The Gilded Age 1870-1900

American Steel and Population Boom Black Gold: discovery of oil creates the BOOM! Bessemer Steel Process: Henry Bessemer a British Manufacturer that finds by injecting air into molten iron it removes the carbon and makes steel (Carnegie brings it to the US) Steel was used for making city buildings or sky rises, and the formation of railroads to stretch across the whole country New towns and cities begin to form along the railroad lines because these remote areas were now linked to the big cities of the US also dirty business deals by railroad companies and politicians begin Businesses all over the country begin to boom and so does the American population in America

Major Players in American Big Business Social Darwinism is the right for powerful businessmen to take advantage of people and other businesses because they were strong and others were weak Monopoly is when a firm buys out all its competitors and gains complete control over its industry’s production, quality, wages paid, and prices Andrew Carnegie: steel factory owner that nearly monopolized the steel industry John D. Rockefeller owned Standard Oil company and nearly monopolized the oil industry Cornelius Vanderbilt monopolized the train industry owning the main routes from Chicago to New York These men take full advantage of their power and their employees with the governments help because they pay off politicians (even the POTUS) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku4IYJBrChs

Rebellion and Strikes Unions form all over the US to fight against unfair labor practices by big business onto their employees National Labor Union (NLU), Knights of Labor, American Federation of Labor (AFL), Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), American Railway Union (ARU) They fight for things like the 8 hour work day, higher pay, and safer working conditions; they will only strike as a last resort (Triangle Shirtwaist Factory) People begin to ask for socialism or government control of business and property and equal distribution of wealth Eugene V. Debs and Samuel Gompers were leaders of the common man during this age of business reform Famous strikes: Great Strike of 1877, The Haymarket Affair, The Homestead Strike, The Pullman Strike where workers refused to work The government would back the businesses and remove strikers with armed troops from the property to protect the business and the owners and then the owners would hire scabs to replace the old workers

Key Outcomes and Themes Governments begin to back owners by using the Sherman Anti-Trust Act that said the act of any attempt to interfere with free trade among the states or internationally by forming a trust was illegal and this allowed the state governments to send in troops to stop strikes This also made it harder for unions to organize and so membership plummets People begin to no longer associate or support unions because of their ties to violence perpetrated by the media TEDDY ROOSEVELT TO THE RESCUE (TRUST BUSTER)