postwar industrialization, labor unions and populists “the gilded age” 1877-1910
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Postwar Industrialization, Labor Unions and Populists “The Gilded Age” 1877-1910. From the Orange Book. Theme of the Gilded Age :. Rise of industrialism in the United States and the interplay of business and politics. The Age of Railroads. Railroads encourage growth - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Postwar Industrialization, Labor Unions and
Populists
“The Gilded Age”1877-1910From the Orange Book
Rise of industrialism in the United States and the interplay of business and politics
Theme of the Gilded Age:
The Age of Railroads Railroads encourage growth
◦Local reliable travel, westward expansion possible
◦ Gov’t subsidies and land grants such as the Pacific Railway Act
Government makes land grants/loans and subsidies to railroads to help them build◦Helped settle the west- (Homestead Act)◦Develop the country and increase trade
Gov’t Encourages Growth:
Transcontinental Railroad1869Central Pacific:
(west) Chinese immigrants
Union Pacific: (east) Irish immigrants, Civil war vets
Dangerous job (accidents, disease)
Were expected to continue to give up their lands
Government moved many to reservations
Some laws passed to assimilate the Natives- “act white”
Effect on Native Americans
3 Factors leading to 2nd Industrial Revolution:
1.Natural Resources2.Creative Ideas- government supported (patents)
3.Growing Markets- increase in labor (immigration, migration)
A New Industrial Age
Coal resources in U.S.
Oil resources in U.S.
Black Gold◦Edwin L. Drake: uses steam engine to drill for oil (1859)
The Expansion of Industry
Bessemer Steel Process◦ Put air into iron to
remove carbon steel◦ Stronger, durable, rust
resistant New uses for steel
◦ Railroads, barbed wire, farm machines
◦ Construction: Brooklyn Bridge, skyscrapers
Natural Resources Fuel Industrialization
Thomas Edison◦1880: patents incandescent light bulb
◦Creates system for electrical production and distribution
◦http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Edison_patents
Inventions Promote Change
Electricity changes business
Becomes available to homes◦Encourages invention of
appliances (improve living)
Allows manufacturers to locate plants anywhere (no longer dependent on water)
Inventions
Inventions Change Lifestyles
Christopher SholesTypewriter, 1867
Alexander Graham BellTelephone, 1876
New Towns and Markets Iron, coal, steel, lumber, glass industries grow to meet demand from railroad building
Railroads link isolated towns, promote trade & interdependence
New towns grow along railroad lines
Railroad Time RRs connected U.S. but time was still determined by towns
1883 U.S. towns adopt time zones
Opportunities and Opportunists George M. Pullman
◦Build railcar factory on Illinois prairie (1880)
◦Provides housing, doctors, shops, sports field for workers
◦Company tightly controls residents to ensure stable work force (no drinking, loitering)
Pullman Car
Pullman, Illinois
The Grange and the Railroads Railroad Abuses
◦Farmers angry over being overcharged for transportation prices
Granger Laws◦The Grange (a farmers’ organization)
presses for laws protecting farmers’ interests
◦Sets principal that federal government can regulate private industry to benefit public interest
Interstate Commerce ActPublic outrage leads to Interstate Commerce Act of 1887◦Federal government can supervise railroads
◦Establishes Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)
Henry Ford
Mass production of Cars
Robber Barons: business men/bankers who dominated industries and built up huge fortunes
Andrew CarnegieU.S. Steel
John D. RockefellerStandard Oil Company
Cornelius VanderbiltRailroads
J.P. MorganBanking/Finance
Business Boom Bypasses the SouthSouth recovering from Civil War, hindered by lack of capital ($)
North owns 90% of stock in RRDuke family
◦ Duke Power, Duke University, American Tobacco
Rockefeller’s worth:$663.4 billion
Carnegie’s worth:$298.3 billion
Gate’s worth:$73 billion
Compared to
Bill Gates
http://www.forbes.com/billionaires/
Robber Barons’ Legacies
Biltmore House
125,000 acres!6 years to complete
4 acres of floor space-250 rooms-
-34 bedrooms--43 bathrooms--65 fireplaces-
-Pool, gym, and bowling alley in the
basement-
Clothing of the 1880s
“What a funny little government”
Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth” “Gospel of Wealth” ◦ Carnegie’s ideas on how the wealthy should use their
moneyCarnegie says: rich should be involved with
philanthropy- describes the danger of allowing large sums of money to be passed into the hands of persons or organizations ill-equipped mentally or emotionally to cope with them.
-the wealthy entrepreneur must assume the responsibility of distributing his fortune in a way that it will be put to good use, and not wasted on frivolous expenditure
-Urges the rich to administer surplus wealth for the good of the people
Have you been paying attention?
