intervene Led to a policy of laissez faire “Let do, let go, let pass” Allow the market to rule Resulted in unequal distribution of income 4,000 millionaires after the Civil War Millions struggle in poverty

Consolidation The issue: a market calls for competition Moguls of the day sought to dominate the market and eliminate competition… John D. Rockefeller – oil tycoon Made all his oil companies trusts (technically separate companies controlled by a larger company) Eventually owned over 90% of the oil industry

Good or Evil? People were critical of the super-rich, who owned large parts of whole industries and called them “Robber Barons” (insulting nickname for businessmen who dominate their industry) At the same time, these rich industrialists also started… Philanthropy - donating money to charity or sponsoring a charity

Charitable Robber Barons Carnegie donated about 90% of his wealth to charity – his money still supports the arts today Rockefeller helped fund the University of Chicago and Acadia National Park (in Maine)

Scorched Corporations Sherman Antitrust Act Made it illegal to form a trust that interfered with free trade between states Prosecuting companies under Sherman Antitrust Act was difficult Additionally, corporations furthered inequality between North and South – South remained agricultural, while other areas boomed

Conditions Worsen, Unions Grow To combat the increased power of large business owners, labor began organizing 1882 - 675 workers killed in a work accident each week Women averaged $267 a year, men $498 Carnegie made about $23 million American Federation of Labor Led by Gompers - mostly skilled workers Knights of Labor - Mother Jones, Terrance Powderly American Railway Union - led by Debs Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) - “Wobblies”

Strikes One of the most powerful things a union could do was strike or to threaten to strike… Great Strike of 1877 Workers of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) struck to protest a wage cut Hayes sent in federal troops to end the strike Homestead Strike Against Carnegie steel Owner hired “scabs” and hired security 9 workers died…

Haymarket Square Riots May 1886: 3,000 people gathered at Chicago’s Haymarket Square to protest police brutality Bomb tossed in the crowd 8 people were convicted 4 were hanged 1 committed suicide Actually turned the public against the labor movement (see chart on page 453)

Pullman Strike of 1893 Pullman company laid off over 1/2 its employees Pullman hired strikebreakers - turned violent, Cleveland sent in troops Debs jailed Many workers “blacklisted”

Women’s Labor Unions Women also organized into unions (often barred from other unions) Most famous incident was the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 146 women died Public made aware of conditions

Response to Unions Employers began to fear unions Forced workers to sign “yellow-dog contracts” swore they would not join a union Industrial leaders used the Sherman Anti-trust Act against labor