Industrial Supremacy

Sources of Industrial GrowthO Abundant raw materialsO Large growing labor supplyO Technological innovationO Emergence of talented, ambitious and

ruthless group of entrepreneurs.O Federal government eager to assist

the growth of businessO Expanding domestic market for the

products of manufacturing.

1870’s InventionsO Alexander

Graham Bell- Telephone

1870’s InventionO Thomas Edison-

electric light bulb

1870’s InventionsO Henry Bessemer-

purified steel and made it stronger.

1890’s InventionO Guglielmo

Marconi- took first steps in developing the radio in 1890’s.

InnovationsO Wright Brothers-

first historic airplane flight.

O Kitty Hawk- 1903

InnovationsO Automobiles

devolved in early 1900’s

O 1917- there were nearly 5 million.

The Science of Production

O Fredrick TaylorO Employers should subdivide tasks.O It would speed up production.O Make the workers more

interchangeable.O Employer wouldn’t depend on any one

employee too much.O Production of mass production and

the moving of an assembly line.O Reduced the time needed to produce

material.

Railroad ExpansionO Helped promote and stimulate

industrial growth.O Nation’s main method of

transportation.O 1860: 30,000 miles of trackO 1900: 193,000 miles of track.

O Watch “The West” Video clip on the Railroad.O Write down 10 facts about the

railroad.

The CorporationO Raise money for expansion.

O Sell stock to the public.O Investors

O Liked buying this type of stock.O Limited liability- only liable for the

amount they invested.O Companies could gather large sums

to undertake great projects.

Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller

Andrew CarnegieO Scottish immigrantO Opened his own steam mill in 1873 in Pittsburg.O Dominated the steel industry.

O Cut costs and prices by striking deals.O Bought out the railroadsO Brought the coalmines, operated fleet of ships.O Owned railroadsO Controlled the processing of his steel.

O Sold his business to J.P. Morgan in 1901 for 450 million.

O Morgan merged Carnegie Steel with other steel mills.O Owned U.S. steel, worth 1.4 billion.

Consolidating Corporate America

O Used two methods:O Horizontal Integration

O Combining a number of firms involved in the same enterprise into one single corporation.

O Example: John D. RockefellerO Bought out refineries until 1870O Formed Standard Oil CompanyO 1890’s-controlled 90 percent of the refined oil in the

U.S.O Vertical Integration

O Taking over all the different businesses on which a company relied for its product.

O Example: Carnegie

Survival of the FittestO Social Darwinism:

O Human society only the fittest of individuals survive and flourished in the market place.

O Herbert SpencerO English Philosopher

O Individuals must have absolute freedom to struggle, to compete, to succeed, or to fail.

O Andrew Carnegie- Those who had wealth had a duty to use their riches to advance social progress.

O Wrote the Gospel of WealthO Devoted his fortune to building schools and libraries.

The Problem of Monopolies

O Many began to attack the monopolies and their practices.O Why?

O Unstable economyO Artificially high pricesO What does that do to the economy?

The Immigrant Workforce

O Industrial workforce expanded in the 19th century.O Migration into the cities.

O Wave of immigration!O 1870-1880-England, Ireland, Northern Europe.O End of the Century- Italy, Poland, Russia, Greece.

O Escaping from poverty and oppression.O Many expected a better life.O Arrival of these groups created tensions.O Italians, Slavs, Poles, were the mining industry.O Poles, Greeks, French, Canadians- textile industries.

Working Conditions and Wages

O Average American worker was…O 400-500 a yearO Below 600 minimum needed for comfortO Workers were far from poverty.

O Factory laborers worked ten hour days- Six days a week

O Steel- 12 hours a day.O Worked in unsafe and unhealthy factories.O Accidents were frequentO Compensation was limited

Women and Children at Work

O 1900- women made up 17 percent of the workforce.O Many were married- had to supplement earnings of

their husbands.O Women

O WhiteO YoungO 75 percent under 25 years oldO Vast majority were immigrantsO Or daughters of immigrants

O Textile industry remained the largest employer of women.

O Wages: $6-8 a weekO Well below a male industrial worker.

Watch Short You-Tube Clip

Women and Children Continued….

O ChildrenO 1.7 million children under 16 were employed.O 10 percent of girls and 20 percent of boys held jobs.O 38 states passed child labor laws

O Set minimum wageO Work 10 hours per day

O Worked in the cotton mills all nightO Water thrown at them to wake them up.

O Susceptible to injuryO Dangerous machinesO MaimedO Killed in accidents at a high rate.

The Struggle to Unionize

O Labor fought back against huge corporations

O Labor unions not popular with management.O Owners blacklisted those found to such

organizations.O “Molly Maguire's”

O Militant labor organizations in Pennsylvania.O Used terrorist acts to prove their point.O Used intimidation through violence

O Often murder

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877

O Eastern railroad cut wages 10 percentO Workers went on strikeO At the height of the strike over half of the

nations freight was not moving.O State militias were called:

O July 1877- President Hayes orders federal troops.

O 100 people died before the strike finally collapsed.

O Lasted for several weeks.

Knights of LaborO First major effort to create a national labor organization.O 1869- Noble Order of the Knights of Labor

O Members were open to all who toiled.O Group excluded Lawyers, bankers etc…O Would allow women.

O Program was loosely organizedO Wanted 8 hour day O Abolition of child laborO Wanted the cooperative system

O Workers themselves would control a large part of the economy.O Terrance Powderly

O Expanded by 1886- 700,000 members O Many defeats- by 1890- group had shrunk to 100,000.O Within a few years disappeared altogether.

The AFLO In 1881- Craft unions joined to form the Federation of

Organized Trade.O 1886- Changed the name to American Federation of

Labor.O Samuel Gompers

O Powerful leader of the AFLO Hostile to the idea of women in the workplace.O Fought for better wages, hours, and working conditions.O Resort to strikesO Or collective bargaining

O May 1, 1886O Demanded 8 hour work day or they would strikeO Demonstrations took place all over the country.

Strikes…..O Chicago

O Strike was in process.O McCormick Harvester Company

O City police began harassing the strikers.O Haymarket Square

O Police ordered the crowd to disperseO Someone threw a bombO Killed seven officers and injured 67 other people.O Police fired into the crowd.O Killed four more people

O Chicago rounded up eight anarchists and charged them with murder.

O Seven sentenced to death.O One committed suicideO Two had their sentences commuted to life in prison.

The Pullman Strike of 1894

O Pullman Palace Car CompanyO Manufactured parlor cars for railroads.O Built a 600 acre town of Pullman

O Rented houses to the employees.O Winter 1893-1894

O Slashed wages by 25 percent.O Pullman refused to reduce rents in its

company townO 20-25 percent higher than rents in

surrounding areas.

The Pullman StrikeO Workers went on strikeO Led by Eugene V. Debs

O Supported them by refusing to handle Pullman cars and equipment.

O Railroad companies discharged men who refused to handle Pullman cars.

O Many walked off their jobs- 27 states and territories were on strike.

O Send troops- strike was preventing movement of the mail on the trains.

O President ClevelandO July 1894O Ordered 2,000 troops to the Chicago areaO Federal court ordered an injunction forbidding the union to

continue to strike.O Debs

O Was arrested and imprisoned