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Cynthia J. Amato HIST-144 U.S. History Themes August 25, 2019 Instructor Kyle Hedden Essay America’s Industrial Revolution Novus Ordo Seclorum The industrial revolution changed and challenged the United States. These changes this expansive was not something the government was prepared to handle; they were still trying to regroup from the Civil War ending and the change the war made. The first half of the revolution was two new modes of transportation and the invention allowing to communicate long distances almost instantly. The steamship was now one of the new ways to transport goods, but they were limited to the directions of how the rivers ran, and they mostly ran north and south. So, there was a need for canals that would run east and west. The Erie Canal was the first built in the U.S. Connecting Buffalo to Albany that then connected to the Hudson River to New York City. In the meantime, the construction of roads and turnpikes were underway, but by their dirt pathways and the tree stumps still above ground, and the deep ruts made them unsafe making one need to travel slowly and with caution. The railroad was being constructed at this time too, by laying tracks to and from areas once to be unreachable to become reachable by the railroads. Therefore, this new form of transportation, making it possible to sell their goods and materials nationwide. Selling was just in the local market because to go further was a time issue, by horse or mule would take weeks of travel. However, using the railroad's, changes the amount of time to go longer distances can now be by days to hours no lone weeks. These changes made the need for new industrial businesses, new resourceful leaders, and the aid of labor unions (Schulz 2016).

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The transformation brought the industries such as steel, and petroleum to become an interest to men with the foresight of the newness, and there is a wide-open market for these products. The Steel industry captured the attention of Andrew Carnegie, due to Sir Henry Bessemer and the new method he had invented to convert iron ore into steel. Bessemer’s process was more efficient, allowing more significant amounts to be processed; whereas the old way only allowed artisans to convert small amount at a time and was very time-consuming. Carnegie came from a family who went from wealth to poverty created by new technology that Carnegie’s could not keep up the speed of the new production methods. They to the United States in 1848 when Andrew was at the age of thirteen. They settled in Pennsylvania where they had relatives and worked to try to rebuild their worth; Andrew’s father would not become that successful again. They then moved to the Pittsburgh area where they were able to make ends meet by hard work and the assistance of the Pittsburgh area’s Scottish community. Carnegie was a hard-working factory worker, working long hard hours. So, with a factory background he was curious of this inventive process Bessemer talked of and traveled to England to see Bessemer’s process for himself. Once seen, he was sold, by quickly using Bessemer’s artisans were able to produce the finished product in mass amounts. Carnegie brought this process back from England, to open a steel company but to save on costs not to use artisans to do the work, but to use unskilled workers who would work long hours for minimal pay (Adamczyk, J. (2018, May). Once back in the States Carnegie opened the Edgar Thomson Steel Works, in Braddock, Pennsylvania. The steel tracks are in high demand, made the need for quick production of more tracks since the railroads are laying massive amounts, placing them as fast as they get them for the expansion of the railroad. Because of Carnegie use of the Bessemer’s process he can meet and exceed the demand. With the company making a good profit, Carnegie began to by other

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companies or a majority of their stock and renamed the company to Carnegie Steel Company (Graybar, 2018). Carnegie, because of his factory background, was not anti-union; he had a contract with the Amatamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, known for their power. Most unions were at the time just for skilled workers and craftsman, but in Carnegie Steel, they had made 3800 unskilled work members most to be immigrants. Now, as Andrew was acquiring other companies, he all was acquiring greed for money. So, he wanted the union out, their contract was soon to be up for renewal, he did not plan to renew this contract, so, he had hired a detective agency to investigate the members of the labor union (Adamczyk, 2018, May). While out of the country, Carnegie gave his lead supervisor the power to terminate the union's contract early. Now Henry Clay Flicker, made it aware there will be a cut in pay for all workers, at once the union rejected any wage cuts. Flicker’s next action was to lock all the doors and surround the factory with fencing top with barbwire locking out the workers. The workers now referred to the factory as “Fort Flicker.” Flickers intent was to fire all the union employees and hire nonunion workers (scabs) and then employed three hundred of Detective Pinkertons’ agent to go upstream hidden on barges to OCCUPY the factory. In the meantime, word got out to the workers about being fired, and scabs would replace them. The members of the union and the workers with their families rushed to the factory some even went up the river, all in anger (Adamczyk 2018, May). At daybreak, there were thousands of company workers around the factory. The strike by one gunshot turned into a violent riot and gunfight, ending by the worker surrendering the three hundred agents, once released they scattered to the jail for protection, the agents who needed to take the streets to reach the jail were beaten by the crowd that lined the streets. Now the workers had taken full control of the factory; Flicker went to the governor for help, and Governor Robert

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Henry Pattison called in the national guard in the amount of 8,500 soldiers, and they took back the factory; this strike became known as the Homestead Strike. The Carnegie Steel Company was back up and running in two days without replacing any workers. No workers were replaced because of the support of the public, feeling Flicker’s treatment to the workers had been brutal and barbaric (Adamczyk, 2018, May). The scabs are nonunion workers willing to cross the picket line in order to enter a factory and allow it to run, as usual, making the strike worthless because its purpose is to stop all business from being done. Labor unions were necessary for the workers and employers The Nobel and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor were a small secret union for garment cutters in Philadelphia. The order began in 1869 and grew by the strikes they use to persuade the employers to make the needed change in safety, and the change to long hours worked to be sixteen to eighteen hour per day, fair wages, and their civil rights. The Knights grew and grew over the years until the McCormick Harvester Company strike, demanding the workday be eight hours and was a win for the workers. The knight and its member a few days later held a demonstration to protest violence to striking workers from the police. Well someone had thrown a bomb in the direction for the police officers trying to end the protest, whatever had someone through exploded. Later it was found that one of the Knights members was a radical anarchist and was not an act by the Knights. The start of rumors that the Knights are targets for violent acts. Members dropped out until there were none, and the Knights of Labor were no longer (Frisch, 2004). John D. Rockefeller obsession was in oil, petroleum, and its lubricant properties. The well where Rockefeller found Mr. Drake stuck in was the first active well found in the United States. Oil during the revolution was of great value since machinery is used to manufacture almost all products. Everyone wanted a piece of the action and opened refineries. Rockefeller

