The Second Industrial Revolution
1865-1905
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CAPITALISM: private bus. run most industries,
competition deter. how much goods cost & workers
are pd
LAISSEZ-FAIRE: “let people do as they choose”—no
govt intervention in econ
FREE ENTERPRISE/MARKET: supply, demand, &
profits deter. by what goods are prod. & how much
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Some felt capitalism was unfair to working class
MARXISM: pol. system to get rid of inequalities of
wealth (Karl Marx)—overthrow capitalism
COMMUNISM: society where indiv. ownership
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How have inventions in the past help to launch
a NEW industrial revolution?
 Printing Press?
 Cotton Gin?
 Railroads?
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All became possible b/c of using steam & coal
as fuel
Three major types of advancements:
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Industry
Transportation
Communication
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STEEL
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Able to make more quickly & more cost effective b/c
of Bessemer Process
 Developed in 1850s by Henry Bessemer in G.B. &
William Kelly in U.S.
 Allowed impurities to burn off using blast of hot air
 Went from 15,000 tons (1865) to 28 million tons (1910)
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Iron ore from Midwest shipped to areas near Lake
Michigan & Erie
 Gary, IN Cleveland, OH Pittsburg, PA
 Coal from PA/WV as fuel for steel mills
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New steel used for RR rails (inst. of iron), framework
of buildings & bridges
No rust, so good for nails/screws/wire/etc
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OIL
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Needed to be able to refine more b/c demand was
increasing
 Kerosene for lamps (whale oil hard to get)

Edwin Drake (1859) used steam engine to drill for oil
in PA
 “Drake’s Folly” b/c people thought it was crazy @ 1st,
until it started pumping 20 barrels/day
 Like Gold Rush, people rushed to PA (OH, WV soon
after) to find “Black Gold”
 1880: 25 million barrels were being pumped

Anthony Lucas (1901) struck oil in Beaumont, TX &
started the TX oil boom
 1902: 17 million barrels pumped (20% of all oil prod.)
 1904: down to 10,000 barrels/day (reserve almost out!)
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OIL, cont.
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1880: started refining oil for kerosene, waxes,
lubricating oils, etc
Elijah McCoy (son of runaway slave) got patent on
lubrication cup to feed oil into machine while still
running
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RAILROADS
Increased rapidly b/c of steel prod., and drop in $
 Example:
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 1860: NY to Chicago, change trains 17x over 2 days
 1870: same trip w/ no changes, 24 hrs
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Transcontinental Railroad done in 1869
 From Omaha, NE to Pacific Ocean
 Last spike in place in Promontory, Utah
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1900: 6 major rail lines (trunk lines) that crossed
Great Plains to Pacific, linked every state
George Westinghouse devel. air brake to allow all
cars of trains to stop @ same time
Comm. system set up from trains to stations
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Railroad, cont.
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Double tracks b/c of more rails allowed trains to pass
Standard rails allowed passengers to not have to change
trains when reached a diff. line
Encouraged expansion west, & growth of towns/cities
Provided many jobs on the RR & industries related
Businesses grew (& competition) b/c of being able to
sell goods nationally
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HORSELESS CARRIAGE
Self propelled vehicle in 1770, but a steam
engine in a “car” was expensive/inefficient
Nikolaus Otto invented 1st internal combustion
engine that was powered by gas in 1876
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Used in 1893 for 1st motorcar in US
Only wealthy people could afford @ 1st, but as prod.
costs decreased, supply increased…more people
could afford one
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AIRPLANES
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Wilbur & Orville Wright (OH) started w/ glider
planes, then Euro. Engines, & finally internal
combustion engine
 Dec. 17, 1903: Kitty Hawk, NC made 1st piloted flight
(12 sec. & 120 ft)
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Very little press, but word spread slowly & soon
inventors were working quickly to improve on what
they were able to do
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TELEGRAPH: Samuel Morse devel. commun.
system that sends elec. signals over wires
(patent in 1837)
Businesses
 Morse Code (dots & dashes)
 Western Union (1866) was leading telegraph comp.
w/ over 2,000 offices
 Followed RR & trains stations
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TELEPHONE
Alexander Graham Bell (1876) called it the “talking
telegraph”
 Businesses found it a MUST HAVE item
 By end of 1800s, 1 million+ phones installed
 Bell Telephone Co. became Amer. Telephone &
Telegraph: one of the biggest, longest monopolies of
its time
 Early operators had to connect callers
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 Women, very fast paced
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TYPEWRITER
Christopher Sholes (1867) was 1st to market it
 Keyboard design has changed little from the original
 Used carbon paper to make duplicate copies
 Typing pool: group of women that do nothing but
type documents for businesses
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 gave women a chance to work in a skilled job
 Believed he was helping women not have to work so
hard
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THOMAS ALVA EDISON
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Amateur scientist, inventor born in OH
 Telegraph that could send 4 msgs @ once
 Elec. Vote recorder
 Telegraphic stock ticker
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MENLO PARK (NJ)
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Research facility where he gathered other inventors
Promised 1 minor invention/10 days & 1 major
invention/6 months
Phonograph
Improved phone (better signal & sound)
LIGHTBULB!!!
