THURSDAY
1. Please get out your 2 HW assignments:
Overview WS (10 pts)Outline Activity (20 pts)
*You were told quite a few times to save AND e-mail it to yourself so that there would be no excuses/ problems
today. You also know how I feel about parents e-mailing me on your behalf….get out what you have please, use a HW
pass if you must*
Eliminating Competition with Railroads
• Small, independent lines were $$ to run, many began to consolidate
• consolidate: combine companies (larger buys smaller OR forces them out of business)
Cornelius Vanderbilt buys majority of lines between Chicago & Buffalo (4,500 miles of
track)
Begins a trend, and now all major r&r’s in the country are owned and control by a
handful of $$ men
People are excited to invest to make $$ - competition is fierce
(have to be rich to win)
• Large r&r companies offered rebates
• rebates: discounts to their biggest customers– forced many smaller
companies out of business
– hurt small shippers (farmers)
Eliminating Competition with Railroads
• Large r&r companies try to help each other out by–Eliminating the small companies–Creating pools
–pools: several companies agree to divide up the business in an area & set fixed rates or prices
Eliminating Competition with Railroads
Pools
- This hurts farmers as it keeps shipping prices high- Sometimes farmers burned crops for fuel to drive - Populist party re-emerges & calls for gov’t regulation of rail rates• R&R companies simply bribed politicians to avoid changing rules
Railroads Fuel the Economy• Creates thousands of jobs – Steelworkers turn iron to steel for tracks/ engines– Lumberjacks make railroad ties– Miners use coal to fuel engines– R&R companies employ workers – laid track, built
trestles, carved tunnels, built stations
• New ways of managing business– Create special departments for shipping/
accounting/ servicing equipment– Expert managers followed by chains of command
(trickle down)
Railroads Fuel the Economy
Railroads Open the Country to Growth
– Brings people in the expanded West together– Allows new businesses to boom
– Allows towns to spread– Creates a network for the country
Happy Friday!!!!
1. Please get out your current events sheets
2. THEN…snack attack?3. Also get out your notes from
yesterday so we can wrap them up
4. Check out the back board & write your HWhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VLdxFd-6mc
Wo0o0oaahhh……fun fact
Why do YOU think the standard railroad gauge is 4ft, 8.5
inches?
Rise of Big Business
During this period of American industrial growth, there were a few rich fat-cats who
made it big…
Growth of Steel Industry
Growth of railroads spark growth of steel industry – Early trains – iron rails (wore out quickly)– Steel rails – much stronger/ not likely to rust• Problem: expensive/ difficult to make
Bessemer Process
• 1850s • Method created to
produce stronger steel/ lower cost– Railroads: steel rails– Builder: nails, screws,
needles– Architects: steel supports
for skyscrapers
Steel mills begin to spring up in cities across the country
Pittsburgh becomes the steel-making capital– Brings tons of jobs– & tons of pollution
Carnegie’s Empire
• Scottish immigrant Andrew Carnegie
• Took a loan from a bank & started his own steel mill, ending in HUGE profits
Used $$ to buy • rivals & small companies• iron mines•warehouses• railroad lines• steamship lines
Carnegie’s Empire
Now controlled all phases of the steel industry- Mining – iron ore- Warehouses – create the steel- Railroads – laying iron track & shipping finished
product- Steamship lines – shipping finished product
Carnegie’s Empire
Vertical Integration
a single manufacturer controls all of the steps used to change raw materials into finished products
Horizontal Integration“buying out” – consolidating companies to monopolize an
industry
Monopoly
a single owner or company COMPLETELY controls the supply
of a product/ industry
Carnegie• Believed that the rich had a duty to help the
poor & improve society– This idea: “The Gospel of wealth” (gives millions $
$ to charities)– Sells steel empire in 1901 & spends rest of time/$
$ helping people