Justin Clement APUS DBQ Big businesses controlled the economy and politics throughout 1870-1900. They were in control of the prices for certain items because they destroyed their smaller competitors until there was no competition left. They had much sway over politics and took away the people’s say. As we can see from Document A, between 1870-1899, the price for food, fuel, lighting and living decreased with the emergence of big businesses.
Define corporation. Pg. 422 Corporation is an organization that is authorized by law to carry on an activity on an activity but treated as though it were a single person. Define economies of scale.
Monopoly is not just a board game people play for fun, monopolies became powerful and affected the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Monopolies are the exclusive possession or control of the supply or trade in a commodity or service. Basically, monopolies are firms that have a lot of market power. They greatly controlled industries and played a role in the government, such as helping president President Benjamin Harrison. Monopolies dominated their own industries and were huge for the industrial period in the United States.
At the end of the nineteenth century, beginning of the twentieth, America was in an era of industrial growth. People began to think that the social and economic problems of the last century had to do with rapid industrialization in America. Progressives, also known as reformers, sought to fight against issues such as the status of women in society, labour rights and immigration. With the growth of industrialization, factories had grown in size and unsafe working conditions were the norm. The fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company on March 25, 1911 in New York City changed the way America dealt with labour reform regarding working conditions.
In one machinist’s testimony to the Senate, he described how completely and truly machines had taken over industry, erasing any need for skilled labor (Doc C). His testimony landed on deaf ears, but shows us how corporations controlled all aspects with workers having no leverage, basically meaning that they had to be submissive, or they would lose their jobs and starve. Anyone was replaceable, as machines did all the skilled work, and they also could pay workers much less as now there was no skill to go with a job. It was a scary amount of power that was barely challenged with the exception of the Sherman Antitrust Act, an attempt by the federal government to destroy monopolies. While representing a landmark piece of legislature, at the time it was incredibly weak and barely enforced, and had little effect.
Between 1877 and 1920, America was reborn economically and industrially, which go hand in hand. The United States owe all of this economic growth as the result of Reconstruction during the post-Civil War era. From the 1880s and on, there was a “rapid expansion of factory production, mining, and railroad construction” (Foner 605). The expansion out west contributed to the expansion because companies were no longer limited to working either in the south or the New England area, and “a working free labor system” (Foner 571) established by the Freedman’s Bureau, an agency created during Reconstruction. Andrew Carnegie was a leader for helping the United States being able to be successful in industrializing the country by creating companies along every step of the way to construct a
The nineteenth century was the result of the U.S. growing urbanization and the early twentieth century marked the new industrial age. The workplace was dramatically changing bringing in women, children and immigrants, most unskilled workers. An abundance of workers were available for these jobs making them expendable in dangers conditions while wage continued to decrease. Most workers had at least a ten to twelve-hour work day, making less money than what was necessary to live a decent life. Health and safety conditions were a concern in the workplace, Federal laws offered little protection and poor workers had limited resources.
During the period of industrialization, between 1865 and the early 1900’s, corporate
Crowded workrooms, poor safety, awful pay, and long hours, were what was usually associated with these factories. The owners did not care about their workers, along as they made their money. Labor unions were created, employees who fought for better pay, shorter hours, and safer workplaces. Most labor unions lived through strikes and protests, but most of the time they were unsuccessful but still gave the people a voice against these billionaires. Mary Harris Jones, was one of the most influential labor union leaders.
One of the bigger issues surrounding this age was the awful factory working conditions. Nobody listened to what the workers had to say during that time. “The employer desires to reduce wages and lengthen the hours of labor, while the desire of employees is to obtain shorter hours of labor and better wages, and better surroundings.” (Document C) This selection of document C shows that the employers wanted their employees to get paid even
The workers were abused and exploit until accidents happened to them or they could not bear, therefore, quit but quitting jobs were rare because many competitions
In many ways when people think of a progression it is seen as a forward motion and in many ways the United States did this from 1890-1920. But in many other ways there was much regression when it came to workers rights, health, living situations, corruption and income. The United States was in a period of immense growth, and was slowly becoming a stronger nation but sadly, this period was not the best for everyone, especially immigrants and poor families. From the outside it looked like the States were thriving, but there were many who were suffering at the hands of this immense progression. These changes were concentrated around the cities and many people around lived in cities during this time of engineering, increased morals, and immense
During the period of 1870 to 1900 large corporations, such as the railway company, grew significantly in size, number, and influence. The cause of this was the need for a new way of transportation, the demand was great so the railways expanded all over the United States so that they could meet these demands. These large corporations affected the economy by making it easier to pay for everyday chores, politics in the way that it gave politicians too much power but in doing so gave normal limited power. The corporations had great power and influence which made them a huge impact to society.
The Progressive Era, from 1890- 1920 was an influential time in American history. There was political reform in an effort to bring about social justice, but it was also a time when big businesses thrived. However, in the past their prominence and power went unchecked, now liberal radicals started fighting for justice, making the government control the corporations before they destroyed the country. With big businesses growing at a quick pace, they needed more management, known as middle management, to control it. Alfred Chandler, a business professor, specifically a economist, analyzes this in chapter eight, “Mass Production” from his book, The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business.
If one person did all the work, the job would get done slower, so the business wouldn’t make as much money. Also during the gilded age, there were new forms of business such as vertical integration, where the company buys all the supplies from its suppliers, in hopes of that badly affecting its competition. Another example of a business form started then is a corporation. A corporation is where, one owner owns multiple businesses, but they all don’t have the same name. Businesses found many ways to keep and make more
