Rockefeller, Carnegie: Economic Impact

Notable Economic Figures & Industries

• John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil and created an oil monopoly through horizontal integration.
• Standard Oil controlled over 90% of the U.S. oil industry in the early 1900s.
• Rockefeller pioneered trusts and monopolies, influencing corporate strategies.
• He became the world's first billionaire, symbolizing both success and corporate greed.
• His practices led to the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890), aimed at breaking up monopolies.
• Rockefeller later became a philanthropist, donating millions to education, medicine, and research.
• Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish immigrant, revolutionized the steel industry using the Bessemer Process.
• Carnegie sold Carnegie Steel to J.P. Morgan for $480 million.
• His steel empire helped build railroads, skyscrapers, and bridges, shaping U.S. infrastructure.
• He advocated for the "Gospel of Wealth," believing the rich should use their wealth to benefit society.
• Carnegie donated most of his fortune to libraries, universities, and Carnegie Hall.
• Harsh labor practices at Carnegie Steel contributed to the violent Homestead Strike (1892).
• J.P. Morgan was a powerful banker who played a central role in corporate mergers.
• Morgan helped create General Electric (GE) and U.S. Steel.
• He helped stabilize the economy during the Panic of 1893 and Panic of 1907.
• Morgan symbolized the power of banking and "big money" in American capitalism.
• His dominance led to government scrutiny and the breakup of monopolies under Theodore Roosevelt.
• Cornelius Vanderbilt, a railroad and shipping tycoon, built a transportation empire.
• Vanderbilt controlled major rail lines like the New York Central Railroad.
• He expanded the U.S. railroad network, increasing transportation efficiency.
• Vanderbilt used ruthless business tactics, like price wars, to eliminate competition.
• His fortune contributed to the founding of Vanderbilt University and other philanthropic efforts.

Trusts

• Trusts are a business arrangement where multiple companies combine under a single board of directors.
• Trusts eliminate competition and control an industry.
• Trusts led to monopolies like Standard Oil and U.S. Steel, reducing competition.
• Trusts manipulated prices and wages due to lack of competition.
• The rise of trusts triggered antitrust legislation to break them up.

Horizontal Integration

• Horizontal integration is acquiring or merging with competitors in the same industry.
• John D. Rockefeller used horizontal integration to control over 90% of the oil industry.
• It led to monopolies and trusts, which reduced competition.
• Horizontal integration increased efficiency and profits by standardizing production.
• The dominance of monopolies led to government intervention, including the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890).
• Horizontal integration focuses on controlling one industry segment.

Vertical Integration

• Vertical integration is when a company controls multiple stages of production, from raw materials to finished goods.
• Andrew Carnegie used vertical integration to control every step of steel production.
• This increased efficiency by cutting out outside suppliers, making goods cheaper and maximizing profits
• Companies like Carnegie Steel grew into massive monopolies by cutting costs and underpricing competitors.
• Vertical integration made it difficult for smaller businesses to compete, leading to trusts and monopolies.
• The government responded with regulations like the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890).
• Unlike horizontal integration, vertical integration controls all aspects of production from start to finish.

Gold Standard Act

• The Gold Standard Act, enacted in 1900, officially established gold as the sole standard for redeeming paper money.
• The act aimed to stabilize the U.S. currency and gain investor confidence.
• It limited the money supply, leading to deflation, which adversely affected farmers and debtors.
• The act marked a commitment to conservative financial policies, aligning the U.S. with other major industrial nations.

Panic of 1893

• The Panic of 1893 was a severe economic depression caused by railroad bankruptcies and declining gold reserves.
• It led to bank failures, high unemployment, and a prolonged economic downturn until 1897.
• Over 20% of the workforce became unemployed, leading to homelessness and food shortages.
• Major railroads, such as the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, went bankrupt.
• President Grover Cleveland repealed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act to stabilize gold reserves.
• Economic hardship led to the rise of William Jennings Bryan, who advocated for bimetallism.
• J.P. Morgan arranged a gold loan to the U.S. Treasury, stabilizing the economy.
• The economic crisis weakened the Populist Party and reinforced the power of big businesses.

