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Published bySusan Davidson Modified over 9 years ago
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THE RISE OF BIG BUSINESS IN THE GILDED AGE
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WHAT DO YOU SEE?
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WHAT DO THE WORKERS IN THIS IMAGE HAVE IN COMMON? Why might factory managers hire women?
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GILD – TO GIVE AN OFTEN DECEPTIVELY ATTRACTIVE OR IMPROVED APPEARANCE TO. TO COVER WITH OR AS IF WITH A THIN LAYER OF GOLD.
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THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION ALSO KNOWN AS THE GILDED AGE What was the Gilded Age?
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1870-1900 Term coined by author Mark Twain to describe an era of fabulous wealth, which masked problems such as corruption and poverty
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MANIFEST DESTINY The United States had to grow in order to achieve it. We had to Industrialize. Three things you need in order to Industrialize:
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Land - Natural Resources opening of West led to increase of available resources-RR shipped resources Labor - workers needed met by population growth; between 1860- 1890, pop. doubles Loot (Capital $)- manufactured goods (or $ for investment) used to make other goods and services
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WHAT DO WE HAVE? WHAT DO WE NEED? HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET IT?
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RAILROADS: THE KEY TO GROWTH
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raw materials to factories manufactured goods & produce to markets Provide jobs: steel, lumber, miners, laborers Cities grow & communication improves The Railroad Boom Benefits:
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IMPROVEMENTS: Consolidation: Combining separate railroad companies into larger ones; Large railroad companies often forced smaller ones out of business A standard gauge of width for the railroad track (4 ft, 8.5 in.)was adopted, allowing for faster shipment of goods and reduced prices. RESULT: Lower costs (no more loading and unloading goods on to different trains).
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CONNECTING LINES / TIME ZONES System that divided U.S. into 4 time zones: Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific -Adopted by Congress in 1919
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Railroad Technology Air brakes, George Westinghouse – Janney car couplers, invented by Eli H. Janney – Refrigerated cars, Gustavus Swift – Pullman sleeping car, developed by George M. Pullman
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RAILROAD BARONS James Hill : Great Northern Line; built w/out gov’t assistance; gave seed, helped farmers buy equipment, special cattle to ranchers Minnesota Washington
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Cornelius Vanderbilt: Rich + powerful; steamship lines, bought and consolidated railroads : used ruthless tactics to acquire track from N.Y. to Chicago New York Central RR
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RAILROAD ABUSES Rate Wars –competition; caused r.r to cut fares Rebates – Secret discounts to large customers Pools several r.r. would divide up business in an area and fix prices (high) Laws passed but not enforced
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EFFECT ON FARMERS: Result: Rebates and Pools bad for farmers; Populist Party formed
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POSITIVES: Growth of Industry Steel Lumber Miners Railroad workers (build and operate) Opened every corner to settlement and growth (new businesses and towns)
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Railroads: Corrupt or Just? Railroads: Corrupt or Just?
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ESSENTIAL QUESTION: HOW DID RAILROAD EXPANSION AFFECT THE UNITED STATES ECONOMY? Using the graphic organizer, explain the effects of railroad expansion on industry in the United States.
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WHAT FACTORS CAUSED THE GROWTH OF INDUSTRY? Land - Natural Resources opening of West led to increase of available resources-RR shipped resources Labor – The population growth met needs for work force; between 1860- 1890, pop. doubles Loot (Capital $)- (or $ for investment) used to make other goods and services
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NEW WAYS OF DOING BUSINESS Formation of Corporations- businesses owned by investors who buy portions of a company through shares of stock, in hopes of earning dividends ($$$). Investors (shareholders) have little risk. Few laws limited corporations.
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Vertical Integration- Controlling all aspects of production, from raw materials to finished product (Carnegie) Horizontal Integration- Purchase of competing companies in the same industry (Rockefeller)
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A NEW INDUSTRY CAUSE: 1850s: researchers found that they could burn petroleum to produce heat and smoke free light EFFECTS: Oil became valuable led to growth of new industry (Oil had to be refined before use) 1859- Edwin Drake drilled first oil well in Titusville, PA
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FIRST OIL WELL- TITUSVILLE, PA
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JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER Led oil industry with his Standard Oil Company *Competition was wasteful~ Created monopoly *Developed trust: a legal body created to hold stock in several companies * Set high prices *secret deals w/ r.r. *Standard Oil Company~ by 1880, trust controlled 95% of oil industry
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ANDREW CARNEGIE Controlled steel industry after creation of Bessemer steel process Wanted to make cheapest and best product using vertical integration U.S. Steel
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ROBBER BARONS OR PHILANTHROPISTS? YOU DECIDE. Philanthropists: Both men donated large sums of money to community : charities, hospitals, universities, and libraries (Dunkirk Free Library was one!) Robber Barons: Definition: Business leaders who became wealthy through dishonest methods. Both were ruthless businessmen who worked their way from the bottom up.
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J.P. Morgan: biggest banker in U.S. Leader in business Bought shares of stock in several businesses during panic of 1893~ as large stockholder, won seats on board of directors Used $$ to buy railroads Eventually bought into steel industry (head of U.S. Steel)
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GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION Sherman Anti-trust Act: 1890- prohibited trusts and monopolies
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WHAT IS FREE ENTERPRISE? Did monopolies and trusts threaten the free enterprise system ?
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