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Published byPhilomena Wilkins Modified over 9 years ago
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INDUSTRIALISTS Captains of Industry and Robber Barons
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Significant Inventions & Innovations Henry Bessemer’s & (William Kelly) Process Steel Production: 15,000 tons in 1865 to 28 mil. tons in 1910 Sold for $100 a ton in 1873 vs. $12 a ton in late 1890s Edward Drake’s founding of Black Gold in PA in 1859 25 mil. Barrels of oil in 1880 alone Elijah McCoy’s invention of a lubricating cup (1873) Fed oil to parts of a machine while it was running Samuel F.B. Morse’s telegraph (1837) Alexander Graham Bell’s Telephone (1876) Christopher Sholes’ Typewriter (1867) Thomas Edison’s (and Lewis Latimer’s) Electric light (1879) George Westinghouse’s Compressed Air-brake (1869) Charles and J. Frank Duryea’s first practical motorcar in US (1893) Wright Brother’s First piloted flight of 12 seconds & 120 ft (1903)
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Other Important Changes… Advertisement in magazines, newspapers, roadside billboards, and catalogs (Montgomery Wards, Sears, Roebuck and Company) Department Stores (R.H. Macy) & Chain Stores (Frank W. Woolworth)
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Railroad Tycoons Used stock watering (inflating value of railroad stock) to gain wealth) Bribery of judges and legislatures Investing in professional lobbyists Elected own men in office Secret rebates & kickbacks to corporations Increased rates on short hauls compared to long hauls Formed pools to protect investments Pocketing investments instead reinvesting (ex: Gould)
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Jay Gould Controlled much of the railroads in the West by the 1880s
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Cornelius Vanderbilt Replaced iron track w/ steel track Controlled much of the railroads (especially in north east, such as NY) Estimated fortune by the time of his death in 1870s: 100 mil. (worth 140 bil. in 2007 US dollars) By 1877, controlled 4500 miles of track
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George Pullman Designed and manufactured “Pullman” railroad cars (dining, sleeping, etc.) to improve comfort for long distances Established company towns & controlled workers’ daily lives
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Andrew Carnegie Steel By 1890, controlled 25% of nation’s steel & 80% by 1901 Eventually sold Carnegie Steel to J.P. Morgan for over 400 mil. Used Bessemer Process to turn iron into steel Used vertical integration (consolidation) Controlling every aspect of the production process by controlling the quantity in hopes of eliminating middlemen’s fees Used horizontal integration as well
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John D. Rockefeller Oil Controlled 95% of oil refineries by 1877! Used rule or ruin tactics (ruthless business tactics) Used Horizontal Integration (Consolidation) Consolidating with competitors to monopolize a given market Formed the Standard Oil Trust Trust: Stockholders in various smaller oil companies sold their stock and authority to the board of director’s of Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company Worth about 900 mil. upon his retirement in 1897, worth about 1.4 mil by his death in 1930s (approx. 190 bil today dollars)
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J.P. Morgan Banking, Steel, etc. Owned a Wall Street Banking House Helped to refinance businesses and industrialization Acted as a Holding Companies Bought controlling shares of stock in member companies instead of purchasing companies outright While the “held” companies remained separate businesses on paper, in reality, the holding company controlled them Used interlocking directorates Consolidate rival enterprises and ensure future harmony by placing officers of his own banking association on their various boards of directors Ex of Business venture: Bought Carnegie Steel & other companies to form US Steel Corporation in 1901 (first billion corporation)
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Did the Govt. do enough? Slaughterhouse Cases (1873) -Protection of labor was NOT a federal responsibility under the 14 th Amendment, but a state responsibility -Protected businesses from federal regulation if they ONLY engage in intrastate commerce (within a state) Munn vs. Illinois (1877) Public always has the right to regulate business operations in which the public has an interest; ruled against railroads Wabash Case (1886) Individual states had NO POWER to regulate interstate commerce; responsibility rested with the federal government SC decisions interpreted corporations as a person (1886) Interstate Commerce Act (1887) Set up the ICC Prohibited rebates and pools and required railroads to publish their rate openly Sherman Antitrust Act Created in response to pubic demand for curbing excesses of trusts Forbade combinations in restraint of trade, without distinction between good and bad trusts (Interestingly, more trusts formed under McKinley than any other president before)
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ROBBER BARONS?
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