The Real Story Behind America's Big Shot Businesses #1

We have started the "People, Places, and Power" project. The topic Labor vs. Big Business, is what is being examined in these series of blog posts. In these posts there will be relations to how this topic relates to the theme, "People, Places, and Power".   In this theme people relates to all the workers that make up the company making it function properly. They come together as a group or union to protest and make changes happen. Places relates where a a person lives or where certain event is located. Places impacts how a certain area reacts to changes. Power relates to the people who are in control. People with power have the resources and connections they need to make anything they want possible. Power can influence what people do and the choices they make. In this particular post, it is to define key words and terms along with developed enduring understandings. 

Edwin L. Drake- sent by Pennsylvania Rock Oil company to drill for oil in Titusville, Pennsylvania. Drake drilled using a steam powered engine, when he hit oil it became a major industry.

The telegraph- idea of sending messages over wires

Alexander Graham Bell- He patented the talking telegraph. Bell and a group of partners set a up the American telephone and telegraph company to build long distance telephone lines 

Transcontinental railroad- a railway extending coast to coast 

Bessemer process- The process that made it easier and cheaper to remove impurities in steel and made mass production possible

John d Rockefeller- formed the Stanford oil company in 1870 and donated to charities and institution that he believed would help humanity.

Andrew Carnegie-  In 1889 he established the Carnegie steel company. Carnegie preached a gospel of wealth in his books and speeches. Carnegie's donated more than 80 percent of his fortune went to education.

Social Darwinism- extended Darwin's natural selection to society and economic success, argued society and government should not interfere with business

Oligopoly- a market structure such as this which is dominated by only a few, large profitable firms, 

Monopoly- complete control of a product or service 

Cartel- a loose association of business that make the same product 

Vertical consolidation- gaining control of of the many different businesses that make up all phases of a products development 

Horizontal consolidation- involves bringing together many firms in the same business. 

Trust- The board of trustees, which Rockefeller controlled, managed the companies as a single unit. 

Sherman Antitrust Act- Outlawed any combination of companies that restrained interstate trade or commerce. This act proved ineffective against trusts for nearly 15 years. 

Sweatshop- a shop where employees worked long hours at low wages and under poor working conditions. 

Socialism- an economic and political philosophy that favors public instead private control of the means of production.   

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877- series of wage cuts for railroad workers that lead to violent strikes

Industrial Union-  Organized workers from all crafts in a given industry.

Scab- A negative term for a worker called in by an employer to replace striking laborers.

Anarchists- Radicals who oppose all government

Haymarket Riot- At the May 4 event, a bomb was thrown into a police formation killing an officer, following that a riot included gunfire between police and protesters.

Homestead Strike- 1892 strike at Carnegie plant in Homestead, Pennsylvania because Henry Frick tried to cut workers' wages at Carnegie Steel

Pullman Strike- Strike at the plant in Pullman. This strike was set off because after the Panic of 1893 Pullman laid off workers laid off workers and cut wages 25 percent while keeping the rent and food prices the same in the town. 

Enduring Understandings:

People with power cared more about economic gains rather than their workers:

• "Conditions in the town took a turn for the worse after the Panic of 1893. Pullman laid off workers and cut wages by 25 percent. Meanwhile, he kept rent and food prices in his town at the same levels." (The Great Strikes, 482)
• "children often left school at the age of 12 or 13 to work. Girls sometimes took factory jobs so that their brothers could stay in school. If a mother could not make money working at home, she might take a factory job, leaving her children with relatives or neighbors. If an adult became ill, died, or could not find or keep a job, children as young as 6 or 7 had to bring in cash." (Industrialization and Workers, 476)

Groups of people got together to fight back unfair changes by big business:

• "Under the leadership of former machinist Terence Powderly, the Knights pursued broad social reforms. These included equal pay for equal work, the eight-hour workday, and an end to child labor." (Industrialization and Workers, 478) 
• "In May 1894, a delegation of workers went to him to protest. In response Pullman fired three of the workers, an act that led the local union to go on strike." (The Great Strikes, 482)

Thus far the theme "People, Places, and Power" fits the topic "Labor vs. Big Business: Rise of Corporate America" very well. This topic mainly focuses on Rockefeller and Carnegie, two extremely rich business men, and lower class citizens and the struggles they go through in order to survive. Rockefeller and Carnegie would use their power to achieve more power so others could not be as powerful or move up from the lower class. With rich men like these, they just wanted to become more rich and powerful which caused poor conditions for laborers. This led to worker's unions and strikes. This theme fits the topic very well.