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Who were the Robber Barons of industry?
Andrew Carnegie: boss of the steel industry. “Watch the costs and profits will take care of themselves. When he travelled, Henry Frick took over company who helped the company grow. However, did not tolerate unions and workers strikes (did not give workers rights). Benefited from Bessemer process.
John D. Rockefeller: Owned the Standard Oil Company (fought against by Ida Tar Bell). Used standards of cutting coast and increasing efficiency.
J.P. Morgan: Businessman of banking.
Cornelius Vanderbilt: Dominated railroad industry
What were the Union and Central Pacific Railroads?
After the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 was passed, the transcontinental railroad began to be built.
What were methods of eliminating competition and lowering costs and highering profits?
Horizontal Integration/consolidation: used most by Oil company like Rockefeller’s to merge the competitors into one system. This forced smaller companies to merge with his company to be able to control the entire industry.
Vertical Integration/consolidation: This was used (mostly by the Rockefeller) to control all aspects of manufacturing including mining to selling.
Stock Watering: this practice was used to get a stock to a high value by persuading investors so that it can then be sold when the prices rose, but only one business made all the money.
What was the Interstate Commerce commission Act.
In 1887, this act provided a commission that oversaw fair railways rates, stop rebates, and end discrimination of clients. This created the ICC that allowed government to oversee the railroad industry, form of government regulation and intervention.
Sherman Antitrust Act
Passed in 1890 by Congress that outlawed trusts and certain trading practices as they feared that trusts would eliminate all competition of big business.
Knights of Labor
Founded in Philadelphia in 1869 that demanded equal pay for women, end child-labor, and welcomed anyone who worked, except for bankers and lawyers.
What was the American Federation of Labor and what did it do?
Led by Samuel Gompers, confronted the big businesses who wanted to get fair wages, conditions, and hours for workers.
Examples of worker resistance
Haymarket Square riot: strike by workers who demanded 8 hour workdays but were suppressed by the police
Pullman Strike: Led by Eugene V Debs and the American Railway Union who demanded better wages for workers in the Pullman car company. It was eventually put down by officials.
Homestead Strike: called by iron and steel workers who were protesting against wage cuts in the Carnegie Steel company. However, the Pinkertons were sent to put down the strike, killing many.
In what ways did corporations try to stop organized labor unions (collective bargaining)?
Closed Shop: agreement between trade union and employer that
Yellow Dog agreement employers would force (blackmail) employees into signing that meant that workers would not join a union.
Pinkertons: Group of militant men who were hired to kill or shoot at people. The Carnegie Steel company sent them to stop the workers strikes against the steel company.
Blacklists:
Who was William M. Tweed and why was he called a “boss”?
This was head of Tammany Hall, the face of the Democratic Party that was corrupt. Tweed became very wealthy because of his corrupt practices in government including fraud and bribery. However, with the use of Tammany Hall, he appealed politically as a good candidate to mainly immigrants who he helped provide special benefits like social services and jobs.
He was most criticized by cartoonist Thomas Nast. Later, Tweed was arrested for his corrupt practices, but escaped to Spain, and later returned to the U.S.
In what ways were people discriminated against?
Literacy tests: required people to take tests to make sure they could read. However, purposely, most ex-slaves or blacks did not pass because they did not have equal opportunity to education.
Grandfather Clause: If someone’s grandfather had not been able to vote, neither could they. This prevented most blacks from voting because their grandfathers were completely prevented to vote because they were slaves.
Chinese Exclusion Act: In 1882, Congress passed this to try to limit immigration, but mostly targeted Chinese (who came a lot to work especially during California Gold Rush).
American Protective Association: Founded by Henry F. Bowers, an Anti-Catholic organization, grew after Panic of 1893 (caused by over expansion of railroads that were built with borrowed money, and then businesses went bankrupt, led to banks failing because they invested in railroads).
Immigrants: many immigrants of Italian or Irish descent were discriminated against in the workplace, mainly industrial jobs and paid less. Also, Chinese were put in very harsh conditions and had very much lower pay. Nativism also played a role in the discrimination against immigrants because they felt that their culture was being threatened by immigrants.
Who was Jane Addams?
She created the Hull House to help needy families and help immigrants learn english and house them and help them gain citizenship.
ways used to justify wealth
Gospel of wealth: idea mainly used by Andrew Carnegie who justified his wealth by saying that being wealthy was a sign of God and a sign of survival of the fittest, but that with great wealth, it should be used towards public good.
