1 Chapter 16 The Nation Transformed

2 The Rise of Railroads By 1900, the U.S. had more miles of railroad track than anywhere else In 1869 when the first transcontinental railroad was completed the time to get from ocean to ocean dropped from 1 month to 1 week. Within 25 years 4 more transcontinental railroads were built.

3 Time Problem Every city had a different time!Minutes could make the difference between a clear track and a fatal collision Astronomers had told people it was 12 noon when the sun was at its highest point….”Sun Time or God’s Time” However, since the earth is in constant motion, it is at the highest point at different times depending on your location. U.S. was divided into 4 time zones and called Standard Time

4 Track Problem 300,000 miles of railroad track and 350 different companies with NO national railroad network. Railroad companies had different standards for many things – rails, track width, and engine size These companies had different gauges Gauge – Distance between rails There were at least 11 different gauges in use If one car just fit one gauge it would not fit one that was slightly larger or smaller. You would have to take a delivery from one car and place it on another where the gauges fit

5 Consolidated small companies and standardized equipment and facilitiesGeorge Stephenson – Invented the steam locomotive with a gauge of 4ft. 8 1/2 inches When Stephenson’s locomotive came to the U.S., a standard gauge came into effect Effects: - Companies gained access to a national market in which to buy their raw materials and sell their goods - Farmers and store keepers across the country could buy food, hardware, and clothing

6 Big Business Great competition in oil, steel, and railroad industriesThree main figures in these areas: J.P. Morgan Andrew Carnegie John D. Rockefeller

7 J.P. Morgan Important in the railroad industry in the 1800sCombined weaker companies to form single, stronger companies Controlled 11 railway systems – 19,000 miles of track Later bought Carnegie Steel for 500 million. Named it United States Steel Corporation. Employed 168,000 people

8 Andrew Carnegie Rags to riches storyBorn in Scotland – Immigrated to U.S. in 1848 12 years old – Worked as a bobbin boy in a Pittsburgh textile mill earning $1.25/week Educated himself by reading books- once rich never forgot the power of books. He devoted much of his fortune to funding libraries. Worked 60 hour weeks and took a night bookkeeping course Worked as a Western Union messenger boy and a telegraph operator 1852 – Secretary and telegrapher for the Pennsylvania RR Western Division At the age of 17, became head of the PA RR Western Division

9 Early 1870s – Built a steel mill, incorporating the new Bessemer Process- the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of steel from molten pig iron. Sold rails for $5 below his competitors Used vertical integration – Controlling all aspects of manufacturing 1889 – Chairman of Carnegie Steel 1900 – Employed 20,000 people Sold Carnegie Steel to J.P. Morgan for $500 million (5 billion today)

10 John D. Rockefeller Founded Standard Oil Company in 1870Used cost cutting and efficiency Thought competition wasted resources so he tried to eliminate it – Formed Standard Oil Trust He was able to neutralize his competition Expanded distribution – Asia, Africa, South America Personal fortune – over $800 million Trust – Legal device that centralized control over a number of different companies by setting up a board of trustees to run all of them

11 Copper, sugar, whiskey, and lead industries established trust arrangementsThere was a fear that trusts would stamp out all competition 1890 – Sherman Anti-Trust Act - Outlawed trusts and any other contracts or combinations in restraint of trade Standard Oil reorganized the trust as an enormous holding company Holding Company – Corporation that owns a controlling share of the stock of one or more other firms

12 George Bissell In the 1850’s he formed the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company to buy lands in western PA where oil was found floating in ponds. Oil was used for medicine and Bissell couldn’t sell enough oil to be used for medicine to pay the expense of collecting it. He paid a Yale professor Benjamin Silliman Jr. to find out what else oil could be used for. He found out that oil would make an excellent oil for lamps. Kerosene made from rock oil gave a bright white light, with almost no smoke, and would not explode.

