Download - “Robber Barons”, Unions, & Strikes Union = A group joined together for a common goal / purpose
“Robber Barons”, Unions, & Strikes
Union = A group joined together for a common goal / purpose
The Industrial Revolution
• Cheaper goods
• Large Factories = Jobs for Workers
• $$$ of Industry used for good causes
• Dangerous Workplace
• Corrupt Business Practices
• Long hours / low pay for workers
• No competition
Positives Negatives
“Robber Barons”• Monopolies = Complete
control over prices, wages, production
• “Robber Barons” = Use of unethical business tactics– Andrew Carnegie (Steel)– John D. Rockefeller
(Standard Oil)– J.P Morgan (Holding Co.)
• “Robber Barons?” – Carnegie (Donated 90% of
his fortune)– Rockefeller ($500 Million)
Working Conditions
• 7 Day work week
• 12+ hours per day
• No Vacation / Sick Leave
• No health benefits
• 675 Deaths / Week (1882)
• 20% Under 15 years old
• Yearly pay = $498 (1899)– $11,000 (2005)
Labor Union’s Emerge
• American Federation of Labor (AFL) = Skilled Laborers
• Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) = Unskilled Laborers
• Used “Strikes” to force companies to meet their demands for better working conditions– Result = Violence
Strikes & Violence Fuels Progress?• The Haymarket Affair =
Bomb kills police / strikers in Chicago (Public against Labor Unions)
• The Homestead Strike = 6 Month strike broken by National Guard
• The Pullman Car Strike = President orders troops to break the boycott of trains
• The Triangle Factory Fire = Locked up workers burnt alive (146 dead)
Industrial Consolidation:Iron & Steel Firms
Industrial Consolidation:Iron & Steel Firms
U. S. Corporate Mergers
U. S. Corporate Mergers
Iron & Steel ProductionIron & Steel Production