1. John D. Rockefeller became a magnate of the:a. Oil industryb. Steel industryc. Railroad industryd. Cotton industry
2. Which of the following men became rich and powerful as a finance capitalist who exerted influence over a number of different types of businesses?
a. Andrew Carnegieb. Buck Dukec. J.D. Rockefellerd. J.P. Morgan
New Business Strategies Carnegie searches for
ways to make better products more cheaply
He hires talented staff, offers company stock, promotes competition
New Business Strategies Vertical Integration
◦ Buy out suppliers to control materials
Horizontal Integration◦ Merge with competing
companies Carnegie controls
almost entire steel industry
Vertical Integration
New Business StrategiesHorizontal Integration
Iron Ore
Steel Plant
Steel Industry
U.S. SteelSteel Co. A Steel Co. B
Social Darwinism Best-adapted will survive (survival of the fittest)
Economists used Social Darwinism to justify laissez faire (government shouldn’t interfere with business)
Social Darwinism ideals: the rich were the natural rulers – justified neglect of the poor in the name of “race progress” – emphasis on competition
Sherman Antitrust Act Sherman Antitrust Act (1896)
◦ Made trusts illegal if they interfere with free trade◦ Not enforced: prosecuting companies difficult
“The Bosses of the Senate”
Labor Unions Emerge Exploitation and unsafe conditions unite
workers across regions◦ 12 hour days, 6 days a week◦ Repetitive, mind-dulling tasks◦ No vacation, sick leave, injury compensation
Most family members work (including children)
Women/children had jobs that require few skills and received lowest pay
Child Labor
Early Labor Organization p. 118 National Labor Union (NLU)(1866)- first large scale national organization◦ 1868 NLU gets Congress to give 8 hour work day to
civil servants Local chapters of NLU reject blacks Colored
National Labor Union forms Noble Order of the Knights of Labor-1869◦Open to women, blacks, unskilled◦Support 8 hour work day, equal pay,
arbitration
Craft UnionsSkilled workersSamuel Gompers helps
found American Federation of Labor (AFL) 1886Uses collective bargaining
for better wages, hours, conditions
Strikes successfully, wins higher pay, shorter workweek
Industrial Unions Industrial unions include skilled, unskilled workers in an industry
Eugene V. Debs forms American Railway Union, uses strikes
Believed gov’t should be more involved in the economy- gov’t should regulate and make more decisions about what and how items are produced
Wealth should be shared
Socialists:
Socialism and the IWW Some labor activists turn to socialism
◦Wanted government control of business◦Wanted equal distribution of wealth
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)- 1905◦Organized by radical unionists, socialists
(included African Americans)◦Industrial unions gave unskilled workers
dignity, solidarity
Strikes Turn Violent Great Strike of 1877
◦Baltimore & Ohio Railroad strike spreads to other lines
◦Governors says impeding interstate commerce
◦Federal troops intervene
Strikes Turn ViolentHaymarket Affair
3,000 gather at Chicago’s Haymarket Square, protest police brutality
Violence ensues, 8 charged with inciting riot, convicted
Public opinion turns against labor movement
Strikes Turn Violent Homestead Strike
◦1892 Carnegie Steel workers strike over pay cuts
◦National Guard reopens plant
◦Steelworkers don’t remobilize for 45 years
Strikes Turn Violent Pullman Company
Strike◦ Pullman lays off 3,000
and cuts wages but not rent
◦ Pullman refuses arbitration
◦ Federal troops sent◦ Most workers fired,
many blacklisted
Economic Distress Farmers were in huge debt:
◦ Price of crops while price of RR transportation Greenbacks (paper currency) taken out of
circulation after the Civil War◦ Farmers wanted more money in circulation
FrontBack
Populism Farmers joined to form the Grange
◦ Oliver Hudson Kelley fought for farmers◦ http://www.nationalgrange.org/
Populist Party (“People’s Party”) Populism◦ Movement giving power to the common
people◦ Impact: realized true change must come
through political power
What the Populist Party Supported: Circulation of greenbacks Bimetallism- use gold and silver to back
the currency Increased government regulation of
business (railroads/warehouses) 8 hour work day Graduated income tax Election reform
◦ Direct election
What does it mean?
Have you been paying attention?1. Which of the following BEST describes
reasons for joining the grange?a. The grange provided a means by which farmers could
protect their interests collectivelyb. The grange was a political movement which farmers and
low income workers felt represented their needsc. The grange gave a voice to railroad industrialists who felt
unfairly criticized by angry farmersd. The grange provided a place where farmers could fight to
protect laissez-faire economics
Silverites
Bimetallism (currency backed by gold AND silver)
Would create more money
Stimulate economy Mostly Democrats
Gold would create more stable/expensive money
Mostly Republicans
Silver or Gold?
Gold Bugs
Have you been paying attention?1. Which of the following was a problem faced
by farmers in the late 1800s?a. Falling railroad prices interfered with their ability to
ship products.b. High farm prices caused financial problems because
few people could afford their productsc. Overproduction of agricultural products led to falling
farm prices and made it hard to make a profitd. Because there was too much money in circulation it
was impossible for farmers to get the price they needed for their goods
1896 Election
•William McKinleyRepublican
•William Jennings BryanDemocrat(endorsed by Populists)
Winner: William McKinley
1896 Election Populism collapses but proves that the powerless (common person) can organize and have political impact
Have you been paying attention? Why did Populism appeal to the common
man?
What is bimetallism and why did farmers support it?
Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” Speech“You come to tell us and tell us that the great
cities are in favor of the gold standard. I tell you that the great cities rest upon these broad and fertile prairies. Burn down your cities and leave our farms and your cities will spring back up again as if by magic. But destroy our farms and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in this country…”
What point is Bryan trying to make about the importance of farms in the U.S.?
“If they dare to come out and in the open defend the gold standard as a good thing, we shall fight them to the uttermost, having behind us the producing masses of the nation and the world. Having behind us the commercial interests and the laboring interests and all the toiling masses, we shall answer their demands for a gold standard by saying to them: You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”
What image is Bryan trying to create and why?
What does this
image convey?
Political Cartoons