1. The Rise of Big Business “Survival of the Fittest”

2. Gilded =thin covering of gold
The Gilded Age = time between the Civil War and WWI; lots of wealth in in the US, but lots of corruption & mistreatment of workers & immigrants
Phrase coined from Mark Twain’s novel of the same title in the 1870s
Millionaires
Industrial Growth
Poor Working Conditions
Child Labor
Low Wages
Unsanitary Cities
Corruption
Safety in the workplace
Lack of Social Mobility
Technology
$$$$$$$$$$
American Prosperity

3. Technology and Industrial Growth
U.S. encourages industrial growth
Civil War = need more industry
Immigrants = more workers
Gov’t tariffs = made imported goods too expensive!
Laissez faire: “Hands off; ”No government regulation of business

4. Innovation Drives the Nation
Thomas Edison
Lightbulb (1870/1880s)
Phonograph (record player)
Motion Pictures
Alexander Graham Bell
Invented the telephone

5. Railroads is Chinese and Irish immigrants built railroads
Travel is quicker = prices of goods go down = sell to market faster = need to produce more
Mass production to provide more for growing population and dense city populations
Higher cost of living
City growth: Chicago, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Atlanta
Need for time zones to standardize arrivals / departures is

6. Atlanta, Ga., ca A view on the Atlanta and West Point Railroad looking towards the railroad depot, roundhouse and machine shops in Atlanta, Georgia, shortly before their destruction by Sherman's troops during the Civil War.

7. Peachtree Street -- Atlanta, GA, ca. late 1800’s

8. Oil: John D. Rockefeller:
Standard Oil
Controlled 90% of oil industry
Started as basic kerosene and grew into some of the gas stations you know today
Legacy - $900 million** Richest man in the US
“Charity is injurious unless it helps the recipient to become independent of it.” John D. Rockefeller

9. Steel Andrew Carnegie: US Steel
“And while the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department.”
Andrew Carnegie
Steel
Andrew Carnegie:
US Steel
His steel company boomed as a result of the growth of railroads and other industries
Legacy: $400 million
gave $350 million to charity
Gospel of Wealth: book which advised people to make what they need  give the rest to the community
Est. free libraries – everyone = access to education

10. “Laissez faire capitalism, or pure competition, is the end of competition itself. It is the natural goal of any business to make as much profit as it can and to eliminate its competition. When a corporation eliminates its competition it becomes what is known as a "monopoly."

11. Trusts: separate companies controlled by a single board
Monopoly: a trust that has exclusive control over an entire industry
2 terms/nicknames can be used to describe these men
1. “Captain of Industry”: an innovative entrepreneur who positively influenced society
2. “Robber Baron”: person who became wealthy by unethical means
Example: U.S. Steel, one company board controls many different steel companies

12. What does the government say about these robber barons?
Interstate Commerce Commission
oversee RR operations
1st regulation of US businesses (not fully enforced)
Sherman Antitrust Act
Outlaws monopolist trusts (not enforced)
Some wanted to break up dominance of monopolies, but not everyone.
To be continued…

13. Labor Unions form as a reaction to Big Business

14. What was life like in factories?
Everyone worked!!! (men, women, children)  Child Labor (as young as 4 year olds working with these machines)
Sweatshops = 12 hours a day, 6 days a week
Company towns
Owned by business and rented out to the workers; forced to buy goods from the company store… this sounds like what???

16. Factory Horrors!! Child Labor
Triangle Shirt Waist Company – whole floor got set on fire and no fire escapes for them to escape with
Unsanitary food from the factories

17. Labor Unions = organizations formed to protect workers’ interests
American Federation of Labor (AFL)
Founded by Samuel Gompers
Organized skilled laborers
Want to:
Increase wages
Better hours
Better conditions

18. Pullman Strike Background: Railroad car company
Workers required to live in company town
Cause:
Wages cut without a decrease in the cost of living in the company town
During:
Shut down rail traffic all over US
Stops trade in Chicago

19. Pullman Strike Effect:
Employers used the courts to limit the influence of unions
Gov’t did not support any unions and interpreted laws against them
Sherman Anti-trust Act said no monopolies because they interfere with trade
Since the strike stopped trade in Chicago, Striking Unions were considered monopolies
** Sherman Anti-Trust Act = no strikes = no unions **

20. Workers were treated like the pieces of meat that they produced
Workers were treated like the pieces of meat that they produced. This will lead to the demand for ….