1. EQ: Should government regulate private industry?
The Gilded Age
EQ: Should government regulate private industry?
After the Civil War, the U.S. was still largely an agricultural nation.
By the 1920s (60 years later), it had become the leading industrial power in the world.

2. Causes of the Growth of Big Business
Percent of Americans living in Urban and Rural Areas
Year Urban Rural
% 89%
% 80%
% 72%
% 60%
% 49%
Wealth of natural resources
Government support for business
Growing population provided:immigrant urban
Cheap labor
New markets for products

3. Oil “Black Gold”
Native Americans had made use of crude oil long before Europeans arrived
1840s- Americans used kerosene for lamps
1859- Edwin L. Drake used a steam engine to drill for oil in PA
Led to oil boom
Petroleum-refining industries sprang up to make kerosene
Gasoline (byproduct) was originally thrown away

4. Bessemer Steel Process
Iron plentiful in US
Remove carbon from iron get steel
Lighter, more flexible, rust-resistant
1850- Bessemer process created in Britain
Allowed steel to be manufactured cheaply & efficiently

5. Railroads and Steel Railroads were the biggest customers of steel
35,000 miles of track in 1865
193,000 miles of track by 1900
Connected vast regions of the United States and allowed for transport of goods
Created a national market

6. Other New Uses for Steel
Steel farm machines
McCormick, John Deere
Allowed the Midwestern plains to become food producer for nation
Brooklyn Bridge
Steel cables allowed for longer, stronger bridges
Skyscrapers
Steel frames bore the weight, allowing for taller buildings

7. Andrew Carnegie
Visited Britain & witnessed the Bessemer Process in action
Brought this process back to the U.S. (Pittsburgh) and created the Carnegie Steel Company
By 1900 it was manufacturing more steel than all factories in Britain
First billion dollar company

8. John D. Rockefeller World’s first billionaire
Created the Standard Oil Company

9. Standard Oil Sold oil at lower price than competitors
When they went bankrupt and Standard Oil purchased the company

10. Both of these were used by Carnegie and Rockefeller to gain a monopoly
Vertical Integration When a company buys out suppliers to control raw materials & transportation systems
Horizontal Integration When a company buys out competitors in the same industry
Both of these were used by Carnegie and Rockefeller to gain a monopoly

11. How can this be bad for workers? How can this be bad for consumers?
Monopoly
When one company has complete control of an entire industry
This includes production, wages, and prices of goods
How can this be bad for workers?
How can this be bad for consumers?

12. Negative term used to describe big business leaders who were
Robber Barons
Negative term used to describe big business leaders who were
Greedy
Ruthless
used unethical practices
didn’t care about their workers, customers, or competitors

15. Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Government’s attempt to stop monopolies
It was hard to prove a monopoly in legal terms
Many businesses planned ahead for accusations and would break up if accused