APUSH Chapter 18 Flashcards
(23 cards)
Diuring the second industrial revolution what was the post CW shift
from an agricultural economy to an industrial power
Leads to production of steel, petroleum, electric power, industrial machinery, etc
Rise of corporations and monopolies
Encouraging growth from civil war and natural industry
Civil war increases production
Natural resource industry is fuel, aka coal, iron, oil wells, NO MORE WHALE
Immigration provides
Cheap labor for the factories
Technology developments
Thomas Edison
Me lol park lightbulb–>more work time in factories
Alexander graham bell telephone in 1876
The rise of corporations
Business owned by many investors Low risk for investors Only money invested at stake Access to capital Fund new tech Infrastructure allows for plants across company
Monopolies
Businesses that control an entire industry
Destroy competition, set prices
Andrew Carnegie
Poor Scottish immigrant
Founder of Carnegie steel (Bessemer process)
Believer in social Darwinism
Vertical integration owns all phases of production, reduces costs for corporations
John D Rockefeller
Creates standard oil At its peak, owned 90% of oil business Uses vertical and horizontal integration Creates trusts Owns thousands of oil refineries
Conservative economic theories
Laissez faire- Adam smith, no govt I’m economy, regulated by an “invisible hand”
Social Darwinism-only strong companies will survive
The Gospel of Wealth-material wealth a gift for hard work
The Governments role
Initially mostly laissez faire, some protective tariffs, land grants for RR
eventually:
Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) 1887
Sherman Antitrust Act 1890 –> seldom enforced
Starts a trend of govt regulation
Railroads
Eastern
Cornelius Vanderbilt consolidates local railroads into NY CR (NYC–>CHI)
expanding west
Gov land grants provide millions of acres for development
Transcontinental Railroads
Union Pacific Builds west from Omaha, NE Mostly with immigrants and CW veterans Central Pacific Builds east from Sacramento CA Many Chinese immigrants Railroads meet at promatory summit UT, 1869 Others follow in coming years
The panic of 1893
Overspeculation leads to economic depression
25% of railroads enter bankruptcy
Leads to the drastic consolidation of railroads
-JP Morgan
-consolidation leads to efficiency-also creates monopolies (devastating to small farmers, etc)
By the 1890s the top 10% of Americans own
90% if wealth
Displays wealth with lavish luxuries
Mansions, Newport RI
The middle class
Expands as salaried “white collar” jobs develop
Management, accountants, clerks, salespeople, etc s
Wage workers
2/3 of all Americans
10 hrs a day, 6 days a week
Low wages
Women’s and children forced to work
What keeps the people working?
The Alger myth
Rags to riches stories
The American dream
What are the goals of labor unions
Improve pay and working conditions
FIRST LABOR UNION= national labor union
Other unions :
Knights of Labor
American Federation of Labor (skilled workers, Samuel goupers, collective bargaining)
American railway union (Eugene Debs)
Industrial Workers of the World (Big Bill Haywood, Socialists)
Socialists believe
Believe that capitalism causes rich to get richer and poor to get poorer
Wanted govt to control business and property
Equal distribution of wealth
Women in Labor
Mother Jones (IWW, United Mine Workers, most dangerous woman)
Pauline Newman
International Ladies … Workers Union
Industrial Warfare
Industrialists use lockouts to stop creation of labor unions
Blacklists created to prevent pro union workers from employment
Yellow dog contracts - workers agree not to join a union
Government support for industry
Govt continually rules against unions
Forces used to end strikes
Tension between workers and industrialists continues into 20th century
Govt will gradually side w workers
