The US Economy in the Late 1800s----Social and Working Conditions in the South

The Market Revolution

increased per capita income in the us

Corporation

owned by stockholders and has 3 advantages:

1. Corporations can raise by selling stocks

2. Each stockholder’s liability (financial responsibility) is limited to the value of their stocks

3. The corporation continues after the death of its founders and individual stockholders

Laissex-faire capitalism

Based on the belief the government should not interfere with industry or business but instead leave the “invisible hand” to do its work

Corporations got stronger by

merging with other corporations to create monpolies

Interstate Commerce Act and Sherman Anti-Trust Act

attempted to limit and regulate industrial and business growthT

The results of the industrial revolution:

• Created more efficient forms of transportation

• Non Elites gained economic and political power

• Decreased the size of the family

  • Created 19th century feminist movements in the west, abolition, and property rights

Social Darwinis,

refers to the theory of evolution, was supported by laissez-faire economic, and big businesses

The Gospel of Wealth

stated wealth should be used for the greatest good; to help society as a whole

Believed:

• Wealth should be used for the greater good

• Wealth should be used to better society as a whole

• Examined the situation of the poor in industrialized cities

• Tackled problems of urban industrial societies

Captains of industry

Created businesses and jobs that changed America. Robber Barrons were only interested in profits and treated their workers badly

Andrew Carneige

Made his fortune in steel. He used vertical integration (owning all of the companies that make the products it needs). After selling his company he dedicated his life to philanthropy (helping others by donating large sums of money such as libraries and education).

Used horizontal integration and bought or absorbed his competitors to dominate the steel industry. He bought that sources and suppliers of raw materials and shipping.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Made his fortune in transportation (steamboats and railroads)

John D. Rockefeller

Made his fortune in oil. He used horizontal integration (bought out competition). He established a monopoly, a business that has no competition. He also set up a trust system (trustees own enough shares in all or part of competing companies which allowed him to control the industry)

John Pierpont (JP) Morgan

A banker who financed and bought businesses. He created multinational corporations (General Electric, AT&T, US Steel) and created monopolies

Henry Ford

Made his fortune in automobile industry. He used the assembly line to revolutionize the way cars were built. The assembly line process would be used in other business as well

Protective tariffs

Taxed imported goods from foreign countries and enabled US businesses to sell their products at higher prices. This protected US industries

Some Robber Barons or big business owners

Eliminated competition using brutal business practices

Laissez-faire capitalism

Expected government to leave businesses aloneSw

Sweatshops

Makeshift factories set up by private contractors in small apartments or unused buildings to make clothing. Working conditions were difficult and hazardous. Child labor increased in the late 1800s and early 1900s

Jim Crow Laws

restricted the rights of African Americans and separated them from white society. Segregated schools and other institutions

Convict-Lease system

Provided workers for landowners and businesses

Jim Crow Laws

Supported segregation developed in the South as a result of Plessy v. Ferguson

NAACP argued

Plessy v. Ferguson violated 14th Amendment. Plessy v. Ferguson allowed for Jim Crow laws enforcing racial segregation in the South