the gilded age - weebly u.s. during the gilded age ... goals: 8 hour work day, no child labor...
TRANSCRIPT
The gilded age
(1870-1900)
This unit will be divided into two major parts:
1. industrialization & the labor movement
2. The development of cities and city life
Section one: Changes in the u.s.
Gild● To cover thinly with gold and give false
brilliance to
The U.S. during the gilded age● Big business and industry was booming
○ A lot of money being made○ Cities being built
● However…○ Little workers’ rights○ Trash and pollution○ Anti-immigrant sentiments
Why Was Industry on the Rise?1. Natural resources
2. Human resources
3. New inventions
4. Improved transportation
Natural Resources● Settlement of the West gains natural resources
○ Water, timber, coal, iron, and copper
● Construction of the transcontinental railroad
○ Transported settlers, miners, and resources
Cost of Natural Resources● Because resources were domestic, companies on the East
Coast could obtain them cheaply.
● RR transportation was easy and quick
Implications of Petroleum (Natural Oil)● American oil industry was built on demand for kerosene
● 1859-First oil well drilled in Pennsylvania
● By 1900-Oil fields est. from PA to TX
Human ResourcesPopulation tripled between 1860-1910
● Larger families
● Immigration
New InventionsAlexander Graham Bell
invents the telephone.
Effects of the Telephone● News traveled faster
● Increased communication
● Less isolated Westerners
Nikola TeslaNikola Tesla develops alternating currents (electricity)
Bessemer ProcessFirst inexpensive industrial
process for the
mass-production of steel
Standard Gauge for Railroads● Common distance between the
tracks on all railroads across the
country
● Any train could go on any track
● Could go all the way across the
country without moving items
from train to train
● Quicker and cheaper
Section Two: The Rise of Big Businesses
Advantages of Big Businesses● Produce more goods cheaply and efficiently
● Can operate in poor economic times by cutting prices
Result: Small companies forced out of business
Big Business Combinations● Vertical Integration
● Horizontal Integration
Vertical Integration● Company owns every aspect of production process and all of
the different businesses used to produce a good
Example: Andrew Carnegie (steel)
Vertical Integration continued
Andrew Carnegie Net Worth$480 million
Today, he would be worth $310 billion
*Kanye West is worth 145 million
Horizontal IntegrationCombining many firms engaged in the same type of business
into one large corporation
Example: John D. Rockefeller (oil)
Horizontal Integration continued
John D. Rockefeller Net Worth$526 million
Today, he would be worth $340 billion
*Taylor Swift is worth 200 million
Corporations● Big businesses need lots of money
● Few laws regulated corporations
MonopolyWhen a single company achieves control of an entire market
Modern Examples of Monopolies
Trusts● Developed by Rockefeller
● Ends competition
● A trust is a legal body created to hold stock in many
companies, often in the same industry
Rockefeller’s Trust● Oil companies joined Rockefeller’s trust, Standard Oil
● By 1880, the trust controlled 95% of all oil refining in the U.S.
● Set high price for oil that customers had to pay
John D. Rockefeller
Disparities in WealthDespite industrialization,
● Workers
● Minorities
● Sharecroppers
● Southerners
all remained disadvantaged.
Section THree: The Labor Movement
Big Business Brings Big Problems● 10-12 hour work days
● No sick days
● Low pay
● Dull, repetitive jobs
● Unsafe and unhealthy working conditions
○ Workers breath in lint, dust, and toxic fumes
Terry Sawchuck Before the Invention of Hockey Masks
In your notes..Why might business owners choose to operate in an undesirable
unsafe manner that does not benefit workers?
Because It Was Cheap!● No safety equipment saves money
● Average weekly wage: <$10 ($175 today)
● Families forced young children to work to get by
● If a worker took time off or had an unexpected bill, he or she
usually went into debt
Workers Strive to Find a Solution● Only other workers understood their plight
● Led to the formation of unions
○ Union: group of workers who negotiate with business
owners in order to obtain better wages and working
conditions
The Knights of Labor● Workers from different unions
● Goals: 8 hour work day, no child labor
● Allowed women and African Americans to join
● Gained nationwide attention
○ Caused hundreds of workers to join the union
Racism in Unions● Unions and big business owners practiced racist policies
○ Exclude blacks from joining
○ Chinese laborers received lower wages
○ Hired minority workers only during strikes
Big Businesses RespondWorkers are:
● Un-American
● Socialist
● Anarchist
Socialists Believe...● Goods are owned collectively by the gov’t and the
community as a whole
○ Not by individuals or companies
Anarchists Believe...● Gov’t is unnecessary and harmful
● Self-governed society
Continued Strikes● After the Railroad Strike of 1877…
○ Many workers went on strike
○ Led to a protest meeting at Haymarket Square where
someone threw a bomb
○ Killed 7 policemen and 60 others
○ Resulted in opposition to unions and a decline in
membership