How did the transcontinental railroad act as a catalyst for industrialization of America?
It used steel which was lighter and more durable than iron. It needed wood for ties, boxcars; copper for wires, coal for fuel and to make steel; lead, explosives to blast through the land and workers.
catalyst
something that starts a change
Mass production
making very large quantities of goods at low prices
Mechanization
using machines to do work formerly done by people or animals
William Bessemer
Invented a way to make steel out of iron efficiently
Alexander Graham Bell
Scottish inventor who invented the telephone
Thomas Edison
Invented the light bulb. Important because people could now work around the clock.
Patents
gives the inventor protection over his inventions
Captain of Industry
A person who takes an idea from an inventor and turns it into a business.
Had guts! ex: Carnegie, Rockefeller, Swift, Vanderbilt
Were so powerful they didn't care what happened to workers.
Why is this unit important?
Inventors created easier ways of doing things
created jobs
US became the richest country
more products were invented
we lost craftsmen and we became more mechanized.
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Bought New York Central Railroad that ran from NY to Chicago. 5 Transcontinental Railroads went into Chicago, so he had a monopoly
Monopoly
Having complete control over the price and production of a good
Andrew Carnegie
Owned US Steel (a monopoly), a company that made more steel than all of Great Britain. He gave his money away to libraries, school, and music halls.
philanthropist
someone who makes charitable donations intended to increase human well-being
John D. Rockefeller
Owned Standard Oil. Controlled almost all of the refined oil. Government broke up the company into smaller ones because it was a monopoly.
Corporation
A business that has many owners called stockholders who share in the profits.
Advantages: great way to raise a lot of capital; you only lose your invested amount.
Labor Union
an organization of workers who join together to improve working conditions, pay and hours
Knights of Labor
Founded 1869, by Terrence Powderly for skilled and unskilled workers
Goals: Hours, equal pay for equal jobs, work conditions
*didn't believe in strikes
American Federation of Labor
Founded 1886 by Samuel Gompers
Goals: 8 hour day, money, better working conditions
Only skilled workers! No immigrants, blacks or women
*believed in strikes
What happened to immigration in 1890?
Year that immigration shifted from Northern and Western Europe (Old Immigrants) to Central and Southern Europe (New Immigrants)
How did owners try to stop unions?
Blacklisted, yellow dog contracts, agent provocateurs
Blacklisting
a worker's name was put on a list and passed around to other owners if the worker was involved in a union.
yellow-dog contract
a worker signed an agreement that they would never join a union or he would be fired.
agent provocateurs
spies for owners. They might try to get workers to join unions and then get them fired or blacklisted
Eugene Debs
leader of strikes, he thought everyone should be paid the same
Anarchist
Radical people who were against the government and big money. They want to end the government.
Industrialization
growth of industry
Urbanization
growth of cities
Industrialization -> Urbanization
people move to a city for jobs; as factories get started, they attract workers.
as workers move to a city, factories want to build there because of the workers.
Immigrant
person who comes from a foreign country to settle in the US.
Push-Pull factors of immigration
Push from their country to the US-war, discrimination, bad government
Pull to the US from their country- jobs, gold, resources, better government
Effect of immigration
*on American cities: bigger cities, pollution, poverty, crime, diseases spread
*on American businesses: industrialization, more workers, more jobs
*on American government: Politicians got jobs for immigrants in return for votes, laws were made restricting
Chinese Exclusion Act 1882
This act banned anyone from China to immigrate to the U.S. This was a display of how old immigrants used their status against new immigrants and the nativist feeling in America.
Old Immigrants
People from Western and Northern Europe
Were Protestants
New Immigrants
People were from Eastern and Southern Europe
Were mostly Catholic and Russian Jews
1890 Anti-Immigrant discrimination started
because new immigrants had different language, customs, religions, etc.
Nativism
Strong feeling that your country is the best
Sweatshops
Places where workers labored long hours under poor conditions for low wages
What is the purpose of government?
1. to protect us
2. To serve and help us
What happened to local politics between 1870 and 1900?
Politicians helped immigrants find homes and jobs to get votes;
Corruption was everywhere; took tax money to bribe. "political machine"-same people were elected over and over
Haymarket Riot
Mob outburst at a labor protest in Chicago, killing 8 policemen. Turned public against unions. Knights of Labor union members were blamed.
What happened to state politics between 1870 and 1900?
government was corrupt because big business controlled it
What happened to national government between 1870 and 1900?
Congress had all of the power and was very corrupt because it was controlled by big business.
Presidents were very weak- Business didn't want presidents who would veto their wishes. Wanted high protective tariffs
Government wasn't about the people but abo
Presidents during the Gilded Age part 1
17th- Andrew Johnson: First to be impeached
18th-Ulysses S. Grant: unbelievable corruption because of his cabinet members
19th-Rutherford B Hayes: became president even though he didn't get the most votes.
20th-James Garfield assassinated by someone who t
Spoils system
if you worked to get a person elected, you were rewarded with a government job. Started by Andrew Jackson, wanted to have common people in the jobs
*Garfield's assassination lead to Civil Service Reform-based on merit system. You must take a test that qua
Presidents during the Gilded Age part 2
21st-Chester Arthur: passed Civil Service Reform
22nd-Grover Cleveland: Against high protective tariffs; felt government shouldn't take sides; Interstate Commerce Act used to regulate big business
23rd- Benjamin Harrison: Sherman Anti-Trust Act-made monop
depression
period of falling business activity and rising unemployment
Causes: people not buying goods, industry produces too many goods, workers get laid off
Ghetto
Not a slum! A section of the city where all of the people are the same nationality, religion or race.
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
a fire in New York's Triangle Shirtwaist Company in 1911 killed 146 people, mostly women. They died because the doors were locked and the windows were too high for them to get to the ground. Dramatized the poor working conditions and let to federal regula
The Gilded Age
Mark Twain gave the name for the period from the end of the Civil war to the turn of the century. It was a time of widespread political corruption and personal greed. The idea was that the top layer was gilded with gold but underneath everything was bad a
Political Spectrum
Radical-> Liberal->Moderate<-Conservative<-Reationary
Radical
Person who wants a change in society right away. may use violence, want mass of average people to have all of the power (Anarchists, terrorists)
Liberal
believe that government has the responsibility to take care of others in need. Believe in compromise, don't believe in violence
"in favor of gay rights
Moderate
person who has some liberal beliefs and some conservative beliefs. Most Americans
Conservative
Looks to traditional past, government should stay out of people's lives- role is to protect us. Believe in compromise, don't believe in violence
"Cut spending on welfare; increase spending on military
Reactionary
person who wants change right away, will use violence, want one group to have all the power, Looking to the past "the good old days". wants one person or one group in charge. (KKK, Hate groups)
Foreign Policy
our actions with other countries
Domestic Policy
our actions with in our own borders
Isolationists
stay out of other country's business
Monroe Doctrine
We will stay out of Europe's affairs and they will stay out of the Western Hemisphere