Big Business and Labor Ch 6-3

Andrew Carnegie Carnegie Steel Company-Attempted to control as much of the steel industry as he could by vertical and horizontal integration. Vertical integration- He owned his own railroad lines, coal fields as well as iron mines. Horizontal Integration- he then bought out most of the other steel suppliers.

Social Darwinism Charles Darwin came up with a philosophy in He describes how some species flourish and pass their traits along to the next generation. Natural Selection- survival of the fittest/the ones who adapted survived those that did not adapt died off. Laissez faire- French term meaning “allow to do.” A policy that did not want government intervention in business. Herbert Spencer applied Darwinism to the evolution of society and to business. Some believed that riches were a sign of God’s favor and those that were poor were lazy and inferior.

John D. Rockefeller Monopoly- when a company owns an entire industry. Rockefeller owned Standard oil Company and within a decade he controlled 90% of the nations oil business. Because he owned the majority of the oil business he was able to hike up the prices and people had nowhere else to turn but to him to buy oil. People referred to them as the Robber Barons. He was the worlds first billionaire. In today’s standards he would be worth 20 billion dollars.

Breaking Monopolies Many companies would form a trust, or a special bond where competing companies would agree to work together. Imagine Coke and Pepsi working together. The Sherman Antitrust Act made it illegal to form a trust.

Labor Unions Many jobs in the late 1800’s worked 12 or more hours a day, six days a week, no lunch, no vacation, no sick days, and no reimbursement if you get injured at work. 675 people died each week from work related accidents women earned $267 per year. Men earned $498. Children worked 14 hours and made 27 cents a day. Andrew Carnegie made $23 million. Is this fair? Does it happen today?

Poor working conditions and low wages forced workers to form unions. In order to fight the injustices that laborers suffered Unions such as the National Labor Union (NLU) were formed on a large scale. Because African Americans were not allowed to join the union they formed the CNLU (Colored National Labor Union). The Knights of Labor was later developed and allowed all people to join regardless of race.

Unions used different tactics such as strikes. Successful strikes brought the work week down form 54 hours to 48. They also helped raise wages from $17.50 to $24 per week. Homestead Strike June of 1892-At the Carnegie Steel Company wages were cut and workers went on strike. Scabs were hired to replace the workers on strike and guards from the Pinkerton Detective Agency were hired to protect the steel plant. Steelworkers forced the Pinkertons out and the strike continued until November. 3 Pinkertons and 9 Steelworkers died in the violent strike.

Child Labor Laws Women were excluded from many unions. However women did demand better working conditions, equal pay, and an end to child labor. Mary Harris Jones (aka Mother Jones)-She took 80 children working in mills to the home of President Theodore Roosevelt. This act influenced the passage of child labor laws. Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire- Fire killed 146 women in the garment industry when all doors were locked except for one in order to prevent theft. The factory was found not guilty and a task force was set up by the state of New York to study factory working conditions.