CHAPTER !* ID
Rail Financers (eg. Collins Huntington, Jay Gould, James Hill)
Who -
Collins Huntington - Central Pacific Railroad
Jay Gould - Financier, Developer, Speculator
James Hill - Great Northern Railway
What - Group of innovative and unscrupulous railroad entrepreneurs bought out their smaller competitors
Where - Railroad Companies in the US
When - 1870s - 1880s
Why - Fixing problems and highlighting ugly aspects of running a business
Impact - Led to resolve in the 1890s with JP Morgan and his rise to consolidation
Interstate Commerce Act
Who - Passed by Congress
What - Act passed to prevent big railroad companies from ganging up on the smaller ones
Where - United States
When - 1887
Why - To forbade railroad companies from pooling, rebating, etc
Impact - First time the government regulated a business but was ultimately ineffective when many were pro-railroad
JP Morgan
Who - Rich man who loathed competition who sought to eliminate it through consolidation and central control
What - Combined with Carnegie Steel to make US Steel
Where - Pittsburgh, PA - Steel capital with natural goods and railroad systems
When - 1901 - world’s first corporation capitalized over 1 billion
Why - Sought to eliminate competition through consolidation & control
Impact - Formed model for corporate consolidation justified by social darwinism - marks arrival of new anonymous corporate world
Andrew Carnegie
Who - Man who rose from poverty but was recognized for his skill as a telegraph operator. Learned organizational, accounting, and managerial innovation to establish the niche steel market into a dominating and essential business
What - Built the world's largest steel mill, becoming the richest man. Established vertical integration.
Where - Pennsylvania
When - 11/25/1835 - 11/11/1919
Why - Recognized steel as niche but realized its importance in structures because of its durability
Impact - Illustrating close connection between railroad expansion and growth of heavy industry. Established vertical integration which business practices to this day. Steel became the official infrastructure of the US
Vertical Integration
Who - Andrew Carnegie (Carnegie Steel)
What - Control of all aspects of production along supply chain
Where - late 1800s
When - During establishment of Carnegie Steel
Why - To allow business to maximize profits by reducing money spent on outside businesses
Impact - Caused Carnegie Steel to flourish. Model to this day
John D Rockefeller, Standard Oil Company
Who - Fierce “cost-watcher” who dominated and controlled the largest oil-refining industry through deception and aggression to ruin competitors
What - Established Standard Oil Company, embracing corporation as business structure best suited to maximize profit and minimize personal liability
Where - Ohio
When - 7/8/1839 - 5/23/1937
Why - Wanted to maximize as much profit as possible and did so all means necessary through eliminating any competition
Impact - Became symbol of heartless monopoly
Standard Oil Trust
Who - Established by John D Rockefeller
What - Pioneered new form of corporate structure by using horizontal integration. Allowed trustees to coordinate policies by gobbling up all small-competing refineries (most unaware selling out to Standard)
Where - United States
When - When trying to gain legal standing for secret deals
Why - Able to manage business on someone’s behalf without technically owning it. To make rebates legal
Impact - 11 billion in trust, way to eliminate competition
Sherman Antitrust Act
Who - Congress under leadership of Senator John Sherman of Ohio
What - Outlawed trusts and monopolies that fixed prices in restraint of trade, fining and punishing violators
Where - United States
When - 1890
Why - Fearful trusts would stamp out all competition
Impact - Government prosecuted few antitrust suits, interpreted it as sympathetic to big business
Thomas Edison
Who - Man who patented 1093 inventions, buoyed by success
What - Made the lightbulb and many other inventions
Where - Newark, New Jersey in his first built laboratory
When - 1847-1931
Why - Had a vision of an interconnected industrial system resting on a foundation of techno-logical innovation
Impact - Freeing people from dependence on daylight, demonstrating systematic use of science in support of industrial technology
James Duke, American Tobacco Company
Who - Owner of American Tobacco Company
What - Targeted children to persuade them to smoke addictive cigarettes, made trust arrangements to control purchase interests in tobacco companies
Where - North Carolina
When - 1890
Why - Targeting children to ensure continuous use of tobacco
Impact - Inspired copper, sugar, whiskey, lead, and other industries to make own trust arrangements, creating a oligopoly
Henry W Grady, Henry Watterson, New South
Who - Southern newspaper editors
Henry W Grady - Atlanta Constitution
Henry Watterson - Louisville Courier Journal
What - Championed doctrine known as New South creed, movement to industrialize the South
Where - South
When - 1900s
Why - Little economic progress such as northern control of markets, low rate technological innovation, lack of capital, etc
Impact - Significant shift towards industrialization, increase in factories and urban development
Horatio Alger “Rags to Riches” Stories
Who - Unitarian minister turned dime novelist
What - Recounted adventures of the poor but honest lads who rose through self-discipline and initiative
Where - United States
When - lates 1800s
Why - To highlight US as an opportunity to obtain a rag to riches
Impact - Led to many criticings from social reformers arguing saying, only few able to carry out motto
Wildcat Strikes
Who - Laborers
