Chapter 19: The Industrial Age1876-1900

Section 1: The Second industrial revolution

• When? -- The late 1800’s

• What? -- Period of rapid rise in manufacturing in the U.S.

• Why is it important? – It caused many financial, political, and social changes in the U.S.

• How? – keep listening and reading to find out!

Interesting Fact…by the 1890s,

the U.S. had become

the world’s leader in industry

The Steel Industry: cause & Effect

1850: the Bessemer process makes it easy to make steel quickly

and for a low cost

1+ Day 10-20 minutes

Building railroads becomes more affordable because steel is cheaper

- More people were able to travel

- Products were sent quicker

- Cities that had major railroad crossings (like Chicago!) grew quickly

Break! Comprehension check

It made changing iron ore into steel much fast. This led to an increase in steel production.

• How did the Bessemer process change the steel industry?

The increase in steel production caused steel prices to drop. Lower prices led to more railroads and shipping.

• How did the Bessemer process affect industry in the United States?

Power Sources: Oil and electricity

• In the 1850s, chemists discovered ways to turn unprocessed (crude) oil into usable kerosene, that could be used for cooking, heating, and lighting

• 1859, Edwin Drake proves that oil can be pumped from the ground

• Easy to access + more useful = increased demand, oil drilling and refining becomes big business

Power Sources: Oil and electricity

• Electricity also becomes a source of light and power during this time period

• Inventors like Thomas Edison use electricity in their inventions.

– 1879 - Light bulb anyone?

• He had to build a power plant to send people electricity to use their light bulbs! (1882)

Inventions!

Alexander Graham Bell

1876, he patents the “talking telegram” (the telephone!)

Advance in Communication

1880- 55,000 telephones

1900 – 1.5 million!

Henry Ford

1908, he introduces the Model T.

The assembly line makes cars more affordable.

Wilbur and Orville Wright

The bros. fly the first piloted, gas-powered plane in 1903

Would change the way Americans travel and increase

our demand for oil

Break! Comprehension check

Telegraphs connected the U.S. and Britain.

The telephone and automobiles were invented.

The first piloted, gas-powered airplane was made

• What advances were made in communication and transportation?

They made life easier because people could communicate over long-distances and travel from place to place quickly.

• How do you think telephones and automobiles changed the lives of people who used them?

Section 2: Big Business

Because of the rapid advances in technology, businesses grew larger.

Many entrepreneurs formed corporations and were widely respected in the late 1800s– they represented American hard work, talent, and success.

Corporations & the Stock Exchange

Individuals are able to invest in corporations.

They buy stock in the company--making them stockholders–and usually get a percentage of the corporation’s profits.

Corporations generate wealth

The Positives..

• Stockholders are not responsible for the company’s debt

• Stockholders can sell their stock to anyone they want

• Leads more people to invest in businesses

Break! Comprehension check

Individuals purchase stocks and invest money.

• What role do stockholders play in corporations?

They can only lose the money they’ve invested and can sell the stock to whomever they want.

• Why are corporations advantageous for stockholders?

Who’s in charge Here?!?

Andrew Carnegie

Steel Industry

John D. Rockefeller

Standard Oil Company

Leland Stanford

Mining Equipment, railroads

Founded Stanford University

Business Strategies

Andrew CarnegieBought the mines, coalfields, and railroads to cut production costs

John D. RockefellerOwned most the businesses in his field

In 1880, he owned 90% of the U.S. oil refining business

Formed a trust, that grouped all his companies under a single board of directors

Due Tuesday, 12/3

1. Finish reading Chapter 19 – book notes and section ?s

2. “Writing Thesis Statements” practice sheet

Tuesday: Notes Day

Thursday: Field Trip

Friday: Review Day for Test

Tuesday, 12/3

1. Finish Ch. 19 notes

2. Begin Review Assignment

Thursday: Field Trip

Friday: Review Day for Test

HW: Section Quizzes and Review Sheet

Corporations generate Wealth

The Negatives…

• Relied on…

– Child labor

– Low wages

– Poor working conditions

By the late 1800s, some viewed big businesses as a problem

Social Darwinism

• Adapted Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection / “survival of the fittest”

• Social Darwinists argued that humans who were meant to succeed in business and life in general would

This sounds oddly familiar…but really

inhumane for humans…

The Antitrust movement

Large corporations drive small ones out

of business

Corporations/trusts gain a monopoly

and can control the prices

Some worry about the economic and political power of the wealthy trusts

Congress passes the Sherman Antitrust Act, making trust monopolies illegal

The law doesn’t define “trusts,” so

the gov. can’t enforce the law

FAIL

Section 3: Industrial Workers

“Bibb Mill No. 1, Macon, Ga. Many youngsters here. Some boys and girls were so small they had to climb up on to the spinning frame to mend broken threads and to put back the empty bobbins”

By Lewis Hine, January 19, 1909

Section 3: Industrial Workers

“View of the Ewen Breaker of the Pa. Coal Co.

The dust was so dense at times as to obscure the view. The dust penetrated the utmost recesses of the boy’s lungs.

A kind of slave-driver sometimes stands over the boys, prodding or kicking them in obedience. - S. Pittston, Pa.”

What happens to workers during this time of rapid growth?

• Having low-paid, unskilled workers doing the same task all day makes them tired, bored, and more likely to be injured.

• Frederick W. Taylor (author of The Principles of Scientific Management) tells managers to think of their workers as interchangeable parts of the factory

How do Workers React?

• Knights of Labor- 1st national labor union. They wanted:

– 8-hour workdays

– Equal pay for equal work

– End to child labor

• American Federation of Labor (AFL)

– Organized individual labor unions (miners, steelworkers, etc.)

– Limited to skilled workers

Workers begin to organize and demand better working conditions and pay

Labor Strikes

Major worker strikes sweep the country in late 1800’s

• Haymarket Riot (Chicago, 1886) – eight killed and many wounded when a bomb is detonated. The police open fire

• Homestead Strike (Pennsylvania, 1892) 14 hour battle, the state militia has to restore order. Unions lose

• Pullman Strike (1894) – Railroad workers stop traffic, federal courts and troops order workers to go back to work

Chapter 19: Summary