List the five most important inventions of all time

1. List the five most important inventions of all time

2. Chapter 13 Section 1Essential Questions • Why did people’s daily lives change in the decades following the Civil War? • What effects did the development of railroads have on industrial growth?

3. Transcontinental Railroad • Railroad stretching from east coast to the west coast of the U.S • Line was connected in 1869 in Promontory, Utah • By 1890 there is 180,000 miles of rail in the U.S. • What immigrant group was used for construction labor on the railroad?

4. Chapter 13 Section 2Essential Questions • Why were American industrialists of the late 1800s called both “robber barons” and “captains of industry? • How did social Darwinism affect Americans’ view on big business?

5. Monopoly • What is it? • Exclusive control of a good or service in a given market • Problems with monopolies?

6. Andrew Carnegie • Carnegie steel was a monopoly • Used new business practices of vertical & horizontal consolidation • Vertical = buy out all suppliers • Horizontal = buy out all competition

7. John Rockefeller • Standard Oil Company was a monopoly • Standard Oil processed 90% of nations oil by 1880 • Paid low wages and undersold competition then jacked prices up when other companies went out of business

8. Gaining a Competitive Edge • Anything to gain the edge; drive competitors out of business, dominate market—oligarchy, monopoly • Carnegie Steel bought all facets of steel business—vertical consolidation. • As production increases, the production cost of each item drops—economies of scale. • Standard Oil gathers many refineries under one umbrella—horizontal consolidation • Government responds with Sherman Anti-Trust Act in 1890. • Sherman Antitrust Act: Gov’t unsuccessfully tries to limit power of big business/trusts.

9. The Gospel of Wealth • Did Carnegie & Rockefeller hoard their wealth or did they share it? • What modern day institutions benefit from the philanthropy of Carnegie & Rockefeller? • Is it ok to achieve wealth in their style as long as you give it back? • The Gospel of Wealth?

10. Social Darwinism Herbert Spencer • Applies Darwin’s theory of evolution to human society • Developed by Herbert Spencer • “Survival of the fittest” • How does survival of the fittest apply to business?

11. Robber Barons or Captains of Industry? • Business tycoons like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller amass fortunes, own huge corps. • Did they steal from workers (Robber Barons) or add to public welfare (Captains of Industry) • AC’s “Gospelof Wealth”—make as much as you can then give it away. • Social Darwinism—”natural selection” applied to society, govt should do nothing to interfere with people’s pursuit of success.

12. Chapter 13 Section 4Essential Questions • What were the goals of the early labor unions in the United States? • What were the causes and outcomes the major strikes in the United States during the late 1800s?

13. Gulf Between Rich and Poor • Gap in classes cultivates resentment among poor, new political/economic philosophy grows favoring public control over resources. • Karl Marx writes Communist Manifesto outlining virtues of socialism, bridge to communism • Socialism: economic & political system based on gov’t control of economy, wealth should be equally distributed throughout society. • Socialist economy lacks free enterprise, private ownership, individual freedom, incentive to excel

14. Rise of Labor Unions • What is a labor union? • Why does the gov’t distrust labor unions? • What are some reasons why workers would seek to join labor unions? • Low pay • Long hours • Dangerous work conditions • What is the main method that labor unions use to achieve their goals?