Industrialization

Railroads Federal land grants were made to railroad owners after the Civil War to encourage more railroad construction. They hoped to connect the eastern U.S. with western states to create new markets for goods and sources of raw materials.

First Transcontinental Railroad The first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869 when the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroad companies joined their tracks at Promontory Point, Utah.

Railroad construction was very dangerous and many workers died in explosions, rock slides, and heavy snowstorms. Chinese immigrants were used for much of the railroad construction because they would work for lower wages. Asian immigrants faced strong anti-immigrant sentiment (nativism) because the wages for all workers began to decline.

First Limits Placed on Immigration Chinese Exclusion Act -- Banned Chinese immigration to the U.S. from 1882 until after WWII

Japanese Immigrants Japanese immigrants also faced opposition and California passed laws prohibiting them from owning land and forcing them to attend segregated schools. Japan protested these actions and negotiated an agreement with the federal government. Gentlemen’s Agreement – Limited Japanese immigration to the U.S. and ended segregation in the California schools

Western Settlement Railroad companies contributed to western development by selling low- cost parcels of fertile land (they had been given by the government) to settlers for farming. These farmers used the railroads to ship their grain east while cattle ranchers used then to ship their cattle to eastern butchers. They sold their goods in eastern markets. Railroads made money by transporting settlers west and goods east.

Steel Industry The expansion of the railroad industry increased demand for related goods such as wood, iron, coal, fabric, glass, and most of all steel. Railroads were the biggest customers for the steel industry who developed a cheap, efficient method for mass producing steel called the Bessemer process.

This process made it more affordable for industries to use the steel companies’ products. Andrew Carnegie (a Scottish immigrant) made a fortune in steel production using the Bessemer process.

The rapid growth of the railroad and steel industries spurred the growth of other big industries in the oil, financial, and manufacturing sectors of the economy They began to acquire enormous wealth and economic power which allowed them to control many aspects of American culture and politics

Most began to form monopolies (markets in which there is only one major seller) which gave them complete control over the price of their products. These big businesses became the target of government reform movements at the beginning of the 20 th century.

Oil Industry John D. Rockefeller made a fortune in the oil refinery business with his company, Standard Oil. Standard Oil was the most famous big business of the era because Rockefeller created a trust by gaining control of most other oil companies in the area. He eventually owned more than 90% of America’s oil industry.

Electricity The advances in this industry changed forever how people in the U.S. lived. Thomas Edison was the famous inventor responsible for a system for distributing electrical power, the light bulb, the phonograph, and early motion pictures. Edison also established the concept of industrial research and founded a research laboratory in New Jersey.

Other inventors developed systems for long-distance transmission of electricity which allowed homes and businesses to widely use Edison’s inventions. Electricity began to replace steam power, horse power, and even manual labor (especially in household appliances). Electricity and the products that used it helped to improve the quality of life in the U.S.

Effects of Industrialization Native American Unrest Immigration and Urbanization Development of Labor Unions

Native American Unrest Industrialization of the east forced many seeking a rural lifestyle to move west. Overcrowded conditions and the development of effective transportation to the region (the railroads) increased western settlement. These new western settlers competed with Native Americans for land causing tension and sometimes violence.

The Sioux Indian Wars The Sioux tribe was granted by the U.S. government a large reservation in the Dakotas to be held by them forever. Gold was then discovered in the Black Hills which was in Sioux territory and the U.S. government tried to buy the land back from the tribe. The Sioux refused to sell the land to the U.S. government.

When the U.S. pressured them, the medicine man leader of the Sioux, Sitting Bull, joined many tribes together and began the Sioux Indian Wars on the Great Plains. They fought U.S. Army troops, tried to escape to Canada, and finally agreed to settle on a reservation. Sitting Bull tried to unite the tribes again under the Ghost Dance Movement (a religious movement).

Ghost Dance Movement Beliefs The white settlers would disappear from the west. The buffalo (which were almost extinct due to improved hunting tactics and profit seekers) would return to their lands. Their original land holdings would be returned to them. The U.S. government ordered Sitting Bull arrested and outlawed the Ghost Dance. The Sioux leader was killed in a brief gun battle.

Massacre at Wounded Knee The outlawing of the Ghost Dance sparked a new war with the united Plains Indians The Sioux Indian Wars ended with the Massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890 While collecting weapons from captured Sioux, a shot was fired and U.S. soldiers killed 300 Sioux Indians including many women and children This officially ended the Ghost Dance Movement and the Sioux Indian Wars

New Immigration Numbers of immigrants entering the U.S. greatly increased after the Civil War. These “new” immigrants came from eastern and southern Europe instead of northern and western Europe. They were often Jewish or Catholic, spoke no English, and were more likely to be poor.

Wealthier immigrants were readily accepted, but the poor ones had to endure many health tests before entrance was granted. These tests were given at government reception centers such as Ellis Island located in New York Harbor. Asian immigration increased as well and most of these immigrants entered the U.S. at Angel Island in San Francisco.

Ellis Island

The new immigrants tended to settle in areas populated by people from their home country because they were unfamiliar with the American language and culture. They did not blend in with the culture like earlier immigrants did. Most of these poor immigrants could not afford to purchase land to farm, so they flocked to the cities to search for jobs in factories. This rapid increase in the population of cities is called urbanization.

Development of Labor Unions Poor working conditions for unskilled laborers included –Low wages –Long working hours –No vacations –Unsafe conditions –No system for addressing worker grievances –No job security

Workers began to ban together in labor unions. Labor Union – an organization for workers who fight for better working conditions for its members through collective bargaining Collective bargaining – the union process of collecting the demands of the workers and bargaining with employers to get the maximum number of them met Goals of early labor unions included –Higher wages –Shorter hours (usually an 8 hour day)

American Federation of Labor or AFL A national organization representing a number of local labor unions to give them more power at the federal level Originally led by Samuel Gompers from 1886 to his death in 1924 who was respected by both workers and employers Used strikes (work stoppages) to get better working conditions for its members and give them more control over their workplace

Pullman Strike A violent strike that broke out when the Pullman railcar company in Chicago fired half its workers and cut the pay of those left by 25% to 50% The strike drew the attention of the American Railway Union who supported the strike by refusing to move any trains with Pullman cars on them

Railroad traffic west of Chicago came to a halt. The Pullman company hired replacement workers (called scabs) who were attacked by the strikers when they tried to go to work. Pressured by the railroad owners, the federal government placed mail cars on trains with Pullman cars because any interference with mail delivery is a federal crime.

The railroad owners convinced the federal government to declare the strike illegal and President Grover Cleveland sent the U.S. troops to restore peace. Labor unions were feared by business and the government because they felt the unions would interrupt the capitalistic economy of the nation.