The Wealthy of the Gilded Age

Transcription

1 The Wealthy of the Gilded Age

2 Top 3 Richest Men of All Time Ruthless, idealistic, lucky, and talented Bill Gates III worth $60 billion (ranks 5 th ) John Jacob Astor worth $85 billion (ranks 4 th ), wealth on American fur trade Cornelius Vanderbilt-- --$100 billion Andrew Carnegie-- --$110 billion John D. Rockefeller-- --$200 billion

3 John D. Rockefeller Standard Oil Controlled 90 % of the oil industry by 1879=monopoly Also controlled oil pipelines and railroads Richest man of all time: Worth $200 billion, gave away $550 million

4 Andrew Carnegie Largest steel producer in the U.S. Gave money to almost 3,000 libraries, world peace, teacher s s retirement program Wrote the Gospel of Wealth

5 Cornelius Vanderbilt Bought 7 houses on 5 th Avenue in New York City Threw lavish parties costing thousands of dollars, serving entrees Wealth in steamships and railroads Worth $100 billion

6 George Pullman Pullman railroads Passenger cars, sleeping cars, dining cars Employees lived in a company town owned by Pullman Pullman s house

7 Life for Average Americans In 1900 the material worth of 1% of the population was greater than that of the other 99% combined ¾ of Americans did not own homes 7% of Americans had a high school diploma in 1900

8 Working conditions Family sews garters at night for income hour days 6 days a week 2 shifts at Carnegie steel (once/month worked 24 hrs straight when switching shifts) Floors in steel mills so hot water sizzled Deaths, injuries, stifling heat, flies, repetitious work Worked for as low as $5/week or 8 cents/hour Steel workers paid 16 cents/hour (poverty level) Inside a steel mill, 1905 Pennsylvania

9 Homestead Strike at Carnegie Steel Mill 1892 Harper s Weekly Illustration; after Pinkerton s surrender June 1892 Workers reject new company contract (12-42% less than previous wages) Locked out of mill Carnegie s s manager, Henry Frick built fence around mill, hired 300 Pinkerton private detectives to defend the mill Battle between Pinkerton s s and workers Nov strike broken (families hungry and cold in winter) Union dissolved for 45 years Boiler men s s wages dropped from $2.25/day to $1.89; assistant boss roller b/f strike: $9/day, after $4 Leaders of strike blacklisted (not hired to work in any steel mills)

10 Ludlow Massacre in Ludlow, Colorado April 20, men, women and children killed Colorado coal miners tried to join United Mine Workers of America Opposed by CO Fuel & Iron Co. (owned by John D. Rockefeller Jr.) Miner s s strike: Sept. 17, 1913 for improved conditions, better wages, and union recognition Evicted from company houses Set up tent colony on public property Private detectives and militia planned attack, poured kerosene on tents to burn them, armored car with machine gun Miners had dug foxholes under tents so families could hide from bullets (they burned to death during attack) Miners celebrating Greek Easter the morning of the attack Attack lasted 14 hours, torched tents killed 2 women and 11 children No perpetrators were ever punished Leaders of miners arrested and black- balled from the coal industry Many in country (including Upton Sinclair) blamed the massacre on John D. Rockefeller Jr. as company owner and policy maker

11 Pullman Strike Family living in a shanty town near Chicago during the Pullman Strike and economic downturn of Pullman fired 1/3 of his workers Cut wages 30% for remaining workers No price cuts on homes or food in Pullman company town near Chicago No negotiating with union 1894 Eugene Debs, Pres. Of Amer. Railway Union ordered a strike Hired strikebreakers Pres. Cleveland sided with Pullman (claimed violence and boycotts interrupted mail service), ordered strikers to return to work, sent troops to break strike 6 mo. In jail for Debs for contempt (made him famous and made him a socialist)

12 Haymarket Affair May 1, 1886 national strike for 8 hour day May 3 police fired on crowd and killed 4 people May 4 rally to protest the killings; 1,300 attended (most left due to rain) 300 remained; 180 police arrived and demanded they disperse Bomb exploded among police (killed 1, 7 died later, others wounded) Police fired wildly on crowd killed 7-8, 7 injured about 100 (including their fellow officers) Triggered fear, anarchists associated with terror 100s of socialists, radicals, and anarchists arrested in Chicago 8 anarchists indicted for conspiracy (none charged with throwing bomb) 7 condemned to hang, 8 th sentenced to prison (4 executed, 1 hung himself, 2 reduced to life in prison) 1893 Governor pardoned the 3 survivors but fear of immigrants and radicals remained

13 Young coal miners, by Lewis Hines,

14 Did Carnegie and Rockefeller deserve all their wealth?