Government Actions

• The Homestead Act, passed in 1862, granted 160 acres of public land to settlers for a small fee.
• It encouraged westward expansion, increasing settlement in the Great Plains and the West.
• It benefited diverse groups, including freed slaves, immigrants, and women.
• It harmed Native Americans, leading to displacement and loss of lands.
• The Homestead Act faced challenges like harsh farming conditions and land speculation.
• The Pacific Railway Act, passed in 1862, authorized the construction of the transcontinental railroad.
• It facilitated westward expansion by reducing travel time across the continent.
• It boosted economic growth by enabling the transportation of goods and people.
• The Morrill Land Grant Act, passed in 1862, allocated federal land to states to establish colleges.
• It expanded access to higher education for farmers and working-class individuals.
• It led to the creation of major universities like Cornell and Clemson.
• Railroad Land Grants provided federal land to railroad companies to incentivize construction.
• It encouraged rapid development of transportation networks.
• It contributed to settlement and exploitation of western territories.

Transcontinental Railroad

• The transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, connecting the eastern U.S. with the Pacific Coast.
• It revolutionized transportation and commerce by linking distant regions.
• The railroad accelerated westward migration and economic development.

Standard Time

• Standard Time was a system introduced in 1883 by railroads to synchronize schedules.
• It improved efficiency in transportation and communication.
• It laid the foundation for modern time zones.

Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)

• The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was established in 1887 to regulate railroads and ensure fair practices.
• It marked one of the first federal attempts to oversee private industry.
• It addressed monopolistic practices in transportation.

Nativism & Indian Removal

• The Battle of Little Bighorn was fought on June 25-26, 1876, between the U.S. Army and Native American forces.
• It was one of the few times Native forces defeated the U.S. Army in open battle.
• The battle occurred after the U.S. broke the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868).
• The U.S. government increased military campaigns against Native Americans, forcing them onto reservations.
• Custer was romanticized as a fallen hero in American history.
• The Dawes Act, enacted in 1887, aimed at assimilating Native Americans by dividing tribal lands.
• It undermined tribal sovereignty and communal land ownership.
• The Dawes Act resulted in significant loss of Native American land to non-Native settlers
• Assimilation policies aimed at integrating Native Americans into mainstream American culture.
• Assimilation led to cultural erosion among Native American communities.
• The Wounded Knee Massacre was the slaughtering of nearly 300 Lakota Sioux by the U.S. Army.
• It marked the final large-scale armed resistance of Native Americans.
• Most Lakota victims were unarmed and included women and children.
• The massacre was part of the U.S. effort to suppress Native American culture.
• The Society of American Indians was founded in 1911.
• It was the first Native American rights organization led by Indigenous people.
• The society raised awareness of Native American issues and laid groundwork for later activism.

Notable Military Figures & Movements

• George Armstrong Custer was a U.S. Army officer defeated at the Battle of Little Bighorn (1876).
• Custer became a controversial figure symbolizing U.S. military efforts against Native Americans.

Exodusters

• Exodusters were African Americans who migrated from the South to Kansas after Reconstruction.
• They represented a major demographic shift and a quest for racial equality post-slavery.
• They highlighted the challenges of Reconstruction-era policies and racial discrimination.

Subsidies

• Subsidies are financial assistance provided by the government to support industries.
• Subsidies enabled large-scale infrastructure projects like railroads.
• They demonstrated government involvement in economic expansion.

Great Plains

• The Great Plains is a vast region of flatlands spanning central North America.
• It served as a key area for westward migration, agriculture, and conflict with Native Americans.

Frederick Jackson Turner

• Frederick Jackson Turner was a historian known for his "Frontier Thesis."
• His thesis argued that the frontier shaped American democracy and character.
• He highlighted the importance of frontier experiences in national identity.

Sitting Bull & Crazy Horse

• Sitting Bull & Crazy Horse were Lakota leaders who resisted U.S. encroachment.
• They played pivotal roles in battles like Little Bighorn against U.S. forces.
• They symbolized Native American resistance.

Corporation / Limited Liability

• Corporations and limited liability protect owners from personal financial risk.
• They encouraged entrepreneurship by reducing individual risk.
• They facilitated large-scale business operations.