13 Montgomery Ward A. Montgomery Ward often heard farmers complain about store prices Thought of a mail-order store Storekeeper would stay in the city – easier to collect a large stock of all sorts of good. Prices would be lower, because manufacturer could give a lower price because he was buying in bulk, in turn he could give consumers a lower price Catalogs would be sent to farmers who could buy anything they wanted ……from home 1872 – single price sheet 1884 – 240 page catalog – 10,000 items 1914 – 1,000 page catalog Ward built his business on TRUST! “Satisfaction or your money back!”

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15 Richard Sears Sold jewelry by mailTeamed with Alvah Curtis Roebuck, a watchmaker who also owned a print shop Sears and Roebuck created a mail-order catalog

16 Department Stores Stewart’s Department Store – New York City

17 A.T. Stewart Irish immigrant – began selling Irish lace at age 17, then began selling other goods Selected James Bogardus to help him build a department store Bogardus was an inventor, he built Stewart’s store out of cast iron Stewart’s – 8 stories – biggest store in the world Advantages to using cast iron: - Thinner walls - Larger windows – display windows

18 William Sellers Invented a machine that could measure and cut metal at the same time He wrote the book System of Screw Threads and Nuts ( 1864) 1868 – U.S. adopted Sellers’s system We now had standardized screws and bolts

19 Frederick Taylor Wanted to eliminate waste and conserve human effortTried many different experiments Learned how to walk efficiently Hired by Bethlehem Iron Co. - Developed the “science of shoveling” Certain shovels were more efficient than others, depending on what you were shoveling.

20 Thomas Edison Had an “invention factory” in Menlo Park, NJInvented the incandescent light bulb in 1879 which replaced oil lamps Invented the phonograph- most common device for playing recorded sound Also invented the kinetscope-showed moving pictures inside a box. “The Wizard of Menlo Park”

21 Organization of Labor Workers - 12 to 16 hour workdays- Poor conditions (lighting and ventilation) - women and children Trade Unions - Skilled workers began to organize - Courts banned trade unions (1842) – Commonwealth (Massachusetts) v. Hunt - Legalized trade unions

22 Most people were not members of unionsBecause the U.S. had higher wages than anywhere else in the world The gap between employers and employees widened - Workers began to use strikes as a tool for better conditions Workers wanted: - Shorter work day - Higher wages - Better conditions

23 Workers Begin to Fight for Better ConditionsNew York City (1872) – Builders and mechanics went on strike - wanted an 8 hour workday - After a few months, the workers won “Molly Maguires” - Coal miners from eastern PA - Secret society - Irish - Used intimidation, beating, and killing to revenge wrongs against Irish miners

24 Pinkertons - Detectives hired by mine owners - Infiltrated the “Mollies” and indicted the leaders – 24 “Molly Maguires” were convicted and 10 were hanged

25 Haymarket Square MassacreMay, 1886 in Chicago Protest rally Bomb was thrown at police – killing 7 policemen and wounding 70 Police fired back on the crowd – 4 demonstrators killed

26 Other Strikes 1892 – Homestead, PA – Fight at the steelworks- 7 killed 1894 – Pullman strike - Tied up railroads

27 Labor Unions Knights of Labor- Organized in 1869 by garment workers of Philadelphia - Wanted to bring all workers into one union Aims: - Equal pay for women - End to child labor - Graduated income tax - 8 hour workday - Cooperative employer-employee ownership of businesses

28 Knights of Labor (continued)The Knights of Labor were against strikes - Some members went on strike anyway in 1884 after the railroads cut wages - They won the fight for better wages - Membership rose to 700,000 The Chicago strikes and Haymarket Massacre made the union look radical - People thought they were communists and anarchists - membership declined and the union eventually collapsed

29 1886 – Craft unions left the Knights of Labor and formed the American Federation of Labor (AFL)Samuel Gompers became President in 1886 and led for nearly 40 years Aims: - Higher wages - Shorter work day - Safer working conditions

30 The AFL was a federation of trade unions, each retaining control of its own members but all linked by an executive council Very successful 1904 – 1.75 million members Still, most workers remained unorganized until the days of the New Deal and World War II