16. Industrialization and Corporate Consolidation

I. Industrial Growth in America - Reasons
    A. Natural Resources – coal, oil, iron
    B. Immigration – steady flow both Asia and Europe
    C. Capitalist mentality supported by laissez faire government
    D. Ingenuity – 440,000 patents in 1800s – inventions – Edison’s invention factory
    E. Railroads – 1865 – 35,000 Miles > 1900 – 200,000 miles
        A. Land claiming – railroad companies given land claims – size of Texas
        B. Success of town based on railroad stop – no railroad > “ghost town”
        C. Transcontinental – Leland Stanford Union Pacific meets Central Pacific
        D. Corruption – money from government not used appropriately – Credit Mobilier
            1. Abuse of Chinese, other immigrant labor
            2. Faulty tracks just to make a dime
        E. Improvements – steel – safer/stronger – standardized size – standardized time
        F. “Stock watering” – make stock in railroads look better than it is – bribed judges
    F. Steel – Andrew Carnegie – monopolized then gave away $450 million by death
        A. America producing 1/3 of world’s steel thanks to Bessemer Process
        B. Carnegie - $1.4 billion more than US worth in 1800
    G. Oil – Rockefeller – kerosene first pushed – then automobile
        A. Consolidation – own supply and distribution
            1. 95% of oil refineries
            2. Rockefeller – uses illegal rebates and spies to control industry

II. Laissez Faire Conservatism – government policy in late 19th century > industry controls gov’t
    A. Gospel of Wealth – Lord gave money to wealthy class – must be morally responsible
    B. Social Darwinism – wealthy deserve it – inherently better
        1. Poor by own shortcomings – “Acres of Diamonds” – poor deserve it

III. Effects on worker – Business becomes depersonalized – feel like merely a cog in a machine – hurts creativity
    A. Free enterprise/farming replaced by corporation
    B. Factory controls life – whistle and artificial discipline – become subservient
    C. Gibson Girl – advertising campaign encourages women to work in offices
    D. 2/3 dependent on wage – unemployment not based on effort, but larger economic issues
VI. Union Movement
    A. Manual laborers vulnerable – employers can always bring in cheaper immigrant labor
    B. Machines displace workers
    C. Corporations make labor organization impossible
        1. Control legal process – best lawyers, politicians corrupt
        2. employs “scabs”/strike breakers – Gould “I can hire one half to kill the other half
        3. Force workers to take ironclad oath – won’t join a union
        4. Create company town – employees in debt to company stores
    D. Knights of Labor – replaced National Labor Union – began as a secret society
        1. Open to everyone – regardless of gender/race
        2. Overzealous – talked about social reform/changing society – goals to unrealistic
    E. Haymarket Square – Chicago – dynamite injures cops – anarchists linked to unions
        1. Leads to massive riot – destroys reputation of Knights of Labor
    F. American Federation of Labor – Samuel Gompers – “bread and butter” unionism
        1. More realistic – wages, hours, working conditions
        2. Used walkout and boycott to get way
        3. by 1900 view of labor starts to change – not seen as chaos starters

VII. Industrialization Judgment – were capitalists “Captains of Industry” or “Robber Barons”
    A. Class tension never as big a deal in America as in Europe
    B. Creates belief in upward mobility
    C. But…destroyed traditional farmer’s values/spiritual lives for capitalism
    D. Two classes resulted – owners of labor class and the labor class