1869 1870 1879 1901

Carnegie publishes “Gospel of Wealth”

Transcontinental Railroad Completed

Edison Develops the Light Bulb

1894

Pullman Strike

1889

U.S. Steel Corporation formed

Industrialism in the Industrialism in the Gilded Age: 1865-1900Gilded Age: 1865-1900

AP U.S. HistoryUnit 9.1

Standard Oil Trust Formed

Theme #1: 

America’s “Second Industrial Revolution” in the Gilded Age (1865-1900) was

spurred initially by the transcontinental rail network,

and saw large businesses consolidate into giant corporate trusts, as

epitomized by the oil and steel industries.

* Key to Remembering the 1st Industrial Revolution:

T extiles

R ailroads

I ron

C oal

* * Key to Remembering the 2nd Industrial Revolution (after the Civil War):

RR ailroads (transcontinental)

OO il

SS teel

EE lectricity

Relative Shares of World Manufacturing Output, 1750-1900

“The Whittler for the World,” 1899

Railroads Oil

Steel Banking

Mechanization of Agriculture

Electricity

Labor

Railroads Oil

Steel Banking

ReconstructionPolitical MachinesMoney Issue: 70s & 90sTariffs: 1880sPopulismProgressivism

“New Immigrants”Job opportunitiesSocial stratificationPoverty and CrimeSocial GospelProgressivism

Mechanization of Agriculture

Electricity

Labor

I. Major ideas A. By 1900, U.S. was most powerful economy in the world 1. U.S. was still a debtor

2. Technological innovations

a. Steel b. Oil c. Electricity d. Business technology:

telephone, typewriter, cash register, adding machine

3. In 1880, 50% of Americans worked in agriculture; 25% by 1920

4. Class divisions became most pronounced in U.S. history

5. Farmers lost ground a. 1880, 25% of farmers

did not own land b. 90% of blacks in the

South; 75% were sharecroppers

6. Depressions led to unrest: 1873 & 1893

II. Impact of the Civil War on the Economic Expansion A. Republican legislation 1. Pacific Railway Act (1862) 2. National Banking Act (1863) 3. Morrill Tariff (1862) 4. Homestead Act (1862) 5. Morrill Land Grant Act (1862) B. Civil War economy 1. Mass production (e.g. muskets) 2. Capital invested after the war to drive industrial growth

Memory Device: Republican Civil War Economic Policies

AA Abolition of slavery

P P Pacific Railway Act

HH istory Homestead Act

MM akes Morrill Tariff

MMe Morrill Land Grant Act

NNauseous National Banking Act

III. Railroad building A. By 1900, U.S. had more railroad mileage than all of Europe combined 1. Gov’t subsidies

2. New cities 3. Growth of railroads

sparked the “2nd Industrial Revolution”

B. Pacific Railway ActPacific Railway Act, 1862 1. Union Pacific Railroad

a. Land grants for each mile of track constructed

b. Federal loans for each mile of track laid

c. Irish workers (“paddies”)

d. Credit Mobilier

Railroad Land Grants

3. Central Pacific Railroad a. Leland Stanford b. Chinese workers, “coolies”

Central Pacific Railway

Union Pacific Railway

The First Continental Railroad

4. Promontory Point, Utah, May 10, 1869

"The Last Spike" by Thomas Hill (1881)

A political poster

criticizing the

extent of railroad ownersh

ip of Californi

a land

5. Significancea. Linked the entire

continent via railroad and by telegraph        b. Paved the way for incredible growth of the Great West.       c. Facilitated a burgeoning trade with the Orient       d. Seen by Americans at the time as a monumental achievement along with the Declaration of Independence and the freeing

of the slaves.

6. Other transcontinental lines-- Great Northern Railroad: James G. Hill

C. Railroad consolidation and mechanization

1. Cornelius Vanderbilt a. Steel rails b. Near monopoly of

eastern rail traffic c. “robber baron”

D. Significance of America’s railroad network1. Spurred post-Civil War industrialization (steel)2. Continent became connected3. Created huge domestic market for U.S. raw materials and manufactured goods.4. Creation of 3 frontiers in the West: farming, mining, ranching5. Movement toward cities

6. Facilitated influx of immigrants7. Spurred investment from abroad8. Creation of “time zones” 9. Emergence of a railroad aristocracy 10. Indians subdued and put on reservations

E. “Robber Barons” and railroad corruption 1. Jay Gould 2. stock watering 3. Railroad tycoons became the most powerful men in America 4. corrupt practicesa. pools, rebatesb. short haul, long haul 5. Cornelius Vanderbilt

Cornelius Vanderbilt as the Modern

Colossus of the Railroad

The sign on the right reads: “All Freight Moving

Sea Bound MUST Pass Here and Pay

Any Tolls WE Demand.”

