Key Words and Notes Industrial Growth in the late 19th Century 2nd Industrial revolution 1870s to 1914 PDF

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Key Words for Exam and Notes Industrial Growth in the late 19th Century 2nd Industrial revolution 1870s to 1914...

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Industrial Growth in the late 19th Century 2nd Industrial revolution 1870s to 1914 – 1914 is the start of WW1– Highlights Steel, Oil, and Electricity: *1859 1.8 billion dollars from American manufactured products in US! Then in 1899 skyrocketed to 13 million dollars. Growth of National Market, Search for wealth, creates Corrupt business practices and monopolies. Robber barons –Refers to the industrialists or big business owners who gained huge profits by paying their employees extremely low wages. They also drove their competitors out of business by selling their products cheaper than it cost to produce it. Then when they controlled the market, they hiked prices high above original price. Monopoly – Combinations in restraint of Trade. _Monopolies___ are combinations of restraint in trade. Railroads – 1st big business in America. Great deal of expansion. Valued at 8.7 Billion. Contributed to growth of Iron, Steel industries and more. In 1865 35,000 miles of track– to 1900 193,000 miles of track. A great deal of expansion and money!! Railroads contributed to the growth of other industries – Iron and Steel. Crucial for manufacturing and urban construction. ie: Skyscrapers and bridges. Vanderbilt, Cornelius – One of the most wealthy and powerful men in America. A railroad executive who created network of railroads - 4500 miles of track from NY State to Midwest. He was also a United States financier who accumulated great wealth from railroad and steam shipping businesses (1794-1877.) At one point he owned all railroads in the United States! In 1871 he built Grand Central Station as the terminus for his Central line. Extremely RICH! Anderson Cooper is his great, great, great grandson. He is quoted saying, “The public be dammed!” as his response to public complaints over monopolies. He donated $1million to found Vanderbilt University. Grand Central Station – Built by Vanderbilt. In NY City. Terminus for his central line= end of the line. Standardization was essential to have standard track gauge 1886 – Time zones (1883) – Car coupling and braking mechanisms. George Pullman – invented the sleeping cars – came before Westinghouse invention in 1864 – was not popular until air brake invented. Longer travel more comfortable with fewer stops. Was not possible until air brake invented! “Pullman Cars” Some luxurious, had dining, sleeping, bathrooms, and had crystal in the train cars.

George Westinghouse invented the air brake for cars on train in 1869 – allowed the engineer to apply brakes on all cars at once. Minimized accidents, made trains faster, and increased safety. Iron, Steel oil and electricity: Bessemer Process Steel was costly until this process was invented. It took impurities and burned them off (1850s) and elements added. This made possible the affordable mass production of steel. Steel production explodes! Technologcal advances coupled with growth of urban society. Alexander Graham Bell – invented the telephone in 1878 – by there were 1900 800,000 telephones in the US AT&T “American Telephone and Telegraph” – Bell and the telephone advanced phones. Thomas Edison - American inventor best known for inventing the electric light bulb, acoustic recording on wax cylinders, and motion pictures. 1000 patents on machines including the phonograph. Known as The wizard of Menlo Park in NJ. 1882 opened Edison illuminating company – power company to supply lighting to consumers in NY. Electric Light Bulb – 1879 invented the incandescent lamp or electric light bulb. Added to “shift work” (at night) in factories – HUGE impact! Lights stadiums and encourages sports to grow. Rebates – Railroads gave “under the table” rates to larger shippers than their published rates. To make up money loss they charged more to smaller companies. Railroad price discrimination = concentration of industry in large corps. Located in major centers. Carnegie, Andrew He founded the Carnegie Steel Company in 1892. He was a Scottish-born American industrialist and philanthropist, and his life is a true “rags to riches” or “American dream” story. Carnegie had several jobs, supporting his family from the age of 12 years old, as the messenger boy for western union, and a railroad messenger. He was a self-made man. He preferred to expand his company in bad times, when it cost less to do so. By 1901, his company dominated the American steel industry. Alarmed by Carnegie’s control of the industry, finished steel makers considered joining forces to make steel themselves. In response, Carnegie started to make finished steel products and selling them for less. In 1901, J.P. Morgan stopped the steel war by buying out Carnegie Steel Company. After handing Carnegie a check for $480 million dollars J. P. Morgan said, “Congratulations Mr. Carnegie, you are now the richest man in the world.” After Carnegie’s company is bought out, he retires and devotes his life to philanthropy. He funded the building of 1,679 libraries; he loved to help people help themselves, and said, “A man who dies rich, dies disgraced.” Amongst his many donations, he donated thousands of pipe organs to churches; he loved organs coming from Scotland. He donated $350 Billion dollars in

his lifetime, and today his money keeps giving. SHSU is one of the benefactors of his donations under the community engagement classification.

