CHAPTER
16
Wonder and Woe
The Rise of Industrial America, 1865–1900
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Wonder and Woe
THE RISE OF INDUSTRIAL AMERICA, 1865–1900
I. The Emergence of Big Business
II. Creating a Mass Market
III. The World of Work Transformed
IV. Conflicting Visions of Industrial
Capitalism
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The Emergence of Big Business
A. Sources of the Industrial Revolution
B. The Railroads
C. Modern Business Practices
D. Rising Concern over Corporate Power
E. Andrew Carnegie: Making Steel and
Transforming the Corporation
F. Rockefeller and the Rise of the Trust
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Sources of the Industrial Revolution
How did human migration foster American
industrialization?
How did government officials defend the
practice of making huge land grants to the
railroads?
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Sources of the Industrial Revolution
Several Factors
1) Raw materials/Cheap labor
2) Development/Adoption of New
Technology
3) Government Policy
-Land & Loans
-Laissez-faire
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The Railroads
Large Corporations
Explosion of Railroads
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Modern Business Practices
Incorporation & Stock
Management/Standardization
Work Hierarchy
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Rising Concern over Corporate Power
• Monopoly −
The control of
an industry or
market by one
corporation
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Andrew Carnegie: Making Steel and
Transforming the Corporation
Pauper to Power
Reducing
production cost
$40 mil in 1900
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Rockefeller and the Rise of the Trust
• John D.
Rockefeller and
the Standard
Oil Company
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Rockefeller and the Rise of the Trust
Trust − A legally binding deal bringing many
companies in the same industry under the
direction of a board of “trustees”
Robber Barons
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Rockefeller and the Rise of the Trust
Sherman Anti-Trust Act − Authorized the
Justice Department to prosecute any illegal
contract, combination, or conspiracy among
corporations that eliminated competition or
restrained free trade
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Trusts and Market Power
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Creating a Mass Market
A. The Art of Selling
B. Shopping as an Experience: The
Department Store
C. Bringing the Market to the Frontier
D. Selling the World
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The Art of Selling
Production and Consumption
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Shopping as an Experience:
The Department Store
Shoppers
Ambience
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Selling to the World
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The World of Work Transformed
A. The Impact of New Technology
B. Hard Times for Industrial Workers
C. Exploitation, Intimidation, and Conflict
D. New Roles and Opportunities for Women
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The Impact of New Technology
Trade to Menial Labor
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Hard Times for Industrial Workers
Long hours, low wage
Danger
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Exploitation, Intimidation, and Conflict
Blacklist − A list of workers who employers
in a particular town or industry refused to
hire because they were considered
troublemakers
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Competing Visions
THE LEGITIMACY OF UNIONS
Trade unions and labor
organizations are despotic
toward their members,
oppressive to the working
class, impertinent, and
meddling. They assume
rights to control property that
is not theirs to control. They
are criminal and foolish.
Trade unions are necessary
for workers’ protection. They
fight against unendurable
wages and unjust conduct by
employers. Strikes may fail,
but things would be even
worse if there were no
unions to protest and warn
against harsh actions.
Why did labor activists argue that unions were
defensive in nature?
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New Roles and Opportunities for Women
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Conflicting Visions of Industrial Capitalism
A. Capitalism Championed
B. Capitalism Criticized
C. Power in Numbers: Organized Labor
D. The Great Upheaval of 1886
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Capitalism Championed
Growth, Wealth, Employment
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Capitalism Championed
Social Darwinism − The belief that the
principles of evolution, which Darwin had
observed in nature, also applied to society
–Advocates argued that individuals or groups
achieve advantage over others as the result of
biological superiority, an idea expressed as
“survival of the fittest.”
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Capitalism Criticized
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Power in Numbers: Organized Labor
What conditions led to rapid membership
growth in the Knights of Labor?
Why did so many workers find the Knights of
Labor so appealing?
What role did the press play in promoting a
negative impression of labor unions?
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Power in Numbers: Organized Labor
Knights of Labor − A labor organization
founded in 1869 that in the 1880s accepted
workers of all trades and backgrounds and
became the world’s largest industrial union
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Images as History
WHY FEAR BIG BUSINESS?
Why did so
many Americans
come to fear big
business in the
Gilded Age?
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Images as History
WHY FEAR BIG BUSINESS?
The knight
symbolizes
aristocracy and
anti-republicanism.
The people vastly
outnumber the
capitalists.
Capitalism is supported by “corruption of
the legislature” and “subsidized press.”
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Choices and Consequences
TO STRIKE OR NOT TO STRIKE?
• The Mundell Shoe Company reduced all
workers’ wages, then rescinded the cut
when male workers threatened action.
• The company then imposed a wage cut on
female workers only.
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Choices and Consequences
TO STRIKE OR NOT TO STRIKE?
Choices Regarding Striking
No workers
would strike
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Men would remain
on the job; women
would strike
Both men and
women would
strike
Choices and Consequences
TO STRIKE OR NOT TO STRIKE?
Decision and Consequences
•
•
•
•
Both men and women agreed to strike.
The strike lasted weeks.
The company rescinded the wage cuts.
The successful action boosted KOL
membership and convinced the KOL to admit
women.
What made strikes so risky for workers?
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Choices and Consequences
TO STRIKE OR NOT TO STRIKE?
Continuing Controversies
• How should organized labor deal with the
rising number of women in the workforce?
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The Great Upheaval of 1886
Haymarket Riot − A violent incident touched
off when a bomb exploded amid a group of
policemen as they broke up a peaceful labor
rally in Chicago’s Haymarket Square on
May 4, 1886
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The Great Upheaval of 1886
What led to the rapid demise of the Knights
of Labor?
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Key Points
• Railroads were the first big business
– Set the standard for modern business practices
• American Economy Boomed
1)
2)
3)
Raw materials/Cheap labor
Development/Adoption of New Technology
Government Policy
-Land & Loans
-Laissez-faire
• Rising Concern-trusts
• Plight of the Workers
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