Big Business Dbq

Ryan Burgett enter A Source Historical Statistics of the United States. Document training Food prices declined supportificantly amidst 1870 and 1899. Fuel and lighting prices declined significantly between 1870 and 1899. Cost of living declined slightly between 1870 and 1899. Document Inferences Improved agricultural innovations led to reduced food prices. Mining and lighting innovations reduced prices for fuel and lighting. go prices for agricultural goods led to discontent among farmers. Mass production resulted in a decline in the cost of living. Electric lighting allowed for 24-hour production, night shifts and possibly continuing hours. Potential Outside Information Consolidation Coxeys Army Economies of scale Edison, doubting Thomas (incandescent lightbulb) Farmers Alliances (Northern, Southern, Colored) Farmers should raise less corn and more hell Lease, Mary Elizabeth Sub-Treasury invent Document B Source George E. McNeill, comminute leader, The bear on Moveme nt The Problem of Today, 1887. Document Information Railroad presidents are similar to kings. Railroad presidents can campaign workers without cause and withhold wages. Railroad presidents can delay lawsuits. Railroad presidents control both the government and the people. Railroad presidents controlled freight prices and monopolized food and fuel industries. Railroad presidents bribe communities and control the press. Document Inferences The financial clout of railroads leaves employees helpless. Railroad labor party and farm unrest is same(p)ly. Railroads dictate government policy. The Senate is controlled by wealthy interests because senators are not popularly elected. The legal system favors railroad interests. Potential Outside Information Blacklisting Munn v.Illinois Credit Mobilier scandal guinea pig Labor Union Fisk, Jim Patrons of Husbandry (Grange) Government holdership of railroads railway line Strikes of 1877 Gould, Jay Sylvis, William Granger laws United States v. E. C. Knight Interstate Commerce Act Vanderbilt, Cornelius Kelley, Oliver Hudson Wabash v. Illinois Long-haul/short-haul differentials yellow dog contracts AP Document C Source David A. Wells, engineer and economist, Recent Economic Changes and Their install on the Document Information Workers no longer work independently but as if they were part of a military organization. Workers are taught to perform 1 simple task. Manufacturing has largely taken away workers pride in their work. Document Inferences Mass production techniques led to specialization of labor. Specialization of labor decreases workers pride in their craft. Specialization of labor leaves workers largely unskilled. Unskilled labor is relatively easy to replace. Potential Outside Information Specialization of labor Sweatshops Unskilled/skilled labor Document D Source Joseph Keppler, The Bosses of the Senate, Puck, January 23, 1889. Document Information Shows trusts as oversized. Shows public entranc e to the Senate closed. Shows monopolists lined up at monopolists entrance. Shows some senators looking back toward the trusts. Shows sign saying This is a Senate of the monopolists by the monopolists and for the monopolists. Document Inferences The Senate (government) is controlled by big task. People have no control over the Senate because senators are not directly elected. Monopolists (trusts) are wealthy and powerful. Trusts control a great many industries. Potential Outside Information Billion Dollar Congress Bland-Allison ActCivil Service (Pendleton) Act Crime of 73 Dingley Tariff Direct election of senators (Populist platform, not Seventeenth Amendment) Gold Standard Act/Currency Act of 1900 Interstate Commerce Commission McKinley Tariff Monopolies Nast, Thomas Reed, Thomas Sherman Antitrust Act Sherman Silver Purchase Act Wilson-Gorman Tariff Document E Source Andrew Carnegie, Wealth, North American Review, June 1889. Document Information pissed people should lead a modest, unpretentious existence. Surplus revenues are to be used as a trust fund for what the wealthy see as community good. The wealthy are trustees for the poor. The judgment of the wealthy will lead to better decisions than the poor would make for themselves. Philanthropy justifies business owners wealth. Document Inferences Some business leaders believed in charity. The wealthy saw themselves as superior to the masses. Social obligation is a responsibility that comes with wealth. Potential Outside Information Carnegie libraries Carnegie Steel green goddess Gospel of Wealth He who dies rich dies disgraced Homestead Strike Social Darwinism Social Gospel Veblen, Thorstein, Theory of the Leisure ClassVertical integration Document F Source Peoples Party Platform, Omaha Morning World-Herald, July 5, 1892. Document Information Seeks to restore government to plain people. Power of the people (government) should be expanded. Seeks to end oppression, injustice, and poverty. D ocument Inferences The Populist Party was dedicated to political and social reform. Government should be strengthened and made more responsible to the people. The Populist Party nominated its own presidential candidate in 1892. Potential Outside Information Bryan, William Jennings Cross of Gold speechDirect election of senators (Populist platform, not Seventeenth Amendment) Farmers Alliances (Northern, Southern, Colored) Free and unlimited coinage of fluent Government ownership of railroads (utilities) Income tax Initiative Lease, Mary Elizabeth Ocala Demands Omaha Platform Populist Party Referendum Sub- Treasury Plan Weaver, James B. Document G Source Samuel Gompers, What Does Labor Want? , an address before the International Labor Congress in Chicago, August 28, 1893. Document Information People should not be considered property. Labor seeks shorter hours. Shorter labor hours will reduce jail and almshouse populations. Labor insists on the right to organize. Negligence or maliciousness should not leave the worker without recourse. Labor insists on commensurate wages. Document Inferences Mass production techniques are dehumanizing. Bread-and-butter unionism grew with the trade union movement (shorter hours, better working conditions, increased wages). Workers compensation laws should be passed. Labor unions must organize to protect the interests of workers. Companies can and should help out communities by reducing unemployment ranks.Potential Outside Information American Federation of Labor Powderly, Terence bread-and-butter unionism Stephens, Uriah Knights of Labor Sylvis, William National Labor Union workers compensation Document H Document Information Says he is a victim of Rockefellers combination. Says Standard Oil offered the same lineament of oil for one to three cents less than he could. Says he found railroads were in league with Rockefeller and charged discriminatory rates. Document Inferences Monopolists used ruthless tactical maneuver to put competitors out of business. Railroads gave big businesses rebates/kickbacks that helped them undercut their competition. Government must protect small businesses against unfair business practices. Potential Outside Information American sweetie Rose Theory Horizontal integration just windward of the law Long-haul/short-haul differentials Rebates/kickbacks Rockefeller, John D. Document I Source Theodore Dreiser, Sister Carrie, a novel, 1900. Document Information Department stores were among the most efficient retail organizations. Department stores were appealing, with swarms of patrons. Carrie was much affected by the display of goods. The displays affected Carrie personally. Document Inferences Urban glamour drew artless people to the city. Improved urban transportation led to the development of department stores. Displays and advertising blurred the distinction between wants and needs. Consolidation in retail pains offered increased availability of cons umer goods to society. Potential Outside Information Electric trolleys Macys Wanamakers (department store) Woolworths Great Five Cent Store YMCA YWCA Document J Source Female typists, circa 1902. Courtesy of Library of Congress LC-D4-42930Document Information Shows women typists in a large room. Shows women all dressed similarly. Shows the presence of electric lighting. Document Inferences Inventions like the typewriter and telephone increased employment for native-born, white women. There was sameness about working in a mass production environment. Industrialization created employment opportunities that frequently discriminated according to gender and race. Potential Outside Information Sholes, Christopher (invention of the typewriter) Sweatshops Taylor, Frederick Taylorism (scientific management) YWCA