The Industrial Revolution took off in the late 1800s due to several key factors: new inventions like the Bessemer process for steel production, growing cities and markets, abundant natural resources, and government policies that supported businesses. Railroads connected these growing cities and markets, spurring further industrialization. Some businessmen like Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Vanderbilt amassed huge fortunes and monopolies in industries like steel, oil, and railroads. Labor unions struggled against monopolistic practices and dangerous working conditions, using strikes, but often faced violent opposition from private militias and government forces. The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 aimed to regulate monopolies and trusts.

1. Ch. 6
The Industrial Revolution

2. Ch. 6.1 Key Questions
•What caused the Industrial revolution to really take off in
the late 1800's?
•What were some new inventions in the late 1800's and
what affect did they have on people's lives?

3. What Helped the Industrial Revolution to Take Place In US?
•Tons of natural resources
•Government helped business
•Cities were growing
•Immigrants provided cheap labor
•Growing population provided markets for manufactured goods
•Oil boom
•Bessemer Process-cheap way to make steel
•Various inventions
•Railroads

4. 1. Lots of Natural Resources-Why is it important for
Industrial Revolution to take place?
• Coal
• Copper
• Lead
• Molybdenum
• Phosphates
• Rare earth elements
• Uranium
• Petroleum
• Natural gas
• Bauxite
• Gold
• Iron
• Mercury
• Nickel
• Potash
• Silver
• Tungsten
• Zinc
• Timber
• Arable land

5. Coal Mine

6. Iron Mine

7. Oil Well

8. 2. Government Helped Business
Laissez-Faire
Why is it important for Industrial Revolution to
Take Place?

9. Government Sent National Guard in to End Strikes

10. 3. Cities Were Growing-Why Important?

11. 4. Growing Population Provided Markets For Manufactured
Goods-Why Important?

12. Why Did Cities Grow So Fast?
•Immigrants
•Farmers moved to the city
•African-Americans moved to the cities after the Civil War
•Cities offered more jobs and opportunities
•Cities offered more entertainment/culture

14. 5. Immigrants Provided Cheap Labor

15. 6. Oil Boom-Why Important?

16. 7. Bessemer Process
Cheaper Way to Make Steel
• Henry Bessemer

18. 8. Various Inventions-Why Important?
• Electricity-light bulb-Thomas Alva Edison
• Typewriter-Christopher Sholes
• Telephone-Alexander Graham Bell

21. 9. Railroads-Why Important?

22. Transcontinental RR’s

30. Ch. 6.2 Key Questions
•-What impact did railroads have on the US?
-Why were many people upset with the railroads?
-What did the Grangers or government do to regulate the
railroads?
•Already discussed all of this information in Chapter 5 or Ch. 6.1

31. Ch. 6.3 Key Questions
• What are monopolies and why are they bad for consumers?
• Describe Andrew Carnegie life.
• Describe John D. Rockefeller’s life.
• Describe Cornelius Vanderbilt’s life.
• Describe J.P. Morgan’s life.
• Explain how companies formed monopolies(vertical/horizontal
integration, trusts).
• How did the government try to regulate business?
• What are labor unions and what is their purpose?
• Were labor unions successful in achieving their goals? Explain.

32. Why are monopolies bad for consumers and small
business’?
•Can lead to higher prices due to lack of completion
•Can lead to poorer products due to lack of competition
•Less choice for the consumer
•Can drive smaller businesses out of business leading to
unemployment

33. What are monopolies?
• Book Definition:
• The exclusive possession or control
of the supply or trade in a
commodity or service
• Student Friendly Definition
• When a company in a specific field
tries to get rid of all their
competition and control as close to
100% of the industry as possible

35. Watch “The Men Who Built America”

36. Captains of Industry or Robber Barons?

38. Andrew Carnegie(1835-1919) and Carnegie Steel

41. John D. Rockefeller(1839-1937) and Standard Oil

47. Sherman Anti-Trust Act-1890
•Made it illegal to form a trust that interfered with
free trade between states
•What is a “trust”?

52. •If Rockefeller were alive
today, his estimated wealth
would be $660 billion in
today’s money
•This is 6-7 times that of
Warren Buffet(72.7 b) and
Bill Gates($79.2 b), currently
the two richest men in the
world

53. Cornelius Vanderbilt(1794-1877)
•Made a fortune in shipping
•Retired from the shipping business
at age 64
•Then created a railroad empire
•Was richest person in the US when
he died in 1877
•Would be second richest person in
US History-would be worth $200
billion
•Designed Grand Central Station(NYC)

54. Grand Central Station in New York City 1880’s

58. Famous Relatives

59. John Pierpont(JP) Morgan(1837-1913)
•One of the most powerful bankers of
his era
•Financed railroads and helped
organize U.S. Steel, General Electric
and other major corporations
•In 1895, their firm was reorganized
as J.P. Morgan & Company
•Today his firm is known as JPMorgan
Chase

63. Rich Uncle Pennybags aka Mr. Monopoly(1999)

64. Otto Hermann Kahn

65. What are labor unions and why are they important
for workers?
•It is a union of laborers in a
specific industry banding
together to get better wages
and conditions
•Power in numbers
•Labor unions were/are
important because it gives a
voice for workers and gets
better wages and conditions for
workers

67. Knights of Labor
•Started in 1869
•Most famous leader of the Knights
of Labor was Terrence Powderly
•Allowed all workers of an industry
to join

68. American Federation of Labor
•Started in 1886 and still around
today(AFL-CIO)
•Led by Samuel Gompers
•Broken into “craft unions”

69. Why did labor unions do to get better wages and
conditions?
• Strikes-picketing
• Sit-ins
• Violence

70. Why did labor unions struggle to win strike in the late
1800’s and early 1900’s?
•All power was in the hands of the owner
•Would simply fire workers and hire immigrants who needed
work
• Immigrants had it better in US factories that in Europe
•Would hire strikebreakers to take the place of workers
•Would impose lockouts
•Would blacklist workers
•Workers were called communists or socialists
•Everyone was against the labor unions/workers at first
• Owners, police, newspapers, government

71. State Militia Sent in to Break up Homestead
Strike-1892

72. Lockout-Fence Built During the Homestead Strike

73. Labor Day
•Was established as a Federal Holiday by President Grover
Cleveland in 1894 after some workers died at the hands of the
US Army during the Pullman Strike of 1894
•Cleveland and Congress passed it unanimously to appease
labor unions