Bethlehem Steel owned 80-90% nations steel. The Bessemer Process. Vertical Integration = a practice where a single entity controls the entire process of a product from raw materials to distribution. Carnegie Steel Company – Founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1892, and dominated the steel industry. The company expanded when it costs less to do so, and made finished steel products after being threatened by smaller companies joining forces to sell finished steel products for less. In 1901, JP Morgan, a highly successful banker, financier and steel magnate bought Carnegie Steel for $480 million dollars, and renamed it to U.S. Steel. JP Morgan – Stopped steel wars by buying Carnegie Steel. A highly successful banker, financier and steel magnate who bought out Carnegie Steel and renames it to U.S. Steel. With Carnegie's holdings and some others, he launched U.S Steel and made it the first billion-dollar corporation. Was one of the "Robber barons" J.P. Morgan Chase. U.S. Steel – New company name of Carnegie Steel Company. Rockefeller, John D. – Standard Oil Company founder. Engaged in rebates and bribery and had spies. Was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of modern philanthropy. OIL! Developed the idea of a “Trust” Cold hearted and used fair and unfair business practices. Founded University of Chicago – became a philanthropist and donated to education and medical research. $500 million donated in his lifetime. Standard Oil Company - Established in 1870, it was an integrated multinational oil corporation founded and led by John D. Rockefeller. By 1879, Standard Oil controlled 90% of nations oil refinery capacity including oil pipelines, oil reserves, etc. Rockefeller was buying companies and stocks from all over the country, and created a monopoly with questionable business practices. Standard Oil Company was based in Ohio, and the laws prohibited Rockefeller to buy companies in different states. Due to the illegal “monopoly” being built, Rockefeller created “The Trust” to get around the laws. The stock of Standard Oil Company would be turned over to a board of nine “trustees” that would supervise, manage, and determine dividends. Known as: “The Standard Oil Trust.” The Trust was a slippery, no charter way to conceal business practices. Oddly, oil prices stabilized and did not soar, as normally seen with monopolies, while Standard Oil Company revenue went up. The Trust Concerns over monopolies – Due to the illegal possible “monopoly” Rockefeller created “The Trust”. That is the stock of Standard Oil Company would be turned over to a board

of 9 “trustees” supervise, manage, and determine dividends. Known as: “The Standard Oil Trust” - Slippery, no charter, a way to conceal business practices. Oddly prices stabilized and did not soar in oil, plus revenue went up. Rockefeller’s biggest “thorn in his side” *Ira Tarbell wrote the history of The Standard Oil Company Many American’s supported Laisses-faire politics = a government policy on noninterference– But public worried about the influence of Tycoons, concern about unequal distribution of wealth, threaten democratic institutions - lobbyists. “Lack of control” frustrated public. Government reacts with: Interstate Commerce Act – Railroad regulations 1887 – 1st regulated industry. Railroad charges must be reasonable and just. Outlawed rebates and published schedules of rates. Interstate Commerce Commission – “ICC” 1st federal regulatory board. Gave Government control of railroads. Tries to outlaw competition. Sherman Anti-Trust – 1890 First federal action against monopolies – Declared trusts or other combinations in restraints of trade/commerce to be illegal. Tries to retore competition. Labor Unions: after 1865 growth of national unions increased – before civil war, few Americans workers organized. Workers Response to big corporations Knights of Labor – 1869 founded. 1st effort to create National union. Called for a 8-hour work day. Rejected grouping workers by crafts. Open to everyone but lawyers and bankers. Vague program, no clear goals, weak leadership and organization. Failed. Led by Terence V. Powderly; open-membership policy extending to unskilled, semiskilled, women, African-Americans, immigrants; goal was to create a cooperative society between in which labors owned the industries in which they worked Haymarket Affair – Workers in Chicago - Started over the 8-hour workday made official. “8hours for work, 8-hours for rest and 8-hours for what we will” May 1st, demonstration for march about 8-hour workday, and then another peaceful march the next day. Then on May 4, 1886 *Large rally in Haymarket Square in Chicago shortly after striking began at McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. *Police were attempting to disperse the crowd then a bomb exploded – no idea who threw it and 1st bomb to be used this way. Marial law declared. *Eleven were killed *Eight anarchists were put on trial and four were executed – “Haymarket Eight” *Incident was used to discredit the Knights of Labor May Day to commemorate the Haymarket Affair–but loosely connection to socialism – International workers Day – changed to Labor Day by President Cleveland in 1894 6 days after Pullman Strike ended to “help” heal the country.

American Federation of Labor -AFL – took over The Knights of Labor 1886; founded by Samuel Gompers; sought higher wages, shorter working hrs, working conditions; skilled laborers, arose out of dissatisfaction with the Knights of Labor, rejected socialist and communist ideas, nonviolent. Known to use the strike as a primary tool to achieve better conditions for workers. There was no protection for safe working conditions yet in place. Homestead Strike – In 1892, steelworker strike near Pittsburgh against the Carnegie Homestead Steel Plant due to wage cuts and in support of the union. Carnegie was out of the country but had given the general manager Frick “carte blanche” to do what he needed if the union wouldn’t accept new terms. At the time Companies wanted to crush unions at any cost. Frick brought in scab laborers’ (strikebreakers) hoping to force an end to the strike. The strike turned violent when strikers attacked Pinkerton guards hired to protect strikebreakers entering the Steel Plant. Nine workers and three detectives were killed when this strike turned into a riot. The leaders of strike were charged with murder and later exonerated. This haunted Carnegie for the rest of his life because he tried to act as “progressive” businessman. The result of this strike was the company successfully drove unions out of Homestead, and the progress of organized labor unions across the US. This event is an example of the struggle between capital & labor in the steel industry.

The Pullman Railroad Strike – In 1894, (in 1883 was the depression) The Pullman Company, makers of luxurious train sleeping cars, cut employees wages by 25% to 40% but refused to lower their rents and utilities in Pullman, Illinois in their "company town." This company town was only for the workers, and their families, from the Pullman factory to live and they bought their goods from company stores. Pullman would take the rent and utilities out of employees’ paychecks, leaving them to literally starve. Since there were no protection laws yet for workers, they use the strike as their primary tool to achieve better working conditions. Many in the railroad industry supported the Pullman workers strike, and engineers would refuse to move trains that had Pullman cars. This strike caused Pullman cars from moving, slowing down goods and transportation via trains. Thus, this interfered with US Mail delivery. The strikers had promised to not interfere with mail cars, but the time consumption of removing the Pullman cars from the trains’ inevitably interfered with the movement of US mail. President Cleveland had no choice but to send in federal troops to ensure the movement of the US mail, and broke the strike. This reaction demonstrated the power of the government to break strikes....