1. Industry comes of age
APUSH Chapter 24

2. The Iron Colt Becomes an Iron Horse
By 1900 there were 192,556 miles of railways in the US (more than all of Europe combined)
Companies were rewarded with western lands to build a transcontinental railroad
Villages the railroads were built through became flourishing cities
Others withered up and died becoming ghost towns

3. Spanning the Continent with Rails
The Union Pacific Railroad was commissioned in 1862 to move westward from Omaha, Nebraska
Many Irish “Paddies” worked to help build the railroad
Insiders of the Credit Mobilier Scandal pocketed 73 million dollars for 50 million dollars worth of construction
At the California end, the Central Pacific Railroad pushed eastward from Sacramento
Some 10,000 Chinese laborers provided the bulk of the labor (Hundreds lost their lives due to explosions)
Transcontinental railroad was completed when the two companies met in Utah in 1869.

4. Railroad Consolidation & Mechanization
“Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt
made his million in steamboats, turned to railroads in his 60’s
Contributed 1 million to the founding of Vanderbilt University
Helped popularize the steel rail (safer& more economical)
Standard gauge of track width
Air brake
“Traveling Hotels” – Pullman Palace Cars
Telegraph

5. Revolution by Railways
United the country physically
Created an enormous market for American raw materials and manufactured goods
Spurred the industrialization of the Post- Civil War years
Boosted steel industry through use of steel rails
Stimulated mining and agriculture in the West
Encouraged growth of cities
Stimulated immigration
November 18,1888– time zones created– “railroad standard time”
The maker of millionaires

6. Government Bridles the Iron Horse
Depression of the 1870’s goaded farmers into protesting corruption and control of the economy by a few
The Grange (Patrons of Husbandry) & other agrarian groups pressured the government to regulate the railroad monopoly
Wabash case– states could not regulate interstate commerce
Interstate Commerce Act in prohibited rebates & pools & required the railroads to publish their rates publicly
Forbade unfair discrimination
Set up the Interstate Commerce Commission to administer and enforce the new legislation
The first large scale attempt by Washington to regulate business in the interest of society at large

7. Miracles of Mechanization
By 1894, the US was the leading manufacturing nation in the world
In the 1840’s, the word millionaire had not been coined– during this era immense fortunes were created making the word necessary
Amazing natural resources were there to be exploited
Massive immigration (primarily from Eastern and Southern Europe) made labor cheap and plentiful
Ingenuity was inspiring thousands of new patents
Urbanization was speeded by the refrigerator car and the electric railway
The telephone by Alexander Graham Bell built a gigantic communication network
Thomas Alva Edison was the most versatile inventor of the era– Menlo Park, NJ was his “factory” where he invented – the phonograph, mimeograph, the Dictaphone, and the moving picture, as well as perfecting the electric light bulb

8. The Trust Titan Emerges
Andrew Carnegie– Steel
John D. Rockefeller- Oil
J. Pierpoint Morgan– Banking
Carnegie pioneered vertical integration – goal to improve efficiency and eliminate middlemen’s fees
Rockefeller – master of horizontal integration so he controlled all his rivals in a trust run by a board of directors

9. John D. Rockefeller
Andrew Carnegie

10. The Supremacy of Steel
Typified the dominance of “heavy industry” as compared to “consumer goods”
By 1900, American was producing as much steel as Britain and Germany combined
Why? The Bessemer process– method of making steel cheaply and the relatively close location of fuel, iron ore, and other essential ingredients

11. Carnegie and other Sultans of Steel
Scottish born industrialist
By 1900, he was producing ¼ of the nation’s steel and making $25 million a year (his partners were splitting another 15 mill)
Pre income tax – so actual take home pay!
Morgan bought out Carnegie for over $400 million
Carnegie spent the rest of his life giving away money for public libraries, pensions for professors and other philanthropic causes– giving away around 350 million
Morgan opened the United States Steel Corporation which was the first billion dollar corporation

12. Rockefeller Grows an American Beauty Rose
1859– first oil well in Pennsylvania
By 1900, approximately 15 million electric light bulbs were in use which rendered kerosene oil obsolete
Oil industry would have died out if not for invention of the automobile
John D. Rockefeller came to dominate the industry
1870– organized Standard Oil Company
By 1877, controlled 95% of the oil refineries in the country

13. The Gospel of Wealth
Idea that the wealthy had to be morally responsible
Many argued that the extreme wealth was survival of the fittest – as promoted by Charles Darwin
Contempt for the poor– many who were wealthy had worked hard to get that way and assumed that the poor were lazy and lacking in enterprise

14. Government Tackles the Trust Evil
Eventually, people began to mobilize against monopoly
Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 was finally signed into law
Forbade combinations in restraint of trade
Proved ineffective
Used to curb labor unions or labor combinations
More new trusts formed in the 1890’s than any other time
Eventually, private greed must be subordinated to public need

15. The South in the Age of Industry
As late as 1900, the South still produced less manufacturing than it had before the Civil War
Sharecroppers dominated southern society
1880s machine made cigarettes replaced the roll your own
James Buchannan Duke formed the American Tobacco Co. and gave so much money to Trinity College that it was changed to Duke University
Manufacturing cotton textiles fared biter than steel industry in the south
Beginning about 1880, northern capital began to erect cotton mills in the South
Slowly wove an industrial thread into southern life, creating mill towns where mill employees lived and worked
Was the first chance many had known for steady wages, despite they were paid half the rate of northern counterparts

16. The Impact of the New Industrial Revolution on America
Standard of living rose sharply
Urban centers grew
Older ways of life were withering
Time centered around factory whistle
Women moved into the workforce
Delayed marriages
Smaller families
Class divisions became accentuated
In 1900, 1/10 of the people owned 9/10 of the nation’s wealth
American products radiated all over the world

17. In Unions There is Strength
In the age of big business, wage earners did not share proportionally with their employers in the benefits
Manual workers hit hard when machines replaced employees (in long run more jobs created than destroyed)
Employees had little ammunition to fight back
Corporations had strike breakers, lockouts, and federal courts on their side
American wages were perhaps the highest in the world
Strikes were seen as socialistic and unpatriotic
Labor Unions received a boost by the Civil War
National Labor Union 1866 argued for eight hour workday and arbitration for disputes
Knights of Labor sought to include all workers in one big union campaigned for economic and social reform and codes for safety and health

18. American Federation of Labor
Formed in 1886 by Samuel Gompers
President every year except one from 1886 to 1924
An association of self governing national unions
A major goal was the trade agreement authorizing the closed shop– all union labor
Chief weapons were walkouts and boycotts
Willing to let unskilled workers fend for themselves – it was composed of skilled workers
Labor disorders continued with over 23,000 strikes between 1881 and 1900
Labor Day made a legal holiday in 1894