Industrialization

Industrialization - America’s Gilded Age: 1870–1890

Learning Objectives

• Key Technological and Economic Changes
    - Understand the technological and economic changes that characterized the Second Industrial Revolution in the United States.
• Interpretations of Freedom
    - Describe differing interpretations of "freedom" as experienced by industrialists, workers, and reformers during the Gilded Age.
• Labor Movements
    - Summarize the main goals and strategies of labor movements during the Gilded Age.
• Characteristics of Gilded Age Politics
    - Explain the major characteristics of Gilded Age politics, including party loyalty, patronage, and voter participation.

The Second Industrial Revolution

Focus Question

• What factors combined to make the United States a mature industrial society after the Civil War?

From Farm to Factory

The Industrial Economy

• Indicators of Economic Change (1870–1920)
    - Characteristics of explosive economic growth include:
      - Abundant natural resources: The availability of resources such as coal, iron, and oil.
      - Growing labor supply: A rising workforce due to immigration and urban migration.
      - Expanding markets: Increased demand for goods due to population growth and urbanization.
      - Promotion of development by the federal government: Government initiatives to encourage industrial growth.
• By 1880, a majority of the workforce engaged in non-farming jobs for wages, signifying a shift from agricultural to industrial labor and a growth of urban centers.

Railroads

Railroads and the National Market

• Railroads were a critical enabler of the Second Industrial Revolution.
    - Investment and Government Support:
      - Private investment combined with massive government grants of land and money facilitated railroad expansion.
    - Impact of Railroads:
      - Created a truly national market and opened vast amounts of land for development.
      - Resulted in standardized time zones and regulated time.

Innovation and Competition

The Spirit of Innovation

• Key technological innovations included:
    - The telegraph: Revolutionized communication across distances.
    - The telephone: Facilitated real-time voice communication.
    - The typewriter: Enhanced business communication and documentation.
    - The handheld camera: Transformed personal and public media representation.
    - Scientific breakthroughs included electric power, which enabled new technologies.
• Prominent Innovators:
    - Thomas Edison: Known for developments in electric lighting and power.
    - Nikola Tesla: Key contributions to alternating current power systems.
• Competition and Consolidation:
    - Businesses engaged in ruthless competition due to market volatility.
    - Formation of pools and trusts aimed at controlling entire industries to mitigate competition.

Captains of Industry?

Notable Figures

• Andrew Carnegie
    - Scottish immigrant and steel industry magnate known for his use of vertical integration.
    - Accumulated a vast fortune; much of his wealth was later distributed to various philanthropies.
• John D. Rockefeller
    - Founder of Standard Oil Company, initially employed horizontal integration to dominate the oil industry.
• Actions of Carnegie and Rockefeller prompted debate over whether they were "captains of industry" or "robber barons."

Increasing Inequality

Workers’ Freedom in an Industrial Age

• Economic dynamics:
    - Minority of skilled workers commanded high wages and some control over the production process.
    - Majority faced economic insecurity, long hours, low wages, and dangerous working conditions, lacking job protections.
• Increasing Wealth and Poverty:
    - Unprecedented accumulation of wealth, with the wealthiest 1% holding over 50% of the nation's wealth, showcasing rising inequality.
    - Writers revealed both the extreme living conditions of the working class and the ostentatious lifestyles of the wealthy, highlighting residential segregation by class.

Freedom in the Gilded Age

Focus Question

• How did the economic development of the Gilded Age affect American freedom?
  

Social Debate

• Gilded Age Overview
    - The period from 1870–1890 saw extensive public discussion regarding the new social order.
    - Notable distrust existed between employers and employees.
• Challenges to Traditional Freedom
    - Concentration of wealth conflicted with traditional definitions of freedom, which associated freedom with equality.
    - Some liberals sought to limit lower-class political power, advocating for reinstating property qualifications for voting.
• Inequality and Democracy:
    - The ideology of natural superiority was used to rationalize success and failure among individuals and classes.
    - Social Darwinism argued that society evolves naturally without governmental intervention; poverty was viewed as a consequence of lack of self-reliance.
    - William Graham Sumner was a leading proponent of Social Darwinism in America.

Negative Freedom

Definition and Implications

• “Negative” Freedom:
    - Defined as limited government intervention and a free market economy.
    - Emphasizes individual labor contracts between workers and employers while viewing collective action as a threat to individual liberty.
• Liberty of Contract:
    - The Fourteenth Amendment came to be interpreted as underpinning the concept of liberty of contract.
    - Courts often viewed business regulation as infringing on free labor.
    - Decisions like Lochner v. New York voided state laws limiting work hours, symbolizing judicial support for businesses over labor organizations.

