Chapter 18
Content
Chapter 18 Notes—The Industrial Society America: Past and Present In an era rocked by racial and political turmoil, at least Americans could enjoy root beer and bananas. Steam engines and telephones were also destined to change the lives of those in the United States and throughout the world. Industrial Development Population growth due to immigration (8 mil from 1870-80 and 15 mil from 1890-1914) led to expanding markets State, local and federal governments were supportive of industry and economic growth Technology doomed some industries (small crafts and small farms) while creating others (kerosene, factory-made goods) An Empire on Rails “Emblem of Motion and Power” Railroads connected consumers, producers, and suppliers throughout the country Walt Whitman even wrote poems about railroads Building the Empire 35,000 miles of track at end of Civil War 193,000 by 1900 $4.5 billion was spend on creation of railroads by 1880 Federal govt provided 65 mil plus millions of acres of land Local govts provided $300 mil, states $228 mil *Credit Mobilier scandal was infamous Linking the Nation via Trunk Lines Early railroads were short and unconnected—built for local markets Used different gauges and depots 1886—railroads adopted standards gauges and depots Consolidation led to integrated rail networks Four major trunk lines in the Northeast connected major lakes and rivers to seaports --Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) reached Chicago in 1874 --Erie Railroad connected NY to Chicago --New York Central (Vanderbilt) competed with the Erie eventually connected NY City to Buffalo and Chicago comprised 4500 miles of tracks --Pennsylvania RR connected Philadelphia to Pittsburg owned by J. Edgar Thompson and Thomas A. Scott eventually expanded to Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Chicago, and Washington Inventions that improved railroads included Automatic couplers (1867) Air Brakes (1869)
Refrigerator cars (1869) Dining cars, sleeping cars led to passenger travel Railroad companies devised four time zones and standard time in 1883 Rails Across the Continent During the Civil War, Congress decided to build the Transcontinental RR Union Pacific built from Omaha NE to the West Central Pacific built from Sacramento CA to the East Each company received 20 square mi of right of way Also 30 yr loans to finance the costs Both sides raced to build the most track UP was led by General Grenville Dodge (1086 mi of track) Had 10,000 + workers Used ex-soldiers and Irish immigrants Fought natives Had advantage of flat prairie land CP was led by merchant Charles Crocker (689 mi of track) Hired 6,000 workers from China Had to build through the Sierra Nevadas in CA Consider Chinese workers to be expendable Met at Promontory Point, Utah on 5-10-1869 Problems of Growth Overbuilding Rebates and rate wars Pooling Consolidation Order imposed by the banker/financier J. Pierpont Morgan Reorganized RRs Settled competitors’ turf wars for a hefty fee An Industrial Empire Steel (or perhaps steal) was the key (technology was “borrowed” from England) By 1890, the US was the leading steel producer in the world Andrew Carnegie and Steel Iron ore found near Lake superior and the Mesabi range of MN Carnegie Steel Co produced more than 1 mil tons per year by 1890 Carnegie went from bobbin boy to RR superintendent by age 24 Invests in oil, then steel Hires Henry Clay Frick and Charles Schwab Carnegie’s profits topped $40 mil in 1900; had over 20,000 employees Sold to Morgan in 1901 for $500 mil to devote time to charity Did donate over $500 mil to charity in his lifetime Morgan combined this w/other steel companies to form US Steel First $1 billion corporation Rockefeller and Oil First oil well in PA: Drake’s folly (1859, Titusville) Chemists quickly found many uses for this “black gold” JD Rockefeller of Cleveland OH founded Standard Oil (1863)
Quite a frugal Baptist fellow, indeed Priced and extorted competitors out of business Not above the occasional bribing of politicians Controlled 90% of refineries by 1879 Practiced “vertical integration” Owned oil wells, refineries, distribution centers, tankers, warehouses, pipelines, etc. Eliminated competition in all aspects of the oil business Led to formation of other trusts in other industries by greedy “robber barons” Eg. American Sugar Refining, Northern Securities Corporation and National Biscuit Company (yes, NaBisCo) Rockefeller retired in 1897 w/a net worth of 1897 Yes, he was “charitable”, like Carnegie The Business of Invention The many inventions of this time include: Transatlantic telegraph cable/Cyrus W. Field (1866) Typewriter (1867) Adding machine (1888) Kodak camera/George Eastman (1879) “Dissembled” canned meats/Gustavus Swift (1870’s) Telephone/Alexander Graham Bell (1876) Thomas Alva Edison: The Wizard of Menlo Park Quadruplex telegraph, phonograph, light bulb Westinghouse/Tesla—alternating current motor The Sellers What good is a product without a market? Just ask: Macy, Marshall Field, Ladies’ Home Journal, A&P Groceries, Montgomery Ward, JC Penney, Sears and Roebuck, etc. The Wage Earners It is capitalism. Someone profits, someone gets the shaft… Working Men, Working Women, Working Children Wage: $400-$500 per year for a man (usually skilled worker) Cost of Living: $600 per year Poor women worked outside the home, Black women most often (25%+) No minimum or fair wage; no equal work for equal pay Employers preferred women, children, minorities or recent immigrants More desperate for work Less likely to form or join unions Worked for lower pay, complained less about conditions Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 showed discrimination in the West Culture of Work Rags to riches novels were popular (Horatio Alger) Riches rarely, but advancement was often possible Labor Unions (join at your peril!)
