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Industrial Boom in America, 1860-1915

Industrial Boom in America, 1860-1915. Due to…. Wealth of natural resources Government support of business Growing urban populations Cheap labor Markets for new products. Edwin L Drake. Used the steam engine to remove oil from beneath the earth’s surface Started oil boom in America

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Industrial Boom in America, 1860-1915

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  1. Industrial Boom in America, 1860-1915

  2. Due to… • Wealth of natural resources • Government support of business • Growing urban populations • Cheap labor • Markets for new products

  3. Edwin L Drake • Used the steam engine to remove oil from beneath the earth’s surface • Started oil boom in America • Gas started as waste by-product

  4. Henry Bessemer • Created process which cleaned impurities from iron = creating steel • This created materials for things like railroads, and…

  5. The Brooklyn Bridge • Completed in 1883, it spanned 1595 feet • Called a wonder of the world due to its height and weight bearing structure

  6. Skyscrapers • Allowed buildings to be built to astronomical heights because of the steel beams used in construction

  7. Inventors Change the Landscape of America

  8. Thomas Edison • Patented the light bulb in 1876 • Invented a system for producing and distributing electric power, which led to…

  9. Invention of time saving appliances because energy was so cheap and efficient • Electric streetcars spread cities out • Plants and factories no longer had to be near water

  10. Inventions Change Lifestyles in America

  11. Christopher Sholes • In 1867 invented the typewriter, which changed the way many people work

  12. Alexander Graham Bell • Invention of the telephone in 1876 opened a worldwide communications network

  13. Women became 40% of the clerical work force • Industrialization freed workers from back-breaking labor • By 1890 work day reduced to about 10 hours

  14. Expansion of Industry Leads to Boom in Big Business

  15. Andrew Carnegie • One of 1st Industrial moguls to make his own fortune • Instituted new management practices such as…

  16. Vertical Integration • Bought out suppliers • Controlled Raw Materials and Transportation • Horizontal Integration • Bought out companies producing similar products • Controlled the whole industry

  17. Social Darwinism • Success and failure in business governed by natural law • Justifies “laissez-faire,” or “allow to do.” Keeps government out of marketplace

  18. Big business created more than 4000 millionaires since the Civil War • Appealed to Protestant work ethic • Riches = God’s favor • Poor = Lazy and inferior

  19. Mergers • Industrialists pursued buying out competitors • Monopolies • When industries buy out all competitors and completely control industry • Allows them to set wages, prices, and production

  20. Holding Companies • Set up specifically to buy out stock of competitors

  21. John D Rockefeller • Owned Standard Oil Co. • Joined companies in trust agreements • Stocks in companies held by trustees and ran as one business • Not legal

  22. Drove companies out of business by selling below production cost, then jacking up prices • Called “Robber Barons” for such tactics

  23. Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 • Made it illegal to form trusts that interfered with trade • Hard to uphold because it didn’t define what a “trust” was

  24. Exploitation and Unsafe Working Conditions Draw People Together in Labor Movement

  25. Statistics • By 1882, and average 675 people killed in work-related accidents • Wages so low, most families had to send everyone out to get jobs

  26. 20% of boys and 10% of girls under age 15 held jobs • By 1899 women averaged $267 per year, men $498, and Carnegie $23 million not taxed • Sweatshops were unregulated • Paid about $.27 for a child’s 14 hour day

  27. American Workers Start Organizing

  28. Samuel Gompers • Organized skilled workers in the American Federation of Labor (AFL) • Used strikes to get higher wages, and better hours and conditions

  29. The AFL was successful in many ways • Over the course of 15 years, the average wages rose from $17.50 to $24.00 • Over the same time period, hours decreased from 54.5 hours to 49 per week

  30. Eugene V Debs • Organized skilled and unskilled workers into the American Railway Union (ARU) • Had a huge membership

  31. Socialism • Labor activists like Debs wanted government control of industry and equal distribution of wealth – not the overthrow of capitalism

  32. Radicals • The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, or “Wobblies”) pushed for socialism including the downfall of capitalism

  33. Other Movements • Immigrant workers such as Japanese and Mexicans organized as well • This increased labor movements • This increased tensions between management and labor

  34. Women’s Roles • Women were banned from most unions • They held a great deal of influence by backing specific labor leaders to demand wages, an end to child labor, and better working conditions

  35. Mary Harris Jones • Supported the Great Strike of 1877, as well as many others • Endured threats and jail • Nicknamed “Mother”

  36. “Mother” Jones led a march in 1903 of 80 mill children, many injured from factories, to the home of Theodore Roosevelt. • Influenced passage of child labor laws

  37. Triangle Shirtwaist Fire • More than 146 women died in fire • Company had locked all doors to prevent theft

  38. When factory owners acquitted of the deaths, the public was outraged • This tragedy led to the establishment of a task force to study factory working conditions

  39. Management vs Unions • Management tried to stop unionizing by: • Forbidding union meetings • Firing union members • Forcing employees to sign “Yellowdog Contracts”

  40. Courts vs Unions • Courts punished unions using the Sherman Anti-Trust Act • Said unions were interrupting trade

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