3. Technological
Innovations
Advances in technology allowed
Advances in technology allowed
production to be more efficient which in
turn generated new needs and newer
innovations
New power sources were at the heart of
America’s shift to mass production;
electricity was the key to a new
worldview for most Americans
4.
5. Railroads
Railroads were the first gigantic
corporations in America
The government expedited the building of
the railroads with generous land grants
and business-friendly regulations
The high cost of running a railroad
necessitated cut-throat business practices
The logistical tangles of the industry
prompted development of professional
management techniques
6. Integration
Vertical Integration: adding operations
before or after the production process
such as distribution; desires all stages of
production
Horizontal Integration: the combination
of multiple similar business ventures
under one “umbrella”; desires a
monopoly of a particular market
8. The Cities
The central cause of the phenomenal
growth of cities in this era was their
ability to attract newcomers from rural
areas and abroad
Work and increased pay rates was the
prime attraction
Rural life was often dull
9.
10. The New Immigration,
1880-1900
Over the course of the century, the
sources of immigrants for the United
States changed
“New immigrants” came from southern
and eastern Europe
New agricultural techniques in these
European regions removed the need for
thousands of farm laborers
15. Neighborhoods
Working-class neighborhoods clustered
near the city’s center
Usually separated by particular ethnic
groups
These areas were crowded, unsanitary,
and dangerous
Community cohesion became the saving
force for many immigrants
16. The Suburbs
The fringes of the city contained the
houses of the middle class and the rich
Public transportation allowed them to
work in the city center and live outside
The upper classes often had no idea
what conditions the working class had to
endure
19. Ethnic Diversity
Immigrants made up a large portion of the
working class in the late nineteenth century
The occupational patterns of the workplace are a
direct result of the ethnic diversity of the times
Whites occupied the top tier, next came northern
Europeans, next came the “new immigrants”,
and finally came African Americans
20.
21.
22.
23.
24. The Nature of Work
A majority of Americans now labored in a
factory setting or small sweatshop
Workdays were very long: ten hours a
day, six days a week
Work was uncomfortable, dangerous,
and usually repetitively boring; accident
rates were high
Sending children into the work forces
was a fact of survival for many
Americans
28. Protests
Workers and employers constantly
struggled for control of the workplace
Workers felt the right to control the pace
of production in factories and developed
strong-arm tactics to encourage solidarity
within the shop
Protest came in the guise of
absenteeism, drunkenness, general
inefficiency, and quitting work altogether
29. Strikes
The most direct methodology to adjust
conditions in the workplace was the strike
Strikes in the nineteenth century usually
happened at the workplace, replacing
neighborhood riots
As collective action spread, unions began to play
a more active role in arbitration of grievances
Coordination between workplaces performing
the same work led to uniform wages and hours