Theme: The Business of America is Business An Introduction “The chief business of the American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with producing, buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world.” President Calvin Coolidge, 1925

Monopoly Believe it or not… The game of Monopoly is a good introduction for the two units we will study in the third quarter. In fact, most of what you need to know about the rise of American capitalism can be learned from playing the game…

Social Studies Values and Themes Political: How do governments reflect and influence their societies? Economic: How are goods and services produced and distributed? Change & Tradition: What causes societies to change? How do societies respond to forces of change? Interaction with Others: What are sources of conflict and cooperation? VALUES Liberty  Order What rights/freedoms should businesses and workers have? Equality  Hierarchy Access to resources & opportunity Democracy Authority Relationship b/w wealth & power Capitalism Centralization Private Property & the Free Market …to what extent should government have a role? Individualism  Collectivism Who should take credit for economic development? Who should be rewarded?

History of the Game and Historical Context Invented in 1933 and patented in 1935 by Charles Darrow, sold by Parker Brothers Properties taken from Atlantic City, New Jersey Sold during the Great Depression – production could not keep up with demand. Both Darrow and Parker Brothers became rich.

History of the Game and Historical Context Based on “The Landlord’s Game” created by Lizzie Magie, who wanted to teach people about the evils of monopoly and economic inequality – she shared it for free Released in 1906, when America was becoming one of the most prosperous, productive, and powerful countries in the world

Getting Started… Each player begins with $1500 If you land on a property that is not owned, you may purchase it If another player owns that property, you owe that person rent. You may only build on property when you have a monopoly

Monopoly Pieces An introduction – industry in the US and causes of industrialization. Thimble & Iron (textiles/industry) Battleship & cannon (power & empire) Top hat (status & wealth) Work shoe (hard work/labor) Added later: Horse & rider (the West), Car (new inventions), Scottish Terrier, Bag of $ (status & wealth), wheelbarrow (hard work)

Winning the Game What is the goal of the game? How do you win? This is exactly what industrialists did during industrialization of the 1880s -1900s

Monopoly & American Capitalism At the start of the game, does everyone have an equal opportunity to win? Why or why not? What ways can players make money in the game? What does it mean to have a monopoly? Why is this advantageous? Why should you try to prevent other players from getting a monopoly? How much is monopoly a game of skill vs. a game of chance?

The Railroad Railroads connected the entire country and made big business & the growth of cities possible Gave rise to a national, modern economy They brought great wealth to the country and to the people who controlled them

Just Visiting: Philosophy of Big Business Social Darwinism, Laissez-faire governing, and the ideal of rugged individualism left every man for himself in the business world. How does that compare to today?

Big Business (the Hotels) Like the hotels in Monopoly, Big Business meant cutthroat strategies, meaning large profits for the big business, and heartbreak for everyone else.

Profiles of Big Business: Who owned monopolies? John D. Rockefeller – Oil Andrew Carnegie – Steel Cornelius Vanderbilt – Railroads JP Morgan – Banking & Stocks

The Gilded Age Mark Twain’s name for the time in American history where it looked like everything was “covered in gold” but underneath the surface, there were a lot of problems in society

Labor Workers fought for fair wages, safe working conditions and an eight hour workday

Labor Movement In trying to gain rights for workers, many strikers faced stiff penalties from the businesses. Government usually favored the businesses.

Immigration The United States faced a tremendous wave of immigration during the Industrial Era. Who are these immigrants, and where did they come from?

Immigrant Life in America Low wage jobs Tenements and Ghettos Jacob Riis Photo: Jacob Riis, 1890

Urbanization: Growth of Cities Because they grew so fast, for the first time, cities needed to plan out who could build where (zoning), what features buildings needed to have (building codes), and provide services to residents, industries and businesses

Progressive Era, Responding to the Excesses of Industrialism Although it was a time of great economic progress, the Industrial Period had clear winners and losers. Because of the excesses of the period, the Progressive Era was born.

The Progressives The Progressives tried to restore economic opportunities and correct social injustice (Take out the chance, and help people with the community chest) Social welfare, moral improvement, more fair economy, better government (more democratic)

Income Tax To pay for new social programs, government needed to collect money from citizens and the federal income tax was created