 Sumner says about the business leaders that “…their own wealth… and millions more… scattered in the hands of thousands, would not exist but for them.”  Phillips says “…labor [is] the creator of all wealth [and] is entitled to all it creates.” Which do you agree with? Discuss with a partner

{ Business and Labor In the Gilded Age

{ Law? What do I care about the law? Haven’t I got the power? -Cornelius Vanderbilt A common attitude

{ A consortium of independent organizations formed to limit competition by controlling the production and distribution of a product or service The Trust System

Robber Barons  John D. Rockefeller – Standard Oil  Andrew Carnegie – US Steel  Henry Frick – Steel  Cornelius Vanderbilt – New York Central Railroad  J.P. Morgan - Financier

 Though amassing their fortunes at the expense of their workers, a few of the robber barons, most notably Andrew Carnegie, practically invented the idea of philanthropy.  Carnegie endowments built libraries, research centers, a university, and many other functions of the public good. A Potential Silver Lining

 Low pay  Long hours  Dangerous conditions  No job security  Managers had all the power, workers were left with no recourse for mistreatment Labor vs Management

 Knights of Labor (1869)  Broad base, not well organized, variety of issues (led to disunity and failure)  American Federation of Labor (1886)  Organized into trade unions (local unions based upon skill)  Trade unions of same skill would make up a larger national union of all those who worked in the same trade  AFL would be the umbrella organization for all trade unions  Samuel Gompers was the founder Rise of the Labor Union