Big Businesses, Technology, and Labor Unions Unit 6 SSUSH11
Following the Civil War and Reconstruction Cities like Atlanta, Georgia and Dallas, Texas become significant railroad hubs and manufacturing centers- encourages the development of the Transcontinental Railroad Mining boom takes place out west in areas such as Arizona, New Mexico, and South Dakota- made possible by RR s particularly the Transcontinental Railroad (We will get more into the Transcontinental Railroad later)
Technology Expands Cities Skyscrapers, elevators, bridges, along with new inventions, paved the way for the development of the modern American city 1876- Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone which improves communication 1879- Thomas Edison invents the light bulb, which provides laborers with longer and safer hours in the factories Most people did not have electricity initially Edison also invented the motion picture camera and the phonograph- these created a new favorite past time of Americans that are still a favorite today!
Markets began to expand due to railroads and emerging technologies Led to the development of corporations (businesses ownership shared by multiple people) Corporations wanted to work to maximize profits and did so by destroying their competition through monopolies Monopolies- complete control over a product or service Rise of Big Businesses
Big Businesses (continued ) Corporations would buy out others to create a monopoly and eliminate competition This allowed for them to charge any price they wanted for their product or service Later, laws were created to prevent companies from doing this. To avoid this, companies would form trusts (assign their stock to a board of trustees and create a more powerful organization)
Robber Barons Many people began to see these business practices as unfair and advantageous to certain industries It kept prices high and the rich got richer and the poor got poorer Robber barons were heads of large corporations who got extremely rich off of the labor and hardship of the poor Often times these men were also seen as Captains of Industry because they would contribute to brought jobs to the masses, donated to charities, and carried out philanthropy work Providing housing for the homeless, starting charities, or donating to education
John D. Rockefeller JP Morgan Andrew Carnegie Cornelius Vanderbilt
Oil tycoon and robber baron Founded the Standard Oil Company Richest man to ever live in the US (based on adjusted inflation) He was worth more than $336,000,000,000 (in today s currency) when he died in 1937 (equal to 1.5% of the US income at the time) Seen as a captain of industry - donated a lot of money towards education and the endowment of the University of Chicago John D. Rockefeller
Andrew Carnegie Steel tycoon and robber baron Immigrated from Scotland Expanded the steel industry in both the US and throughout the British Empire Second richest man in US History Donated about 90% of his wealth to education and pensions for teachers (therefore he s a captain of industry ) Believed the best thing wealthy people could do was use their money to better society
Hazards of Factory Work By the late 1800s, factory owners tried to maximize their profits at the expense of the workers Hired immigrants and children and paid very low wages Work shifts were typically 12 hour days, 6 days a week Factory conditions were horrible and very dangerous
Labor Unions are Born To fight horrible conditions and poor pay, workers began to practice collective bargaining (negotiations) One popular form of protest was to go on strike (workers refuse to work until their demands are met)
American Federation of Labor Founded by Samuel Gompers 1886 Worked to improve wages, working conditions, and 8-hour work days It preferred negotiations before strikes Also believed that government should not control business (socialism and communism)
The Pullman Strike George Pullman (owner of a luxury railroad car company) began cutting wages and laying off workers May 1894- violent strike broke out President Grover Cleveland called in 12,000 troops to stop it Seen as the greatest example of industrial unrest in American History! Consequences: disrupted postal service, 30 people were killed, and it got the attention of the government.