Railroads and the
Industrialization of
America in the Gilded
Age
Causes of Rapid Industrialization
Steam Revolution of the 1830s-1850s.
The Railroad fueled the growing US
economy:
 First big business in the US.
 A magnet for financial investment.
 The key to opening the West.
 Aided the development of other
industries.
Causes of Rapid
Industrialization
Unskilled & semi-skilled
labor in abundance.
Abundant financial capital ($$$).
New, talented group of businessmen [entrepreneurs] and
advisors.
Market growing as US population increased.
Government willing to help at all levels to stimulate
economic growth.
Abundant natural resources.
Causes of Rapid
Industrialization
Technological innovations.
 Bessemer and open
hearth process
 Refrigerated cars
 Edison
o “Wizard of Menlo Park”
o light bulb, phonograph,
motion pictures.
Thomas Alva Edison
“Wizard of Menlo Park”
The Phonograph (1877)
The light bulb
Moving
Pictures
Stuff Edison Invented
Alexander Graham Bell
Telephone (1876) First words on
the phone: “Yes, I have Dr.
Pepper in a can. Why?!”
Model T Automobile
Henry Ford
I want to pay my workers so that they
can afford my product!
“Model T” Prices & Sales
New Business Culture
Laissez Faire  the ideology of the
Industrial Age.
 Individual as a moral and economic
ideal.
 Individuals should compete freely in the
marketplace.
 The market was not man-made or
invented.
 No room for government in the market!
The Building of the Railroads
Paid by the government with land grants; several
square miles per mile of track laid
The Building of the Railroads
Use of immigrant labor
Irish in the Midwest
Chinese in California
The Building of the Railroads
Impact upon American economy:
Steel production
The Building of the Railroads
Impact upon American economy:
Communications
The Building of the Railroads
Impact upon American economy:
transportation of people/goods
The Building of the Railroads
Impact upon American economy:
Related industries
manufacturing
lumber
mining
The Building of the Railroads
The emergence of the Railroad Barons:
James J. Hill
“The Commodore”
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Leland Stanford
Jay Gould
William Vanderbilt
The Power of the Railroads
Cornelius [“Commodore”]
Vanderbilt
Can’t I do what I want with my money?
The Power of the Railroads
More powerful than the government
$ The public be
d****d!
$ What do I care
about the law?
H’aint I got the
power?
William Vanderbilt
The Power of the Railroads
Economic Exploitation of America:
the “pool”: the division of railroad traffic
among various “competitors”
Led to higher rates for farmers and lower wages
for workers
The Transcontinental Railroad
Obstacles: Dangerous
conditions, Indian attacks,
mountain ranges, labor
troubles, weather
The Trans-Continental Railroad
May, 10, 1869: meeting
of the Union and Central
Pacific RRs.
THE ROBBER BARONS!
The ‘Robber Barons’ of the Past