Download Chapter 24 Questions - About me...the Social Studies Guy

Chapter 24 Questions

Write down and 2-3 questions you had or have about
anything in Chapter 24

Be prepared to ask them in class when the late bell rings
Gallery Walk Activity: 15 Minutes to plan

In 4 equal groups of students select 1 of the
following sets of topics and create a poster [with
brief but clear points] with the following info:
[1] Transcontinental Railroads p. 530-533 [Explain what they
were, how they acquired land, and operated]
[2] Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt p. 534-5, 537 [Explain
his personality and business tactics]
[3] Steel Rail p. 534-535 [Explain how this innovation improved
railroads]
[4] The Pullman Palace Car p. 535 [Explain what was special
about this train car and what were its problems]
What to look for
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Transcontinental Railroads [what were they? Why were they
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Land grants [what were they? why were they given?]
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Subsidies [what were they? why were they given?]
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Obstacles to buildings railroads [what were they? How were they
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Innovations [what were they? Why were they important?]
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Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt [who was he? What did he do?
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Pullman Palace Cars [what were they? What was their purpose?
important? Who built them?
overcome?]
What type of businessman was he?
What were their challenges?
Transcontinental Railroad
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Train companies and train tracks laid from East to West and North to
South throughout the United States. Construction of lines exploded in
the 1870s.
The rail lines connected the nation and helped grow country-wide
commerce. Farmers’ crops found larger markets.
People such as Vanderbilt, Gould and the Big Four were early railroad
pioneers.
Costs and problems of building railroads
Building railroads was expensive.
Stocks were sold to raise cash.
The U.S. government gave
subsidies [free money] to fill
budget gaps.
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To make the expansion faster
the U.S. government gave land
grants [free land].
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More railroads meant a better
national economy.
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The labor was very difficult and
completed by Irish and Chinese
workers for low wages under
poor conditions.
Innovations to the railroads
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Steel rails replaced early iron rails for strength, durability
and permanence.
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Another innovation or improvement was the addition of
passenger cars to transport people [Pullman cars]
Cornelius Vanderbilt
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Wealthy railroad tycoons who
made his fortune on boat ferries
and steamboats in New York.
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Highly uneducated with regard to
schooling but a ruthless, shrewd
business strategist.
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Created a monopoly and used
strategic pricing. Team with
partners with similar interests.
Pullman Palace Cars
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Prior to George Pullman created his sleeper cars freight
[raw materials and finished goods] was the main cargo.
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By 1867 passenger service was made more comfortable
for wealthier people to travel.
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Immigration and population spread as a result.
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More money was made by railroads because of more
customers.
Chapter 24 Questions

Write down and 2-3 questions you had or
have about anything in Chapter 24

Especially p. 536-545

Be prepared to ask them in class when the
late bell rings
Relay “Righters”
Graft is best described as
________________________.
_______________ are types of
farmers who do not own the land
but pay rent as a percentage of
their crops.
Two types of voter
disenfranchisement would be
_________ and _________.
How did the Pendleton Act
undermine patronage?_________
__________________________.
The Spoils System is _________
_________________________.
Pullman Palace were ___________
___________________________.
Railroad entrepreneurs could
acquire land even without their own
money by receiving ____________
From the U.S. government.
A subsidy is best described as ___
__________________________.
Three obstacles to building the
Transcontinental Road were
_________________________
___________________________
__________________________.
What to look for, what you must know…
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What was Vanderbilt’s attitude
toward competitors and
customers?
What is a monopoly and is it a
good thing?
Why was the Interstate
Commerce Act passed?
Why was the Grange formed?
What was the purpose of the
ICC?
Describe the pros and cons of
a Captain of Industry
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What is a robber baron?
How did vertical and horizontal
integration work to benefit a
captain of industry?
What was the benefit of the
Bessemer Process?
Why was Standard Oil’s
business tactics dangerous?
How did a trust work?
Was the Gospel of Wealth
justifiable?
Was Social Darwinism
justifiable?
Why was the Sherman AntiTrust Act of 1890 needed?
W.H. Vanderbilt and Cyrus Field

W.H. Vanderbilt inherited a vast fortune from his father
Commodore Vanderbilt and seemed to be even more focused at
amassing a fortune than him.
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"The railroads are not run for the benefit of the 'dear public' — that cry is
all nonsense — they are built by men who invest their money and expect to
get a fair percentage on the same.”

