The American Industrial Revolution

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The American Industrial Revolution
Standard 11.2-Students will analyze the
relationship among the Rise of
Industrialization, large scale rural-to-urban Migr
ation and massive immigration from Southern and
Eastern Europe
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• I. The Causes of the Industrial Revolution
• The Inventors
• 1. Edison (1879) The most important/famous
  inventor of the 19th century Edison invented the
  phonograph (record player, picture camera,
  microphone, and most importantly the electric
  bulb).

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2. Samuel F. B. Morse (1830s) Inventor of the
telegraph. Increased communication across the
U.S. 3. Alexander Graham Bell (1876) Inventor
of the telephone. In 1878, 21 telephones were
in service, by 1900 there were over 1.5 million
telephones in service.
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B. New Industries/ Natural Resources 1. Iron
Iron ore is discovered in Minnesota, which helps
expand the steel industry. Note Steel is an
alloy of iron and tin.
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2. Oil People began to substitute kerosene oil
for whale oil in their lamps. In 1858, Edwin L.
Drake discovers large quantities of oil in
Pennsylvania.
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3. Railroads Employed the most people by 1900.
The railroads controlled large plots of land
and the politics of the day. In 1901, Frank
Norris writes the book, The Octopus which
described the corruption of the railroad in
California. Cornelius Vanderbilt established a
monopoly in the railroad industry and once
stated, Law! What do I care about the law?
Haint I got the power?
Vanderbilt University-Many of the robber
barons made significant contributions to their
communities.
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II. Economics of the Industrial Revolution

• New Technologies and Ideas
• Corporations Companies became increasingly
  successful due to the stock that was sold to the
  public. The money from stocks was used for
  further investment.
• Merger Companies that bought out another
  company to drive off competition.
• Trust Several companies that are formed in a
  particular industry. Example Oil Industry.

The AOL/TimeWarner deal is an example of a
modern day merger.
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B.The Robber Barons Wealthy individuals who
were considered ruthless, unjust and only
interested in power and money. 1. Andrew
Carnegie Rags to Riches steel tycoon who gave
away millions to help society. Carnegie came as
an immigrant, but worked as a messenger, as a
railroad employee, and eventually starts his own
oil and steel business.
Carnegie Mansion
Carnegie Hall
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2. John D. Rockefeller Founder of the Standard
Oil Company. Rockefeller was a master at
Integrated Operation, a business practice
where one controls every part of the
manufacturing process (I.e. monopoly).
Rockefeller forced the railroads to give him
rebates, discounted payments, which was against
the law.
C. Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) Made trusts and
monopolies illegal.
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• III. Society during the Industrial Revolution
• Working conditions Five major problems
• Loss of Freedom/Identity People were seen as
  machines and faced unemployment if they
  complained.
• Long Hours, Low Wages Workers averaged 3 - 12
  a week. Work days were 12 hours and 6 to 7 days a
  week.

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3. Dangerous Working Conditions Between 1890
1917 over 230,000 people died, 2 million
were injured in the railroad industry. 4. Child
Labor Families could not survive without every
child working. 1 out of 5 children were
working. 5. Sweatshop System Clothing that is
made in homes or small shops. In 1910,
weekly earnings averaged around 5 for about a
100 hours.
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B. Urbanization The movement of people from the
country to the city. 1. Row House houses that
share the same wall. Importance Housing
became more affordable. 2. Tenement Housing
Usually multi-leveled housing where several
families lived in crowded apartment-like
rooms. a. Dumbbell Tenements Long narrow
buildings that became overcrowded.
Importance Sanitation and crime were major
problems.
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C. Immigration 1. Three Problems emerge a.
Language Immigrants could not speak English b.
Religion Mostly Catholic, Jewish, etc. c.
Race Non-white (Chinese, Japanese)
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2. Melting Pot Immigrants who forged a new
culture with other Americans. 3. Ellis
Island Most of the immigrants from Europe
entered through this New York Island.
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• 4. Nativism Americans who wanted to curb or end
  immigration.
• a. Chinese Exclusion Act Prohibited the
  Chinese from coming to the U.S. for 10 years.
• b. Alien Land Act California passed this law
  to prevent aliens from owning land.

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D. Womens Suffrage Even though the 14th and
15th amendments gave African-Americans the right
to vote, women were forbidden to vote. The
Womans Suffrage Movement during the Industrial
Revolution included Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth
Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, and Julia Ward Howe. In
1869, Wyoming was the first state to give women
the right to vote
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• IV. Politics during the Industrial Revolution
• The Gilded Age Mark Twain and Charles Dudley
  Warner suggested that, like the base material
  that hides beneath the glittering gold surface of
  a gilded picture frame, corruption and greed
  lurked below the surface of American society.

Charles Dudley Warner
Mark Twain
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B. Political Machines Party organizations whose
primary goal was to obtain and then keep local
political power. 1. Tammany Hall Led by
William Tweed, this political machine was
notorious for corruption.

Between 50- 150 million dollars were
swindled from the New York city government.


Large governmental contracts were given to
people who had connections with Boss Tweed.
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C. Pendleton Civil Service Act Known as the
spoils system, politicians who were elected as
president appointed people for important
government positions. After James Garfield was
assassinated by a government worker that lost his
job, the Pendleton Act gave government jobs to
those who passed tests.
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D. The Great Upheaval Named after the many
strikes of 1886. 1. Haymarket Riot Workers
striking for better conditions were fired upon
by police after a bomb went off. 2. Employers
struck back by putting employees who joined
unions on blacklists, and made them sign
yellow-dog contracts a promise not join
a union. 3. Pullman Strike- A major strike
amongst railroad workers
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E. American Federation of Labor Founded by
Samuel Gompers, this union helped skilled
laborers.
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F. Populism Political party founded by farmers
to address their needs. Six demands 1. Increase
prices of goods-inflation 2. Graduated Income
Tax People who have more money pay a higher
of tax. 3. Government loans for farmers. 4.
Senators to be elected by public, not state
legislators. 5. Single term for president. 6.
Secret ballot to vote.
William Jennings Bryan made Populism popular.
Only presidential candidate to lose three times.