Labor Unions & Fight of Monopolies

• The Knights of Labor, established in 1869, was the first major national labor union.
• It sought to unite skilled and unskilled workers, including women and African Americans.
• It advocated for better wages, an eight-hour workday, and improved working conditions.
• Unlike many labor groups, the KOL accepted women, Black workers, and unskilled laborers.
• It reached its peak in the mid-1880s with over 700,000 members.
• After its decline, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) became the dominant labor organization.
• The Great Railroad Strike was the first nationwide labor strike in U.S. history.
• It was triggered by wage cuts in the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.
• It exposed tensions between workers and industry.
• President Rutherford B. Hayes sent federal troops to suppress the strike.
• The violent suppression of the strike encouraged the formation of stronger labor organizations.
• The Haymarket Affair was a violent labor protest in Chicago on May 4, 1886.
• It began as a peaceful rally supporting workers striking for an eight-hour workday.
• The violence led to a nationwide crackdown on labor unions and anarchists.
• The Knights of Labor was wrongly associated with violence.
• The labor union's association led to its decline and the rise of more moderate unions.

Sherman Antitrust Act

• The Sherman Antitrust Act, passed in 1890, aimed at limiting monopolies.
• It outlawed trusts, cartels, and monopolistic practices.
• It marked the beginning of federal efforts to control corporate power.
• Early enforcement targeted labor strikes and not monopolies.
• Many corporations found loopholes to continue monopolistic practices.
• In 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Standard Oil, using the Sherman Act.

Homestead Strike

• The Homestead Strike was a violent labor strike at the Carnegie Steel Company in 1892.
• Steelworkers protested wage cuts imposed by Henry Clay Frick.
• The Pinkerton Agency and state militia were used to break the strike.
• The strike weakened the labor movement.
• Andrew Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth philosophy contrasted with the brutal treatment of his workers.

Pullman Strike

• The Pullman Strike was a nationwide railroad boycott.
• It started as a local strike at the Pullman Company in Chicago.
• The American Railway Union (ARU), led by Eugene V. Debs, initiated a nationwide boycott.
• The strike marked one of the first instances where the federal government used an injunction to break a strike.
• The strike's failure led to the disintegration of the ARU.
• The use of injunctions against strikes set a legal precedent.

Samuel Gompers

• Samuel Gompers was a labor leader and founder of the American Federation of Labor (AFL).
• He advocated for higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions.
• He focused on practical economic gains rather than political ideology.
• He helped shape modern labor unions, pushing for collective bargaining and workers’ rights.
• He opposed radical labor movements.

Eugene V. Debs

• Eugene V. Debs was a socialist and labor activist who led the Pullman Strike (1894).
• He advocated for workers' rights, socialism, and government control of key industries.
• His leadership in the Pullman Strike resulted in a federal crackdown and his imprisonment.
• Debs became a key figure in American socialist movements, influencing progressive-era reforms.

American Imperialism

• The Spanish American War was a conflict between the United States and Spain in 1898.
• It was fought over Spain’s colonial rule in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.
• The war ended with the Treaty of Paris (1898), marking the U.S. as an imperial power.
• Spain relinquished control of Cuba, though the U.S. imposed control through the Platt Amendment (1901).
• The U.S. acquired Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.
• Filipinos expected independence, fought against U.S. rule.
• Sensationalized news by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer exaggerated Spanish atrocities.

Annexation Hawaii

• The annexation of Hawaii occurred in 1898.
• The overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani in 1893 led to the U.S. taking control.
• American businessmen pushed for annexation to avoid tariffs imposed by the McKinley Tariff Act (1890).
• The U.S. sought control of Pearl Harbor as a key naval base.
• Queen Liliʻuokalani opposed U.S. interference, but her government was overthrown.
• The annexation reflected broader U.S. expansionist policies.
• Hawaii became the 50th state in 1959.

Insular Cases

• The Insular Cases were Supreme Court decisions that determined how the U.S. Constitution applied to overseas territories.
• The Court ruled that full constitutional rights did not automatically extend to all U.S. territories.
• Some territories were deemed “unincorporated,” meaning they did not have full constitutional protections.
• The court cases allowed the U.S. to govern territories without granting full citizenship rights to their inhabitants.
• Puerto Ricans were considered U.S. nationals but not full citizens until 1917.

Election of 1896

• The Election of 1896 was between Republican William McKinley and Democrat William Jennings Bryan.
• The campaign centered on the gold standard versus the free coinage of silver.
• McKinley supported the gold standard, while Bryan advocated for bimetallism.
• McKinley's victory signaled a shift in political power to the Republican Party.
• The election outcome reinforced conservative economic policies.

