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RailroadBoom
!  By1900theU.S.hadmoretrackthanallofEurope
combined
CHAPTER24
1890
Govt.HelpforRailroads
Trans-Con8nentalRR
!  TheU.S.govtencouragedrailroadbuildingina#of
!  The1stwasbuiltthroughtheNorthduringtheCivil
ways
!  GaveRRcomp.$tobuildandlandalongtheroute
!  Govt.gotgoodrateonpostalandmilitaryneeds
War
!  UnionPacificRR-builtfromtheeast
!  FromOmaha,usedprimarilyIrishlaborers
!  Alsogreatforthegrowingeconomy
!  CentralPacificRR-builtfromthewest
!  FromSacramento,usedIrish&Chineselaborers
!  LedbytheBigFour-LelandStanford,Collis
Huntington
Trans-Con8nentalRR
Trans-Con8nentalRR
!  ThetwosidesmetatPromontoryPoint,Utah
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OtherTrans-Con8nentalRRs
A.  NorthernPacific
1.StretchedfromLakeSuperiortoPugetSound,1883
B.  Atchison
1.StretchedthroughSWdesertstoCalifornia,1884
C.  SouthernPacific
1.StretchedfromNewOrleanstoSanFrancisco,1884
D.  GreatNorthern
1.  RanfromDuluthtoSeattle,1893
2.  JamesHill-greatestofallrailroadbuilders
Consolida8on&Improvements
EffectsoftheRailroadBoom
!  Cornelius“Commodore”Vanderbilt
!  Madelotsof$bygettingtheTrans-continentalRRbuilt
offhisexistinglines,offeredloweredrates
!  Createdhugemarketsandtiedtheeconomytogether
!  RailroadImprovements
!  Steeltrack
!  Standardtracksize
!  Airbrakes
!  PullmanPalaceCars
!  time-zones
!  Encouragedfarmingandmining
!  Citiesinthewestgrew
!  Increasedimmigration
RailroadCorrup8on
!  Stock-watering
!  InflatedclaimsaboutaRRlineanditspotentialfor
profit
!  Ledpricesofstocktorise
!  Ledtohighratestoensureprofit
!  Bribedjudgesandlegislators,freepasses,pooling,
rebates
!  Mostofthiscorruptionwasnotquestioneduntilthe
Panicof1873openeyestoit
!  TheGrange,theFarmer’sAlliance,thePopulists
!  Spedupthemovementofrawmaterials
!  Boostforthesteelindustry
!  Newclassofmillionaires
GovernmentInterven8on
!  Historyof“laissez-fairepolicy” towardbusiness
!  Handsoff??????
!  Munnv.Illinois
!  Upheldstatelawsregulatingthepriceschargedto
farmersforusinggrainelevators–“publicinterest”
!  Wabashv.Illinois
!  Statelawsattemptingtoregulatetherailroadswere
foundunconstitutionalb/cwereanattempttoregulate
interstatecommerce
! 
Usedasaplatformfromwhichtoactagainstotherstatelaws
regulatingbusiness
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GovernmentInterven8on
RiseofBusiness
!  InterstateCommerceAct(1887)
!  Prohibitedrebatesandpools
!  RRhadtopublishratespublicly
!  Outlawedchargingmoreforashorthaul
!  SetuptheInterstateCommerceComm.
! 
! 
!  Lotsofcapital
A.G. Bell
!  Coal,iron,oil
!  Immigrationbrought
Weak,notmuchenforcementpower
Impt.b/cwasthefirstlarge-scaleattemptbythegovt.to
regulatebusiness
Trusts
!  Acombinationoffirmsorcorporationsforthe
purposeofreducingcompetitionandcontrolling
pricesinanindustry
!  2types
!  VerticalIntegration-Carnegie&U.S.Steel
!  HorizontalIntegration-Rockefeller&StandardOil
available
!  Lotsofresources
Thomas
Edison
morelabor
!  Massproduction
!  Steel!