What - Explosions of violence when laborers walked out the job with cut pay rates and intolerable working conditions
Where - United States
When - 1890s
Why - Unions were weak and there was labor unrest during economic downturns that reached crisis proportions
Impact - Reshaping legal environment, increasing demand for state regulation, contributing to a movement for progressive reform
William Aylvis, National Labour Union
Who - President of the iron Molders’ International Union, organization of iron-foundry workers
What - Endorsed eight-hour-day movement, end to convict labor, endorsed immigration restriction, supported cause of working women, national political reform
Where - Baltimore
When - 1866 - 1869
Why - Inspired by vision of a nationwide labor association
Impact - Bring more rights to the working environment
Terrence V Powderly, Knights of Labour
Who - Replacement of organizers head
What - Opposed Strikes, supported restriction on immigration
Where - United States
When - 1880s
Why - Shared a collaborative vision to unite all despite skills, race, and gender
Impact - Secured passage of state and federal laws. Awakened workers to develop a sense of group solidarity and potential strength
Samuel Gompers, American Federation of Labour
Who - Immigrant cigar maker that believed in trade unionism and helped retain AFL to be a strong sense of independence
What - Brought higher wages, eight-hour workday, etc
Where - United States
When - May 1886 - when craft unions left KOL
Why - Concerned of Knight’s reform goals that would undercut skilled populations’s commitment, protecting interest
Impact - Recruited over 1.6 million - helped skilled workers achieve the recognition they deserve, for they cannot be easily replaced
Railroad Strike of 1877
Who - Strikers
What - Violent strike, hundreds dead when troops were called by president to try to silence them
Where - Spread from Baltimore and Ohio Railroads to railroads throughout the country
When - July 1877
Why - Wage cuts, poor working conditions, etc
Impact - Employers required workers to sign “yellow dog” contracts to promise not to strike or join union
Pinkerton Agents
Who - Private police force
What - Hired to defend and protect factories
Where - United States
When - Late 1800s
Why - After Railroad Strike of 1877 when employers hired them to suppress labor unrest
Impact - After Railroad Strike of 1877, laws followed to ban bringing in outside guards during labor disputes
Homestead Strike
Who - Workers fired on armed men
What - Armed conflict
Where - Carnegie Steel Company plant in Homestead, Pennsylvania
When - 1892
Why - Managers cut wages and locked out workers
Impact - 9 deaths, Governor sent National Guardsmen to restore order, union is crushed
Pullman Strike, Eugene V Debs, In Re Debs
Who - Eugene V Debs organizer of American Railway Union
What - Strike of switching Pullman cars on the nation’s largest railroads, paralyzing rail traffic
Where - Pullman Palace Car Company
When - 1893
Why - After depression when Pullmen cut wages without reducing rent, workers joining together to fight for rights
Impact - Demonstrating power of the labor movement
Marxism
Who - Karl Marx
What - Proposition that labor required to produce a commodity was the only true measure of that commodity’s value
Where - Das Kapital and other works
When - 1867
Why - Wanted a communist millennium to cease exploitation of in class struggle (predicting capitalism would destroy itself)
Impact - Helped to understand ruling class system and its sociological effects on individuals
Laissez-Faire Economics
Who - Supporters of free-market capitalism
What - Idea that economies function best when governments don’t interfere with businesses, allowing supply and demand to regulate markets naturally
Where - United States
When - During Industrial Revolution
Why - Many believed government regulations distort functioning of the economy
Impact - Led to rapid industrial growth, reduced government regulation
Social Darwinism, William Graham Sumner
Who - Popularized Social Darwinism
What - Believed wealthy and successful were naturally "fitter" and that government should not interfere with social or economic inequalities
Where - United States
When - Late 1800s to Early 1900s
Why - To justify laissez-faire capitalism, arguing that social policies or regulating economy would interfere with natural progress
Impact - Influenced justification of imperialism, racism, and eugenics, misused to argue superior races or nations
Georgie Westington (AC Current, Nikoli Tesla)
Who - Developed AC Electricity
What - Type of electrical current that periodically reverses direction
Where - United States
When - 1880s - 1890s
Why - Favored for long-distance power transmission because it could easily be transformed to higher or lower voltages, making it more efficient for large-scale distribution
Impact - Transformed global industries, allowing electricity to be distributed efficiently over long distances and powering the modern electrical grid we use today
Mass Production
Who - Pioneered by people like Henry Ford
What - Making large amounts of the same product using machines and assembly lines
Where - United States but spread globally
When - Early 1900s
Why - Made goods faster and cheaper for growing population
Impact - Made products affordable, more jobs, standardized products
Consumer Markets
Who - Consumers purchasing goods for personal use
What - Products like food, clothes, etc
Where - Platforms to sell products
When - Evolving with trends, technology, and demand
Why - Meet needs and desires of people for personal consumption, comfort, and satisfaction
Impact - Drives economy by encouraging innovation, Competition in industry