Life During the Industrial Revolution

Growing gap between rich and poor.

Victorian Age Era of newfound riches and extravagances. Everything in excess. Beginning of consumer culture and modern lifestyles.

John D Rockefeller Owner of Standard Oil. Controlled 90% of refining business. Made huge profits by paying extremely low wages and drove competitors out of business by selling oil at a loss.

Rockefeller

What is the cartoon saying?

Working class become slaves to the Rich.

…And then there were the Poor.

Youth on the streets = gangs.

There were tens of thousands of homeless children

Children Receiving Their Meager Wages At the End of the Week

Life in the cities. Streets were dirty. Buildings were poorly built. The first modern slums in the U.S. Prostitution and alcohol abuse. Child and spousal abuse.

Some women turned to prostitution.

Life at work. Long Hours: Hard Work: Easily Replaceable: 10 to 14 hour work days One break for as little as 15 minutes! Hard Work: Manual and repetitive labor Few safety measures taken Easily Replaceable: Thousands of other jobless willing to take your job if you quit.

Formation of Labor Unions Purpose: To protect the workers Ensure fair pay Create safe working environments Decrease Child Labor Set maximum work hours. Labor Unions only work if every one in a trade agrees to join. Government feared they would disrupt business.

Went on strikes to demand change How do strikes force change?

Charles Ebbets

Video Journal 3: “Pullman Strikes” 1.) Summary of the Primary Source? 2.)What types of conditions/issues were the workers complaining about? 3.) What message was this person trying to convey?