1. Ch 5 SECTION 2 – The Second Industrial Revolution
INDUSTRY & STEEL
In the 1850s a new method called the Bessemer process made steel-making faster and cheaper
Steel helped transform the US into a modern industrial economy

2. The low cost of steel made it practical for everyday items such as nails and wire
Cheap steel also helped the railroads expand
By the mid-1890s, the US had become the world’s industrial leader

3. THE RISE OF BIG BUSINESS
Entrepreneurs were risk takers who started new business within the economic system
In the late 1800s, the US government encouraged free enterprise – business that is free from government involvement

4. This new economic system of free enterprise is called capitalism with most businesses being privately owned
Supporters of the capitalism reasoned that if there were no government interference, the economy would grow

5. There are huge inequalities under capitalism (some people succeed and are rich and some are not)
These inequalities were explained in a philosophy called Social Darwinism which believed in “survival of the fittest” and explains why some people succeed and others do not

6. Social Darwinists favored laissez-faire (hands off) capitalism where the government had little regulation of business
In the late 1800s, the US economy went through cycles of boom and bust

7. Many entrepreneurs formed their businesses into corporations – companies that had many of the same legal rights as individuals
They sell stock to raise money for expansion
Corporations can exist after its founder leaves

8. Some corporations joined together to form a trust – a legal arrangement grouping together a number of companies under a single board of directors, which work to eliminate competition
Company 4
Board of Directors
Company 1
Company 2
Company 3

9. With no competition, they could raise prices or lower quality at will
Consumers
Corporation

10. Companies owned by US Steel
Industrial Tycoons & Reasons for Success
In the late 1800s, entrepreneurs succeeded in part to:
Vertical Integration – owning the businesses in each step of the manufacturing process
Steel Mills
Railroads & Ships
Coal Mines
Iron Mines

11. -Horizontal Integration – Owning all the business in a certain field
Standard Oil Company
Oil-Refining Companies

12. John D. Rockefeller’s company, Standard Oil, started as an oil refinery
To increase profits, Rockefeller used vertical integration by acquiring companies that supplied the oil business, such as pipelines and railroad cars

13. Rockefeller also practiced horizontal integration by taking over other refineries
By 1875 Standard Oil refined half of all the oil in the US
Rockefeller gave huge amounts of his wealth to colleges and other good causes

14. Andrew Carnegie worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad, began to invest, then founded his own company and rose to the top of the steel business
Andrew Carnegie’s Steel Company practiced vertical integration by buying mines, coal fields, and railroads

15. By 1899 Carnegie Steel Company dominated the American steel industry
In 1901 Carnegie sold the company for $480 million and retired
Carnegie was a philanthropist who gave millions of dollars to charity

16. Cornelius Vanderbilt and other railroad owners began buying smaller companies to form larger companies which is called consolidation
George Pullman made his fortune by designing sleeping cars for trains that traveled long distances

17. Some Americans viewed the tycoons of the late 1800s as robber barons, destroying competitors with tough tactics
Others saw the tycoons as captains of industry, using their business skills to strengthen the economy

18. The government grew uneasy about the power of corporations
In 1890 Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act which made it illegal to form trusts that interfered with free trade