Industrialization and Corporate Consolidation

Industrialization and Corporate Consolidation By: Lorena Soria McElhaney, APUSH Period 3

Questions to Think About • What was the main source of transportation during this time period? • Who should we associate with the steel industry? • What was the Gospel of Wealth? • What were the conditions like in the factories?

Steel Production Andrew Carnegie John Rockefeller Social Darwinism Survival of the Fittest Gospel of Wealth Conditions of workers and workplace Knights of Labor American Federation of Labor Haymarket Bombing Homestead Strike Pullman Strike Study Guide

Outline

A. Industrial Growth a. Railroads - Railroads were the main source of transportation during this time period. They were a way of accessing markets and raw materials which is why whenever a new railroad line was created in an area where there was a small population, new farms and other industries were quick to develop along the route. (Brinkley 467-468) b.Iron - The growth of the iron industry was correlated to the growth of the railroad industry 40,000 new miles of railroad tracks were being made out of iron (which would later be changed to steel). (Brinkley 464) c. Steel - An Englishman by the name of Henry Bessemer, and an American by the name of William Kelly discovered a new way of producing high-quality steel, which was a metal, as was iron, but unlike iron, it was more durable. Andrew Carnegie, was a Scottish immigrant who began to manufacture steel in the 1870’s and had soon worked his way to the top of the steel industry. (Newman and Schmalbach 338) d. Electricity - Because new corporations were emerging and new industrial technology was being found General Electric, an electricity company, created one of the first corporate laboratories. This allowed all the cities be lighted, and streetcars, subways, and machinery that were powered by electricity to operate. (Brinkley 466-467) e. Oil– An important person in the oil industry was Rockefeller. He controlled about 90% of the oul refinery business and had a great success by the time he retied. Because he did own a large part of the oil business he was able to keep the prices low for his consumers to be able to afford them. (Brinkley 471)

A. Laissez- faire conservatism • a.Gospel of Wealth – This book was written by Andrew Carnegie, the central figure in the steel industry. In his book he stated that wealthy people were given the responsibility of investing some of their wealth in philanthropic works that would benefit the entire society. (Newman and Schmalbach 339) • b.Myth of the self-made man - Due to industrialization the amount of millionaires in America had increased, but many of these millionaires considered themselves to be self-made men, such as Andrew Carnegie who had worked as a bobbin boy in a Pittsburgh cotton mill or John Rockefeller had begun as a clerk in a Cleveland commission house. (Brinkley 472) • c.Social Darwinism – Social Darwinism was the theory presented by Herbert Spencer, that Darwinism, the idea of natural selection and survival of the fittest, should be applied to the industries and marketplace. In other words, people should not waste their time helping the poor because that would not help them in their path in learning how to survive on their own. (Newman and Schmalbach 339) • d.Social critics and dissenters – Farmers, workers, and people of the middle-class criticized the rise of big businesses by saying that it threatened the republican society and it created corruption in their businesses.

A. Effects of technological development on worker/ work- place • a. The technological development had both a negative and positive aspect on the workers. Because there were so many new cities and more concerns, the standard of living had increased greatly. There was also a massive migration into these cities because of the need for workers in all the new factories, but these workers never had job security. The working conditions were not very good either. They were often unsafe, unhealthy, and the site of many severe accidents where people had to spend long hours, with only low wages in return. Soon even women and children were being hired, and being paid much less then the men were. Women and children were forced to work to help support their families and while their mothers worked in the plants children were set to do dangerous jobs such as adjusting the spindles by climbing on all the machinery. (Brinkley 478-480)

A. Union Movement • a.Knights of Labor - The Knights of Labor began in 1869 and it was the second national labor union. It was a secret society lead by Terence V. Powderly who did now was to be detected by employers, until 1881 when they went public and opened their membership to all workers. They were also very reform minded and did not want to resort to strikes.(Newman and Schmalbach 344-345) • b.American Federation of Labor – This Labor union was lead by Samuel Gompers from 1886 – 1924 and went after the basics such as higher wages and improved working conditions. Gompers suggested that they all walk out on their employers until they agreed to negotiate a new contract. ( was the largest union by 1901) (Newman and Schmalbach 345) • c.Haymarket Bombing – The Haymarket Bombing took place in Chicago in 1886. Chicago was the home of 80,000 Knights of Labor and 200 anarchists who wanted to violently overthrow the government. What is now called the May Day labor movement was when workers held a public meeting in Haymarket Square and when the police tried to break up the meeting, someone threw a bomb which killed seven officers. This lead to the sentenced death of 7 anarchists and the loss of popularity in the Knights of Labor. (Newman and Schmalbach 345)

d.Homestead Strike - Henry Clay Frick managed Andrew Carnagie’s Homestead Steel plant near Pittsburgh and he also manages to stop a strike in 1892 by using the weapons of the lockout, guards, and strikebreakers to defeat the workers. The failure of this strike put a minor setback in the union movements. (Newman and Schmalbach 345-346) • e.Pullman Strike - This was a strike of the workers living in George Pullman’s model company town near Chicago. After Pullman cut the wages, he workers were advised by the American Railroad Union leader, Eugene V. Debs, to no handle any trains with Pullman Cars. Railroad owners began linking Pullman cars to mail trains. The federal court then ruled that they were not allowed to interfere with the operation of mails and had Debs and other arrested which ended the strike and in turn lead only about 3% of the American workers belonging to unions. (Newman and Schmalbach 346)

Timeline 1859- First oil well drilled in Pennsylvania 1866- William H. Sylvis founds National Labor Union 1868- Open-hearth steelmaking begins in America 1869-Knights of Labor Founded

1870- John D. Rockefeller founds Standard Oil 1873- Carnegie Steel founded 1873- Commercial and financial panic disrupts economy

1877- Railroad Workers Strike Nationwide 1879- Thomas A. Edison invents electric lightbulb

1881- American Federation of Labor founded 1886- Haymarket bombing blamed on anarchists

1892- Workers stike Homestead Plant 1893- Depression Begins

1894- Workers strike Pullman Company 1901- Spindletop oil field discovered in Texas

Industrialization and Corporate Consolidation