Do Now What were granger laws and why were they important for the state of Minnesota?

The Flour Industry (Pillsbury)

Industrialists Can Be Very RICH! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ7pIpnrpJQ

Industry in Minnesota In the late 1800’s, important industries developed in Minnesota. People found ways to profit from the sate's natural resources. Soil Water Timber Minerals

Industrialists of Minnesota Charles Pillsbury (Flour Milling) Frederick Weyerhaeuser (Lumber) Henry Oliver (iron mining)

The Birth of Industrialization in Minnesota. The late 1800’s signaled the arrival of a new era in Minnesota, an era of industrialization. Industrialization: the process of developing large-scale, mechanical factories. Large factories and big machines were replacing many of the small businesses that created handmade products. Businesses that had been owned by one person or several partners grew into corporations. Corporations: companies with many owners called stockholders.

Corporations By forming corporation and selling stock, businesses could bring together the money of many people. This allowed them to hire more workers, buy expensive machinery, and expand their operations. Industries: a specific branch of business that provides a certain product or service.

Charles Pillsbury and the Flour Milling Industry Charles Pillsbury had grown up in New Hampshire. There he learned the ins and outs of the business world while working for a company that distributed farm produce to markets in Canada. He wanted to start his own business He moved to Minneapolis and wanted a large business in flour milling https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gITBy-N6X0

Minneapolis and the Flour Industry Flour mills had been grinding wheat into flour at the Falls of St. Anthony for 15 years before Pillsbury arrived. The amount of flour they produced however was small. Pillsbury and a few other industrialists set out to change that. Industrialist: an owner or manager of a large business.

After Charles Pillsbury Arrives Pillsbury invested in a failing flour mill, hoping he could turn it around. Invest: in business, to put money into something offering potential profit. “The other fellows in the business rather pitied me and said that another poor devil had got caught in the milling business.” Within five years his business was flourishing. With this new wealth he could improve his mills and buy additional ones.

Flour Industry Essentials Pillsbury and other flour mill owners relied on money plus a combination of Natural resources New machines Labor of people In the time after the Civil war these essentials came together to make Minnesota the flour milling capital of the world.

Natural Resources in Milling The land of southern and western Minnesota was excellent for farming. The rich, deep soil beneath the prairie was ideal for growing wheat, the preferred grain for flour millers. Supply of wheat increased from 1400 bushels in 1850’s nearly 19 million bushels in 1870 52 million bushels in 1890

Natural Resources Continued… Bushel: a unit of measurement for agricultural crops that equals 1.25 cubic feet. By the end of 1800’s Minnesota was the leading wheat-producing state in the nation. Wheat was valuable because it could be made into flour. By the 1870’s, the area around the Falls of St. Anthony became the center of flour milling in Minnesota. Minnesota had the wheat and the water with the use of waterfalls to produce a lot of flour.

Machines in Milling Machines greatly improved the quality of the flour. A new machine called the middlings purifier removed the brown flecks that made bread more appealing and faster to rise, and slowed the decay. In addition old millstones were being replaced by steel rollers. These ground flour finer and faster, improving quality and increasing production.

People in Milling The flour milling industry relied on the labor of many different types of workers. Farmers Railroad workers Machinists Barrel makers Mill workers

People working at the Mill The highest paid workers tended the huge machines at the mills. Packers caught the flour in barrels and bags as it poured off the assembly lines. Unskilled workers often had very little opportunity to move up in their careers. The only way to move up was to improve your own human capital.

Charles Pillsbury’s Success By 1880, Charles Pillsbury, his fellow mill owners, and their workers had turned Minneapolis into the nation’s leading flour producer.