1. The Rise of American Business, Industry, and
Labor (1865 - 1920)
• Civil War changed
everything!
• North was already
industrializing (bullets,
railroads, etc)
• South was ruined!
(NEW SOUTH)
3. Before the Civil War….
• …most businesses
were sole
proprietorships
(single owners).
Factories need more
start-up capital($$)
then a single person
business.
The birth of
corporations!
What is a corporation?
4. What do these terms mean? (homework)
• 1) Monopoly
• 2) Conglomerate
• 3) Merger
• 4) Trust
• 5) Holding Company
• 6) Capitalism
• 7) Communism
• 8) Entrepreneurs
•9) Laissez-Faire
•10) Social Darwinism
•11) Robber Barons
•12) Philanthropists
•13) Labor Union
•14) Collective Bargaining
•15 Sherman Antitrust Act
6. Entrepreneurs!
• Andrew Carnegie
Scottish Immigrant who
started working in a factory at
age 12.
Invested wisely and entered
the steel industry at age 38.
By 1901 sold his steel
company for $250,000,000!
Gave hundreds of millions to
charities (libraries)
Wrote the book: Gospel of
Wealth
7. Entrepreneurs!
• John D. Rockefeller
Entered the oil-refining business
during the Civil War.
Used ruthless means to eliminate
his competition.
By 1882 his company, Standard
Oil Company, controlled 90% of all
American oil refining.
Created the Standard Oil Trust to
control more aspects of oil
production.
Gave hundreds of millions to
charities.
Rockefeller Center
8. Entrepreneurs!
• J.P Morgan
Banker who made many
loans to up and coming
businesses.
Purchased and
reorganized many bankrupt
businesses (profit).
Bought Carnegie Steel and
reorganized it into the
United States Steel
Corporation (the world’s
largest).
10. Laissez-Faire (hands off)
• The government largely
kept “hands off” towards
American business.
Businesses were
booming! The
economy was doing
well. Foreign trade
reached new heights.
Why did this change
around the end of the
1800’s?
11. HANDS ON
• Why?
1) The economy took a turn
for the worse
2) Growing criticism that
big business made profits
on the backs of the
American poor/immigrant
3) Growing political
pressure for change
12. RAILROADS!!! (again)
• In the late 1800’s, railroads
developed a number of
business practices that hurt
farmers and small businesses
(pricing).
These small business lobbied
to have the government
change these policies.
Railroads lobbied to allow
them to stay the same
13. Please research the following Supreme
Court Cases from this era: (homework)
1) Munn v. Illinois (1877)
2) Wabash, St. Louis &
Pacific Railway v. Illinois
(1886)
3) United States v. E.C.
Knight Company (1895)
4) In re Debs (1895)
14. RAILROADS!!! (again)
• List several reasons why
railroads were so important to
so many people.
• What was it about railroads?
How did they effect American
society?
• How did railroads effect other
businesses? Did railroads
create a market for other
businesses? Like what?
15. Public Pressure: ICC
• Public pressure
forced Congress to
pass the Interstate
Commerce Act
Created the ICC
which regulated
railroads and
ended abuses like
rebates.
(precedent)
16. Public Pressure: Sherman
• Late 1800’s: some business
had no competition (monopoly)
Public outcry was
significant
Politicians passed the
Sherman Antitrust Act
(see vocabulary)
Business combination
Illegal: “in restraint of
trade or commerce”
US v. E.C. Knight
Company
Precedent
17. Labor Rising
• Conditions for working people
had slowly improved with time
However, wages were still
low,unemployment was
uncertain and could end
suddenly.
Business owners had
tremendous power over
employees!
19. Knights of Labor
• Formed in 1869 - Terence
Powderly
• Haymaker Riot ended their
influence in 1886
• Welcome skilled, unskilled,
and African-Americans
• Fought for broad social
reforms
8 hour work day
end to child labor
equal opportunities for
women
20. American Federation of Labor
• AFL - Samuel Gompers
• 1886
• A collection of craft unions.
• Fought for “bread and butter”
issues
Higher wages, better hours,
better working conditions
• Extremely powerful with
over 1,000,000 members by
1900
21. Labor Conflict
• Describe the following events
for homework:
Great Railway Strike of 1877
Haymaker Riot
Homestead Strike
Pullman Strike
Give details, who - what - when
- why - results?
22. Great Railway Strike of 1877
Great Railway Strike of 1877
- Railroad workers went on
strike after several pay cuts.
(several states)
- President Rutherford B. Hayes
sent federal troops to end the
strike
- Workers got very little
23. Haymaker Riot
Haymaker Riot
- Labor Rally (organized by
Knights of Labor) that ended in
a bomb blast
- 7 police died
- Chicago
- 1886
- Public blamed Knights of
Labor despite the fact they had
nothing to do with the violence.
24. Homestead Strike
Homestead Strike
- 1892 - Union members
went on strike (pay cuts) at
the Carnegie steel plant
- Homestead, Pennsylvania
- Violence ensued
- 16 people died- fewer then
25% of the strikers got their
jobs back
- Set the steel labor
movement back 20 years
25. Pullman Strike
Pullman Strike
- 1894 - Railroad workers
went on strike in Illinois
- Tied up other rail lines.
- President Grover
Cleveland sent in troops
to end the strike
- In re Debs