Age of Business and Industry

Railroad  Imported first steam locomotive from Great Britain  1869 transcontinental RR was completed – connected both coasts  Travel easier  Opened markets coast to coast  Boom towns created at train depots  Population migrations

Steel  Iron + coal= steel  Bessemer Process – removed carbon from Iron making steel strong  Increased production of RR tracks  Brooklyn Bridge  Skyscrapers – build up

OIL  Black Gold  Edwin Drake used a steam engine to drill for oil  Oil boom in PA, OH,KY,IL,IN  Petro refining industries in Pittsburgh and Cleveland  Gasoline, a byproduct made autos a cheap innovation

Banking  Panics of 1893 & 1907 people lost faith in banks  Large financial corporations bought up smaller banks, failing RRs, steel and oil corporations  Banks became huge and could control other industries in the nation

Inventions  Light Bulb 1876 Thomas Edison perfected incandescent light bulbs and a system for distributing electrical power 1876 Thomas Edison perfected incandescent light bulbs and a system for distributing electrical power Electrical Age Electrical Age Build a plant wherever they wanted! Build a plant wherever they wanted!  Typewriter 1867 Christopher Sholes, James Densmore improved and sold it in 1873 Office work and new jobs for women Increased jobs away from home.

Inventions  Time Zones 1870 – proposed the earth’s surface be divided up into time zones finalized in – proposed the earth’s surface be divided up into time zones finalized in 1884 Zones begin in Greenwich, England– O degrees long. Zones begin in Greenwich, England– O degrees long times zones synchronized around nation 1883 times zones synchronized around nation 1918 US Congress officially recognized “railroad time” 1918 US Congress officially recognized “railroad time”  Bessemer Press Englishman Henry Bessemer and American William Kelly – invented a way to inject air into molten iron to remove carbon and this created STEEL Process improved upon in 1886

Telephone  Invented by Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Watson in 1876  Laid the groundwork for world wide communication  Helped to increase office work and opened more jobs for women!

Business Leader Cornelius Vanderbilt  American RR magnate  Started career in Ferry boats, worked with Gibbons of Gibbons v. Ogden fame  By 1867 gained control of the NY Central RR – connected Chicago to NYC  During the Panic of 1873 and the resulting depression, Vanderbilt began construction of Grand Central Terminal in New York City, offering employment to thousands who otherwise would have been unemployed. The New York Central was one of the few railroads that posted profits during the depression. Bought up RR companies that were failing – turned small companies into one large company Panic of 1873Panic of 1873 Anderson Cooper Great-great-great- great grandson of Cornelius

Business Leader J.P. Morgan  Built family fortune into a colossal financial and industrial empire  After panics of 1893 and 1907, used his money to buy failing industries, RR, mines, manufacturing, insurance, shipping and communication systems  His firms had enormous funds to help develop American resources

Business Leader John D. Rockefeller  Established Standard Oil Company  Used ideas of trust to create one large corporation  Paid low wages, drove competitors out of business by selling his oil at lower prices, then hiking it up once the competition was gone  Used clout to get rebates on RR shipping costs and kickbacks  “Rockefeller's personal life was fairly simple and frugal. He was a man of few passions who lived for his work, and his great talent was his organizing genius and drive for order” frugal I always tried to turn every disaster into an opportunity.

Business Leader Andrew Carnegie  Born in Scotland  Poor immigrant  Entered the steel industry in 1873  1899 Carnegie Company manufactured more steel than all the companies of Great Britain  New production, hiring chemists for improvements, detailed accounting, offered stock in company  Bought out his suppliers of coal and iron to cut costs and control quality

Organizational Structures  Monopoly Complete control over an industry’s production, quality, wages paid, prices charged, achieved by buying up or driving out all competitors Complete control over an industry’s production, quality, wages paid, prices charged, achieved by buying up or driving out all competitors  Trusts Consolidating competing companies in which participants turn over stock to a board of trustees who run companies as one large corporation

Organizational Structures  Holding Company A company formed to buy up other companies A company formed to buy up other companies  Vertical Integration A company takes over its suppliers and distributors  Horizontal Consolidation Merging of companies that make a similar product Used to create a monopoly

Government Attempts at Regulating Business  Granger Laws Farmers attempted to combat the power of the RRs in late 19 th century Farmers attempted to combat the power of the RRs in late 19 th century Why? Misuse of government funds, RRs agreed with each other to fix prices, and keep farmers in debt Why? Misuse of government funds, RRs agreed with each other to fix prices, and keep farmers in debt Raised money to get politicians elected to pass laws for them! Raised money to get politicians elected to pass laws for them!  Munn vs. Illinois 1877 Supreme Court case  Regulate private industry for public interest  Supreme Court upheld right of government regulation of RRs for the benefit of farmers  Grangers set up funds to help farmers sue for violation of Granger Laws

Government Attempts at Regulating Business Interstate Commerce Act  a law passed by Congress in 1887 reestablished the federal governments right to supervise RR activities and created a 5 member ICC  Gained control of RR in 1906 Sherman Anti-Trust Act  Law passed by Congress in 1890 intended to make monopolies illegal  Worried monopolies would interfere with free trade  Enforcement nearly impossible!