INdustrialization America Becomes a Superpower

Amercia Becomes Industrialized

Transcontinental railroad

Building of Railroad

• Railroad movie –heartland movie 1:30

• Built mainly by chinese immigrants

• brought over because we thought they would do a good job and needed thousands of workers to get the job done

• Major difficulties-had to blow through mountains and very dangerous work

• Thousands of chinese immigrants die

• Allows the west to open up for settlement

• Trading would be faster and more efficient

• Can get goods from one coast to another

Telegraph and telephone

Telegraph and telephone

Thomas Edison

• Over 1,000 patents

• Invented the light bulb

• Invented the phonograph

Energy sourcesCOAL

• Dug out of ground

• Uses- electricity production (fuels over 40% of worlds electricity) steel, cement,

OIL

• Used for 5-6,000 years

• Used for fuel for lamps

Uses for oil

Location of coal

Changing business practices

• Corporations- when business begin to sell stocks and the people can make a lot of money

• Trust/monopolies-allows competitors to band together to eliminate competition

• What are the goals of a monopolist?

Captains of industry or “robber barons”?

Entrepreneurs video

Robber Baron- a person who uses ruthless business tactics to get what they want and to eliminate competition…often gained wealth at the expense of the poor and working class

•What are the characteristics of an entrepreneur?

Henry ford• Invented the Assembly line• Stated- "I will build a car for

the great multitude." • Goal was to create a car that

all families could afford• First car was sold in 1908 for

$950.00• A model T could be produced

every 24 seconds• Paid workers $5.00 a day- far

more than most employers• Cut work day from 9 hours to

8 hours• Became incredibly rich and

an international celebrityFord Video

John D. Rockefeller

• Founded the Standard Oil Company

• Became America’s first billionaire

• Controlled over 90% of country’s oil-this brought him great wealth

• Many disapproved of his business tactics

• Thought competition was wasteful

• He donated more than 540 million (5 billion today) to charitable causes

• Philanthropist- a person who gives money to charity or humanitarian causes

• Supports Social Darwinism

• Rockefeller Movie

Standard oil company

steel

• Steel has been used for thousands of years

• Mass produced using the Bessemer Process- a technique using molten pig iron in the 1850’s

• Exploded into one of the biggest industries on Earth

• Used in the creation of bridges, railroads, skyscrapers, engines, etc.

• Found in North America—massive iron ore deposits found here and helped U.S. become one of the world’s biggest economies

Bessemer Process Video

Andrew carnegie

• An irish immigrant who began working at the age of 12 in a textile factory

• At age 38, he entered the steel industry-was booming because of the growth of railroads

• Wanted to control all aspects of the steel industry-he built the world’s largest steel making company

• Sold his company in 1901 for 250 million dollars

• Believed the rich had a duty to society- he gave away hundreds of millions of dollars to charities

• Helped in founding the free public libraries all across America

Andrew Carnegie movieCities movie--- 11:45- 17:35

J. Piermont morgan

• Made money by loaning growing businesses money-huge banker

• Took control of many bankrupt railroads, reorganized them, and then made a profit

• Bought Carnegie steel in 1901, merged it with other steel companies, and then had the largest steel company called “The United States Steel Corporation”

• Morgan movie

Cornelius vanderbilt

• Railroad tycoon

• Helped make railroads more efficient

• Self-made millionaire

• Began as steamship operator

• Fiercely competitive and ruthless business person

• Movie

Attitudes towards business

• Gilded Age- period of time when things seem wonderful, but when you dig deep down, they are not

• Gilded Age reading

• Charles Darwin- developed a theory of evolution that described how animals who are stronger and more fit, will survive and the weak ones would die

• Social Darwinism- the idea that the rich are better and poor people are responsible for their own problems. Government should not intervene because it would interfere with the “natural” selection in the business world

• laissez-faire-”hands-off” approach of government-government will not interfere with business practices

• Free-enterprise system- private individuals make the economic decisions-that is the most efficient

• 2008 housing crisis

Government policies towards business

Mid to late 1800’s

• Laissez –faire approach was justified because our country was thriving

• Many business leaders made contributions to politicians who set federal policies

Late 1800’s• Downturns in the national

economy-railroad bankruptcies, farmers issues

• Growing criticism of the men becoming rich at the expense of poor families and the working class

• Sherman Antitrust Act- prohibited the formation of monopolies and was supposed to break up those that already existed

• Interstate Commerce Act-first time federal government regulates private industry (like railroads)

Working conditions

• Poor working conditions for workers

• Low wages

• Long hours—up to 90 hours per week and many times 6 or 7 days per week

• Periodic unemployment

• Employers could lower wages or fire workers whenever they wanted

Formation of unions

• Unions formed to improve working conditions

• Periodic unemployment and poor working conditions were a way of life for many workers

• Employers held enormous power over the lives of their workers and could lower wages and fire employees whenever they wanted to

• Industrialization led to more people wanting to form Unions—groups of workers who form together to make working conditions better

• Collective bargaining- union members representing workers will negotiate with management

Labor UnionsKnights of Labor

• Leader-Terence Powderly

• Formed in 1869

• Welcomed skilled and unskilled workers as well as women and blacks

• Fought for 8 hour work day, end to child labor, and equal opportunities and wages for women

• This Union generally opposed strikes

• Their membership eventually declined because of a few unsuccessful strikes and the competition from the AFL.