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1882: opened one of the 1st electric power
plants in NYC
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1893: World’s Columbian Exposition in
Chicago included twinkling lights outlining the
major buildings
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Used DC (direct current) to local locations only
Later inventors dev. AC (alternating current) to be
able to power other locations
Electric streetcars began to dev. in cities also
Died in 1931 as the “Wizard of Menlo Park”
w/ 1,000+ patents
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CAPITALISM
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LAISSEZ-FAIRE
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FREE ENTERPRISE/MARKET
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Some felt capitalism was unfair to working class
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MARXISM
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COMMUNISM
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SOCIAL DARWINISM
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Organizers raise $ by selling shares of stock
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Stockholders get % of profits called dividends
Little to no part in daily operations
Limited liability
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Businesses can raise a lot of $ through stock sales
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More stability b/c not dependent on spec. owners
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TRUST: group of comp. turn control of stock
over to bd. of trustees, who run all companies
as 1
Reduce competition
 MONOPOLY: trust w/ total control of industry
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 Little to no competition
 Total control of prices & quality
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Started wk in a RR office
Bought stock in RR, oil, iron, telegraph & used
profits to start investing in steel in 1860s
Didn’t know much about steel, but hired best
people in business
Made mills most tech adv.
Bought supplies in bulk & prod. lg amts. of
goods @ once to keep costs low & profits high
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VERTICAL INTEGRATION
Combined all smaller bus. into Carnegie Steel
Comp. in 1899
Sold to J.P. Morgan for $500 mill
Donated $350 mill to charities (libraries)
Believed that wealthy had moral obligation to
help society
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Founder of Standard Oil Comp
Used vertical integration
HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION
Made deals for cheaper supplies & rates, could
keep prices low & drive others out of bus.
1880: controlled 90% of oil refineries
Donated $550 mill in charities, incl. $80 mill to
Univ. of Chicago
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VANDERBILT: had successful shipping bus. 1st,
then invest. in RR
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Combined small lines to make direct routes betw. Cities
4,500 miles of track & $100 mill when died
WESTINGHOUSE: air brake inventor
PULLMAN: built factory for comfy train cars
(sleep, eat, wealthy) over long distances
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Poor Chicago neighborhood in hopes of helping
Planned community (homes, schools, recreation, etc)
 Was too controlling though, and many became upset w/ him
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MARKETING: brand names, logos, slogans,
packaging, advertising, etc
MAIL ORDER: catalogs w/ large # of products
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Sears, Roebuck, & Comp.
DEPT. STORE: lg # of items, bought in bulk to
keep prices down
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Created jobs
Macys, Marshall Fields
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GOVT. & BUSINESS
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Supporters of laissez-faire capitalism liked govt
intervention when it helped them!
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High tariffs on imports made US made goods less
expensive
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Govt gave little assist. to industrial workers
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1890: 10% of population controlled 75% of wealth
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50% unskilled workers made less than $500/yr
Amer. Arguments
Against Trusts
Govt. Response
Problems with Act
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Lg. demand for labor—by 1900, 1/3 of indust.
workers were immig.
Many Afr-Amer came north to find jobs, but
still not every bus. would hire them (even if
skilled!)
Women & Kids:
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WOMEN: doubled from 1870-90
 1900: 18% of workforce
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KIDS: 1890: 20% of kids from ages 10-15
 1:4 in textile mills(NC), 1:20 in Mass.
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Kids worked 12hr shifts (often @ night) for pennies/day
Unskilled white males: @ least 10hr/day, 6 days/wk,
less than $10/wk
African/Asian/Mexican men worked same, less $
 Women & kids often did same for ½ pay
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Dangerous jobs, fatigue
Company Towns: housing & stores owned by company
to control workers
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Rec’d wages in “scrip” that could only be used for rent &
company stores where prices were high
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Nat’l Labor Union (1866) had some success w/ 8 hr
wk day, but fell apart in 1870s
1869: KNIGHTS OF LABOR
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Started for white males, then added others not allowed in
other unions in 1879 (skilled, unskilled, women)
 MARY HARRIS JONES: organiz. strikes, marches, etc. to
educate & unite workers until she died @ 100
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Afr-Amer. were able to join in 1883, but not as open
minded about Chinese workers
Fought for 8 hr/day, =$ for =work, & end child labor
700,000 members by 1886
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Woman
African American
Chinese Immigrant
13 yr old boy
Irish Immigrant
I have to work to support my family. This is an
idea of what it is like to work for me…..
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RR strike in 1877 helped Knights of Labor to grow
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Reaction to pay cut
Pres. Hayes used troops to protect RR, angered many &
spread to 14 states
Many strikes in 1886: push for better working
conditions…some were violent
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1886:40,000 workers in Chicago @ McCormick
Harvesting Mach. Comp wanted an 8 hr/day
ANARCHISTS took over
 Confrontation w/ police, 2 strikers killed
 Peaceful mtg next day, until 200 police showed up:
bomb went off, shooting started
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 60 officers wounded
 7 officers & 1 civilian killed
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Arrested 8 anarchists (only 1 had been there) & chgd
them w/ conspiracy
 All 8 guilty, 4 hung
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Union supporters on “blacklists”—hard time
finding work
Some had to sign “yellow-dog” contracts,
promising NOT to join union if hired
Union membership dropped, comp. used nonunion strikebreakers
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Skilled unions split from unskilled
Amer. Federation of Labor (AFL) created by
Samuel Gompers for skilled workers
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Homestead, PA: Carnegie Steel (1892)
Protest wage cut, managers locked strikers out
 Hired guards to protect plant
 Violent, 16 dead
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Pullman, IL
Cut wages, didn’t lower rent/prices
 Amer. Railway Union supported workers, stopped most
RR traffic in midwest
 RR turned to govt for help, ordered to move again b/c
stopping mail delivery
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 Union ignored govt & were jailed
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Pres. Grover Cleveland ordered troops to plant to stop
strike & restore operations