Transcript The Industrial Revolution

Written by:
Jonnette Hay-Rivenbark
Industrial Revolution Overview
• First began in Britain during
mid-1700s—the United
States by 1800s
• Change from small
manufacturing to factorybased industry
• Change from a rural society
to urban society
• Wealthy entrepreneurs
Overview
• Began in U.S. around time of Civil War
• Successful industries lured explorers to frontier
• Western states joined the Union
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Into the West
• Gold rush of mid-1800s
brought many to the
West
• Settlers crossed the
country by foot or
covered wagon
• Gold mining in California
and silver mining in
Nevada
Into the West
• Cross-country railroad needed
• Led to Pacific Railway Act
• Cross-country railroads built
• Railroads improved
shipment of goods
and travel
Into the West
• Chinese laborers recruited
to build railroads
• Conditions were harsh
• Many died from unsafe
working conditions
• Paid less than White
counterparts
• Received no recognition
Into the West
• Settling the West
interfered with Native
Americans’ cultural
habitat
• Settlers in constant
conflict with Native
Americans
• Federal government
moved Native Americans
to reservations
Into the West
• Homestead Act of
1862
• Government gave
pioneers land
• Land give-away
ended by 1890
• Forest Reserve Act
passed
Into the West
• Economic depression
followed Civil War
• By 1870s: industry main
source of jobs
• The United States
was in the “Gilded Age”
• Considered a time of
prosperity
Inventions that Fueled Industry
• Mills used to be powered
by water
• James Watt developed
steam engine
• Steam power allowed
factories to be built in
cities
• Caused rapid growth of
factories
Inventions
• 1844: Samuel F.B. Morse built
a telegraph line, improving
communication
Inventions
• 1856: Bessemer process of making steel
• 1868: Westinghouse created train air brake
• 1875: Production of electric power
Inventions
• 1876: Alexander Graham
Bell patented telephone
• 1879: Thomas Alva Edison
developed incandescent
light bulb
• 1890s: George
Westinghouse brought
alternating current
to America
Bell
Railroads
• First built in America in 1820s
• Railroads connected eastern and
western United States
• Traveled faster than boats
• Travel not limited by
environmental factors
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Railroads
• Railroad system grew rapidly
• Building was poorly organized
• “Free enterprise” kept government
from interfering
• Railroads were constructed
unequally
Railroads
• Standard track-size was created
• Creation of time zones stopped scheduling
confusion
Railroads
• Government saw potential of railroads
• Government granted railroad companies land
• Companies later sold land for profit
• Profited by charging high shipping rates
Railroads
• Railroads became
essential to businesses
• Railroad companies
engaged in unethical
business practices
Captains of Industry
• Construction of railroads created wealthy class
• Business owners desired more money
• Began corporations
• Corporations became trusts
Captains of Industry
• John D. Rockefeller:
Standard Oil Company
• By age 39, monopolized
oil industry
• Allowed him to control
the price of oil
Rockefeller
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Captains of Industry
• John Pierpont Morgan: U.S.
Steel
• Controlled 60% of Americanproduced steel
• Steel needed for railroad tracks
• Necessary for bridge and
building construction
Captains of Industry
• Other businessmen created
trusts
• Enabled them to control major
portions of an industry
Gould
Captains of Industry
• Trusts allowed a few to own most
• Monopolies crushed competition
• Corporations manipulated stock prices
Captains of Industry
• Workers were exploited
• Owners viewed workers as objects
• Company owners drove down cost of labor
Working for a Living
• Industrial Revolution
began in England
• Jobs became scarce
• Cities overcrowded
• Europeans moved to
America during its
Industrial Revolution
for opportunities
Working for a Living
• Work for Americans replaced
by machines
• American farmers migrated
to cities for factory jobs
• African Americans came for
better jobs
Working for a Living
• Many factories built in northern cities
Working for a Living
• Jobs in factories used unskilled labor
• Jobs were physically exhausting
• Most jobs extremely dangerous
Working for a Living
• By now, 40% of Americans
worked in factories
• Work day was often 10-12
hours
• Work week six days; no
“weekend”
Working for a Living
• Workers often could not
afford essentials
• Whole families worked,
even children
• Women paid half men’s
wages
• Immigrants and people
of color usually given
worst jobs
Life in the City
• Before 1880s: most
immigrants from western
Europe
• Looking to escape
European industrialism
• America: promised land
and opportunities
Life in the City
• After 1880: immigrants came from other countries
• Traveled by boat, mostly to Ellis Island
• Most worked in factories
Life in the City
• Came for better lives
• Similar or worse conditions
than before
• Lived cramped in tenement
buildings
• Often only two or three rooms
for families of five or larger
Life in the City
• Often no running
water
• Apartments heated
by coal or kerosene
• Used same stove
for heating air and
water and cooking
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Life in the City
• Workers without apartments lived in boarding
houses
Life in the City
• Tenements were extremely
unhealthy
• Conditions exposed by book
How the Other Half Lives
Life in the City
• Created their own
sections within
cities
• Maintained
culture from
place of origin
• Socialized within
own communities
Workers Unite
• Idea of unionizing gained strength
• Some unions had existed prior to 1870s
Workers Unite
• Knights of Labor organized in 1869
• Knew importance of strength in numbers
• Recruited members in all areas
Workers Unite
• Strike against railroad companies
• Knights of Labor gained 700,000
• Enough power to influence Congress
Workers Unite
• May 1, 1886: strike of all
industry workers
• 340,000 laborers representing
12,000 companies
• Demanded work day be lowered
from twelve hours to eight
Workers Unite
• McCormick
Harvesting Machine
Company workers in
strike
• Peaceful rally turned
violent
• Police action caused
injuries and deaths
Workers Unite
• Result: protest in
Haymarket Square
• Led to Haymarket
Riot
• Unions associated
with violence
• Workers’ and
management’s
relationship
worsened
Workers Unite
• 1892: Homestead Strike on Carnegie’s steel plant
• Value of steel had declined
• Management had cut wages of workers
• Carnegie wanted union to disband
Workers Unite
• Plant shut down
• Workers locked out
• Violence ensued
• Union eventually lost strength
• Those in union were fired
Workers Unite
• AFL—American
Federation of
Labor
• Wanted better
life for workers
• Used boycotts
and strikes to
achieve goals
Government Intervention
• Government had history of allowing free enterprise
• Workers’ suffering brought government intervention
• Government passed laws to help working class
Cleveland
Government Intervention
• Set up Interstate
Commerce Commission
• At first was ineffective
• Federal government used
constitutional authority
Government Intervention
• 1890: Sherman Antitrust
Act
• Disbanded trusts and
prohibited new ones
• Consequences included jail
time and fines
Sherman Video
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Afterward
• Early 1900s: Issues still unresolved
• Industry and workers saw improvements
after the Depression
Concluding Thoughts
• America became most prosperous nation
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