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was a shrewd man, and he did not only go after other refineries he wanted full control of all the aspects of the oils market. He began by buying out other companies, and those who did not want to sell, his team would go and assure them if they did not sell, they would be put out of business, and were. Rockefeller would lose any profit and sell at cost until all the companies that chose not to sell went broke, and he would buy out these companies for pennies on a dollar (Trolander 2019). Next, he became part of the combination was to ensure that industries did not produce too much product, but it was more of the control of the price list. So once Rockefeller owner all areas of oil from when it left the well there forward, he controlled, who purchased what from who and at what price. When there was the need to raise the prices, refineries would have an mdemand price could go up as he felt was a sufficient increase. The men that use the combination were called the “Robber Barons,” Rockefeller was not a labor union supporter, and he made sure he got every second out of his workers (Frost 2000). The had a significant incident that happened during a strike by worker wanting a labor union; both sides were armed, workers and their families had set up camp outside and were living in tents. Things were not looking right or going well so; the national guard deployed to keep the peace. Daybreak on the morning of May 1, 1914, started by a single gunshot, creating each side to begin shooting at one another, nothing that was leading up to this had been of knowledge to the Rockefeller’s who were in New York at the time. The strike got out of hand when soldier began shooting into the tent, not knowing that women and children were in holes under the tent to avoid the gunfire. The outcome was two women killer along with eleven children on that morning to be named “The Ludlow Massacre”. Rockefeller downfall was by his need for power, control, and his obsession with money. These are the thing that made him use the unethical methods to monopolize the oil industry. The methods he used to take over many other

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companies could have only been doing by his obsession for power and control to bring him more wealth, hardened his heart. In 1906 the government realized it needs to put rule, regulations into place and make laws so those that do not follow the rules or regulations can fully receive punishment for their actions by the law. President Roosevelt and his Justice Department chose Rockefeller to use as an example since the journalist form McClure magazine wrote a series of 14 articles on John D. Rockefeller; and how and by what means the was successful in business. Well, these articles put all the evil way he used to get total control of the oil business, and the wealth he made by monopolizing the oil industry. The Justice Department brought charges of anti-trust against Standard Oil. Well in 1911 Rockefeller house of cards fell apart, when the Judge decision was to dismantle The Standard Oil Company into individual companies, the company was ripped into 34 pieces to become new companies such as Chevron, Amoco, Exxon, and Mobil are a few of the 30 others (Yeboah 2017). There was another labor union who has been around almost as long as The Knight but were overshadowed by the violent strikes, rallies, and protests practiced by the knights. They appeared when the dust settled for this union is The Federation of Labor (AFL), and they do not force member or employers to do anything against their will. Their purpose is to educate worker and employers of their right. They are the middleman between both parties; they do not take sides. They mediate the situation by showing both parties the cause and effects of the action. They look to find a compromise where both parties will be satisfied. The fight over long work hours began about ten years before the AFL appeared, and by these methods mentioned above on May 1, 1886 the workday was changed to be an eight-hour day, ending extremely long hour of labor (Gompers n.d.).

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The Industrial Revolution change an array of things it impacts to what has become a day to day necessities for people today. Electricity society today I so spoiled, people can not function with our power. Oil, Gas allows people to drive automobiles that need gas to run, and oil for a lubricant need for the engine to last and run properly. Motion pictures, television, and let us not forget the telephone. It shows use what power and greed can do, how it can change on human to not care about the welfare of his fellow man whom to needs to support and feed his family. There were improvements made to the workplace without the use of strikes, demands, of violence. Just for one second imagine living without any for the above, Is it possible for society to be without any of the necessities above and survive, or were people before the industrial revolution, and their means of doing everyday things are accustomed to their way of life, but if you do not know any different you cannot miss them. As for today we seem to into a Technology Revolution, so here is to Novus Ordo Seclorum.!

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References Adamczyk, J. (2018 May). Homestead strike Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved August 23, 2019, from https;//www.britannca.com/event/Homestead-Strike Frisch, P. A. (2004). Knights of labor

St. James Encyclopedia of Labor History Worldwide vol

(1). Pp. 516-521 Retrieved from https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3408900155/UHIC? u=canyonuniv&sid=UHIC&xid=46903844 Frost, B. (2000). Infinitely ruthless, infinitely charitable: The two side of John D. Rockefeller. Biography 4(4) p. 82 Retrieved from https://search.ebscohostcom.lopes.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ulh&AN=299065&site=edslive&scope=site Gompers, S. L. (n.d.) The American labor movement, its makeup, achievements and aspirations The Federation of Labor, 1914 Washington D.C. Graybar, L. J. (2018). Andrew Carnegie Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx? direct=true&db=ers&AM=88806873&site=eds-live&scope=site Schulz, K. (2016). HIST 4. (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadworth Trolander, J. A. (2019). John D. Rockefeller Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx? direct=true&db=ers&AN=88831124&site=eds-live&scope=site

Yeboah, Y. (2017). The dragon slain: The break-up of standard oil trust ch. (5)Retrieved from https://www.e-education.psu/egee120/node/226

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