During his lifetime he double the family fortune to 200 million.
Vanderbilt drew wealthy investors such as Cyrus Field, the first person lay
telephone cable across the Atlantic Ocean, and Jay Gould.
The aggressive and monopolistic tactics of the railroad tycoons attracted
the attention of the U.S. government.
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Monopoly
 A monopoly is a business or organization that seeks to dominate a
specific type of business by eliminating competitors.
 Monopolists seek to corner the market [take complete control of the
goods, services and prices]
 Railroad tycoons were unfairly forcing farmers who paid freight fees to
railroads to pay exorbitant fees for crop transportation.
 In 1887 the U.S. Government intervened and passed the Interstate
Commerce Act to stop the financial abuses of the railroads.
 The U.S. Government had been pressured into passing the law by a
group called the Grange.
 The Grange was a consortium of U.S. farmers who gathered to
combat the tactics of the railroads.
Regulation and the ICC
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American wanted the railroads to be controlled by government
regulation [rules/laws].
The ICC Interstate Commerce Commission was charged with
carrying and enforcing the Interstate Commerce Act.
The agency had agents who investigated reports of violations of the
law and forced the railroads to comply.
The Captains of Industry
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Captain of Industry is a term used to describe a person who takes
absolute control over a business and uses aggressive tactics to get his
way.
Tactics-[a] undersells competitors, [b] joins into trusts, [c] financially
bribes the government into compliance.
Andrew Carnegie-Steel magnate during the 1800s and early 1900s.
J.P. Morgan-Financier and banker [invested in businesses/lent money for
interest/share of ownership.
J.D. Rockefeller-Oil baron who controlled oil & gasoline production.
Carnegie
Morgan
Rockefeller
Robber Baron #1
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Andrew Carnegie was a steel magnate who
owned the largest steel company in the United
States.

Created a business strategy called vertical
integration.
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Vertical integration-strategy to combine separate
elements of a business under one organization.
The efficiency could not be matched and
competitors were eliminated
•Sale
•Production
•Labor
•Raw materials
The Bessemer process of eliminating
impurities in steel created a superior
quality of steel which eliminated the
need to import foreign steel
Ironically Carnegie gave most of his money
away before he died [created public
libraries, funded the arts] about $350 million
Robber Baron #2
John D. Rockefeller was an oil baron who
monopolized the oil industry
His pricing model and trust strategy drove
competitors out of business
Combined his operations with willing
competitors and reduced his prices
below cost [losing money temporarily]
When all competition was eliminated he
raised prices of gasoline to whatever he
wanted. Customers had no other
options and had to pay
Horizontal integration was used by
Rockefeller to dominate an entire
industry by allying with selected
competitors into trusts.
Robber Baron #3
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Railroad and banking tycoon
who financed numerous
businesses and formed trusts
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He cleverly acquired ownership
in companies that were often
considered unfair