Labor and the Republic

Focus Question

• How did reformers of the period approach the problems of an industrial society?

Labor and the Republic: The Workers’ Plight

• “The Overwhelming Labor Question”:
    - Shift in focus from slavery to labor-related issues post-Civil War.
    - The Great Railroad Strike illustrated tensions; post-strike, the government reinforced property rights through armory construction and federal intervention.
• The Knights of Labor:
    - The first organization to unite skilled and unskilled workers, women, men, and Black individuals.
    - Defined freedom as encompassing basic economic rights for all.
    - Raised the question whether true freedom was possible amid extreme economic inequality.

Reform and Henry George

• Middle-Class Reformers:
    - Social thinkers acknowledged systemic issues and proposed multiple reform ideas.
• Henry George’s “Progress and Poverty” (1879):
    - Proposed a single tax on real estate value increases to curb speculation.
    - Argued that labor represented true freedom, while government interference oppressed workers' liberty.

Gronlund and Bellamy

• Laurence Gronlund:
    - Authored The Cooperative Commonwealth, introducing socialist ideas to an American audience.
    - Suggested a peaceful, evolutionary end to class struggle appealing to middle-class sensibilities.
• Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward:
    - Proposed a utopian future where cooperation and equality predominate, advocating for state-guaranteed economic security for all.
    - Inspired nationalist clubs and influenced progressive social thinkers.

Christianity

Moral and Political Activism

• The “Christian lobby” sought to address moral challenges through political solutions, campaigning against alcohol, gambling, prostitution, polygamy, and contraception.
• The South emerged as the “Bible Belt,” leading movements focused on moral reform.
• Social Gospel Movement:
    - Advocated that true freedom and spiritual development necessitate economic equity.
    - Established missions and relief programs, collaborating with labor organizations.

Uprisings

Labor Unrest and Political Response

• The Haymarket Affair (1886):
    - Notable labor activity surge, with the first May Day commemorating labor rights.
    - The Haymarket incident involved workers and police, culminating in a bomb explosion that incited public panic and negative depictions of the labor movement.
    - Some labor leaders were executed while others, like Lucy Parsons, continued advocating for labor rights.
• Labor and Politics:
    - Rise of independent labor political action aimed at eliminating the use of public/private forces against laborers.
    - 1886 represented a pinnacle for the Knights of Labor, which faced decline due to increased hostility and associates with violence.

Politics in a Gilded Age

Focus Question

• Was the Gilded Age political system effective in meeting its goals?

Bosses and Corruption

Political Dynamics

• Political corruption was widespread, undermining political freedom in the era of burgeoning corporations.
    - Notable corruption scandals included New York’s Tweed Ring, Crédit Mobilier, and the Whiskey Ring.
• Political Parties:
    - Republicans dominated the industrial North and Midwest, while Democrats held the South, leading to a political stalemate amid closely contested elections with over 80% voter turnout.

Small Government, Initial Reform

• Federal Government Dynamics:
    - The period was characterized by a relatively small federal government by today’s standards.
    - Republicans emphasized high tariffs, reduced spending, and paying off national debt while returning to the gold standard in 1879.
    - Democrats opposed high tariffs but resisted demands for an increased money supply.
• Reform Legislation:
    - Civil Service Act of 1883: Established merit-based selection for government jobs.
    - Interstate Commerce Commission: Aimed to regulate railroad rates and practices.
    - Sherman Antitrust Act: Sought to curtail monopolies and protect competition, establishing federal authority in economic regulation.

The States

Political Conflict

• The Gilded Age was marked by state-level political turmoil and conflict.
• Third parties made significant, albeit brief, gains in local elections.
• Public outcry arose against railroad companies, particularly in the West, demonstrating the growing unrest among citizens.

Summary

Focus Questions

• What factors combined to make the United States a mature industrial society after the Civil War?
    - Rapid technological innovation, abundant natural resources, and growing labor force, supported by railroad expansion and federal involvement, transformed the U.S. economy and workforce.
• How did the economic development of the Gilded Age affect American freedom?
    - Economic advancement expanded opportunities for industrialists but restricted workers' freedom, who endured harsh conditions, leading to debates over the meanings of freedom and market protections.
• How did reformers of the period address the problems of an industrial society?
    - Reformers advocated for labor organization, economic reforms, socialist ideas, and religious activism, arguing for a stronger government role in ensuring economic equality and security for workers.
• Was the Gilded Age political system effective in meeting its goals?
    - The political system struggled with corruption, party loyalty, and stasis, limiting its ability to confront corporate power or address urgent social reforms for industrial challenges.