Topic 9.1-9.3 - Industry and Labor

Growth of Industry - Factors

  • Natural Resources: coal, lumber, iron ore, oil drilling, steel production in the Great Lakes region.

  • Human Resources: Immigration increasing labor force; immigrants worked for lower wages.

  • Free Enterprise: Innovations encouraged entrepreneurship; glorified in 'rags-to-riches' stories.

  • Government Role: Laissez-faire approach; encouraged business through subsidies and protective tariffs.

Technology & Innovation

  • Key Innovations: Electricity (Edison, Westinghouse), Telecommunication (Telegraph, Telephone), Steel (Bessemer process).

  • Resulting Growth: Skyscrapers, elevated transportation, mass production in factories, and reduced cost of goods.

Effects of Industrialization

  • Economic Growth: US became the world’s industrial leader by 1900, surpassing Britain, France, and Germany combined.

  • Global Economy: Increased export of both manufactured and agricultural goods.

  • Changes in Daily Life: Mechanization led to fewer farmhands, urban migrations, lower wages, and repetitive work.

  • Environmental Impact: Exploitation of western resources; beginnings of National Parks establishment.

Industry in the South

  • The “New South”: Industrial growth in textiles and lumber; attempts to diversify crops.

  • Economic Lag: South lagged behind the North in skilled labor and capital investment.

Changing Business Methods

  • Growth of Corporations: Multiple investors; limited losses.

  • Business Strategies: Horizontal and vertical integration; formation of monopolies and trusts.

Changing Social Ideas

  • Social Darwinism: Belief in 'survival of the fittest'; justification for wealth accumulation.

Captains of Industry vs. Robber Barons

  • Captains of Industry: Contributed to economic growth, technological advances, and philanthropy.

  • Robber Barons: Monopolistic practices, driving out competitors, increased wealth gap, poor working conditions.

Changing Attitudes Toward Business

  • Government Actions: Interstate Commerce Commission (1887) and Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) aimed to regulate business practices but often favored employers over unions.

Working Conditions in Late 1800s

  • Long hours; sweatshops were common; dangerous conditions; low pay, including child labor.

  • Company towns controlled by employers, leading to worker debt.

Goals and Growth of Labor Unions

  • Unions demanded collective bargaining for fair pay and conditions.

  • Major Unions:

    • Knights of Labor: Inclusive but declined after early 1900s.

    • American Federation of Labor (AFL): Focused on skilled workers with practical goals.

    • Industrial Workers of the World (IWW): Created by Eugene Debs, promoted socialism and faced violence.

Major Strikes and Disruptions

  • Great Railroad Strike (1877): Government sided with employers against strikes.

  • Haymarket Riot (1886): Anti-union backlash following violence; negative press towards unions.

  • Homestead Strike (1892): Violent suppression of workers; negative public opinion on unions.

  • Pullman Strike (1894): Nationwide strike leading to government intervention; Debs arrested.