1. CHAPTERS 13 & 14 Industrialism

2. New Inventions and Technologies Capitalists provided financial backing for the scientific research that led to many new inventions  Provided funds to build railroads, mills, and factories furnished with machinery and supplies Telegraph lines brought dramatic progress in communications  Messages could quickly be sent anywhere in the country where there was a telegraph line The invention of the telephone led to commercial lines  Allowed businesses, and eventually individual homes, to quickly contact each other

3. Telegraph Lines Edison Power Plant in NYC

4. New Inventions and Technologies Oil becomes a cheap fuel source  Oil companies throughout the U.S. were created becoming a huge industry  Supplied oil for lamps, machinery, and gasoline (a little later) Bessemer Process makes steel a cheap and useable building commodity  Steel was used by railroad companies and by builders for construct longer bridges and taller buildings Electric power stations brought light to the nation  Artificial light allowed business to stay open longer  Homeowners could enjoy a night life and have appliances

5. Explosion of Industrial Growth Frederick Taylor’s time-and-motion studies determined the most efficient way to perform each task in a production process  Industrialists such as Henry Ford applied these principles to their factories, creating assembly lines  This increased productivity and resulted in cheaper goods Corporations were formed to provide businesses with the capital (money) necessary to expand  Run by the stock owners, who profit from the corporation’s success Monopolies, such as Rockefeller’s Standard Oil, dominate an industry by eliminating competition Trusts were sets of companies managed by a small group of trustees  Prevented companies in the trust from competing with each other

6. Big Business and the Government New big businesses were different from traditional companies because of their size and profitability  Big businesses were impersonal and profit-driven  Those who ran them seldom knew their workers  Were responsive to their investors Horizontal Integration  led to larger companies because it joined together businesses in the same industry Vertical Integration  led to large companies because it involved acquiring other businesses that contribute to making a product Most politicians at this time favored a laissez-faire policy because of their belief that the market, would regulate itself  Many people also believed that business was a matter of survival of the fittest, and that the strongest businesses would naturally survive and prosper without the government’s involvement

7. The Gilded Age Some historians refer to industrialists as robber barons  They gained their wealth through ruthless, shady business practices that hurt workers, corrupted officials, and damaged the environment Some historians refer to industrialists as captains of industry  They were hard workers who took advantage of new technology and new forms of business organization to make their companies more productive  This created jobs for millions of Americans and improved working and living conditions over time

8. Conditions of the Working Class Workers worked long hours for little pay  6 days/week for 10 hours/day  Earned about $1/day Work was repetitive and boring Many work environments were hazardous  Worker safety was not of concern Many children worked in factories for longer hours than adults and in more dangerous conditions  Child labor laws were ignored by business owners and not enforced by states Many workers lived in cramped, unsanitary tenement housing  Disease and fire were always constant dangers

9. The Labor Movement Workers formed labor unions  Unions threatened to strike when necessary  Unions joined forces to form national labor organizations  Goal was to get higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions Employers attempted to undermine unions:  Owners threatened to fire workers who joined unions  Forced new employees to sign “yellow-dog” contracts  Would not hire if refused to sign  Owners circulated blacklists of union members and refused to hire listed workers Began collective bargaining practices  Compromise between labor unions and employers concerning wages, and working conditions

10. Strikes Across the Nation Railroad Strike of 1877  Rail workers around the country went on strike after railroad companies slashed wages during the depression  Strikers burned and looted railroad property  President Hayes used federal troops to restore order and break the strike Haymarket Affair, 1886  After a fight between strikers and “scabs” was broken up by police, anarchists arranged for a demonstration  Chicago police stormed a PEACEFUL meeting of a group of anarchists in Haymarket Square and fired into the crowd  Five protesters and seven police officers died in the incident

11. Strikes Across the Nation Homestead Strike, 1892  Pinkerton agents were hired to protect the plant from striking workers  Agents gave up after a daylong gun battle with strikers at the Carnegie Steel plant in Homestead, Pennsylvania  The strikers took control of the town until Henry Frick brought in nonunion workers to run the plant  Union was shut out for the next 40 years Pullman Strike, 1894  Workers at the Pullman Palace Car factory went on strike after the company cut wages but not rent or other charges  Employees lived in the town, company housing, and purchased things from the company stores  Strike was supported by the American Railway Union  Shut down most of the rail traffic in the Midwest  Because the strike interfered with the delivery of the mail, President Cleveland sent in federal troops and the strike ended

12. Unions Successful? Setbacks:  The federal government generally opposed union activities  Sent in troops to break up strikes and issued injunctions  Unions failed to gain the support and respect of Americans  Strikes were viewed as violent led by dangerous radicals Gains  Work hours and wages for union workers over 25 years  54 hrs.->49 hrs. and $17.60/week -> $21.30/week  Same happened for nonunion workers-just not as much  Unions won some recognition of workers’ rights  Workers were people too!