Intro

1. Intro

2. The New Industrial Age 1876-1900

3. Overview • By 1900, America had surpassed Britain as the leading industrial power in the world. • land of opportunity, • rags to riches • expansion of the railroads • growth of industry • corporations

4. Objectives • You will be exposed to • The impact of new inventions on the expansion of American industry • The important role railroads played in the development of the US during the late nineteenth century • How and why large, complex business organizations developed in the US

5. Part I: New Inventions

6. Electricity powers the Industrial Age • This New Industrial Age was powered by electricity, unlike the Industrial Revolution which was powered by steam • How would electricity encourage the growth of industry? • Electric engines are smaller and more portable than steam engines, so factories could be moved away from water sources • Factories would be built close to railroads and major transit routes • Electric trolleys became common in cities, encouraging cities to spread out, instead of up

7. Edison and the Incandescent Bulb • 1879 - Thomas Edison invents a new, more efficient form of electrical light. • Look at the pictures on the next slide. Note any differences or similarities between his bulb and a modern bulb

8. Bulbs

9. Bell and the Telephone • 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell introduced the telephone By 1900, there were 1.5 million subscribers. • The telephone created a need for operators, mostly women. Why women?

10. Sholes and the Typewriter • 1867 – Christopher Sholes invented the typewriter. • This led to a need for women office workers • 1870 women made up about 5% of office workers • 1900 they made up 75%, or about 500,000.

11. 1858 – Edwin Drake drills for oil in Penn., to refine it into kerosene. Gasoline was a by-product that was thrown away. 1890 – Gasoline is used in an internal combustion engine in an automobile During the Civil War, William Kelly and Henry Bessemer develop a method of making steel that is much more efficient and much cheaper. What are some important things made of steel? Oil and Steel become important

12. Open hearth process

13. The Wright Brothers and the Airplane • Dec. 17, 1903 – Kitty Hawk, NC - Orville & Wilbur Wright sustain flight for 59 seconds traveling 852 feet • There was little public interest at first, but by WWI (1916), airplanes were being used by militaries for scouting and combat • Diagram follows

14. Wright planes

15. Henry Ford and the Assembly Line • 1903 – Ford introduces the Model-T • 1914 - Ford built the nation’s first true assembly line using the principles of scientific management, or Taylorism • Eventually, tasks were broken down into smaller and simpler tasks (division of labor) • Before line production, it took 12 hours and 28 minutes to put a Model-T together; after the assembly line was in place, it took 1 hour and 33 minutes.

16. A-line at Ford Plant

17. 1913 Model T “Tin Lizzie” $300

18. Part I Review • Inventors and Inventions • Thomas Edison • Light bulb • Alexander Bell • Telephone • Christopher Sholes • Typewriter • Kelly and Bessemer • Refined steel • Wright Brothers • The Airplane • Henry Ford • Assembly Line

19. Part II: Railroads Expand

20. The Influence of Railroads • In 1870, the railroads employed 163,000 people; by 1900, they employed over 1,000,000. • Railroads affected popular culture • Railroads influenced time. • 1883 – Professor C. F. Dowd’s plan for 24 time zones went into effect. In 1918, Congress made the 4 time zones in the US official.In 1966, 4 more time zones were added as well as Daylight Savings Time.

21. The Transcontinental Railroad • 1862 & 1864 – Lincoln passes acts authorizing land grants and loans to the Union Pacific RR Co. & the Central Pacific RR Co. • The Union Pacific would begin in Omaha, Nebraska and build westward. The Central Pacific would begin in Sacramento, California and build eastward. • May 10, 1869, the two lines were joined by a golden spike at Promontory Point, Utah.

