Transcript PPT: Industrialization in the Gilded Age

American History
Gilded Age of American Industry
How the United States Developed into the
World's Greatest Industrialized Nation
I. Industrial growth (1850-1900)
A. Factors which contributed to the United State's rapid industrial
growth.
1. Wealthy Europeans and Americans invested in American industrial
enterprises.
2. Government used high tariffs to protect American businesses
from foreign competition.
3. Railroads opened up national markets to manufacturers.
4. The United States had abundant natural resources.
5. A continuous flow of immigrants into the United States to
provide labor.
6. Growing U.S. population that could buy the products produced.
The Rise of Modern Capitalism
I. Rise of Modern Capitalism
A. Characteristics of Capitalism
1. Factories are privately owned, but subject to government regulation.
2. Employers furnish raw materials and machinery; workers provide
the labor.
3. The owners get profits and the workers get wages.
4. Within large-scale factories, employees and the employer rarely see
each other.
Growth of Cities Due to Labor
Business Organization
I. Corporation:
A. A company owned by many people, each of who becomes a part owner by
purchasing stock.
B. Advantages to big business:
1. Build modern and efficient plants and factories.
2. Acquire up-to-date and specialized machinery.
3. Maintains a large distribution market for its products.
4. Increased sales through national advertising.
C. Disadvantages to big businesses:
1. Tends to be Monopolistic- destroys smaller independent competition.
a. Enormous wealth and power is concentrated into the hands of a few.
The game Monopoly is based
on the concept of monopolizing
the board and getting rid of
your competition as practiced
by many industrial giants
during the Gilded Age.
Social Darwinism
I. Social Darwinism and the Gospel of Wealth. “Survival of the Fittest."
A. Many wealthy American businessmen, inspired by biologist Charles Darwin’s
new theories of natural selection, believed that the poor were deceitful and
lazy, while the rich were honest and hard-working.
1. Explained how healthy businesses thrived while unhealthy ones went bankrupt.
Charles Darwin: His
evolution theory was
very controversial in the
late 1800s and caused
many heated debates.
Many big business
leaders subscribed to
this belief as to why they
were justified in
monopolizing business
and controlled their
wealthy status in society.
Years later, Adolph Hitler would
subscribe to social Darwinism as a
basis for Nazi racism.
Age of Industrial Giants (Andrew Carnegie)
I. Andrew Carnegie
A. Known as the "Steel King."
B. Carnegie Steel Company of Pittsburgh, Pa.
1. Owned over 25% of the nation’s entire steel.
a. Controlled resources, factories, and transportation
Andrew Carnegie: One
of the wealthiest men in
the world was once
denied boarding of a
London subway because
he never carried money
with him.
Today’s Pittsburgh Steelers
adopted Carnegie’s Steel
Company’s logo as their own
in honor of Carnegie.
Age of Industrial Giants (John D. Rockefeller)
II. John D. Rockefeller
A. Standard Oil Company
1. Bought out or drove smaller competitors out
of business.
a. Became too powerful.
2. The U.S. government forced him to dissolve
his company into smaller and less dominating
independent units.
John D. Rockefeller
Standard Oil Company
Early oil drill
Titusville, Pennsylvania.
Other Industrial Giants
III. Other Captains of Industry included:
A. Philip D. Armour (meat-packing)
B. J. Pierpont Morgan (banking and finance)
C. Cornelius Vanderbilt (railroads).
Philip D. Armour
(meat-packing)
J. Pierpont Morgan
(banking and finance)
Cornelius Vanderbilt
(railroads)
The ‘Robber Barons’ of the
Past
The Protectors of Our
Industries
The ‘Bosses’ of the
Senate
New Business Culture
1. 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!
Attempts to Control Big Business By the U.S. Govt.’
I. Interstate Commerce Act of 1887:
A. Railroad rates must be reasonable and fair to all patrons.
B. Special rates and all rebates were discontinued.
C. Railroads could not charge more for shorter hauls than longer hauls.
II. Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)
to oversee it is complied.
III. The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890:
A. Declared it illegal for any business to restrain trade or commerce of
another business.
B. The Sherman Antitrust Act was difficult to enforce and largely ignored.
Big Business: Often
viewed as greedy,
money-hungry old men
by the American public.
The Organized Labor Movement
I. Organized labor
A. Developed to help workers overcome long hours, poor pay, and miserable
working conditions.
B. The organization of Labor Unions.
1. Conditions that made workers want to reform
a. Working conditions in many early factories were very poor.
1a. Working environments were often damp, cold, poorly ventilated, and
unsanitary.
b. Wages were low
1b. $4 or $5 a week.
c. Long hours:
1c. Men, women, and children often worked 12-16 hour days; 7 days a week.
d. No job security.
1d. Workers lost their jobs during depressions or injury on the job.
f. Laissez-faire- Many governments adopted a "hands-off" policy and
permitted businessmen to do pretty much as they pleased.
Unions (Pros vs. Cons)
Labor Organizations
II. Knights of Labor
A. First organized labor organization started in 1869.
1. Admitted all workers- men, women, black, white, skilled, or unskilled.
a. Rapidly grew in size from 9,000 to 700,000 within a year.
b. The K.O.L. fell apart after the disastrous “Haymarket Riot” in 1886.
III. American Federation of Labor (AFL)
B. Organized labor organization that represents skilled labor.
1. Skilled labor- Railroad or mine workers.
“Haymarket Riot” in 1886