The Rise of Industrial America
1865-1900
In the late 1800’s, how did big
business maintain power? Be
specific!
By 1900, why did the U.S.
emerge as an industrial power?
• Rich in natural resourcescoal, iron ore, copper,
lead, timber, and oil.
• Enormous labor supplyimmigrants
• Advanced transportation
• Capital investments
• Laborsaving technology
• Government friendly
policies towards business
• Talented entrepreneurs
Business of Railroads
• Union Pacific- westward
across Great Plains
• Central Pacific- through
Sierra Mountains
• Southern Pacific- New
Orleans to LA
• Atchison, Topeka, and
Sante Fe- Kansas City to
LA
• Northern Pacific- Duluth,
Minnesota to Seattle
Who were the Vanderbilts?
• Started railways in the
Northeast and further
expanded his empire.
• Like many in the
railroad industry, fixed
prices and
consolidated power.
• One of America’s
richest families.
Who was J.P. Morgan?
• American financier, banker,
philanthropist, and art collector
• Formed US Steel
• Involved in many big
businesses primarily railroads
and steel.
• Interlocking directoratepractice of members of
corporate board of directors
serving on the boards of
multiple corporations
Who was Andrew Carnegie?
• Poor Scottish American
that lived the American
dream.
• Used vertical integration
(company that controlled
every stage of production)
• Merged with JP Morgan
to form US Steel.
• Left a legacy of
contributing to many
charities and the public
(Gospel of Wealth)
Who was John D. Rockefeller?
• Created the Standard Oil
monopoly.
• By 1881, controlled 90% of oil
refineries.
• Horizontal integration- former
competitors brought under a
single corporation
• Also was involved in tobacco,
sugar, meat, and leather
industries.
• One of America’s wealthiest
families.
Antitrust Movement
• Sherman Antitrust
Act- prohibited any
trust that restrained
trade (not enforced!)
• U.S. v. E.C. Knight
Co. (1895)- Sherman
Antitrust Act could
only be applied to
trade not
manufacturing.
Laissez-faire capitalism
• Adam Smith’s The Wealth
of Nations concept of
laissez-faire.
• Social Darwinismsurvival of the fittest in
business.
• Gospel of Wealth- tied
religion, hard work, and
philanthropy together.
• Rockefeller and Carnegie
contributed to libraries,
universities, and public
institutions.
Technology and Inventions
• Samuel F.B. Morsetelegraph (1844)
• Cyrus Field- improved
transatlantic cable (1866)
• Alexander Graham BellTelephone (1876)
• Typewriter, cash register,
Kodak Camera,
Waterman’s fountain pen,
and Gillette’s safety razor
and blade.
Thomas Edison and George
Westinghouse
• Thomas Edisonlaboratory in Menlo Park,
NJ. Inventor of
phonograph, first practical
light bulb, motion picture
camera.
• George Westinghouseair brakes for railroads and
high voltage alternating
current making it possible
to electrically power
America.
Horatio Alger Myth
• Novels that showed a
hardworking man become
rich and successful.
• Emphasized honesty, hard
work, and luck.
• Typical successful
businessman was a White
Anglo Saxon Protestant
from an upper or middle
class background.
• Andrew Carnegie was the
exception to the rule.
Expanding Middle Class
• White Collar jobs
created (office
environment)
• Accountants, clerical
workers, and sales
people.
• Service professions:
doctors, lawyers and
store keepers.
Working Women
• By 1900, 1 out of
every 5 women in the
labor force.
• Textile, garment, and
food processing
industries.
• Secretaries,
bookkeepers, typists,
and telephone
operators.
How did big business control the
workers?
• Lockout- closing the factory to
break labor
• Blacklists- names of pro-union
workers that were blocked from
employment.
• Yellow dog contracts- workers
must sign an agreement not to
join a union in order to get a
job.
• Owners hired private guards
and militias
• Court injunctions against strikes
Great Railroad Strike of 1877
• Railroad companies cut wages
to reduce costs.
• Workers shut down 2/3 of the
country’s rails.
• President Hayes used federal
troops to stop the labor
violence.
• Over 100 people were killed.
• Mixed results: some owners
addressed working conditions
while other owners tried to bust
the unions.
National Labor Union
• First attempt to organize
all workers (skilled and
unskilled)
• Founded in 1866
• Goals: 8 hour work day,
equal rights for all
workers
• Lost support after Panic of
1873 and unsuccessful
Railroad Strike of 1877.
Knight of Labor
• Began in 1869.
• In 1881, Terrence Powderly
opened membership to all
workers including African
Americans.
• Wanted reforms- worker
cooperatives, ban child labor,
and no trusts or monopolies.
• Arbitration instead of strikes.
• Declined because of Haymarket
Riot in 1886.
Haymarket Bombing
• First May Day Labor
Movement in Chicago.
• Workers held a public
meeting and anarchists
threw a bomb which killed
7 police officers.
• Public opinion turned
against the unions and led
to the decline of the
Knights of Labor.
American Federation of Labor
• Founded in 1886 for
skilled workers.
• Led by Samuel Gompers
(1886-1924)
• Wanted higher wages and
improved working
conditions.
• Used walkouts until
owners would agree to
collective bargaining.
Homestead Strike
• Homestead Steel Plant of
Carnegie in 1892.
• Wages were cut by 20%.
• Frick used lockout and the
hiring of Pinkerton guards
to defeat steelworkers
walkout .
• Violence erupted and the
union was set back for
over 40 years.
Pullman Strike
• 1894- Pullman announced cut
in wages and fired leaders of
the workers.
• Eugene V. Debs of the
American Railway Union
advised workers to stop work.
• Railroad owners supported
Pullman and got a federal court
injunction from President
Cleveland.
• Debs and other leaders were
jailed for not following the
courts.
• Another victory for big
business.
In the late 1800’s, how did big
business maintain power? Be
specific!