“The Senatorial Roundhous

e”Thomas

NastHarper’s Weekly1886

IV. Attempts to regulate railroads A. Initially, Americans were slow to react to the excesses of the railroad oligarchy

1. Leery of gov’t intrusion in business

2. Americans free enterprise B. Supreme Court decisions

1. Depression of 1870s led farmers to demand

state laws to regulate the railroads

2. Slaughterhouse Cases, 1873

a. Protection of labor under the 14th Amendment was a state

responsibility, not federal b. Protected businesses

from federal regulation if they engaged only in intrastate commerce

3. Munn v. Illinois, 1877 a. Upheld one of the

“granger laws” b. Declared the public

has the power to regulate business operations in which the

public has an interest

4. Wabash case, 1886 a. Court ruled states

had no power to regulate interstate commerce

b. In effect, overturned Munn v. Illinois decision

-- Stimulated public demand for Congress to regulate the railroads

5. 1886, Court ruled that a corporation was a

“person” under the 14th Amendment

a. It became difficult for the federal gov’t to regulate railroads

b. Railroad companies hid behind the decision

C. Interstate Commerce Act (1887)1. First large-scale legislation to regulate corporations in the public interest2. Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)3. Prohibited rebates and pools and required published rates4. Restricted short haul; long haul5. Without strict enforcement mechanisms, the ICC was largely symbolic

V. Industrialism and mechanization A.Civil war created a class of

millionaires who invested in industrialism B. Natural resources fed industrialism C. New technologies

1. Patents increased significantly

2. Eli Whitney’s interchangeable parts concept perfected

3. Typewriter, cash registers, and stock tickers facilitated business operations

Prototype of the Sholes and

Glidden typewriter, 1873,

the first commercially

successful typewriter, and the first with a

QWERTY keyboard.

4. Urbanization spurred by the electric streetcar, electric dynamo, and refrigerated railroad car

5. Alexander Graham Bell: telephone (1876)

a. Nationwide network created within a few years

b. Job opportunity for young (middle class) women

6. Thomas A. Edison a. Incandescent light bulb, phonograph, moving pictures b. Electricity became another cornerstone of the second industrial revolution• Edison Electric Company• Cities became lit; electric streetcars

VI. Trusts emerge A. Vertical integration: Andrew Carnegie B. Horizontal integration: John D. Rockefeller

Horizontal Integration

Vert

ical

Inte

grat

ion

C. Interlocking directorates: J.P. Morgan

D. 14th Amendment protection

E. Holding companies

VII. Steel industry emerges A. Cornerstone of the 2nd Industrial Revolution

1. Skyscrapers, railroads 2. Typified heavy

industry 3. By 1900, U.S.

produced more steel than Britain and Germany combined

B. Andrew CarnegieAndrew Carnegie 1. “rags to riches” story

2. Bessemer process3. Ultimately, produced

25% of U.S. steel

4. 1901, sold company to J. P. Morgan

for $400 million

 

The Bessemer Process

C. J. P. Morgan1. Owned a major Wall

Street banking house2. 1901, he reorganized

the United States Steel Corporation

-- America’s first billion dollar

corporation D. Charles Schwab

VIII. Petroleum industry and other TrustsA. John D. Rockefeller

1. Erected his first well in PA in 1859 and launched the petroleum industry 2. Refined petroleum: kerosene

B. Standard Oil Company, 1870Standard Oil Company, 1870 1. First trusttrust in U.S.: Owned 95% of U.S. oil refineries of U.S. oil refineries

2. 2. Horizontal Horizontal integrationintegration -- -- monopolymonopoly

Puck Magazine, 1904

“What a funny little government.”

