1. The Industrial Society

2. Industrial Development
The late 19th century offers ideal conditions for rapid industrial growth:
Cheap natural resources
Large pools of labor
Largest free trade market in the world
Capital
Government support without regulation

3. Railroads
Steamships, telegraph, and telephone help to tie nation together, but railroads transform American life
End rural isolation
Allow regional economic specialization
Make mass production/consumption possible
Lead to organization of modern corporations
Stimulate other industries
Symbolic of American power and progress

4. Building the Railroad
Government supported and paid for the construction of the railroads – often in the form of land grants
Federal railroad grants prompt corruption
Government benefits as well in the form of discounted service and increased revenue on the sale of government land

5. Linking the Nation No integrated rail system before the Civil War
During and after the war , trunk lines are linked and the railroad becomes truly national
Rail transportation becomes safe, fast, and reliable
By 1900, there are five transcontinental railroads

6. Problems of Growth
Intense competition among railroads led to corruption
After the Panic of 1893, bankers gained control of the RR and consolidate

7. Steel and Carnegie
Bessemer process of refining steel permits mass production
Use of steel transforms agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and architecture
Iron ore and transportation are necessary for large-scale steel production, leading Andrew Carnegie to begin “vertical integration”
Carnegie becomes enormously wealthy, but acts as a philanthropist
Coke fields
Iron ore deposits
Ships
Railroads
purchased by Carnegie
Steel mills
Coke fields
Iron ore deposits
Ships
Railroads
purchased by Carnegie
Steel mills
Coke fields
Iron ore deposits
Ships
Railroads
purchased by Carnegie
Steel mills
Coke fields
Iron ore deposits
Ships
Railroads
purchased by Carnegie
Steel mills
Coke fields
Iron ore deposits
Ships
Railroads
purchased by Carnegie
Steel mills

8. Oil and Rockefeller 1859 – 1st oil well drilled in Pennsylvania
John D. Rockefeller practiced “horizontal integration” to lower costs, improve quality, and establish efficient marketing – and make himself unbelievably wealthy
Independent Oil refineries
Standard Oil Company
purchased by
Rockefellar

9. The Business of Invention
New technologies emerging at an amazing rate
Industry drives innovation drives industry
Electricity growing in use by 1900
American life transformed by the telegraph, camera, processed foods, telephone, phonograph, and incandescent lamp

10. Marketing Advertising becomes common
New ways of selling include chain stores, department store, brand names, and mail-order
America becomes a community of consumers

11. Labor
Overall, real wages grow in this time period and new services become available to labor
Average wage is still very low, and the cost of living outpaces it
Industrial accidents and chronic illness from pollutants
Women and children labor in jobs that expose them to these same dangers, but for significantly lower wages

12. Discrimination in the Workplace
Adults earn more than children
Men earn nearly twice as much as women
Whites earn more than blacks or Asians
Protestants earn more than Catholics or Jews
Blacks earn less at every level and skill

13. Labor Unions Early labor unions meet with little success
National Labor Union
Knights of Labor
Molly McGuires
American Federation of Labor seeks practical improvements in wages and working conditions

14. Labor Unrest Employees seek to humanize the factory
Employers try to apply the strict laws of the market
Courts side with owners
Late 1800s see numerous strikes, but the most famous are:
Haymarket
Homestead
Pullman

15. Industrialization’s Benefits and Costs
Rise in national power and wealth
Improved standard of living
Costs
Exploitation
Social unrest
Growing disparity between rich and poor
Increasing power of giant corporations