Industrialization During the Gilded Age

Do Now What was the relationship between politics and business in the Gilded Age?

The Bosses of the Senate Joseph Kepler in Puck

Monopoly- complete control of the entire supply of goods or of a service in a certain area or market Trust- a combination of firms or corporations formed by a legal agreement (Merriam-Webster)

During the latter part of the 19 th century, the U.S. underwent a “second Industrial Revolution” The pace of industrialization and the rapid rise of big business was staggering By 1900 the U.S. was the leading economic power in the world

Robber Barons or Entrepreneurs? Robber Baron- an American capitalist of the latter part of the 19th century who became wealthy through exploitation (Merriam- Webster) -first known use of the term 1878

Of the 25 families Forbes Magazine identified, 44% owe their fortunes to companies founded in the 19th century. Another 36% trace their wealth to businesses started in the first half of the 20th century. walton-rockefeller-dupont-business-billionaires-families.html

Philanthropic zeal is what keeps the Carnegie family off the list. After making his fortune in steel, Andrew Carnegie poured his vast wealth into educational institutions, libraries and research. Many of the organizations he created still exist, including the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Carnegie Institution for Science and Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University). After his death in 1919, Carnegie reportedly left his wife his property and personal belongings, but not a large sum of money, “having years ago made provision for my wife beyond her desires.” He didn’t leave his daughter anything. He was said to have given away $350 million–$4.4 billion in 2009 dollars–before his death. -Forbes

25 Richest People ntertainment-articles/25-richest-people-lived- inflation-adjusted/#!/4-andrew-carnegie-net- worth-310-billion_1016/ ntertainment-articles/25-richest-people-lived- inflation-adjusted/#!/4-andrew-carnegie-net- worth-310-billion_1016/

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“As economic inequality increases, the better off perceive fewer and fewer shared interests with the less well-off.” Elizabeth Anderson, a philosopher at the University of Michigan /01/inequality-0

Andrew Carnegie Bobbin Boy to Sultan of Steel

p522 J. P. Morgan Banking

John D. Rockefeller Oil

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Vertical integration- -combining into one organization all phases of manufacturing from mining to marketing -pioneered by Carnegie Benefits- improved efficiency, better control of quality, and elimination of middleman fees

Horizontal integration- -allying with competitors to monopolize a given market -pioneered by Rockefeller

Trust- -a combination of firms or corporations formed by a legal agreement -used by Rockefeller to eliminate competition -stockholders in small companies would assign their stock to the board of directors of Standard Oil Company. Standard Oil then consolidated operations -Standard Oil controlled most of the world’s oil production

Interlocking directorates -designed by Morgan to consolidate rival enterprises and eliminate competition -officers of his banking syndicate were placed on the various boards of directors of rival enterprises.

Robber Barons or Industrial Statesmen? Analyzed documents