1900

C. Gustavus F. Swift and Philip Armour

-- Meat industry D. James Buchanan Duke

1. First to utilize automated cigarette-making machine

2. American Tobacco Co. monopolized

cigarette market E. Andrew Mellon

1. Venture capitalist2. Aluminum Co. of

America3. Oil and coal in early 20th

century

IX. “nouveau riche” (new rich) and the justification of wealth A. A super rich “leisure class” emerged during the second industrial revolution B. Resented by traditional aristocracy

1. Patrician families losing ground

2. Economic liberty & community involvement overshadowed by monopoly and political machines

3. Some became anti-trust crusaders

C. “Captains of Industry” provided material progress

1. Overall standard of living in U.S. continued to rise

2. Most goods were cheaper

3. Provided millions of jobs

D. Social Darwinism1. Charles Darwin, Origin of the Species (1859) 2. Herbert Spencer a. Applied Darwin’s theory of natural selection to human society b. “survival of the fittest” 3. William Graham Sumner: “millionaires were a product of natural selection”

E. Some argued God chose winners and losers 1. John D. Rockefeller 2. Resembled “divine right of kings” 3. Argued the existing hierarchy was just and decreed by God 4. Those who stayed poor were “lazy” or “lacked enterprise” a. Some “new rich” had come from modest beginnings b. Rev. Russell Conwell: “Acres of Diamonds” lectures

F. Andrew Carnegie: “The Gospel of Wealth”

1. Synthesized prevailing ideas of wealth and “survival of the fittest” 2. Claimed the rich should donate most of their wealth for the public good a. Criticized “nouveau riche” b. Traitor to his class? c. Rockefeller3. Argued against cash handouts 4. Identity of interest argument

X. Government regulation of trusts A. Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890)

1. Public demand for regulation

2. Forbade combinations in restraint of trade (monopoly)

3. Lacked enforcement mechanism

4. Ironically used by trusts

weaken labor unions B. Interstate Commerce Act, 1887 (see above)

“The Bosses of the Senate”, Joseph Keppler, Puck, Jan. 23, 1889

This is a SENATE

of the MONOPOLISTS

by the Monopolists and

for the MONOPOLISTSPeople’s

Entrance

Closed

From right to left: Nail Trust, Steel Beam Trust, Copper Trust, Standard Oil Trust, Iron Trust, Sugar Trust, Tin Trust, Coal, Paper Bag Trust, Envelope Trust, Salt Trust

“The Rising of the Usurpers”, Thomas

Nast, Harpers Weekly, July 27, 1889

"Trusts--The Main Issue"

Woman's headband says "Liberty"

Tablet held by ape says "Republicanism"

Arrow shot into ape reads "Democracy"

The Verdict, July 10, 1899, cartoon by C.

Gordon Moffat

XI. The “New South”A. Changing South after the Civil War1. Political2. Social3. “Redeemers”B. Growth of southern industry

  1. Henry Grady2. Major challenges to southern industrialization3. Cotton industry further developed a. Mill towns b. Vertical integration c. Gov’t incentives

4. Coal mining industry grew in Appalachia5. Tobacco trust6. Iron and steel production: Birmingham, Alabama7. Thousands of miles of railroads built

C. Agriculture still dominant  1. Absentee land ownership

2. Crop-lien system/ sharecropping

D. Results of southern industrialization1. By 1900, southern manufacturing remained 10% of national total -- Same as in 1860

2. Per capita income only 60% of national average3. Average income only 40% of average income in the North 4. Sharecropping still dominated southern agriculture (black and white) 5. South still largely dependent on North for banking resources and manufactured goods

E. The “Lost Cause” and “Redemption”1. Southerners remained proud of their defiance in defense of states’ rights during the Civil War (“War of Northern Aggression”)

2. “Redemption” resulted in Confederate memorials and cemeteries commemorating the “Lost Cause”3. Joel Chandler Harris, Uncle Remus (1880) -- Nostalgic view of a glorious antebellum South

XII. 2nd Industrial Revolution’s impact A.Standard of living ultimately rose B. Urbanization C. American agriculture eclipsed by industrialism D. Monopolies/trusts emerged E.Regimented impersonal work-place F.Woman achieved more social and economic independence G. Social stratification H. Foreign trade developed I. Rise of the labor movement

Theme #2: Industrialization dramatically changed the condition of American working people, but workers’ attempts to develop effective labor organizations failed to match the corporate forms of business and their political allies.

THE SLAVE MARKET OF TO-DAY

"Going - going - lower - lower!"

Puck Magazine, January 2, 1882

                                                    

THE GALLEYDedicated to the States where Child Labor is Still Permitted.

