 National markets created by transportation advances

Advertising

Lower-cost production
 Lighting and mechanical uses of
electricity (Thomas Edison).
 Telephone service
(Alexander Graham Bell)
 Child labor
 Low wages, long hours
 Unsafe working conditions
(Sweat shops)
 Formation of unions
 American Federation of Labor: focused on higher wages, better
working conditions, and a shorter work week for its members.
 Knights of Labor: focused on an eight-hour work day, termination of
child labor
Andrew Carnegie’s Steel
Company
Carnegie Steel helped to
build America – from the
railroads spanning the
country to the skyscrapers
touching the sky to the
Brooklyn Bridge,
connecting the major
population centers of New
York.
 How he acquired his wealth:
 Gained control of every step of the steel making process
 Carnegie Steel Company
 How he (or his related industries) treated workers:
 Homestead strike: cut wages then locked out workers who
demanded more money. Hired a private army to take control.
Nine workers were killed.
 How he spent his money:
 books, music, and the fine arts
 How he donated his money:
 “Gospel of Wealth”
 (rich had a duty to improve society);
 Libraries
 Robber Baron or Captain of Industry?
James Pierpont
Morgan
By using his banks to
invest in troubled
railroads – then merging
the railroads with rival
companies to decrease
competition and increase
prices – J.P. Morgan was
able to make an
enormous fortune. His
companies were known
for unfair business
practices.
 How he acquired his wealth:
 Accounting and banking;
 used trusts to control American industry
 How he (or his related industries) treated workers:
 Coldly rational;
 used aggressive tactics to root out troublemakers
 How he spent his money:
 Art; cigars; gems; yachts
 first house in NY to have electricity
 How he donated his money:
 Libraries;
 Art museums
 Robber Baron or Captain of Industry?
John D. Rockefeller
The Standard Oil Trust
 How he acquired his wealth:
 bought out oil companies
 controlled most of the refining and shipping process
 How he (or his related industries) treated workers:
 Bought out competition
 price slashing
 How he spent his money:
 Simple and frugal personal life
 How he donated his money:
 Universities
 organization to set up free high schools
 Robber Baron or Captain of Industry?
Cornelius
Vanderbilt,
Railroad
Baron
Cornelius Vanderbilt
consolidated most of the
Railroads in the state of New
York and created a vast
fortune for himself and his
family. Like many other
aristocrats of the Gilded Age,
he became a great
philanthropist after
accumulating great wealth.
 How he acquired his wealth:
 railroads (The Central Railroad) & shipping
 How he (or his related industries) treated workers:
 Building the Grand Central Terminal helped employ
thousands.
 Workers were paid very little and worked long hours.
 How he spent his money:
 Built a yacht and toured Europe;
 Staten Island mansion;
 Biltmore Estate
 How he donated his money:
 Largest endowment to a University; wife’s church;
 left 95% of estate to eldest son
 Robber Baron or Captain of Industry?
Henry Ford
Ford’s development of the
assembly line technique of
mass production made
enabled him to produce an
automobile the middle class
could afford. He was known
for high wages, hiring all
races, and even recruiting
outside the country. His
hiring practices made
Detroit one of the most
racially diverse cities in
America.
 How he acquired his wealth:
 Automobile
 assembly line
 Ford Motor Company
 How he (or his related industries) treated workers:
 High wages for workers; 40-hour work week
 Demanded “Socially Moral” employees
 How he spent his money:
 Racecars
 How he donated his money:
 Created a museum
 Paid children’s hospital bills
 Robber Baron or Captain of Industry?