1. The Rise of Big Business Growth of the Steel Industry William Kelly & Henry Bessemer discovered a new way to make steel. Bessemer Process – strong steel/low cost Steel rails for railroads Steel nails, screws, needles Steel Mills sprang up through out Midwest Pittsburgh – steel-making capital of the U.S.

2. The Rise of Big Business Andrew Carnegie’s Steel Empire Andrew Carnegie – Scottish Immigrant Bought a steel mill, iron mines, railroad & steamship lines, and warehouses Vertical Integration “Gospel of Wealth” – Helped poor – Gave to charities – Improved society

3. The Rise of Big Business Corporation and Bankers Big factories forced smaller to close. Big Businesses: – Became Corporations – Sold Stock – Hoped for dividends

4. The Rise of Big Business Corporation and Bankers JP Morgan wealthy banker/bought troubled corporations Controlled most rail lines Bought most steel companies Merged w/ Carnegie Steel to form U.S. Steel First American Company worth $1 Billion!

5. The Rise of Big Business Rockefeller’s Oil Empire Iron Ore was plentiful in Minn, PA, WV, CO. First Oil Strike – 1859 in Titusville, PA. Hundreds flocked to Western PA. Oil was valuable when converted to kerosene. Kerosene was used for fuel in lamps & stoves.

6. The Rise of Big Business Rockefeller’s Oil Empire John D. Rockefeller built an oil refinery. Used profits to buy many refineries. Standard Oil Company of Ohio Formed the Standard Oil Trust in 1882. This created a monopoly of the oil industry.

7. The Rise of Big Business Trusts…Good or Bad? Supporters Giant corporations brought lower production costs, lower prices, higher wages, and better quality of life. Opponents Trusts reduce competition, raise prices, lower quality, buy favors from elected officials.

8. Inventions Change the Nation 21,000 patents were granted in 1897. William Blackstone of Indiana built the first washing machine for clothes. Cyrus Field improved the telegraph. Americans could send a transatlantic message. Transatlantic – across the Atlantic Ocean

9. Inventions Change the Nation Alexander Graham Bell – invented the telephone in 1876. Bell opened Bell Telephone Company in 1877. Thomas Edison – “The Wizard of Menlo Park” Invented the light bulb, phonograph, first device to show movies, electric power plant.

10. Inventions Change the Nation Other Inventions Gustavus Swift – refrigerated railroad car Meat could be shipped before spoiling. Christopher Sholes – typewriter George Eastman – Kodak camera Elijah McCoy – machine that oiled engines Jan Matzeliger – shoemaking machine

11. Inventions Change the Nation Henry Ford – in 1913, introduced the moving assembly line and could mass produce cars. Ford introduced the first automobiles in the U.S. to the public. 1917 – Over 4 million cars in the U.S. Orville and Wilbur Wright – bicycle mechanics They tested the 1 st “flying machine” on December 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk, NC. It lasted 12 seconds. They changed the world.

12. Organized Labor Machine-driven factories were changing the workplace. People watched machines all day. Less skilled laborers worked for low wages Sweatshops – mostly women and children Over 2 million children – 12hr/day, 6days/wk Cave-ins, gas explosions, molten metal spills were hazards.

13. Organized Labor Women at Work 1890 – 1 million women worked in factories Mary Harris Jones “Mother Jones” International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union – (ILGWU) – Fought for workers – Key member of the AFL

14. Organized Labor Workers banded together for better conditions! Knights of Labor – Terence Powderly – Did not believe in strikes – Goals – shorter work day, end child labor, equal pay for men and women Haymarket – Strikebreakers – Anarchists – A bomb killed 7 police officers – Haymarket Riot

15. Organized Labor American Federation of Labor Samuel Gompers in 1886 Columbus, Ohio Workers of the same trade joined unions Fought for wages, hours, better cond. Collective bargaining Most powerful labor organization in the nation

16. Organized Labor Triangle Fire Triangle Shirtwaist Factory 1911 in New York City The doors were locked 150 workers died, mostly young women Led to new safety laws to protect workers

17. Organized Labor Hard Times Depressions and Recessions led to pay cuts Violent strikes broke out Government sided with the owners Americans opposed labor unions