Puck Magazine, August 4, 1909Sign on wall reads, "Child-labor Investigators, Sentimentalists, Charity Organizations, and all

Meddling Old Women Keep Out".

XIII. Rise of Labor A. Working conditions for urban industrial workers were tough

1. Low-skilled jobs made workers expendable

2. Working conditions often dismal

3. Recourse for workers was minimal due to the power of industrialists

a. Strikes often broken by “scabs”

b. “yellow dog” contracts

c. Public grew tired of strikes

B. Civil War boosted labor unions

1. Drain of human resources put more value on labor

2. Rising cost of living led to formation of labor unions

3. Collective bargaining: workers sought to vote for their own representatives to negotiate on

their behalf with company owners

C. National Labor Union (1866) 1. Sought to bring craft unions together into one big union 2. Lasted 6 years; 600,000 workers

-- Led by William Sylvis 3. Focused on social reform, 8-hour work day, and arbitration of labor disputes 4. Colored National Labor Union founded in 1869 as a branch of the NLU 5. NLU killed by the Panic of 1873

D. Molly Maguires1. Formed in 1875 by PA

anthracite coal workers2. Violence3. Owners called in

Pinkertons4. Mollies eventually

destroyed E. Great Railroad Strike (1877)

1. Railroads announced 10% pay cut for 2nd time since 1873

2. First nation-wide strike resulted

3. President Hayes called in troops

4. Greenback Labor Party

F. Knights of Labor (1881) 1. Continued the work of the NLU

a. Led by Terence Powderly b. Initially a secret society 2. “One big union” included skilled, unskilled, female, & black workers 3. Sought economic

and social reform a. Replace the wage

system b. 700,000 members

Top of Pole: “Tobacco, wine, higher wages, ham , bread”

Flags: “Knights of Labor, Pittsburgh Free Strikers”

Bucket: “Monopoly Grease”

Men sitting: Vanderbilt, Gould

Caption: First Annual Picnic of the "Knights of Labor" - More Fun for the Spectators than for the Performers.

Pole: “Greased”

Puck Magazine, June 21, 1882

An American Autocrat. He Ties Up Railroads and Exposes the Public to Inconvenience and Danger Whenever He is Obliged to Do Something to Earn His Salary.

Puck, August 20, 1890

4. Demise of Knights of Labor due to the “Great Upheaval” and Haymarket Square Riot (May 4, 1886)

a. Anarchists hanged or imprisoned

b. Knights were unfairly seen as associated with anarchy

c. Inclusion of both skilled and unskilled workers proved fatal

Thomas Nast, “Liberty is not

Anarchy”, Harper’s Weekly,

Sept. 4, 1886

F. American Federation of Labor (AFL) 1. Samuel Gompers 2. Organization 3. “Bread and butter” issues 4. Closed shop 5. Walk out; boycott

“Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight hours for what we will..”

AF of L membership between 1881 and 1911

G. Major Strikes1. Homestead StrikeHomestead Strike, 1892 a. 20% pay cut enacted b. Workers went on strike and kept scabs out c. Frick called in Pinkertons d. Governor called in troops e. Union and strike were broken f. Demonstrated a strong employer could break a union with gov’t support

This 1892 drawing from Illustrated Weekly depicts the labor troubles at Homestead,

Pennsylvania, and the "Attack of the strikers and their sympathizers on the

surrendered Pinkerton men"

2. Pullman StrikePullman Strike, 1894 a. Company town in Chicago

b. Wages cut by 1/3 c. Eugene Debs, American Railway Union

d. President Cleveland’s response -- Strike crushed; union broken e. First time the federal gov’t used a court injunction to break a strike

“King Debs”, Harper’s Weekly,

1894

Highway of Trade

Debs: American Railway Union

3 Big Unions3 Big Unions 3 Big Strikes3 Big Strikes

National Labor UnionKnights of Labor

American Federation of Labor

Great Railroad Strike, 1877Homestead Strike, 1892

Pullman Strike, 1894

Memory Device for the Labor Movement: 1865-1900

H. By 1900 Unions had largely failed to achieve their goals 1. Wages remained almost the same compared to 1865 2. Work hours remained high in most industries 3. Working conditions remained oppressive

4. Most unions were either broken or severely weakened by owner or government actions (e.g. Knights of Labor, American Railway Union) 5. American Federation of Labor was among the few unions that remained intact and saw modestimprovements for its workers 6. After 1900, the fortune for unions improved