American Federation of

Labor• Leader-Samuel Gompers

• Formed in 1886

• Many skilled workers

• Fought for immediate goals such as better wages, hours, and working conditions.

• Membership reached 1 million by 1900, making it the most powerful union in the nation

• However, groups such as african americans, women, and immigrants were not welcome

• International Ladies’ garment workers union– successful union for women that led successful strikes- eventually became important part of AFL

Strikes!

• Strikes were a way workers could hurt their employers if collective bargaining failed

• Strikes were work stoppages

• Union members would sometimes get what they wanted by strikes, however many times the employers called in the government to help break the strike up

• Many strikes became violent. They sometimes moved the movement forward and sometimes set it back.

• Fill out organizer on each strike after reading about each one.

• Homestead Strike video

• Pullman Strike

Industrialization leads to urbanization

• Cities offered large numbers of workers for new factories

• Many more plants and factories were being built, which led to more people moving to the cities

• By 1880, about 25% of Americans lived in cities

• This was a huge shift from rural life to urban life

• Cities movie 17:45-22:58

Negative effects of city growth

• Most people lived in tenements-multifamily buildings

• Consisted mostly of immigrants and working class families who had very little money to pay for rent

• Buildings were poorly maintained and neighborhoods soon became known as “slums”

• Crime was very prevalent

• Such crowed living conditions helped spread disease and many became sick

• Water and sanitation facilities were inadequate

• Many families could not afford proper food for their diets

• Cities---22:54-27:07

Positive effects of city growth

• New technologies in transportation, architecture, utilities, and sanitation.

• Subways, elevated trains and street cars provided mass transporation

• Elevators to get people up high in skyscrapers

• Electric lights brightened the streets and made them safer

• New water and sewage systems

Cultural advances

• New museums, concert halls, theaters, and parks

• New printing presses turned out mass-circulation newspapers, magazines, and popular novels

• Public schools educated more students than ever

Mixture of people in cities

• Workers and the Poor—(biggest group)mostly immigrants who lived in slums and poor neighborhoods. Many of them lacked the time and money to go to museums or theaters.

• The Middle Class- made up of doctors, lawyers, office workers, and skilled laborers. Lived in middle-class neighborhoods with better living conditions. They had money and leisure time to do fun activities. They could save money and buy sewing machines.

• The wealthy- entrepreneurs. Lived outside the city in large mansions. Contributed to many charities. They made up the smallest group of people.

Women, families, and workers

• Many women began working during this time, due to economic necessity.

• Jobs provided added income but was more stressful for the family in general

• Women working outside the home also had to take care of the children and everything at home as well

• Between 1880 and 1910 the number of women increased from 2.6 million to 7 million

• Many problems for women included hostile work environment, unequal pay, etc.

immigration

• The United States is a nation of immigrants. Even more immigrants came over during the Industrialization period.

• Immigration is divided into three stages.

Colonial immigration

• People from England made up the largest part of these immigrants.

• Africans were part of this immigration

• Reasons for coming—religious freedom and to improve economic standings

• Settled along the coast

• Difficulties they faced—conflict with Native Americans and had to figure out how to build homes and grow food. They were living in an unfamiliar region.

• Contributions-forms of government, religion, cultural traditions

Old immigration

• Late 1700’s to 1850—came from northern and western Europe- Ireland, Germany, and Scandinavia

• Reasons-massive famine in Ireland, Revolution in Germany, in search of better economic standing

• Areas they moved to- Northeast cities and the west to farms

• Difficulties-much resentment towards Jews and Catholics (mostly Protestant here)

• Contributions- Irish workers helped build railroads and canals, advanced farming techniques, and new ideas on education, such as kindergarten

New immigration

• From 1850-1924 (southern and eastern Europe-from Italy, Poland, and Russia)

• Reasons for coming: greater economic opportunity, political freedom, religious freedom

• Settlement: mostly settled in cities and near ports, lived in ghettos or slums—Asians settled on the west coast

• Difficulties: they feared their children were losing their cultures, faced hostility from Native born people

• Contributions-worked many hard jobs, railroads, coal mines

Nativism

• People who believed that immigrants were stealing their jobs

• Held hatred towards immigrants and would often hurt them

Political machines

• men hired to get to immigrants right off the boat

• As immigrants arrived at Ellis Island, these “political machines” were the first people they met

• These political machines helped immigrants find a job, housing, get medical help when needed, etc.

• In return, the immigrants agreed to vote for these politicians

• This led to major corruption within cities

• Political machine video

Tammany Hall

• The society of Tammany Hall has political control in NYC by earning the loyalty of the city's ever-expanding immigrant community. This was accomplished by helping newly arrived foreigners obtain jobs, a place to live, and even citizenship so that they could vote for Tammany candidates in city and state elections.

• William M. "Boss" Tweed's infamously corrupt reign brought about an attempt at reform in the early 1870s, but Tammany was consistently able to function in spite of such efforts and continued to direct the flow of money, patronage, and votes into the early 1930s.

William “Boss” Tweed• Chair of Tammany Hall

• Had major influence over who the democratic party would be

• Was extremely corrupt and began pocketing millions of dollars that belonged to NYC

• A few people from with Tammany Hall turned Tweed in for begin corrupt

• He was eventually arrested and found guilty for 204/220 charges—sentenced to prison

• Then was released from prison on an appeal, but rearrested for other charges and put back in prison

• Was released on furlough and he fled to Spain, where he was rearrested and returned to the United States

• Tweed movie