22. Union Pacific Many Civil War veterans were suited for the hard work Most were Irish immigrants Paid $40-60/month Worked 8 hour days Meals on the RR Co. Central Pacific Not many Civil War veterans in California Chinese that had immigrated during the Gold Rush were hired Paid $35/month Worked sunup to sundown Bought their own meals Building the Railroads

23. Railroads Map

24. The Great Adventure • Riding the rails coast to coast was and still is a truly American adventure. What would a traveler see on this journey? • Like modern airplanes, these trains had different classes: • Zulu class: $40 gets you there on a bench • Day coach: $75 gets you a reclining seat • Pullman cars: $100+ gets you a comfy sleeper sofa • See next 2 slides for Pullman cars

25. Pullman Cars,built by George Pullman.Most cost more than $50000

26. A typical dinner table on a Pullman carIs there any parallel in modern mass transit?

27. Railroads reek of corruption • Several railroads cheated the taxpayers of the US and made LOTS of money • Crédit Mobilier – This was a construction company owned by the same people that owned the Union Pacific railroad. • The government subsidized the building of the railroads. • Here’s how the scam works: • Union Pacific hires Crédit Mobilier to build its railroad. • Union Pacific tells the gov’t that it will cost $100 million to build, when it actually costs about $50 million • Since Union Pacific and Crédit Mobilier are owned by the same people, the extra $50 million is pocketed by the owners • These companies also gave shares of stock to politicians in federal gov’t to ensure they kept getting subsidies. • Local or state politicians were given free passes to keep their loyalty

28. The Grangers and Government Regulation of the Railroads • 1867 – Oliver Kelley organized the Grange, a social and educational organization of farmers • The Grangers argued that railroads were a public utility, therefore they should be regulated by the government. • They argued this because railroad company’s were overcharging them to transport their goods. • 1887 – the Interstate Commerce Act was passed by Congress, requiring railroad rates to be “reasonable and just”, and established the ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission). • This was not effective until Teddy Roosevelt became President in 1901.

29. Review Part II • Railroads expanded 10-fold by 1900 • Railroads established modern time zones • The Transcontinental Railroad, made of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads, connected the east and west coasts in 1869 • Pullman cars • Crédit Mobilier scandal • Interstate Commerce Act of 1887

30. Part III: Big Business

31. Andrew Carnegie • Andrew Carnegie • Born in Scotland, immigrated to the US in 1848 • Began working in a factory at 13, for $1.20/week • Worked his way up in the railroad business, invested in stock, and became very wealthy by the age of 24 • 1873 – Carnegie launched Carnegie Steel Corporation • 1901 – Carnegie sold his property and devoted himself to philanthropy • Continued…

32. Carnegie’s Business Strategies • Always tried to build a better product at lower cost • Invested heavily in technology • Installed detailed accounting systems to manage costs • Promoted competition between his assistants • Developed vertical integration, meaning he owned the mines, the trains to move the ore, and the mills. See next slide • Wrote The Gospel of Wealth, which said the wealthy should use their money to contribute to society. To die a rich man was a disgrace.

33. Integration

34. How Corporations got bigger • Companies could merge into one corporation • Stockholders in several competing companies could turn their stock over to a trust, which would issue stock in itself in return and run the competing companies as one large corporation • What would this allow them to do? • Trusts would have a monopoly on a market and could run more efficiently as one large corporation rather than a bunch of smaller companies

35. Rockefeller and Robber Barons • Other industrialists abused their financial power • John D. Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Trust in 1882. • He would undersell his competition until all of it was run out of business, then he would raise prices to 3 or 4 times the original level • He ended up controlling 90% of the nation’s oil refineries • He and other business who worked this way were called Robber Barons.

36. Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 • More and more people were complaining the these robber-barons were not out to improve their own businesses but to destroy others’. • An attempt by Congress to regulate trade in 1890 with the Sherman Antitrust Act. • This Act made trusts illegal, but most trusts reorganized into single corporations and the law had little effect.

37. “Boss” Tweed and Tamany Hall Political Machine • Political Machine: organized group who controls a political party’s activities in a large area • Tweed used his power as leader to overcharge the gov’t for building municipal buildings • The public found out, Tweed was tried, sent to prison, escaped once, was caught again, and died in prison in 1878

38. New Definition of Success • People generally believed in Social Darwinism, the idea that anyone could succeed, but naturally only the fittest would survive(prosper) • Horatio Alger applied social Darwinism in the 100’s of books he wrote, usually “rags to riches” stories • This idea inspired immigrants to reach the “American Dream”

39. Review Part III • Carnegie, philanthropist, US Steel • The Gospel of Wealth • What did Carnegie promote? • Mergers, Trusts, and the Sherman Antitrust Act • Rockefeller, Standard Oil, Robber Baron • “Boss” Tweed, Tamany Hall scandal • Social Darwinism

40. Extra:Biltmore Estate