Day 95: Industry Comes of AgeBaltimore Polytechnic Institute
January 31, 2013A/A.P. U.S. History
Mr. Green
The students will be able to describe to what extent the railroad contributed to the growth and expansion of the United States after the Civil War
Objective
Objectives: Explain how the transcontinental railroad network provided the basis for an integrated national market and the great post–Civil War industrial transformation.Identify the abuses in the railroad industry and discuss how these led to the first efforts at industrial regulation by the federal government.Describe how the economy came to be dominated by giant trusts, such as those headed by Carnegie and Rockefeller in the steel and oil industries, and the growing class conflict it precipitated.Describe how new technological inventions fueled new industries and why American manufacturers increasingly turned toward the mass production of standardized goods.
AP FocusEnormous immigration, mass production, and the presence of low-skill jobs drive down workers’ wages.A catalyst for postwar industrial and economic expansion is the railroad industry, which not only facilitates trade, commerce, and transportation, but also makes locomotive production a major industry. The government plays a major role in the industry’s development and importance by providing the companies with millions of acres of free land—a giveaway, some say.
Industry Comes of Age
CHAPTER THEMESAmerica accomplished heavy
industrialization in the post–Civil War era. Spurred by the transcontinental rail network, business grew and consolidated into giant corporate trusts, as epitomized by the oil and steel industries.
Industrialization radically transformed the practices of labor and the condition of the American working people. But despite frequent industrial strife and the efforts of various reformers and unions, workers failed to develop effective labor organizations to match the corporate forms of business.
Chapter Focus
5QQ on Friday1884, 1888, 1892, 1896 Election charts due
Friday1880s Decade Chart due Monday
Announcements
As the 19th century drew to a close, observers were asking, “Why are the best men not in politics?”
To what extent do you believe the above observation?
Can you answer that question then and today?
Drill/Warm-up
1892Populist Party formsPlatform:
1. inflation-unlimited coinage of silver2. graduated income tax3. state ownership of railroads, telegraph, and
telephone4. direct election of U.S. senators5. 1 term limit on President6. initiative and referendum7. Shorter work day8. immigration restriction
Nominated James B. Weaver for president in 1892
The Drumbeat of Discontent-some classes missed this
Homestead Strike-1892Carnegies plant near PittsburghSteelworkers angry over pay cutsTroops broke the strike and the union
Populist party in 1892 gained 22 electoral votes and 1,029,846 popular votes
Blacks denied the vote in the South, and coupled with racial tones, the Populist Party did not fare well in the South.
Grandfather clauses used to exempt whites from taxes/literacy tests
Cleveland wins in 1892Depression of 1893-4 long years
soft money hurt the U.S. credit rating when European banks called in loans from the U.S.
William Jennings Bryan emerged as the soft money leader
Gold was flying out of the Treasury as people cashed in legal tender for silver it bought
Notes had to be reissuedCleveland turned to J.P. Morgan to lend the
government $65 million in gold
Cleveland and Depression
Wilson-Gorman Tariff in 1894loaded with special interest, it did not dent the McKinley Tariff rates
Cleveland pocket vetoed the bill with a 2% income tax on $4,000
Cleveland Breeds a Backlash
Foreign investmentLaborTradeTechnologyHow did these factors contribute to America’s
economic transformation by 1900?1865-35,000 miles of track in U.S., most east
of Mississippi1900-192,556 miles of track in U.S. most
west of Mississippi
The Iron Colt Becomes an Iron Horse
Transcontinental railroad building costly and riskyCorporations asked for government subsidies
military/postal road argument aided the corporations
Congress gave 155,504,994 acres awayWestern states gave an additional 49 million acres
awayCleveland stopped practice of withholding all land
from other users as the RR withheld land Government gained cheap postal rates and cheap
rates for transporting military trafficLand Grants avoided new taxes Increased property values to land that was arguably
worthless
Transcontinental railroad debate moved forward after secession
Initiated in 1862 to bolster the union and connect the west
Union Pacific Railroad-West from Omaha, NEMany Irishmen laid track, fought with Native
AmericansCentral Pacific Railroad-East from California
fought with the Sierra Nevada mountains.Completed in 1869 near Ogden Utah
Spanning the Continent with Rails
4 more transcontinental railroads completed before 1900 without federal government loansAll received generous land grants except the Great Northern
Many laid track “from nowhere to nothing”Many bankruptcies, mergers, or reorganizations
Similar to the airline industries of today
Binding the Country with Railroad Ties
Cornelius VanderbiltNew York Central
Steel RailStandard track gaugeWestinghouse Air brakePullman Palace Cars
Many tragedies despite safety devices
Railroad Consolidation and Mechanization
1. United the United States2. Biggest business3. Employed the most people4. Took 20% of total investment dollars from domestic
and foreign investors5. Spurred economic growth post Civil War6. Largest source of orders for young steel industry7. Stimulated mining/farming in the West8. City growth/immigration9. Ecological impact 10. Standard time-Nov. 18, 188311. Maker of millionaires
Revolution by Railways
Stock watering-Inflating the value of a corporation to sell its
stocks and bondsHeads of the railroads began to work
together and “pool” resourcesSome long hauls were less expensive than
short haulsSmall farmers paid the price
Wrongdoing in Railroading
Depression of the 1870’s “railroaded” farmers into bankruptcy
Wabash v. Illinois-states cannot regulate interstate commerce, only the federal government can regulate
Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887
Not effective in revolutionizing, only keeping stability
Government Bridles the Iron Horse
Foreign investors put the money into the hands of the private borrower
Innovations in transportation-coal, iron, oilMesabi Range-Chicago-ClevelandMass-production methods440,000 patents issued between 1860 and
1890Bell and Edison
Miracles of Mechanization
Vertical integration-combining into 1 organization all phases of manufacturing
Justified on the grounds of efficiency and quality
Horizontal integration-Trust developed by Rockefeller to control competitors
Interlocking directorates-J.P. Morgan placed his people in the businesses he bailed out
The Trust Titan Emerges
Describe to what extent the railroad contributed to the growth and expansion of the United States. Be sure to use outside information from the text, notes, and discussion.
Wrap-Up
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