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Transformation Through Technology: 1865-1900

Explore the impact of industrialization and technology revolution on daily life, transportation advancements, communication breakthroughs, and the rise of big business in the late 19th century America.

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Transformation Through Technology: 1865-1900

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  1. Industrialization Chapter 9

  2. I. Technology Revolution • Daily Life in 1865: -no indoor electricity – used candles or oil lamps -no refrigeration – ice from frozen ponds stored in icehouses – expensive -slow communication

  3. I. Technology Revolution • Daily Life in 1900: -1790-1860: only 36,000 patents issued (license to make, use, or sell an invention) -1860-1890: 500,000 patents issued -by 1900, the standard of living in the U.S. was the highest in the world

  4. I. Technology Revolution • Railroads Improve Transportation: -before the Civil War: most tracks were short and didn’t connect major cities -there was also no standard width, or gauge, of tracks – very expensive to move goods

  5. I. Technology Revolution -1st Transcontinental Railroad: completed in 1869 -coast to coast -Central Pacific built eastward -Union Pacific built westward -met at Promontory Point, UT -Impact: Opened up the West

  6. I. Technology Revolution -problems: noisy, dirty, uncomfortable -improvements: steel rails replaced iron rails (more durable), standard gauges, improved safety (ex: better brakes) -another problem was scheduling: early 1800s each town set their own clock – national time zones were created in 1883 by the railroad industry

  7. I. Technology Revolution • Advances in Communication: -telegraph – perfected by Samuel Morse – used the Morse Code to send electrical messages -Western Union Telegraph Company – formed after the C.W. – laid 100,000s of telegraph cable (1870: 100,000 miles 1900: 900,000 miles)

  8. I. Technology Revolution -telephone – invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 – teacher of the deaf in Boston – from Scotland

  9. I. Technology Revolution • Electric Power: -Thomas Edison – made electricity more widely available -also invented the phonograph -set up shop in Menlo Park, NJ -greatest inventor of the day -developed light bulb in 1880

  10. I. Technology Revolution -George Westinghouse – developed a new current that could be transmitted cheaper in 1885 -Electricity’s Impact: made refrigeration possible, created new jobs (ex: electric sewing machine allowed clothes to be mass produced) – rural areas did not benefit at first

  11. I. Technology Revolution • The Bessemer Process: -1850s – Henry Bessemer made it easier and cheaper to mass produce steel – led to a new age of building – ex: skyscrapers, bridges, etc.

  12. II. The Growth of Big Business: • It took a lot of money to build factories and develop these new inventions – business leaders often combined their funds to form large companies

  13. II. The Growth of Big Business: • 2 views of the business leaders of this era: Were they… 1) “Robber Barons” – implies that business leaders built their fortunes by “stealing” from the public – eliminate competition = higher prices

  14. II. The Growth of Big Business: 2) “Captains of Industry” – implies that business leaders served their country in a positive way by increasing the quality and quantity of goods and creating new jobs

  15. II. The Growth of Big Business: • Andrew Carnegie: -born in Scotland – settled in Pittsburgh -made $50,000 a year in 1865 -created the Carnegie Steel Company in 1889 -created a monopoly, or complete dominance of an industry by one company, on the steel industry

  16. II. The Growth of Big Business: -believed in the “gospel of wealth” – people should be free to make as much money as they can as long as they give some of it away -gave away $350 million by the time of his death in 1919

  17. II. The Growth of Big Business: • Social Darwinism – the idea that strong businesses survive and the weak die – the rich used this to justify their wealth • Edwin L. (E.L.) Drake – developed and used the first oil well – Titusville, PA – nicknamed “Drake’s Folly” (people thought he was crazy)

  18. II. The Growth of Big Business: • John D. Rockefeller: -formed the Standard Oil Company in 1863 -created a monopoly on the oil industry by underselling (cut throat) his competition -created a trust, or group of several companies managed by one board, in 1882 (40 companies)

  19. II. The Growth of Big Business: -net worth in 1910: $310 billion in today’s money (2x’s as much as Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Sam Walton combined) *Sherman Anti-Trust Act: 1890 – outlawed any combination of companies that created a monopoly – not enforced

  20. III. Industrialization and Workers • 1860-1900: 14 million immigrated to the U.S. for new opportunities (i.e. jobs) • Late 1800s: 8-9 million moved to the cities looking for jobs • Every family member worked because wages were low – children at ages 12 or 13 worked – no unemployment insurance

  21. III. Industrialization and Workers • Factory workers often worked 12 hrs. a day, 6 or 7 days a week -they were paid by production not by the hour (piecework) – i.e. those that worked the fastest made the most money • Women were excluded from the high-paying jobs and had no chance to advance

  22. Industrialization and Workers • 1882: average of 675 workers killed a week • No vacation, sick leave, unemployment • 20% of boys and 10% of girls under the age of 15 worked – including some as young as 5 • 1899 wages: women - $267 a year, men - $498 – Carnegie - $25 million

  23. IV. The Great Strikes • Labor unions emerged during the late 1800s – wanted higher wages, fewer hours, and better working conditions • Knights of Labor – formed in 1869 – led by Terrence Powderly – united all skilled and non-skilled workers – little success

  24. IV. The Great Strikes • American Federation of Labor – formed in 1886 – led by Samuel Gompers – organized only skilled workers • Industrial Workers of the World – nicknamed “Wobblies” – group in Chicago who opposed the AFL – focused on non-skilled workers

  25. IV. The Great Strikes • Reaction of Employers: -hated unions – tried to stop their influence by: 1) firing union organizers 2) forbidding union meetings 3) forcing new workers to agree not to join a union 4) refusing to recognize unions

  26. IV. The Great Strikes • Railroad Strike of 1877 – 1st major strike in the U.S. – railroad companies cut wages and violence erupted across the country – federal troops put down the strike • 1881-1900: 24,000 strikes in the U.S.

  27. IV. The Great Strikes • Haymarket Riot – 1886 - workers wanted an 8 hr. work day - fight broke out between the strikers and scabs at the Chicago McCormick Reaper factory - bomb thrown by someone in Haymarket Square killed 7 police officers - riot followed with dozens killed on both sides

  28. IV. The Great Strikes • Homestead Strike – 1892 – wages cut by Carnegie Steel – strike began in Homestead, PA – several killed • Pullman Strike – 1894 – the last of the great strikes -sleeping car maker George Pullman cut wages by 25% and laid off several workers

  29. IV. The Great Strikes -120,000 railroad workers eventually joined the strike -federal gov’t ended the strike because the mail had to get through -increased federal involvement in labor strikes

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