Monopolies and Progressivisms

Review

Factors that allow U.S. to industrialize

Immigrants

Technology

Railroads

Natural resources

Define Monopoly A monopoly is when a company has full control over an

industryt

They reduce business competition!

Monopolists Carnegie was a steel monopolist-owned 80% of steel

Rockefeller was an oil monopolist- owned 90% of the business

Could charge whatever they wanted to for oil and steel

Used ruthless business tactics to get what they wanted-called robber barons

Robber Baron A robber baron was person who used ruthless business

tactics to eliminate competition

Treats workers terribly

monopolists

Philanthropist A person who gives part of their money to worthy causes

Social Darwinism “Survival of the fittest”

Those who are stronger will survive longer and be successful

This dominated the thinking of most business and political leaders

Laissez-Faire Hands-off government policy

Early Unions, leaders, and goals

Knights of Labor A.F.L.

Leader-Uriah Stephens and Terence V. ParderlyOpen to all workersGoals supported 8 hours work day equal pay for men and women Achievements inspired other Unions to organize exanded from 28,000 members to 700,000 members in only 6 years

Leader Samuel Gompers Open to all skilled workersGoals focused on collective bargaining strikes as major tacticAchievements successful strikes led to higher wages and shorter work weeks Average weekly wages rose from $17.50 to $24.00 Average work weeks fell from 54. hours to just under 49 hours

Government support during great strikes

Government supported the employers during the strikes

This was a major obstacle to the formation of labor unions

Acts passed to try and increase business

competition Sherman Antitrust Act- designed to eliminate monopolies

and increase business competition

Clayton Antitrust Act- sought to strengthen the Sherman Antitrust Act---enacted in 1914 that made certain monopolists business practices illegal and protected the rights of labor unions and farm organizations

Old and New Immigrants

Old Immigrants (1776-1850) New Immigrants

Came from Northern and Western EuroprReasons potato famine (Irish), Revolution (Germany), better economic oppor- tunities, religious persectutionSettlements- Northeast cities and west to farms

Came from Southern and Eastern Europe (Italy, Poland, Russia, Japan, China)Reasons greater economic opportunity, political freedom, religious freedomSettlements- cities, very poor and lived in ghettosAsian immigrants moved to west coastFaced many issues from NativistsChinese faced much violence

Nativism and Nativism policies

Nativism- Love for one’s own country and immigrants are looked at as foreigners who don’t belong here. They blamed immigrants for the lack of jobs for Native born Americans

Immigrants treated very poorly (especially Chinese)—faced major hostility and lived in fear from Native born Americans

Chinese Exclusion Act- no chinese immigration for 10 years—only valuable Chinese were allowed to come, law not repealed until 1943

Gentlemen’s Agreement-San Francisco schools were segregating asian immigrants-Japan agreed to limit emigration to the U.S.

Nativism and Nativism policies

Literacy Tests- congress enacted a law barring any immigrant who could not read or write

Emergency Quota Act of 1921-sharply limited the number of immigrants to the U.S. each year to about 350,000

National Origins Act of 1924-reduced immigration and only allowed those from Northern and Western Eurpoe

muckraker A person who showed the terrible things that were

happening in society, through use of journals, pictures, books, etc.

What did Upton Sinclair write?

Wrote a book called “The Jungle”

Showed horrible conditions in the food industry

Lincoln Steffens

Shame of the Cities

Political machines-people who helped new immigrants find work, shelter, food, clothes, etc. in return for their vote

Ida Tarbell

History of Standard Oil Company and Rockefeller

Jacob Riis

“How the Other Half Lives”

Took pictures and wrote about the horrible living conditions in cities

Jane Addams

Hull House- tried to help struggling women

Third party platforms

Usually die out

Issues picked up by other political party

Federal Reserve System

Regulates the money supply and interest rates

Initiative

When a group of citizens legislate to change laws

Megan’s Law, Amber Alert

Referendum

When the public votes for certain issues

Recall

When an elected official can be removed from office through voting

Direct Primary

Voters of a party choose who they want to run for president

16th amendment

Graduated income tax—the higher a person’s income, the more taxes they pay

The burden falls on the wealthy

17th amendment

Direct election of senators

19th amendment

Women’s right to vote

How were populism and progressivism similar?

Both movements wanted change to occur-get rid of Laissez- faire and want more government control

Teddy Roosevelt as a trustbuster

He was about eliminating Big Business

Sued over 44 trusts, or monopolies

Took on Carnegie and Rockefeller

Saw the difference between good and bad monopolies and acted accordingly—good monopolies kept on a short leash

Acted upon certain information he got from muckrakers

Teddy Roosevelt-Conservationism

Planned management of natural resources

Created national parks

Set aside millions of acres of land

Pure Food and Drug Act

Outlawed interstate transportation of impure foods and deliberate mislabeling of food

Meat Inspection Act

Federal inspection of meat processing

Ensured sanitary conditions

Prohibition and amendment

The illegalization of alcohol

Amendment 18