Technology and Greed at Its Best Industrialization Technology and Greed at Its Best 1, 4, 6

U.S. Economy Consolidation of business into trusts Technological innovations Growing concentration of wealth Control of industries by bankers

Attitudes of Businesses Social Darwinism allowed men of wealth justify the economic inequality that favored them over the nation's poor Supported no regulation of business Herbert Spencer

Attitudes of Businesses Government should not Protect workers from unfair labor practices (laissez faire) Standard Oil corporate structure –horizontal integration-creating a monopoly by combining all competing companies into a single area of business.

Big Business Practices Horizontal Integration: Creating a monopoly in one area of the business cycle in order to control an entire industry. John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Rockefeller eventually controlled 90% of the oil refineries in the United States He had a monopoly on the oil supply and could drive his competition out of business Oil wells Standard Oil refineries Gas stations

Andrew Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth People with wealth should help society Each man had a duty to become rich Use wealth for the good of society Wealth was God’s reward for a life of virtue and hard work Support educational, health, and religious institutions

Andrew Carnegie’s Vertical Integration Vertical Integration: controlling all aspects of business from the gathering of raw materials to the final distribution of a product

Big Business Practices Vertical Integration: controlling all parts of the business cycle from finding raw materials to the final delivery of a product Carnegie Steel is an example Coal Mine Steel Factory Railroad to ship steel Carnegie Steel Carnegie Steel became the biggest steel company in America

Railroad Expansion Transcontinental Railroad 1869 Union Pacific meets Central Pacific at Promontory Point, Utah In General, Railroad lines were overcapitalized ( more money invested than what was needed) Significance of the Railroad network: Spurred Industrialization

Railroad Expansion The nation became united physically Created a nationwide market for mining, ranching and agriculture Facilitated immigration Advertisements of free transportation to western fars Chinese and Irish immigrant work on the rail lines.

Railroads-corruption Cornelius Vanderbilt set up a RR Trust formed pools in order to fix prices and divide business for greater profit Rebates and kickbacks

Laws passed to regulate RR Interstate Commerce Act RR’s must publish rates and charge the same amount all year long.

Problems in the Workforce Workers had been mistreated for years 10-12 hours per day Dangerous jobs Child labor Very little pay

Labor-Unhappiness on the job Labor Unions began to appear in the mid 1800’s Knights of Labor (1869) – Wanted eight-hour working day. Allowed all to join—skilled/unskilled, men/women, black/white The labor strike was the number one tool of the union.

Labor major strikes were defeated by business and government RR strike of 1877: troops called in by Hayes Homestead Strike 1892: Strike at Carnegie Steel was broken by troops Pullman Strike 1894: American Railway Union led by Eugene V. Debs strikes. 2,000 troops sent by Pres Cleveland. Debs is jailed.

Labor The Haymarket bombing Chicago 1886 aroused public opposition against labor, contributed to the decline of the Knights of Labor caused an increase in the membership of the AFL

THE NEW SOUTH 1877-1900 Influential Southerners like Henry W. Grady, encouraged Southern industrialism during this time. James Buchanan Duke: American Tobacco Co. produced machine rolled cigarettes. Offering Cheap labor, Textile mills began operation in the South

THE NEW SOUTH: Obstacles to success The industrial North’s control of the Railroads kept Southern industry down. Rates for shipping to the South cheaper than shipping North. Steel from the South was often charged an additional fee. NET RESULT: Some industrial progress was made but the Southern economy continued to be dominated by sharecropping, racism and a low standard of living.