nc goal #5 the new american society and the economy
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The Gilded Age: A New American Society and Economy
What made industrialization possible?
What advances were made during this period?
Were the entrepreneurs captains or barons?
Six Sources of Industrial Growth•Abundant raw materials•Large and growing labor supply•Surge in technological innovations•Emergence of a talented and often
ruthless group of entrepreneurs•Federal government eager to assist the
growth of business•Expanding domestic market for the
products of manufacturing
Natural Resources
•Coal•Iron•Timber•Petroleum•Water
Abundant Labor Force• Old farming families• Immigrants arrive
▫ Italians▫ Chinese▫ Irish▫ Central European
• Total population was 76 million in 1914▫ 7 million immigrants
between 1870-1890▫ 15 million between 1890
and 1914
Improvements in Transportation• Steamships
▫Can cross Atlantic Ocean in half the time
▫Can transport on Hudson River, Ohio River, and Erie Canal
• Railroads▫By horse- 50 miles a
day▫By rail- 50 miles an
hour
Why railroads?• Direct routes• Speed• Safety• Comfort
▫ Pullman sleep car• Brought in outside
products• Dependable schedule
▫ Time zones are established
• Encouraged specialization
The Railroads
Improvements in Communication•Bell’s Telephone
•Edison’s Phonograph
•Typewriter
Improvements in Manufacturing•Refining petroleum•Bessemer process•Cash register•Singer’s Electric
sewing machine•Automatic looms•Eastman’s Kodak
camera
Improvements in Food industry•Refrigerator car
▫Cattle from Texas▫Fruit from
California and Florida
•Beer•Packaged cereal•Canned meat•Swift’s “Disassembly
factories”
A new light
•Edison’s lightbulb▫Light within 2 mile radius
•Westinghouse converts electrical power to mechanical power▫Light to all
Cornelius Vanderbilt• Shipping and railroad magnate• 1810 - Purchased first ship • 1846 – Self-made millionaire• 1849 – Vanderbilt Accessory
Transit Company• 1869 – Consolidated the Hudson
River Railroad and New York Central Railroad
• 1873 – Was able to offer rail service between New York and Chicago
• Constructed Grand Central Terminal
Collis P. Huntington• Railroad magnate• Became wealthy as a
merchant• 1861 – Joined with the “Big
Four” to incorporate the Central Pacific Railroad
• 1865 – Constructed lines from southern California to New Orleans
• 1890 – President of the Southern Pacific-Central Pacific rail system
Andrew Carnegie• Steel• Pittsburg• J Edgar Thomson Steel
Company▫ Named after President of
Pennsylvania Railroad• Won contract for Brooklyn
Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, and Empire State building
• Sold more steel than Great Britain
J. Pierpont Morgan• A banker• Refinanced railroads• Bought Carnegie Steel
▫ Merged with his company Federal Steel
▫ Named United States Steel Corporation
• Financed Edison Illuminating Company
John D. Rockefeller• Oil• Standard Oil Company• Kerosene• Refineries began in
Cleveland and Pittsburg• Concept of trust
▫ Vertical alignment Wells Chemical plants Refineries Warehouses pipelines
• Concept of the holding company
Alexander Graham Bell• The telephone• American Telephone and
Telegraph Company• Holding company
▫ 100 separate Telephone companies in local areas
Cyrus W. Field• Financier• 1854 – Founded the
New York, Newfoundland and London Telegraph Company
• 1856 – Helped to organize the Atlantic Telegraph Company
• 1866 – Successfully laid the first transatlantic telegraph cable
Captains of Industry or Robber Barrons: The Emergence of Entrepreneurs• Captain of Industry
▫ Self made▫ Entrepreneur▫ Witty
• Robber Barron▫ Didn’t care about labor▫ Felt it was best to control
industry
Bringing Products to ConsumersDepartment Stores Mail Order Catalogs
• City• Macy’s- New York• Marshall Field’s- Chicago• Higbee’s- Cleveland• A&P Grocery stores
• Rural• Buy from catalog• Based on consumer trust• Importance of
advertisements• Sears and Roebucks• Montgomery Ward