Knights of Labor (1869-1892 or so) Founded by Uriah Stephens, greatest under Terrence V. Powderly Admitted all workers, no matter sex, trade or race Powderly did not favor the use of strikes Gained fame and membership after RR strike against Jay Gould (MoPac) in Missouri Defeats against Gould and blame for Haymarket Square caused the end of the union American Federation of Labor (1886 to 1955, sort of…) Founded by Samuel Gompers Wanted membership restricted to skilled male (white) workers Gained nearly 1 mil members by 1901 Achieved modest gains for white, male workers Labor Unrest—a few examples Great Railroad Strike of 1877 Haymarket Square (1886) Homestead Steel Strike (1892) Pullman Strike (1894) In re Debs (1895) Holden v Hardy (1898) Lochner v. NY (1905) Muller v. Oregon (1911)
Refrigerator cars (1869) Dining cars, sleeping cars led to passenger travel Railroad companies devised four time zones and standard time in 1883 Rails Across the Continent During the Civil War, Congress decided to build the Transcontinental RR Union Pacific built from Omaha NE to the West Central Pacific built from Sacramento CA to the East Each company received 20 square mi of right of way Also 30 yr loans to finance the costs Both sides raced to build the most track UP was led by General Grenville Dodge (1086 mi of track) Had 10,000 + workers Used ex-soldiers and Irish immigrants Fought natives Had advantage of flat prairie land CP was led by merchant Charles Crocker (689 mi of track) Hired 6,000 workers from China Had to build through the Sierra Nevadas in CA Consider Chinese workers to be expendable Met at Promontory Point, Utah on 5-10-1869 Problems of Growth Overbuilding Rebates and rate wars Pooling Consolidation Order imposed by the banker/financier J. Pierpont Morgan Reorganized RRs Settled competitors’ turf wars for a hefty fee An Industrial Empire Steel (or perhaps steal) was the key (technology was “borrowed” from England) By 1890, the US was the leading steel producer in the world Andrew Carnegie and Steel Iron ore found near Lake superior and the Mesabi range of MN Carnegie Steel Co produced more than 1 mil tons per year by 1890 Carnegie went from bobbin boy to RR superintendent by age 24 Invests in oil, then steel Hires Henry Clay Frick and Charles Schwab Carnegie’s profits topped $40 mil in 1900; had over 20,000 employees Sold to Morgan in 1901 for $500 mil to devote time to charity Did donate over $500 mil to charity in his lifetime Morgan combined this w/other steel companies to form US Steel First $1 billion corporation Rockefeller and Oil First oil well in PA: Drake’s folly (1859, Titusville) Chemists quickly found many uses for this “black gold” JD Rockefeller of Cleveland OH founded Standard Oil (1863)
Quite a frugal Baptist fellow, indeed Priced and extorted competitors out of business Not above the occasional bribing of politicians Controlled 90% of refineries by 1879 Practiced “vertical integration” Owned oil wells, refineries, distribution centers, tankers, warehouses, pipelines, etc. Eliminated competition in all aspects of the oil business Led to formation of other trusts in other industries by greedy “robber barons” Eg. American Sugar Refining, Northern Securities Corporation and National Biscuit Company (yes, NaBisCo) Rockefeller retired in 1897 w/a net worth of 1897 Yes, he was “charitable”, like Carnegie The Business of Invention The many inventions of this time include: Transatlantic telegraph cable/Cyrus W. Field (1866) Typewriter (1867) Adding machine (1888) Kodak camera/George Eastman (1879) “Dissembled” canned meats/Gustavus Swift (1870’s) Telephone/Alexander Graham Bell (1876) Thomas Alva Edison: The Wizard of Menlo Park Quadruplex telegraph, phonograph, light bulb Westinghouse/Tesla—alternating current motor The Sellers What good is a product without a market? Just ask: Macy, Marshall Field, Ladies’ Home Journal, A&P Groceries, Montgomery Ward, JC Penney, Sears and Roebuck, etc. The Wage Earners It is capitalism. Someone profits, someone gets the shaft… Working Men, Working Women, Working Children Wage: $400-$500 per year for a man (usually skilled worker) Cost of Living: $600 per year Poor women worked outside the home, Black women most often (25%+) No minimum or fair wage; no equal work for equal pay Employers preferred women, children, minorities or recent immigrants More desperate for work Less likely to form or join unions Worked for lower pay, complained less about conditions Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 showed discrimination in the West Culture of Work Rags to riches novels were popular (Horatio Alger) Riches rarely, but advancement was often possible Labor Unions (join at your peril!)
Knights of Labor (1869-1892 or so) Founded by Uriah Stephens, greatest under Terrence V. Powderly Admitted all workers, no matter sex, trade or race Powderly did not favor the use of strikes Gained fame and membership after RR strike against Jay Gould (MoPac) in Missouri Defeats against Gould and blame for Haymarket Square caused the end of the union American Federation of Labor (1886 to 1955, sort of…) Founded by Samuel Gompers Wanted membership restricted to skilled male (white) workers Gained nearly 1 mil members by 1901 Achieved modest gains for white, male workers Labor Unrest—a few examples Great Railroad Strike of 1877 Haymarket Square (1886) Homestead Steel Strike (1892) Pullman Strike (1894) In re Debs (1895) Holden v Hardy (1898) Lochner v. NY (1905) Muller v. Oregon (1911)
