Industrialization/Industrial Revolution(*)

Causes of Industrial revolution

• Starts in the northeast in the 19 century (1800's) because this region had the greatest supply of capital and labor. • The completion of the Erie Canal and the transcontinental railroads contributed to industrial growth by making the movement of goods easier and cheaper. • After the Civil War, the Federal Government provided land and money to build railroads. • Availability of water to power machines. • Mechanization of agriculture- Led to an increase in production

Rise of Big Business

(1865-1900) Federal Government followed laissez-faire economic policy. Trusts and monopolies were created by entrepreneurs to maintain control of the market.

How the Other Half Lives

Book by Jacob Riis that exposed the living conditions of urban slums (working-class, inner-city neighborhoods). Exposed the desperate lives of poor people to the general public in the U.S. • Urban middle class increased the most as a result of the Industrial Revolution.

Laissez-faire Capitalism

Economic policy which argues that government should limit any interference in the economy (the government should leave the economy alone).

Nativism

Group of Americans who were angry about Immigrants taking jobs from Americans and working for cheaper wages. Wanted the adoption of a quota system to limit immigration. Supported the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Gentlemen's Agreement, and the National Origins Act.

Chinese Exclusion Act

Limited the amount of Chinese immigrants entering the U.S. An example of Nativism.

Immigration

Many immigrants traveling to the U.S. settled in urban areas in the North because rapid industrialization created many job opportunities. • Large numbers of immigrants were admitted to the U.S. during most of the 1800's because the economy needed many unskilled factory workers. Factory owners strongly supported an open immigration policy in order to get cheap labor. • Immigration increased from Ireland to the U.S. during the 1840's due to crop failures (Irish Potato Famine) in Ireland that led to mass starvation. During the 1850's, Irish immigrants were discriminated against because they practiced the Roman Catholic Religion.

Gilded Age

Mark Twain labeled the late 1800's the Gilded Age to describe the extremes of wealth and poverty (big differences between the rich and the poor).

Working Conditions

Rapid industrial growth leads to shift from rural to urban lifestyle, widespread use of child labor, and growth of tenements & slums (overcrowded inner city neighborhoods located near factories).

Urbanization

Rural (countryside) residents move to urban (inner city) areas in search of jobs. Size of cities increase. • Caused by industrialization.

Tariff

Tax on foreign goods in order to raise revenue and protect domestic manufacturing (tax that makes foreign goods more expensive so people by American goods instead). Leaders of big business gave support to the passage of tariffs because it increased their profits.

Robber Baron

Term used during the Gilded Age to characterize leaders of big business who used ruthless tactics when dealing with competitors. Ex: John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt.

Social Darwinism

Theory which believed that the growth of large business at the expense of others was merely survival of the fittest (the stronger businesses will succeed and the weaker one will fail). • Used to justify the formation of business monopolies. • Used to explain the differences in income between the rich and poor. • Believed that economic success comes to those who are the hardest working and most competent.

Free Enterprise System

investments and profits are controlled by individuals. • Prices of products are determined by the interaction of supply & demand/ marketplace. • Claimed that government regulation of business would be harmful to economic growth. 13 • Influenced the growth of the U.S. economy during the late 19th century, which led to economic domination by business trusts. EX: Standard Oil Trust was intended to control prices and practices in oil refining.

Corporation

• Became an important form of business organization in the U.S .after the Civil War. • Has advantage because corporations could generate large amounts of capital (money and materials needed to run a business) with limited liability (risk/responsibility) for investors. • Major goal was to consolidate (unite into one) the manufacture and distribution of products. • Used mechanization and the division of labor which made it difficult for smaller industries to be competitive. • Increased efficiency in production methods.

Effects of Industrial Revolution

• Smaller industries had difficulty maintaining their competitiveness. • Many business practices were developed to eliminate competition. Ex: Monopolies, trusts, pools. • Growth of big business resulted in the widening of the economic gap between rich and poor. • Immigration to the U.S. increased, because more jobs were made available as industry was growing. • Urban middle class increased.

New Immigrants

•Came primarily from southern and eastern Europe (Ex: Italy & Russia) between 1890-1915. Were culturally different from the earlier immigrants. Many believed they would fail to assimilate into American society. • During the late 1800's and early 1900's many members of Congress supported legislation requiring literacy tests for immigrants in an attempt to restrict immigration from southern and eastern Europe.