Industrial Age and Unions
Unit 6.3
40 years – 1880 to 1920 – many changes
What changed from 1880 to 1920?
Cities grew out and up.
Transportation Lighting Entertainment
Late 1800s / Early 1900s #1 Industry Railroads
Basis for trade Connecting sections of country together -
interdependency Sub industries of steel, coal, etc. related Financial crisis related to Railroad bubble – Panic
of 1873 #1 later in 1900s, Automobile Industry. What
would it be now?
What changed America? Steel
Bessemer Process – injects air to remove impurities Makes steel stronger and lighter Brought over from Britain (and perfected by American
William Kelly) Andrew Carnegie – invested in process
Why did Pittsburg become the Steel City? 3 Major Items needed
Iron ore – from Mesabi Range (Minn) Coal – from Ohio River Valley Limestone – from upstate NY What you do think they needed the most?
Changes
Cities grow up and out. Skyscrapers Elevators (Elisha Otis
invented safety elevator in 1850s)
Subways, rail lines expand out
U.S. Steel Corporation Using vertical
integration, Carnegie had over 20,000 workers and a bigger operation than Britain’s complete industry.
Sold to J.P. Morgan and others in 1900 as the world’s first billion dollar corporation.
Oil
In the early 1800s, one of the most important industries in America was whaling for it’s oil.
By the 1840s, Kerosene was being used in lamps. 1859 – Edwin Drake drills 1st well in PA. Begins
boom. John D. Rockefeller used horizontal
consolidation to control over 90% of U.S. refineries with Standard Oil.
One by-product not used – gasoline.
Electricity Thomas Edison
Over 1000 patents – phonograph, motion picture camera, and??
Menlo Park (NJ) lab Ft. Myers (FL) winter home
Who were his neighbors in Ft. Myers?
George Westinghouse Transformer for high-voltage current (much safer!)
Other Inventions of the late 1800s Typewriter – 1867 – Christopher Sholes (Why the qwerty
board?)
Telephone – 1876 – Alexander G. Bell Kodak Camera – 1888 – George Eastman Safety Razor – 1895 – King Gillette Hundreds of Thousands of patents issued R&D – Research and Development divisions in
corporations
Robber Barons By 1900, 4000+ millionaires Many claimed to be “self-
made men” like Carnegie, but truth was most born into wealth.
Rockefeller, Carnegie, Morgan
Cornelius Vanderbilt - RRs Gustavus Swift – Meat
packing Isaac Singer – Sewing
machines
Gospel of Wealth By Andrew Carnegie “use wealth for good of
community” Gave back over $325
million
Corporations Multiple people will own business, but
business is legally and “individual.” 14th Amendment was used to defend actions
of corporations as you can not make laws to discriminate against individuals.
Idea of limited liability helped in laissez-faire economics and the caveat emptor attitude.
American Dream? Horatio Alger books
Dime Novels “Puck and Pluck”
series Inspirational rags to
riches stories
Social Darwinism with businesses Strong survive, but
what if they Robber Barons used bribes, unsafe practices?
Laissez-Faire (“hands-off”) economics
Monopolies As Robber Barons became richer, gov’ts
starting cracking down on Monopolies. Business tried to get around laws by calling
them different things: pool arrangements, trusts, Holding Companies.
Sherman Anti-trust Act (1890) Supposed to stop monopolies, but had little effect
at that time. It did not have enforcement provisions Actually used against labor unions
Boom and Bust After the Civil War, the economy of the U.S.
fluctuated wildly. This caused some major economic downturns.
Panic of 1873 – over expansion of RR, Banks failed Panic of 1893 – Banks crisis, extreme unemployment
Great divide between rich and poor. 1899 average salary in factories – men $498, women
$269 Carnegie made $23 that year (and
incomes/stocks/bonds not taxed) Taxing policies still based on Tariffs and Excise
taxes. How would fit into the Populist ideas?
Union Growth in late 1800s Early labor unions with women in Lowell
system National Labor Union (William Sylvus) died out
in 1873 Against women workers (drove down wages)
Molly Maguires – not a true union, but used violence against coal mine superiors
Knights of Labor Led by Terrance Powderly Welcomed skilled and unskilled labor Downfall came in 1886 Haymaker Square
Riots Bomb by anarchists killed 7 and injured over 60 Union died out in 1890
AFL – American Federation of Labor(when in doubt on AP exam and labor question, choose AFL)
Led by Samuel Gompers in late 1800s Focused on “bread and butter” philosophy Excluded unskilled workers and had only
skilled workers Why did help it to be more successful?
Union Info to know Collective Bargaining –
power of workers in union to negotiate together.
Strikes – main weapon Scabs – replacements
when on strike
Unions were usually associated with socialists, communists, and anarchists.
Also many immigrants involved.
Other Union Info IWW – International
Workers of the World Led by “Big Bill”
Heywood Early Marxists Gained strength at
turn of century, but loses it quickly with Red Scare after WWI.
Why did Unions grow in the late 1800s/early 1900s? Hours Safety / Working
Conditions Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
Fire Company towns Child labor
Mother Jones
Strikes to Know In most strikes, the gov’t usually always sided with
factory owners.
Homestead Steel Mill Strike – owned by Carnegie, hired Pinkerton Agents to guard scabs. Broke union with national guard. 1892
Pullman (Sleepers) Strike (1894) – workers lived in company town. Wages cut, but rent and prices in store not. Led by Eugene Debs who would later run for
President as Socialist.
Reflection Questions How did the advancements of steel, oil, and
electricity change America? How were the Sherman Anti-trust Act and 14th
amendment actually used against the people? Why did the AFL succeed as a union when the
Knights had failed? How was the expansion of industry good for
the American poor even if they did not profit nearly as much as the very rich?
Links http://
www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/rise-industrial-america-1877-1900 - Industrial Timeline
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P17JrdZJcFY&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLB40AC55D5CB1BC06 – union beginnings (why have them in 1800s) good info.
http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/industrial-age-america-robber-barons-and-captains-industry - robber barons lesson
http://mises.org/daily/2317 - robber barons article
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6MggpmJk1E&feature=relmfu – trusts review video