Industrial Age and Unions

Unit 6C

40 years – 1880 to 1920 – many changes

What changed from 1880 to 1920?

Cities grew out and up.

Transportation Lighting Entertainment

Late 1800s / Early 1900s #1 Industry Railroads

Basis for trade Connecting sections of country together -

interdependency Sub industries of steel, coal, etc. related Financial crisis related to Railroad bubble – Panic

of 1873 #1 later in 1900s, Automobile Industry. What

would it be now?

What Changed America in the Industrial Age?

1. Steel 2. Oil 3. Electricity - and the men who built their empires

(Robber Barons)

What changed America? Steel

Bessemer Process – injects air to remove impurities Makes steel stronger and lighter Brought over from Britain (and perfected by American

William Kelly) Andrew Carnegie – invested in process; controlled

industry in late 1800s

Why did Pittsburg become the Steel City? 3 Major Items needed

Iron ore – from Mesabi Range (Minn) Coal – from Ohio River Valley Limestone – from upstate NY What you do think they needed the most? Why Pittsburg?

Changes

Cities grow up and out. Skyscrapers Elevators (Elisha Otis

invented safety elevator in 1850s)

Subways, rail lines expand out

U.S. Steel Corporation Using vertical

integration, Carnegie had over 20,000 workers and a bigger operation than Britain’s complete industry.

Sold to J.P. Morgan and others in 1900 as the world’s first billion dollar corporation.

Oil In the early 1800s, one of the most important

industries in America was whaling for it’s oil. By the 1840s, Kerosene was being used in lamps. 1859 – Edwin Drake drills 1st well in PA. Begins

boom. John D. Rockefeller used horizontal

consolidation to control over 90% of U.S. refineries with Standard Oil.

Any guess why Rockefeller didn’t want electricity to light the cities?

One by-product not used – gasoline.

Electricity Thomas Edison

Over 1000 patents – phonograph, motion picture camera, and??

Connection to J.P. Morgan? Menlo Park (NJ) lab Ft. Myers (FL) winter home (Who were his neighbors in Ft.

Myers?)

Nikola Tesla – modern alternating current (AC) design

George Westinghouse Transformer for high-voltage current (much safer!)

Other Inventions of the late 1800s Typewriter – 1867 – Christopher Sholes (Why the qwerty

board?)

Telephone – 1876 – Alexander G. Bell Kodak Camera – 1888 – George Eastman Safety Razor – 1895 – King Gillette Hundreds of Thousands of patents issued R&D – Research and Development divisions in

corporations

Robber Barons By 1900, 4000+ millionaires Many claimed to be “self-

made men” like Carnegie, but truth was most born into wealth.

Rockefeller, Carnegie, Morgan

Cornelius Vanderbilt - RRs Gustavus Swift – Meat

packing Isaac Singer – Sewing

machines

Gospel of Wealth By Andrew Carnegie “use wealth for good of

community” Gave back over $325

million Was he trying to erase

image from Johnstown flood and Homestead strike?

American Dream? Horatio Alger books

Dime Novels “Luck and Pluck”

series Inspirational rags to

riches stories

Social Darwinism with businesses Strong survive, but

what if they Robber Barons used bribes, unsafe practices?

Laissez-Faire (“hands-off”) economics

no gov’t intervention

Corporations Multiple people will own business, but

business is legally an “individual.” 14th Amendment was used to defend actions

of corporations as you can not make laws to discriminate against individuals. (today’s effect – Citizens United case)

Idea of limited liability helped in laissez-faire economics and the caveat emptor attitude.

Monopolies As Robber Barons became richer, gov’ts

starting cracking down on Monopolies. Business tried to get around laws by calling

them different things: pool arrangements, trusts, Holding Companies. Used Vertical Integration or Horizontal

Consolidation Sherman Anti-trust Act (1890)

Supposed to stop monopolies, but had little effect at that time.

It did not have enforcement provisions Actually used against labor unions

Boom and Bust After the Civil War, the economy of the U.S.

fluctuated wildly. This caused some major economic downturns.

Panic of 1873 – over expansion of RR, Banks failed Panic of 1893 – Banks crisis, extreme unemployment

Great divide between rich and poor. 1899 average salary in factories – men $498, women

$269 Carnegie made $23 million that year (and

incomes/stocks/bonds not taxed) Taxing policies still based on Tariffs and Excise

taxes. How would fit into the Populist ideas?

Union Growth in late 1800s Early labor unions with women in Lowell

system National Labor Union (William Sylvus) died out

in 1873 Against women workers (drove down wages)

Molly Maguires – not a true union, but used violence against coal mine superiors

Knights of Labor Led by Terrance Powderly Welcomed skilled and unskilled labor Downfall came in 1886 Haymaker Square

Riots Bomb by anarchists killed 7 and injured over 60 Union died out in 1890

AFL – American Federation of Labor Led by Samuel Gompers in late 1800s Focused on “bread and butter” philosophy Excluded unskilled workers and had only

skilled workers Why did help it to be more successful?

Long lasting – still around today

Union Info to know Collective Bargaining –

power of workers in union to negotiate together.

Strikes – main weapon Scabs – replacements

when on strike What is a sit-down strike?

Unions were usually associated with socialists, communists, and anarchists.

Also many immigrants involved.

Will be targeted in the future in fights against communism

Other Union Info Why did Unions grow in the late 1800s/early

1900s? Hours – lowered working day hours Safety / Working Conditions

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Company towns – forced to live in them (Pullman

Strike when rent was same after pay cut) Against Child labor (why?)

Mother Jones

Strikes to Know In most strikes, the gov’t usually always sided with

factory owners.

Homestead Steel Mill Strike – owned by Carnegie, hired Pinkerton Agents to guard scabs. Broke union with national guard. 1892

Pullman (Sleepers) Strike (1894) – workers lived in company town. Wages cut, but rent and prices in store not. Led by Eugene Debs who would later run for

President as Socialist.

2nd Industrial Revolution Extreme differences in incomes of the Robber

Barons and the working class. But how did the advancements make life

better for the working class? How did the United States compare to the rest

of world by the end of the 19th Century (1800s)?

Reflection Questions 1. What industries changed the face of

America in the late 1800s 2nd Industrial Revolution?

2. How did the idea of Social Darwinism helped to develop monopolies?

3. Why did the AFL succeed as a union when the Knights of Labor had failed?

4. What did the unions fight for besides higher wages?

5. How was the expansion of industry good for the American poor even if they did not profit nearly as much as the very rich?

Links http://

www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/rise-industrial-america-1877-1900 - Industrial Timeline

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P17JrdZJcFY&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLB40AC55D5CB1BC06 – union beginnings (why have them in 1800s) good info.

http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/industrial-age-america-robber-barons-and-captains-industry - robber barons lesson

http://mises.org/daily/2317 - robber barons article

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6MggpmJk1E&feature=relmfu – trusts review video