Railroads Gov’t loaned $ to RR companies Land grants

Railroads Union Pacific RR Omaha, Neb.  West Irish Central Pacific RR Sacramento, CA  East Chinese Wedding of the Rails Ogden, Utah 1869

Other Railroads Northern Pacific Atchison Southern Pacific Great Northern

Railroads Cornelius Vanderbilt Steel rail Standard gauge Investors RR Steel Mining Agriculture People Farm supplies Farm products Immigration Railroad Standard Time Schedules and wrecks

Railroad Problems Jay Gould Stock watering – lie about a line’s assets and profitability and sell high value Bribed judges and legislatures Lobbyists Free passes to journalists and politicians Lassize faire – govt is hands off Wanted free trade

Gov’t Gets Involved Grange – farmers didn’t like big RR business Wabash case – states had no power to regulate interstate commerce (Federal gov’t would have to do it) Interstate Commerce Act (1887) Cleveland Prohibited rebates and pools Published rates Forbade discrimination Can’t charge more for a short haul than a long one ***1 st large scale attempt by Washington to regulate business Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) – enforce Interstate Commerce Act

Industrial World Leader -by 1880, U.S. is world’s leading producer of goods -Why???? unlimited labor force abundant coal supply iron mining discovery of oil in US– Drake railroad development The United States, nearing the turn of the century in the 1880s and 1890s, teemed with immigration from many European nations, as well as many Chinese immigrants. These immigrants provided a steady work force, as well as a cheap work force, as employers could get away with paying them less per hour.

Edwin Drake’s discovery of oil led many to drill for the “black gold.” At first, the unrefined petroleum brought in money for its producers and refiners. Entrepreneurs began petroleum-refining industries to transform the oil into kerosene for lamps, and they got rid of the by-products, like gasoline. It was not until the production of the car and other mechanized items, that oil refining became big business.

PUBLIC SUPPORT laissez-faire government allows business to do whatever it wants unlimited immigration supplied labor high tariffs protected American business public financing of railroads shipping goods

ENTREPRENUERS AND INNOVATIONS Communication Telegraph Samuel B. Morse Telephone Alexander Graham Bell Typewriter Christopher Sholes new jobs for women Factories Light bulb Thomas Edison Elevator Elisha Otis

Urban life Trolleys = suburbs = upper and middle classes move from inner city

Urban Life Work by the clock = more leisure time = more saloons dance halls Cabarets amusement parks vaudeville shows moving pictures spectator sports (boxing, baseball, horse racing) city parks (Central Park/ Fredrick Olmstead – landscape architect)