Unit 5: Inventions, Trains and the West



Unit 5: Inventions, Trains and the West

I. New Inventions (late 1800’s, early 1900’s)

A. light bulb- Thomas Edison

B. phonograph- record player- Edison

C. motion picture- mass culture

II. Railroads Impact the Nation (p. 440)

A. encouraged new innovation

1. refrigerated railcars

2. telegraph system

3. airbrakes

B. established time zones

C. made travel between towns easier

D. transport large amounts of goods quickly, efficiently and quickly

E. businesses could obtain raw materials and sell to large numbers of people

F. led to mass production

G. helped settle the west

-railroad companies sold the fertile land for farming cheaply

-cattle ranchers and farmers used the plains to graze their herds and grow their crops, then used the

railroad to ship their products

III. Transcontinental Railroad

“Central Pacific” “Union Pacific”

Chinese Immigrants Irish Immigrants

Sacramento, CA Omaha, NE

Promontory Point, UT

May 10, 1869

Results: transporting goods was easier

linked new markets

unified the nation

IV. Big Business Leaders

Andrew Carnegie: Steel

John Rockefeller: Standard Oil

JP Morgan: Banking

A. Robber Baron or Captain of Industry

|Swindled the poor |Provided jobs |

|Charged unfair prices |Innovations and businesses allowed the US economy to grow |

|Used trusts and monopolies to destroy other companies|Philanthropy (giving $ to charity) |

V. The Labor Force

A. Factory Work: boring repetitive work in dangerous working conditions (low light, no ventilation,

crowded) for low pay and long hours

B. Families in the workforce: both parents worked as well as the children (stunted growth)

C. Living in Company Towns: owned by bosses who controlled all costs of living in the town (rent,

goods, etc)

D. Definitions:

Collective bargaining: negotiating as a group for higher wages & better working conditions

Socialism: economic and political philosophy that favors public, instead of private, control of property and income

E. AFL:

Founded by Samuel Gompers, 1886 for skilled workers focusing on specific pay for their workers like better pay, better working conditions, and shorter hours. Women and African Americans were not included.

F. Strikes

1. Haymarket Riot: bomb killed a policeman during a riot

Effect: people began associating violence with labor unions; Employers became concerned about the violence associated with labor unions

2. Pullman Strike: Chicago, 1894; workers were laid off, pay was cut for others, costs in

company town remained the same; Pullman fired workers who tried to negotiate with

him; mail service was interrupted when the railroads stopped; Pres. Cleveland sent in

federal troops to force the strikers back to work.

Effect: employers appealed to the courts for rulings to end strikes the government took

the side of management for the next 30 years

VI. “New” Immigration (1890-1914)

| |Old Immigrants |New Immigrants |

|Place of Origin |N & W Europe |S & E Europe, Asia |

|Language |English |Native tongue |

|Religion |Protestant |Roman Catholic |

|Race |White |White, Yellow |

|Where they settled |East Coast, 13 colonies |50% in cities |

| | |(Boston, NY, Chicago, Philadelphia) |

|Integration |Melting Pot (blended together) |Salad Bowl (separate) |

Why were the new immigrants resented?

1. they would work for lower pay and during strikes

2. they lived in cities and were highly visible

VII. African Americans in the Progressive Era

1896: Plessy v. Ferguson: separate but equal

Segregation is legal

|BOOKER T. WASHINGTON |W. E. B. DUBOIS |

|Achieve economic equality first |Blacks should demand full and immediate equality |

NAACP: a multi-racial organization formed in 1909 for the purpose of helping blacks achieve their rights (vote, end segregation)

strategy: used the courts to challenge unfair laws

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