Big Business and Industrialization (use of machines to do work)
A. Life in Industrialized America
 a large variety of products available to buy (because of national markets)
 more people leaving farms, moving to city to work in factories
 machines doing more of the work on farms and in the city, improving efficiency
 more job opportunities for unskilled labor in factories
B. Growth and Prosperity Factors (concentrated in cities)
 Businesses started with raw materials (natural resources) such as coal, iron, wood, or cattle.
 Natural resources were shipped to factories on the railroad.
 In factories raw materials became finished products to be sold.
 More labor was available, so businesses could pay workers less.
 Assembly lines and cheap labor helped to lower production costs.
 Lots of capital was needed to start or expand a business.
 Railroads allowed products to be shipped out to national markets.
 Advertising tried to get consumers’ interest and expand the business’s market.
C. Inventions
 Bessemer process – make stronger steel more cheaply then before
 Thomas Edison – improved light bulb, figured out how to use electricity in factories
 Henry Ford – used assembly line to lower production costs for automobiles
D. Major Industrial Centers
 Many people bought shares (parts of the ownership) of big businesses called corporations.
 finished products: meatpacking in Chicago, steel in Pittsburgh, automobiles in Detroit,
textiles in New England
 raw materials: cotton from Southeast, beef cattle from Texas
E. “Captains of Industry”
 Rockefeller = Standard Oil, Carnegie = steel, Vanderbilt = railroads, J. P. Morgan = banking,
Henry Ford = automobiles
 used vertical integration – bought other companies so that they would control all the steps
in making their products (including natural resources, transportation, factories, and
markets)
 created monopolies (companies that controlled most or all of a certain kind of business) by
driving competitors out of business and buying other companies
Rise of Big Business: Essential-Facts Check (USII.4b & d)
Part One – Growth Factors (Use the answer bank to fill in each blank.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Businesses started with ____________________ such as coal, iron, wood, or cattle.
Natural resources were shipped to factories on the ____________________.
In ____________________ raw materials became finished products to be sold.
More ____________________ was available, so businesses could pay workers less.
Assembly lines and cheap labor helped to _________________________.
Lots of ____________________ was needed to start or expand a business.
Railroads allowed products to be shipped out to ____________________.
_________________ tried to get consumers’ interest and expand the business’s market.
Answer Bank:
labor
capital
lower production costs
railroads
advertising
national markets
natural resources
factories
Part Two – Captains of Industry (Match each “captain of industry” with his industry.)
____ 1. Andrew Carnegie
A. banking or finance
____ 2. Henry Ford
B. oil
____ 3. J.P. Morgan
C. steel
____ 4. John D. Rockefeller
D. automobiles (cars)
____ 5. Cornelius Vanderbilt
E. railroads
Part Three – Industrial Centers (Match each city or region with the associated industry.)
____ 1. Chicago
F. automobiles (cars)
____ 2. Detroit
G. steel
____ 3. New England
H. textiles (cloth)
____ 4. Pittsburgh
I. meat-packing