The Rise of Big Business
Henry Bessemer
• 1850’s – Henry Bessemer
creates the Bessemer
Process – allowed
manufacturers to make
steel much quicker and
more efficiently
• This allowed for faster
expansion of railroads &
more construction of
buildings
Andrew Carnegie
• Andrew Carnegie – he
and his company
dominated the steel
industry *Video 203*
• Used a philosophy known
as vertical integration –
owns not only the company
that produces goods, but
also the companies that
provide the materials
needed
Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth
• Carnegie owned the steel mills, the iron ore and coal mines,
and the railroads/ships that transported the coal and iron
• Through this, Carnegie created a monopoly – exclusive
control over the supply of a particular product without
competition
• Despite being a powerful businessman, Carnegie donated
much of his wealth to the public causes
– Gospel of Wealth – believed that it was the responsibility of the
wealthy to make sure their money was put to good use helping
others
Edwin L. Drake
• 1859 – Edwin L. Drake –
conductor of a New Haven
railroad
• Successfully drilled for oil
in western Pennsylvania
John D. Rockefeller
• John D. Rockefeller – became one
of the nation’s richest and most
powerful businessmen
• He created a company, Standard
Oil which became the nation’s first
trust
– Trust – a business arrangement under
which a number of companies unite
into one system
• Allowed Rockefeller to dictate
prices, eliminate competition, and
control the oil industry
Cornelius Vanderbilt
• Cornelius Vanderbilt – in
1869 he extended a railroad
from New York to Chicago
• Revolutionized the railroad
industry to move faster and
easier for passengers
J.P. Morgan
• As US business grew, there came
the birth of the finance capitalist
– bankers who handled stocks and
bonds of businesses
• J.P. Morgan – most powerful
and influential finance capitalist
• 1913 – worth over 22 billion
• Became so rich he eventually
purchased Carnegie’s steel
company and renamed it US Steel
*video 204*
George Westinghouse
• George Westinghouse –
made a significant impact in
the field of electricity
• Founder of Westinghouse
Electric Company – used a
transformer that enabled
electricity to be transmitted
further distances
The Idea of Social Darwinism
• Mid-1800’s – Herbert Spencer – political theorist
introduced the idea of Social Darwinism
– Belief that life is a battle and it is “survival of the fittest.”
• This idea was appealing to business leaders who
placed their faith in laissez-faire capitalism – belief
that the government should not interfere with the
market or regulate business
– They believed that only the strongest businesses would
make it and letting them survive was of benefit to the
consumer as well as the businessman
Social Darwinism Cartoon
Horatio Alger
• People in society had great respect for
these businessmen
• People began to believe that anyone
could make it and “pull themselves up
by their bootstraps.”
• Horatio Alger – his children books
expressed characters who left poverty
for success through hard work and
diligence versus inherited social status
• Most famous of these stories –
Ragged Dick
The Gilded Age
• Not everyone however felt that this rise of Big
Business was as great as it appeared
• Many felt that the wealthy continued to get rich at
the expense of the working class
• Mark Twain – famous author who coined the
phrase known as the Gilded Age
– Period between 1877 and early 1900’s – comes from the
idea that a thin layer of wealth was covering the
overwhelming amounts of poverty
Mark Twain Picture