Chapter 19: The Incorporation of America

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Revolutions in Technology in Transportation

Alexander Graham Bell: telephone, Thomas Edison: electricity. Ford: gas internal combustion engine, Wright Bros: airplane flights. Transcontinental railroad completed in 1869; extra lines helped business distribute goods, supplied raw material, linked cities. Technologies displayed at Centennial Exposition

Thomas Edison

Developer of usable electricity for lamps. Also developed the first battery, phonograph, and kinetoscope. Opened one of the first usable labs for industrial research.
Social/1870s-80s/New Jersey-New York


Technology used to increase productivity. Anthracite coal (post 1850) sped up production. New systems of mass production more efficient, production lines implemented, like in meatpacking, which disassembled livestock> set in cooler. One machine could mechanize a product, like cigar making. 7k/hr, compared to 3k/day. Continuous production> uniform in most manufacturing.
Social-Eco/1850s onwards/America

Horizontal Combination

Monopoly of a certain product. Standard Oil got RR cooperation, and bought out stocks of local oil> Standard Oil Trust (1882) controlled +90% oil-refining. Rockefeller.

Vertical Integration

Business took control of processes relating to production: 1899 United Fruit Co. control distrib. centers, plantations, shipping, and storage facilities.

Gospel of Wealth

Thesis that hard work/perseverance leads to wealth, implies poverty is a character flaw. Justified 'robber barons' that used shady deals/conspiracies to obtain wealth, like Jay Gould, took over Erie Rail, paid legislation to get state funding for expansion, acquired U.S. Express Co by pressure/tricking stockholders. Said few could put aside selfish ideas to drive rising economy, and the rich deserved it, while most were lazy. Welfare programs or redistributing wealth would hurt society. Celebrated people who rose out of poverty as heroes

John D. Rockefeller

Founded Standard Oil Co. Secured good rates from RR, convinced local oil operators to sell to him, established Standard Oil Trust that controlled >90% oil refinery in U.S: 1882

Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie, poor boy from Scotland> study @ night, work @ day>secretary in RR job> invest for funds> vertical integration of steel, out-competed others. Sold out to J.P. Morgan for ~$225m in personal shares. Civic leader who funded libraries, art museums, concert halls, colleges, universities.

Charles Darwin: Thee Origin of Species

Scientific theories on evolution. Used too justify the gospel of wealth; said that it was survival of the fittest in modern society for success, and the weak failed and were poor.

Social Darwinism

The use of Charles Darwin's scientific findings to justify social stratification. Justified that the poor were meant to be poor because of a flaw in their character, and unable to work hard.

Chinese Exclusion Act

Suspended immigration for 10 yrs, limited Chinese civil rights, forbade naturalization. Caused b/c of violence on Chinese neighborhoods on 'cheap Chinese labor'

Knights of Labor

Labor union organized to bring wage earners together. Irrespective of skilled/unskilled and race/gender. Sought reform: child labor restriction, abolishing contract labor, monetary reform, graduated income tax> form Democratic society in the U.S. Sought 8 hr workday, boycotted a lot. Ended up failing due to a violent riot.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

AFL accepted wage system, sought to bargain for better conditions, only strikes if refuse to bargain. Disregarded the unskilled, racial minorities, immigrants, and women.
Local AFL members supported strikers, and gathered votes for pro-labor politics. Worked w/ urban reformers: women's clubs & church groups. Only small minority of working Americans (~10%), left impact, like Labor Day. Emphasized a few workplaces issues rather than a broad change.

The New South

Sought to remodel the South towards industrialization, taking advantage of the vast resources at their disposal. Wanted modern textile mills, expansive cotton fields, lots of cheap labor, with no unions or child work limitations. The North ended up exploiting them for goods, and intruded on Southern enterprise for themselves.

The Urban Landscape

Simple grid for streets; no master plan. Factories at best sites, near waterways. Tenements to maximize space for living. Rich neighborhoods filled w/ mansions, boulevard, back alleys. Focus on steel office buildings, fireproof, up to 20 stories. Public costs funneled into new architecture: schools, courthouses, capitols, hospitals, museums, art galleries. Streetcars, elevated RR help people, goods, info move fast: electric cars tested in 1888, popular in 1895. Subway starts 1902.


Homes designed to maximize living space. 4-6 stories, common in NY, built on tiny lots, no regard for ventilation or light. Disease rampant.

The Gilded Age

Late 19th Century America, refers to display and worship of wealth during this period. Worshiped styles of conspicuous consumption; like mansion of Potter Palmer, who had no external doorknobs, or Perry Smith's marble palace.
Social/late 19th Century/America

Conspicuous Consumption

Highly visible displays of wealth/consumption. NY: Pet banquets, Huge windows in fancy hotels to let rich be watched, mimicked English homes in huge manor houses.
Social/late 19th Century/America

The Middle Class

New middle class: +salaried employees of corps and govt. Lived in suburbs b/c modern transport: 1-2 travel hrs a day. new appliances saved lots of time, but new foods/cookbooks led to harder meals. Women in charge of household budget: spend on consumption; dept stores turn shopping> work & pleasure. Embraced culture for self-improvement. Outdoor activities for fitness rather than fun; hiking, roller-skating, ice-skating biking. Leisure became theme of childhood w/ child labor/domestic chores gone; child magazines and stories arose.
Social/late 19th Century/America


Realize educated populace would keep industry/govt. working> public education takes hold. School amount increases, but mostly of middle class; not educating for jobs> rural continued working. Tech colleges, liberal arts colleges develop. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, grow w/ endowments from business leaders, but only 3% take advantage of it. Advanced degrees in science & arts arise. Coed and women's education opportunities arise. Many vocational education opportunities, and manual training instituted. AA's make own colleges (Atlanta, Fisk, Tuskegee).
Social/late 19th century (1870s)/America


Baseball laws became official by Knickerbocker Base Ball Club (1845). Rowdy behavior, beer sales> drunk fans, sometimes players attacked taunting fans. Raised admission, banned alcohol to attract middle class (National League), American Association opposite to appeal to lower class. Merchants incorporated baseball, sponsoring teams. Albert Spalding started monopoly on the official baseball/rule book. AA's banned from pro play> own leagues. Players attempted to organize to regain control, but not much success.

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