SteelIndustry
!  Steelhadbeenveryexpensive
!  Rareandmuchofitwasimported
!  BessemerProcess-ledtodropinprices
!  AndrewCarnegie-U.S.Steel
!  LocatedinPittsburgh
!  Controlledeveryaspectofproductionwhichallowed
himtoproduceaqualityproductforacheaperprice
U.S.Steel
OilIndustry
!  J.P.MorganboughtU.S.Steelfor$400million
!  Onlybecamehugewiththeinventionofthe
!  FormedtheU.S.SteelCorporation
!  1stbilliondollarbusiness
!  Interlockingdirectorates
automobile
!  JohnD.Rockefeller-StandardOil
!  Controlledover95%ofthethenation’soilproduction
!  Providedagoodproductatacheapprice
J.P. Morgan
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OtherTrusts
StandardOilCartoon
!  Meat-packing(Swift&Armor)
!  Leather
!  Sugar
!  Tobacco-JamesB.Duke
!  Cigaretterollingmachine
GospelofWealth
!  Theseindustrialgiantssawtheirrichesasaresultof
SocialDarwinism
!  Ifyouwerepooryoudidn’tworkhardenoughor
weren’tcapable
!  Justifiedtheirriches
!  BelievedGodgavethemtheirmoney
!  “ThegoodLordgavememymoney”
!  Theygaveawaytheirmoney,butonlytopeoplewho
couldhandleit
TheSouth&Industry
!  TheSouthstillproducedasmallerpercentageof
manufacturedgoodsin1900thanbeforetheCW
!  Regionwasstillpredominantlyruraland
agricultural
!  Amajorobstaclewasthattheratesforgoods
travelingtotheSouthwerelowerthanthose
finishedgoodsgoingNorth
!  Hadgoodratesforrawmaterialsgoingnorth
!  RRshelpedkeepthemfromdeveloping
Govt.&Trusts
!  Stategovernmentsfirsttriedtoregulate
thembutfailed
!  ShermanAnti-TrustAct !  Forbadeanycombinationsinrestraintoftrade
!  TheActwasintendedtopreventarrangementsdesigned
to,orwhichtendto,increasethecostofgoodstothe
consumer.
!  Again,nopowertopunishthosewhoviolatedit
(notuntil1914)
! 
Actuallyusedtogoafterlaborunions
ImpactoftheInd.Revolu8on
!  TextileindustrydidgrowintheSouth
!  WealthoftheU.Swentwayup
!  Standardoflivingwentup
!  Citiesgrew
!  Govt.becomingmoreandmoreinvolved
!  Timespedup,moreregimented
!  Classdivisionsgrew
!  Criticsmorevocal-socialists&radicals
!  Women-moreopportunity,marriedlater
!  Typewriter,telephone
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ImpactoftheInd.Revolu8on
!  Withgrowthoffactories,theworkplacewasmuch
moredepersonalized
!  Wageswerelow-plentyoflaborers
!  Riseoflaborunions
ProblemsforLaborUnions
!  The$ofbigbusinessmadeithardforunionsinthis
period
!  Federalcourtswouldstopstrikes
!  yellow-dogcontracts&ironcladoaths
!  Toolstomakesureworkersdidnotjoinunions
!  BlackLists
!  Namesofunionagitatorsandorganizerswentonlists
UnionsintheLate-1800s
HaymarketSquareRiot
!  NationalLaborUnion
!  Lasted6years
!  Over600,000members
!  BlackNationalLaborUnion
!  KnightsofLabor
!  LedbyTerencePowderly
!  Pushedforallworkerstojoinonebigunion
!  Skilledandunskilled
!  Widearrayofgoals
!  OccurredduringaprotestinChicago
!  Calledinresponsetofourstrikersbeingkillednear
Chicago
!  180policemenshowedupasitwaswindingdown.
Speakerwaswindingdownwhenabombwentoffin
themiddleofthepolice.66wounded–7laterdied.
!  Policefiredintothecrowdkillingseveralandwounding
200
HaymarketSquareRiot
AmericanFedera8onofLabor
!  8anarchistsarrested,eventhoughonlyonewas
!  LedbySamuelGompers
!  Onlyskilledworkers
actuallythere(andhewasspeaking)
!  OnthebasisofanIllinoislawthatsaidanyoneinciting
murderwasguiltyofthatmurder
!  4werehangedandonecommittedsuicideinhisjailcell
!  HelpedendtheKnightsofLabor
!  Wasnotonelargeunion
!  Wasanassociationofself-governing
unions
!  Broadrangeofgoals
!  “closedshop”-allunionlabor
!  By1900thepublicviewoflaborwasbecoming
moresympatheticandpositive
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