Big Business. Continued…

Pop Quiz What was Thomas Edison’s most important invention? How was the assembly line useful? Andrew Carnegie controlled the steel industry by using what business model? What is Horizontal Integration? Where did the Industrial Revolution begin?

Extra Credit. Get out 1 sheet of paper.

Social Darwinism Survival of the fittest Believed that Darwin’s theory of natural selection applied to society as well, and thought that it would decide who succeeds in life and business. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer Other business leaders thought that it was the duty of the rich to give to the poor. Those like Carnegie and Rockefeller gave away large sums of money.

Criticisms of large corporations. Large corporations used their size and strength to drive out smaller businesses. The fear was that a trust would gain total ownership of a product or service , or a monopoly. Critics argued that competition in a free market kept the prices low and the quality of goods and services high.

Government relations with big business. Some Americans wanted the government to intervene and help control monopolies and trusts. On July 1890 congress passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. This made it illegal to create monopolies or trusts that restrained trade. However, because the word “trust” was not clearly defined it made the law difficult to enforce.