Social Leaders & Movements

• Jane Addams was a social reformer who founded Hull House in Chicago.
• Hull House provided social services, education, and support to immigrants and the poor.
• Her efforts provided help and comfort to immigrants.
• Addams influenced policies on child labor, public health, and education.
• Booker T. Washington founded the Tuskegee Institute in 1881.
• The Institute provided vocational training for Black Americans.
• He promoted economic self-sufficiency and gradual social progress.
• Washington advocated for "racial uplift" through economic independence.
• He gave the Atlanta Compromise Speech (1895), encouraging acceptance of segregation.
• He gained support from white leaders and philanthropists, helping fund Black education.
• W.E.B Du Bois was a Harvard-educated scholar and civil rights activist.
• Du Bois co-founded the NAACP (1909) and advocated for immediate racial equality.
• He opposed Booker T. Washington’s gradualist approach.
• Du Bois advocated for the “Talented Tenth”.
• He criticized Booker T. Washington’s Atlanta Compromise.
• Du Bois published "The Souls of Black Folk" (1903).
• His ideas influenced the later Civil Rights Movement.

Journalist & Media

• Ida B. Wells led an anti-lynching campaign exposing racial violence.
• Wells co-founded the NAACP.
• Her activism laid the foundation for the Civil Rights Movement.
• Wells challenged the mainstream press and white supremacist narratives.
• Upton Sinclair exposed unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry in The Jungle (1906).
• His book The Jungle led to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act (1906).
• His book brought attention to poor working conditions, sparking labor and health reforms.
• Sinclair inspired later investigative journalists to expose corruption and corporate abuses.

Crédit Mobilier Scandal

• The Crédit Mobilier Scandal involved the Union Pacific Railroad and the Crédit Mobilier construction company.
• Government officials and members of Congress were bribed with stock shares.
• It exposed corruption in government and big business influence in Congress.
• Union Pacific Railroad executives inflated construction costs.
• The scandal damaged the reputation of the Grant administration.

Government Actions & Institutions

• The Meat Inspection Act required sanitary conditions in meatpacking plants.
• It improved food safety standards and public health.
• The Pure Food and Drug Act prohibited mislabeling of food and drugs.
• The act marked the beginning of consumer protection laws.
• The Hepburn Act strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC).
• It increased government oversight of big businesses.
• Muller v. Oregon upheld an Oregon law limiting women’s work hours.
• It strengthened labor laws but reinforced gender discrimination.

Uprising of the 20,000

• The Uprising of the 20,000 was a massive strike of female garment workers in New York City.
• It led to improved workplace conditions in the garment industry.
• It inspired later labor movements.

Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire

• The Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire killed 146 workers.
• It exposed the dangers of industrial workplaces and lack of fire safety.
• The fire led to major workplace safety reforms in New York and other states.

Children’s Bureau Established

• The Children’s Bureau was created to address child welfare issues.
• It marked the first federal involvement in child welfare.
• The bureau focused on improving education and healthcare for children.

Sixteenth Amendment

• The Sixteenth Amendment established a federal income tax.
• It shifted the tax burden from tariffs to income.
• It helped fund government social programs and infrastructure.

Seventeenth Amendment

• The Seventeenth Amendment allowed for the direct election of U.S. Senators.
• It increased democracy and reduced corruption in Senate elections.

Federal Reserve Act

• The Federal Reserve Act created the Federal Reserve System.
• The system regulates currency and prevents financial panics.
• It provided economic stability by managing inflation and bank reserves.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was created to enforce antitrust laws.
• It strengthened federal power to prevent monopolies and protect consumers.

Clayton Antitrust Act

• The Clayton Antitrust Act strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890).
• It outlawed monopolistic business practices and protected labor unions.
• The act prevented companies from price-fixing and eliminating competition.

Theodore Roosevelt Organizes the Progressive Party (1912)

• Theodore Roosevelt created the Progressive ("Bull Moose") Party after losing the Republican nomination.
• The party split the Republican vote, allowing Woodrow Wilson to win the 1912 election.
• The party championed women’s suffrage and stronger antitrust laws.

Ludlow Massacre (1914)

• The Ludlow Massacre was a violent clash between striking coal miners and the Colorado National Guard.
• It highlighted the extreme violence used against labor unions.
• The massacre led to increased calls for worker protections and labor rights.