Social Darwinism: Darwin’s theory of natural selection, that there were some who were more fit to survive and to b wealthy, and people who were wealthy felt less guilty because the poor people were not fit.
Laissez-Faire: justified wealth by saying that no government intervention would make everyone succeed.
Impact of Social Darwinism and Nativism
Darwinism: Herbert Spencer and William Graham Sumner. Spencer created a theory of evolution.
Nativism: this nationalistic sensation made native born Americans (white) feel superior and that other races threatened their culture, way of life, and heritage. It led to many anti-immigration and anti-black policies.
What were the effects of the works of Horatio Alger?
he wrote children’s books about rags-to-riches, explaining the idea that anyone could succeed if they wanted and worked hard enough. He inspired the “Self-made man”.
Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst.
Rival journalists who used Yellow Journalism
Women’s Christian Temperance Movement
Founded in 1874, whose efforts helped influence prohibition in some states by 1890. Was the first organization of women who fought against alcoholism.
Homestead Act of 1862
Divided land in the West to provide to farmers.
Dawes Severalty Act
Proposed by Henry Dawes, that turned native Americans into farmers. He felt that they were unamerican and it was bad that they were not Christian.
Who were the Grangers and the Populist Party?
Many farmers were struggling, in debt, and could not afford high costs or mortgages while making small profits. They began the Granger Movement against big business that was taking away their business, and later Congress allowed states to regulate some business practices to allow farmers to grow.
Farmer’s Alliance: This was formed to fight against the railroad business who discriminated against farmers who needed to use railroads to export their goods. This organization called for government regulation of the economy, and while they did not succeed too much, it led to the creation of the Populist Party.
Populist Party/People’s Party: this was a new political party that represented the “common man”. They wanted to end rebates in railroads and regulate the economy.
What was hard money?
This was people who were wealthy or businesses. They wanted deflation, gold currency, mainly conditioned of bankers, lawyers, business owners.
These people were favored by politics because they were corrupt/bribed, or it was more in their interest to support the wealthy.
What was soft money?
These were the poor or in debt. They wanted inflation, greenbacks (printing more money), free silver (having silver currency), consisted of “common man,” farmers, and workers.
Reaction: since the “hard money” or wealthy were favored by politicians, these people began collective bargaining and unionizing. They demanded better working conditions and higher wages.
Whiskey Ring and Credit Mobilier
Whiskey Ring: Corrupt politicians were involved in a scheme to take tax revenue from the federal government from the excise taxes on whisky causing the government to lose a lot of money. (President at the time was Ulysses S. Grant).
Credit Mobilier Scandal: the Credit Mobilier Railroad company overcharged the government for construction costs and bribed politicians to hide those charges. They took this extra money from the government to spend illegally.
How did American industry expand?
Wealth of natural recourses
Responsive government
Laissez-faire
Transportation
Willing and unwilling labor force
Willing: un/skilled laborers, immigrants. Unwilling: slaves
Inventions
Bessemer Steel: created by Henry Bessemer that created a more efficient and fast way of producing steel.
Telephone (Alexander Graham Bell), light bulb (Thomas Edison), Steam Engine, gasoline, steel, railroads, electricity.
Social Gospel
Movement that sought to apply Christian principles to social issues like poverty, inequality, and workers rights. it preached that Christians had the duty to address the problems caused by industrialization and urbanization.
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois
Washington: wanted equality for blacks, especially for education, but was willing to compromise with segregation instead of challenge it.
W.E.B Du Bois: wanted immediate equality for blacks and opportunity. Co-founded NAACP and began the Talented 10th program which gave talented blacks an better education.
Fisk-Gould Scandal
These two brothers illegally made money selling gold.
Ulysses S. Grant
Worked during America’s reconstruction following the Civil War. He tried to provide a stable currency in the gold standard and reduced inflation, especially after the panic of 1873.
His administration was involved in the Whiskey Ring and Credit Mobilier Scandals, while not directly involved himself, some of his colleagues were.
Believed in strong federal government that had a limited role in business
Pendleton Act of 1883
Meant to reduce corruption and reform the spoils system (of appointing ONLY supporters of certain politicians).
Impacts of industrial cities
Negative: dense population, diseases, crime, poverty (slums)
Positive: job, industry, opportunity for women and immigrants, lifestyle
Abraham Lincoln
Supported the transcontinental railroad because it would connect the country and encourage settlement.
