American StoriesTHIRD EDITION

By: Brands •By: Brands •

Chapter 18

The Industrial Society

1850‒1901

The Industrial Society, 1850‒1901

Industrial Development

What enabled the United States to build an industrial economy?

An Industrial Empire

What were the main characteristics of the new steel and oil industries?

18.1

18.2

The Industrial Society, 1850‒1901

The Sellers

Why were the new methods of advertising so important?

The Wage Earners

Who were the wage earners in the new economy?

18.3

18.4

The Industrial Society, 1850‒1901

Culture of Work

How did wage earners organize in this period, and what demands did they make?

18.5

Video Series:Key Topics in U.S. History

1. The Transcontinental Railroad2. The Gilded Men3. The Making of a Consumer Culture4. Knights of Labor

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A Machine Culture

• Centennial Exposition held in Philadelphia• Focused on industrial era innovations

• U.S. fast becoming industrialized culture • Developments in manufacturing,

transportation, communications, changed society

• Laborers in steel, oil, railroads played leading role

Home

Home

Industrial Development

• An Empire on Rails• Advantages of the Railroad• Building the Empire• Linking the Nation via Trunk Lines• Rails Across the Continent• Problems of Growth

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Industrial Development

• Conditions for rapid industrial growth • Abundance of cheap natural resources• Large pools of labor• Expanded markets• Investment capital• Technological progress• Government support

• Industry developed quickly• Entrepreneurs flourished• Concentrated in Northeast

Industrial Development

An Empire on Rails

• Revolution in transportation and communication• U.S. industrial economy based on

expansion of the railroads• Steamships • Telegraph and telephone

Industrial Development

Advantages of the Railroad

• Railroads transformed American life• Ended rural isolation• National market • Led to organization of modern corporation• Stimulated other industries• Railroads captured imagination of the

American people

Industrial Development

Building the Empire

• Railroad construction boom 1865‒1916• U.S. laid more than 200,000 miles of track

costing billions of dollars• Expensive endeavor• Cost repaid over time

• Waste and corruption in railroad industry• Built too fast and wastefully• Build into Indian lands

Industrial Development

Linking the Nation via Trunk Lines

• No integrated rail system before Civil War • Designed to protect local interests• Civil War - value of long-distance lines seen

• Construction and consolidation begins• Large companies took over small

companies• Standardization

Industrial Development

Linking the Nation via Trunk Lines (continued)

• Four trunk lines• East linked with Great Lakes and West• Baltimore and Ohio (B&O), Erie RR, New

York Central RR, Pennsylvania RR• Southern railroad system integrated in

1880s • War damage caused delay

• Rail transportation improved• Safe, fast, reliable• Standard time Industrial Development

Rails Across the Continent

• 1862 - Congress authorized the transcontinental railroad • Delay from sectional tensions ended• Union Pacific worked westward • Central Pacific worked eastward • May 10, 1869 - Tracks met in Utah• By 1900 - four more lines to Pacific

Industrial Development

Problems of Growth

• Overbuilding caused problems• Intense competition among railroads• Efforts to share failed• Consolidation did not solve problems

• Bankers gained control of railroads• J. Pierpoint Morgan• Multiple reforms

Industrial Development

Industrial Development

Discussion Question

• What enabled the United States to build an industrial economy?

Industrial Development

An Industrial Empire

• Carnegie and Steel• Rockefeller and Oil• The Business of Invention

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An Industrial Empire

• Innovation drove new industrial empire• Bessemer process of refining steel

permitted mass production• Use of steel changed agriculture,

manufacturing, transportation, architecture

An Industrial Empire

Carnegie and Steel

• Steel business complex• Required large capital investment,

abundant raw materials, research departments, and sophisticated techniques

• Rose in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Alabama• Businesses grew larger

An Industrial Empire

Carnegie and Steel (continued)

• Andrew Carnegie entered steel business• Rags to riches• Entered steel industry in 1872• Homestead plant• By 1901 – employed 20,000

• Produced more steel than Great Britain

• Sold out to J. P. Morgan• United States Steel Company

An Industrial Empire

Rockefeller and Oil

• Petroleum became profitable • Little use for gasoline• Kerosene for lighting• Other petroleum uses

• 1859 - First oil well drilled • Edwin L. Drake near Titusville, Pennsylvania

An Industrial Empire

Rockefeller and Oil (continued)

• Standard Oil Company• 1863 - John D. Rockefeller • Moved to consolidate to end competition• Vertical integration• New business organization: the trust• Standard Oil Trust

An Industrial Empire

The Business of Invention

• Age of invention in America• Number of patents soared• Communications transformed• Business and industry innovations• Photography• Diet changes

• Telephone and electricity• Alexander Graham Bell• Thomas Alva Edison An Industrial Empire

An Industrial Empire

Discussion Question

• What were the main characteristics of the new steel and oil industries?

An Industrial Empire

The Sellers

• Marketing developed to sell products• Advertising pervaded American life• Department store – a national institution• Mail-order catalogs – reached rural

customers• Brand names – homogeneity of goods

• Common language of consumption• America became a community of

consumersHome

Discussion Question

• Why were the new methods of advertising so important?

The Sellers

The Wage Earners

• Working Men, Working Women, Working Children

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The Wage Earners

• Labor of millions of men and women built the new industrial society• Improvements for workers in late 1800s

• Real wages rose• Better working conditions• Workers’ influence grew• Expanding health and educational services

The Wage Earners

Working Men, Working Women, Working Children

• Before 1900, life for wage earners hard• Chronically low wages

• Average wages: $400–500 per year, needed $600 for decent living

• Some jobs varied from average• Breadwinner might be woman or child• Immigrants and minorities• Chinese Exclusion Act

• Dangerous working conditions• Safety standards low The Wage Earners

The Wage Earners

Discussion Question

• Who were the wage earners in the new economy?

The Wage Earners

Culture of Work

• Labor Unions• Labor Unrest

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Culture of Work

• Adjustments in work habits• Farm workers adjusted to factory’s

disciplines• Impersonal work conditions

• Economic and social mobility• Rags-to-riches stories - Horatio Alger• Workers did rise in status• Gave workers hope

Culture of Work

Labor Unions

• Low numbers in labor unions• Seen as “foreign” and radical• Workforce fragmented

• Knights of Labor - 1869• Founded as secret fraternal order• Open policy• Pitted workers against monopoly• Platform• Tide turned against Knights

Culture of Work

Labor Unions (continued)

• American Federation of Labor (AFL)• Founded by Samuel Gompers - 1886• Practical improvements for wages and

working conditions• Limited membership

Culture of Work

Labor Unrest

• Workers helped each other• Assisted new workers in acclimating• Social and fraternal organizations

• Employers - strict laws of the market • Wanted a docile workforce

• Strikes broke out• 1880–1900 - 23,000 strikes• Great Railroad Strike• Chicago Haymarket incident• Homestead Strike

Culture of Work

Culture of Work

Culture of Work

Discussion Question

• How did wage earners organize in this period, and what demands did they make?

Culture of Work

Conclusion: Industrialization’sBenefits and Costs

• Benefits of rapid industrialization• Rise in national power and wealth • Improved standard of living

• Human cost of industrialization• Exploitation• Social unrest• Growing disparity between rich and poor• Increased power of giant corporations

How Did Labor Unrest Manifest Itself as Industrialization Spread?

• Where was labor unrest most pronounced?

• How did factors such as urbanization and wage levels affect labor activity?

• How did the spread of Knights of Labor assemblies relate to the geographic distribution of different U.S. industries?