if you had your own business, what kind of boss do you think you would be? tell me what kind of...
TRANSCRIPT
If you had your own business, what kind of boss do you think you would be? Tell me what kind of business, what kind of boss, and why?
Warm-up:
Big Business
Social Darwinism- “survival of the fittest”◦Government should not be involved in business
affairs Laissez-faire attitude◦ Leave it alone◦Very friendly towards business◦Big industrialists practically controlled
government Then unfair business practices caused
government regulation in the Gilded Age Sherman Anti-Trust Act promoted fair
industrial competition
Government & Big Business
Wealth concentrated in the hands of a few industrialists—uneven distribution of wealth
Rockefeller and Carnegie did not practice fair industrial competition◦Railroad rebates-monetary kickbacks◦Corporations & Monopolies-killed competition
◦Abused natural resources◦Corrupted politicians◦Usurped and abused labor
Critics called them “robber barons”
Robber Barons
In 1860, 900,000 factory workers; in 1890, 3.2 million workers; 1900, 20 million
Working conditions grew increasingly worse Factory conditions were unhealthy and
dangerous Children were regularly employed; the
family structure was changed dramatically More and more women entered the work
force but in menial jobs Workers faced constant threats of pay cuts
and lay offs Led to the rise of labor unions
Labor
Knights of Labor: ◦Accepted skilled and unskilled workers ◦Became identified with violence and radicalism
◦Led by Terence Powderly American Federation of Labor (AFL)◦Accepted only skilled workers◦Led by Samuel Gompers
Fought for safer working conditions, shorter work days, better wages
Labor Unions
Railroad Strike of 1877Haymarket Riot of 1886Homestead Strike of 1892The Pullman Strike of 1894◦Led to government compromise with creation of Labor Day, first Monday in September
Labor Strikes
Look up the 4 strikes in the textbook and answer the following questions about each strike:
1) Who was part of the strike?2) Why did they strike?3) Where did they strike?4) What did the achieve?5) How did the government or the
owner respond to the strike?
Activity: