The Rise of Big Business 1865 – 1914

Railroads Lead the Way After the war railroads started economic growth in U.S. 1st Transcontinental railroad – 1869 By 1890 5 railway lines crossed the country 100’s of smaller lines branched off What started Americans economic growth?

Age of Big Business After Civil War America changed from agricultural to industrial society. Factors of America’s economic growth: Land - All natural resources (ex. land, oil) Labor – large number of workers needed to produce raw materials into goods. Capital – equipment, used in production (ex. machines, buildings, machinery , and tools )

Competition To eliminate competition and make more money, some became robber barons: business person who became wealthy through dishonest methods.

John D. Rockefeller Industry: Oil Organized the Standard Oil Company Methods: Created a monopoly – put competitors out of business. Rockefeller made it so you had to buy oil from his company

Andrew Carnegie Industry: Steel Forms Carnegie Steel Company Methods: Vertical integration – bought all companies that helped make/ship his steel

Big Business began to control everything. Monopoly: Company that had sole control of an industry. Trust: a legal body Created to hold Stock in many companies

Monopolies and trusts allowed one or a few individuals to control many aspects of business: Prices Wages/conditions of workers Stock Some even claimed the government.(votes) How did monopolies and trusts effect America?

The Gilded Age: Term used to describe tremendous wealth and poverty in the late 1800s The glamour of the rich hid the truth about the poor and crime.

The however events and individuals will start the change The however events and individuals will start the change. Monopolies and trusts will wrangled in by laws. Working and living conditions will improve by individuals known as progressives.

Political Cartoon

Inventions Many new inventions came after the Civil War Samuel Morse – Telegraph Alexander Graham Bell - Telephone Lewis Latimer - Filament Henry Ford – Model T George Eastman – Kodak Camera Thomas Edison – Light bulb, phonograph Wright Brothers – Air Plane

Assembly Line

Industrial Workers Imagine working 10 to 12 hours a day Being able to get fired at anytime for any reason Being in a noisy, unhealthy, and unsafe environment Working with dangerous equipment where accidents were not uncommon

Women and Children Women had joined the industrial workforce in millions Receive half the wage as men Child labor Hundreds of thousands of children under 16 worked in factories

Labor Unions Form Dissatisfied workers formed groups to demand better pay and working conditions Knights of Labor – 1869 American Federation of Labor – represented skilled workers Collective bargaining – unions represent workers in bargaining with management

The Unions Act When companies would cut wages or fire workers sometimes the labor unions would go on strike. Had large strikes that sometimes sparked violence. Strikes were happening all over the country. Government would often send police or military to control strikers.