2. By early 1900s, US world’s leading industrial nation. Fueled by: Abundant supply of natural resources Improved transportation transcontinental railroad moving resources and people Increase in labor force 1860-1910 population tripled Greater demand for consumer goods Large workforce
3. Gov’t supported industrialization: Helped industries with loans & minimal regulation Railroad construction subsidized by gov’t Loans and land grants Maintained laissez-faire approach Imposed few regulations Viewed labor organizations with suspicion High tariffs on imports to protect domestic industry Contradicted laissez-faire Caused foreign nations to raise tariffs Increased cost of American goods
4. Steel… Affected technological change more than any other product Allowed for cheaper building materials Bessemer Process Cold air pressure method of transforming iron ore into steel
5. Oil and Electricity Oil could be refined into gasoline, kerosene, and distillate John D. Rockefeller Standard Oil Co. Own all aspects of production Oil wells, refineries, retail outlets Controlled 90% of world’s oil trade Edison Electric Illuminating Co. Supplied electric power to New York City
6. The Assembly Line Henry Ford popularized use in manufacturing Combined sub-assembly lines into one continuous moving line Divided operation into simple tasks Workers performed same task repeatedly Unskilled workers could perform tasks Allowed for faster production Reduced cost of automobile
7. Railroads Pacific Railway Act provided for construction of transcontinental rr Transcontinental Railroad Gov’t gave land along right-of-way to encourage rapid construction Sold land to pay for costs Union Pacific RR-built East to West from Omaha, NE Central Pacific RR-built West to East from Sacramento, CA Hired workers from China Joined May 10, 1869 near Ogden Utah
8. Big Business Corporation – company owned by many but treated by law as single-owner Business costs Fixed—items paid when company is operating or not Operating—costs occurred only when company is operating Advantage of big business—can operate during poor economic times Can cut prices to increase sales Disadvantage for small business—can’t stay in operation if not selling product
9. Big Business cont’d. Competition creates lower prices Without competition, monopolies form Vertical integration One company owns all other businesses it takes to make finished product Chair Co = Cloth Co + Frame Co + Shipping Co Horizontal integration One large company owns several smaller companies doing the same type business Mega Convenience Store = Allsups + Pak-a-Sak + Toot-n-Totum
10. Factory Work in US Life in the factory— Unsafe work environment No gov’t regulations Low pay Long hours Tedious, monotonous jobs—no skills required Unions Great length to keep out of factories Samuel Gompers—first leader of American Federation of Labor Fought for higher wages, better working conditions
11. The Impact of Industry Industrial Revolution at first not benefit everyone equally National wealth and personal income grew significantly by 1920s More consumer goods on market
