Machine Age

The Machine Age(1877-1900) AKA The Gilded Age

Assembly Line Production

12 -14 hour workday

One mistake results in many injuries

Corporate Consildation

Businesses getting larger and larger

Bc court was very pro business

Gov’t unsure how to enforce

Holding Companies

Held certain amount of stock in industry

Usually meant it controlled the industrya

Factors of production

Leads to monopoly

Horizontal integration

Cartels

John D rockafeller

Standard oil

illegal

Verticle Integration

Own all factors of production in an industry

Allowed smaller businesses to “compete”

Legal

Both integrations practiced by captains of industry for guilded age

Created class of extremely powerful men

Interests not as same as society

Leads to Sherman Anti Act of 1890

Stops business from combination of conspiracy in restraint of trade

Supreme Court found loophole

Allowed businesses go

But condemned unions

Ex) EC knight owned 98% of sugar refining plant let go

Social Darwinism

Steel mogul Andrew Carnegie promotes

Only natural that richest are at the top

The gospel of wealth

Wealth means philanthropy

Suburbs

Bc mass transportation allowed Middle class would escape city surroundings

Lead to cities mainly immigrants

Ethnic neighborhoods

To escape prejudice

Political bosses

Think gangs of an area except more legal

Head of political machines

Gave all services a neighborhood needed

In return for vote as instructed

Ex) boss tweed

Knights of Labor

Founded by Uriah Stephens

Goals were

8 hour work day

= pay for men and women

Child labor laws

Safety and sanitary codes

Fed income tax

Gov’t ownership of railroad and telegraph

Eventually used violence which lead to decline in popularity

Terrence Powderly leads these strikes

Unsuccessful

Haymarket Square Riot

Someone blew a bomb

People blame a labor union

Even though no one really knows

“socialist radicals” from unions

Many in unions were socialist/utopian philosophy

American Federation of Labor(AFL)

Led by Samule Gompers

Concentrated on bread and butter issues

Higher wage shorter work hours

Realized union = more power by disclude unskilled ones

Most did not accept immigrants

Blacks nor women

Was just a confederation of trade unions

A bunch of unions exclusive to a trade

Settlement houses

Hull House was the first one

Headed by Jane Addams

Won Nobel peace prize in 1931

Laid foundation for progressive era

Increasing gap between rich and poor

Defines era

Entertainment industry

Popular novels

Newspaper

Yellow journalism

Joesph Pulizter and William Randolph Hearst

South stayed on agriculture

Some progress

Tobacco processing plants

Hired some workers

Textile mills

Reduced dependence

Most stayed as farmers

Post war econ

Made many farmers sell land

Wealthy bought

Forced in share cropping

Using the crop lien system

Kept poor very poor

No money so borrowed $$ to buy seeds

Huge debts and interest; unscrupulous owners

Jim Crow Laws