The Rise of Big Business

Essential Question How did big businesses in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s help the United States economy grow quickly?

Places  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  Cleveland, Ohio

People  Andrew Carnegie  John D. Rockefeller  George Westinghouse  William Randolph Hearst  Madame C.J. Walker  J. P. Morgan

Vocabulary  Corporation  Stock  Monopoly  Free enterprise  Consumer  Human resource  Capital resource

Building with Steel  Steel has been made for 2,000 years by melting iron and adding carbon.  Steel can hold more weight than iron alone.  Steel was very expensive to make.  Henry Bessemer, an Englishman, made a way to make steel affordable in England.

Building with Steel Andrew Carnegie used Bessemer’s process of making steel. He built a steel factory in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania Carnegie wanted to lower prices for steel so he bought iron and coal mines to supply his factories. He also bought ships and railroads to bring the resources to his factories and finished steel all over the country.

Building with Steel Carnegie helped steel become a “big business” or a major industry in the United States. By 1900, the United States was producing more steel than any other country. Steel was now affordable so people could use it to build buildings, trains, cars, and other products.

Railroads Link Markets  The railroads needed steel to build trains and tracks.  By 1893 the U.S. had more than 160,000 miles of railroad track!  Railroads were the first large corporations.  A Corporation is a business that is owned by investors.

Railroads Link Markets  Corporations sell shares of the company called stocks to investors.  A corporation can use the money from selling stock to buy equipment for the company.  Railroads were the fastest and cheapest way to transport goods.

Railroads Link Markets  Railroads linked mines, farms, and cities all over the United States.  By providing these links, railroads helped the U.S. economy grow.  Cities that were major railroad centers also grew, like Chicago.

The Oil Industry  On August 27, 1859, Edwin Drake found oil in western Pennsylvania.  This discovery made a teenager John D. Rockefeller realize money could be made in the oil business.  He built his first oil refinery in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Oil Industry Using profits from his company, he bought other refineries. Rockefeller’s company, Standard Oil, slowly gained control of the nation’s oil industry. Standard Oil had become a monopoly, or a company that has control of an entire industry with little or no competition.

The Oil Industry By the early 1900’s people began buying cars in large numbers. This created a huge demand for oil products such as gasoline and motor oil.

Free Enterprise  In a free enterprise system, people are free to start their own business and own their own property. Business owners are free to decide what to produce, and how much to charge for their products or service.

Free Enterprise  A consumer is a person who buys or uses goods or services.  An inventor named George Westinghouse formed the Westinghouse Electric Company.  He used Alternating current (A/C) to deliver electricity to homes.

Free Enterprise He was in a “War of the currents” with Thomas Edison who used Direct Current or D/C. Westinghouse won the war because he had a better product. An newspaper owner named William Randolph Hearst found news ways to compete in the newspaper business.

Free Enterprise  Hearst used big eye catching headlines and color sections to make peoples attention, thus selling more papers.  Madame C.J. Walker took a different road to success.  She began bottling shampoo and other products in her attic.  She became the first African American woman to become a millionaire.

Resources and Big Business  Resources are divided into three categories; natural resources, human resources, and capital resources.  Natural resources are things that are found in nature.  Human resources are people who work to produce goods and services.

Resources and Big Business  Capital resources are tools and machines that companies use to produce goods and services.  Banks helped businesses get the capital resources they needed.  J. P. Morgan was the countries richest and most powerful banker.

Help Wanted  Before the Civil War most Americans worked on farms.  By 1900 most Americans worked in factories.  The U.S. was the biggest producer of manufactured goods.  The U.S. economy was the fastest growing and one of the strongest in the world.

Help Wanted  Growing industries created millions of jobs in American cities.  Many people moved to the cities looking for work.  Immigrants came from all over the world to find new opportunities in the United States.

Review Questions 1.How did railroads help the United States economy grow? 2.What freedoms do business owners and consumers have in a free enterprise system? 1.How was Andrew Carnegie able to produce huge amounts of steel at low prices?