He purchased U.S. Steel
Corporation from Carnegie for
$400 million
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He forced companies to
dissolve when profits were
siphoned off [workers lost jobs]
J.P. Morgan
Questions for Chapter 24
Write down any questions you have on
anything in the readings
I will take 5-10 minutes to answer any
questions
Problematic Words
Entrpreneur-__________________
____________________________
Consolidate-__________________
____________________________
Insatiable-____________________
____________________________
Oligarchy-____________________
____________________________
Supplanted-__________________
____________________________
Rapacity-_____________________
____________________________
Denounce-___________________
____________________________
Obsolescence-________________
____________________________
Content Terms
Vertical integration is best
described as _____________
________________________
A trust seeks to ___________
________________________
2-3 characteristics of a
Monopoly include __________
_______________________.
The Interstate Commerce Act
sought to _______________
_____________________.
Role of Tariffs
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To protect American business the
U.S. Congress [with the strong
encouragement from Big Business
imposed tariffs on foreign goods.
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Cheaper imports [goods brought in
from overseas] were taxed with
tariffs to make domestic goods
more price competitive.
Gospel of Wealth
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The belief that wealthy
individuals had a moral and
ethical responsibility was known
as the Gospel of Wealth.
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Captains of Industry has a duty
to amass fortunes and control
the nation’s financial fortunes.
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Plutocrats influenced
governments and the passage of
legislation.
Social Darwinism
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The Robber Barons were criticized for the uneven distribution of wealth.
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Newspaper and magazine articles were scathing in their attacks on the
Captains of Industry
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Rockefeller countered that “the good Lord gave me my money.”
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The fittest of the fit made fortunes because they worked hardest and
were smartest. The poor or “have nots” were simply too lazy.
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
 The U.S. Government in 1890 tried to rein in the power of
business trusts.
 The shrewdest of businessmen hired lawyers who were able to
find loopholes in the law and avoid compliance.
 Trusts were sometimes forced to break up into separate
companies.
 Best example of a break-up was the 1911 break up of
Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Corporation.
 U.S. Government was bent on Trust busting after passage
Lewis Hine’s child labor exposes
 Graphic photos of very young children [2-5] doing highly dangerous work
under poor conditions got the attention of the U.S. Government.
 The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 banned child labor.
Women in the workforce
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The stigma of public work was eradicated by Charles Dana
Gibson’s image of the Gibson Girl whose sleek, athletic and
attractive look inspired women’s confidence.
Women during the 1880s were entering the workforce improved
by technological advances such as phones.
Hello girls worked switch boards for telephone companies,
governments and corporations
Labor Unrest and Unionization
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Unions were organizations created to fight for better wages, working
conditions and working hours.
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The National Labor Union was formed after the Civil War in 1866 and
collected over 600,000 workers in different trades [Chinese, blacks and
most women were excluded]. Economic depression in the 1870s ended up
folding the group. Biggest accomplishment was the 8-hour workday for
government employees.
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The Knights of Labor was a labor union that included blacks and
women.
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The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed by Congress to help protect
American workers from unskilled, cheap, foreign labor [Chinese
immigration was heavily curtailed]
Labor Strife and Unrest
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Business/Labor conflicts were not always peaceful.
On May 4, 1886 rioting in Chicago’s Haymarket Square led to
multiple deaths and a bad reputation for unions.
The greatest mistake by the Knights of Labor was including skilled
and unskilled workers under one group.
Unskilled workers could be replaced by strike breaking scabs while
craftsmen [skilled workers] were not.
Skilled workers believed their jobs were unprotected.
Samuel Gompers
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Gompers learned from the failures of
other unions.
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Led the American Federation of Labor
[A.F.L.] for over 40 years.
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Federation=Group of separate entities [in
his case unions]
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His most important strategy was to pool
the resources of different types of unions.
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The funds were used to support workers
during prolonged strikes.
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He also championed closed shops which
did not allow non-union workers to work
in union dominated jobs.
Mother Jones
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Jones was originally a labor
organizer for coal mines in Iowa.
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She was popular for promoting
inclusion and tolerance of black
workers [this was in the 1870s1880s!]
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However she was ambivalent about
foreign workers from Ireland and
China.
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By exerting pressure on the U.S.
Congress the Contract Labor Law of
1885 [banning aliens and foreign
contract laborers] and the Chinese
Exclusion Act of 1882.
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Most notable of all was that a woman
was a key labor official
Horatio Alger
 Horatio Alger wrote a series of
inspirational novels telling
various rags to riches tales.
 The stories focused on how
kids from impoverished
beginnings were able to pull
themselves by their
bootstraps
 Very few of these stories were
real but they offered hope.
Homework
 What was the role of Samuel Gompers in
the labor movement?
 How did “Mother Jones” inspire the labor
movement?
 How did tariffs benefit American big
business?
Image sources
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http://www.ushistory.org/us/images/00034498.jpg
http://www.asianweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/chinese-railroad-workers.jpg
http://www.asianweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/chinese-railroad-workers.jpg
http://explorepahistory.com/images/ExplorePAHistory-a0b3f4-a_349.jpg
http://pakway.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/cornelius-commodore-vanderbilt.jpg
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CyrusField.jpg
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vanderbilt-WilliamHenry.jpg
http://www.norfolkmagrange.org/images/grange_poster_uwgb.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US-InterstateCommerceCommission-Seal.jpg
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/img/assets/4815/Copy%20of%20ANDREW.jpg
http://www.dirtandseeds.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/jp_morgan1.jpg
http://themischiefmunkey.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/john-d-rockefeller.jpg
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http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/images/1147.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_D._Rockefeller_1885.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7SKBX2cPQjo/TTgC1Lh1EmI/AAAAAAAAAi0/H6BpiAERpWQ/s1600/hine_girl_worker.jpg
http://lauralovephotography.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/cotton-mill.jpg
http://www.yesterprints.com/demo/images/product/0032-lewis-hine-photographs-web.jpg
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http://www.lockley.net/images/gibson_girl_secretary-200x230.jpg
http://www.womensmemorial.org/H&C/History/images/HelloGirls.gif
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Horatio_Alger_Jr-young.jpg
http://www.jewishjournal.com/images/thegodblog_images/Money_Church-780892.gif
http://www.redfundsgroup.com/history/uslp2/section2/haymarket.jpg
https://files.pbworks.com/download/eYthBhLQTW/cioccahistory/14787604/08_d.jpg
http://www.awesomestories.com/images/user/178bf686e4.jpg
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gompers-Samuel-LOC.jpg
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mother_Jones_1902-11-04.jpg
http://www.fasttrackhistory.org/images/tariff.gif
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