The History Of Industrialization - Essay Example

The History Of Industrialization The term Gilded Age was coined by Mark Twain in 1873. It represented the late 19th century between 1870s and 1900s. It was during the Reconstruction period after the American Civil War (1861-1865) and was marked by rapid industrialization in the North, improved transport and communication, technological innovations, mass immigration, currency and tariffs disputes, and organized labor. The period was also marked by rise of corporations and Robber Barons such as Andrew Carnegie, and John D Rockefeller. The Gilded Age marked the emergence of modern American economy with giant corporations as its hallmark. In this essay, I will argue that industrialization during the Gilded Age (1865-1900) revolutionalized American business and labor practices as evidenced by emergence of corporations, labor violence and national unions, laws and regulations, and politics based on business. Industrialization was characterized by improved transport and communication and technological innovations such as the telegraph, typewriter in 1867, newspapers and magazines, cash register in 1879 and calculating machine in 1887. These made business operations easier. The invention of the Kodak camera in 1888 popularized business as stories and pictures of big companies dominated the media. The fact that more than 500,000 patents were issued during this era shows the enormity of business at the time. Improved transportation was key to business enhancement. The invention of the railroads was the first “big business” and produced the earliest millionaires such as Andrew Carnegie who specialized in the steel business and Jay Gould (1836-1892). Gould was a railroad developer, robber baron and speculator who began his business by speculating in railroad stocks and buying stocks from small companies. Industrialization also changed the way businesses were organized leading to emergence of big corporations. Before the Gilded Age, businesses specialized in one of line of business. For example, in production and distribution of meat, there would be cattle breeders and sellers, slaughterhouses, transport companies, warehouses, meat packing plants and the meat sellers as separate businesses. This changed during the Gilded Age as businessmen like Carnegie adopted vertical integration thereby eliminating all middle men in the process. Instead of meat being handled by different individuals, a single businessman engaged in all the trades from cattle breeding to retailing meat. This led to emergence of corporations such as the giant steel empire of Carnegie which brought them huge profits. Others such as Rockefeller adopted horizontal integration (purchase of competing companies in same industry) thus eliminating competitors. Rockefeller purchased all independent oil refineries creating a monopoly in the market named the Standard Oil Company. Such investors were referred as robber barons as they did everything they could to earn profits. Corporations produced powerful tycoons such as Carnegie, Rockefeller and Frederick Weyerhaeuser (timber industry) and consequently business malpractices. Rockefeller was the richest man, Carnegie the fourth richest and Weyerhaeuser the seventh richest. These and other wealthy businessmen formed trusts to monopolize production of goods. This prompted the U.S government to pass legislations such as the Sherman Anti-trust Act of 1890 and the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 to curb such malpractices and corruption. The Interstate Commerce Act was to eliminate discrimination against small shippers by railroads while the Anti-trust Law was to curb monopolies. Speculations by tycoons often led to economic crisis such as the panic of 1893. The panic resulted from overspeculation leading to stock market crash and railroad bankruptcy due to overbuilding causing 20% unemployment. Also prevalent was the mixture of business and politics as wealthy men supported certain parties in return for favorable legislation. For example, the Republican Party was pro-business; Democratic Party was neutral while the Populist Party was for workers and farmers. President William McKinley a Republican depended on these tycoons to ascend to power. Also Boss Tweed who was famous for Tammany Hall that supported immigrants and the poor only as a disguise. Industrialization did not only affect American business but also labor practices. The agrarian society was transformed into urban society hence most of the citizens relied on wage labor. Moreover, most of people especially from South and other countries migrated to the North for jobs in the industries. These immigrants experienced a lot of hardships in the North and mistreated in the factories. The employment industry was operated according to the gospel of wealth by Carnegie which stipulated that a wealthy man must keep the lower caste honest, give them moderate income and administer their affairs according to his superior knowledge .As such, men, women and children were forced to work on hourly wages in 10 hour workday, six days a week in horrid conditions. The result of this was discontent by laborers leading to formation of giant unions to fight for their rights and consequently increased strikes. Examples of such unions include the National labor Union (1866-1878) to protect skilled and unskilled workers, Knights of Labor (1869-1881), American Federation of Labor and the United Mine Workers of America. The period was marked by social unrest as workers fought for an 8-hour work day, stoppage of child labor and monopolies, and the right to work. Examples of major strikes were the Homestead Steel strike in 1892, Pullman strike, and Great Railroad strike. However, President Rutherford B Hayes considered unions a menace hence such strikes were often met with violence. Another reform during this era was the replacement of ‘spoils system” of selecting civil servants who were supporters of ruling parties with the unbiased Civil Service Commission created by the Pendleton Act of 1883. Conclusion Industrialization during the Gilded Age changed American business and labor practices. It led to emergence of giant corporations, monopolies and national trade unions and legislations to regulate business and labor practices. These factors continued impacting on U.S politics and business even today. Business climate depends on the ruling party which may either tighten regulations or loosen them. For example, Ted Roosevelt’s reign was marked by policies aimed at taming big businesses and social reforms to protect consumers and laborers. He was vocal in executing the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. President Woodrow Wilson also supported the labor movement and business regulation. Example is the passage of Clayton Anti-Trust Act which was stricter than Sherman’s. Studying and understanding these aspects of U.S history are thus vital as they continue to impact on the lives of citizens and the generations to come and dominate most of the politics. Read More