The late nineteenth century was a hallmark of both economic growth and struggle for the United States. This era housed major events such as the Industrial Revolution and the implementation of major immigration policies. These events are typically considered subordinating “staples” of the era, and affected the economy in monumental ways, although not necessarily for the better. For example, the relationship between businesses and their employees, or the working class, grew wider as the result of the working conditions to which employees were being subjected. Furthermore, the relationship between states and companies became strenuous as laws used to control labor conditions were being implemented. In a “triangle” relationship such as this one, …show more content…
An example of such effort was the Granger movement. The Granger movement’s original purpose was to unify farmers for educational discussions; however, what later attracted most of its members were their protests against monopolistic railroad companies. Railroad companies in western America banded together rather than competing in order to control the flow of grain being exported from western farmers. Railroad trips required stops at major cities when traveling west; the most common stop being Chicago, Illinois. This meant that there was no “single-trip” trains that ran directly from western farms to eastern cities. Railroad companies took advantage of these stops and designed routes to stop in cities where they owned grain storage warehouses. Since railroad owners were working together in a coalition of near-monopolies -- known as a trust -- they were able to successfully prevent other routes of transportation for grain. Farmers, having been left with no other available options, paid the onerous rates to store their crop. In response, members of the Granger movement, known as Granges, pressed States to set maximum rates on the pricing of grain storage. With Chicago being the most popular “grain-elevator” city, the State of Illinois was the first to act, and set a maximum storage charge for grain. Railroad owners challenged the constitutionality of the 1871 …show more content…
Moreover, even with the rise of unionization and recognition of corporate power abuse things still didn’t change. However, when governmental regulations stepped in to check the powers of corporations, the working class benefitted permanently. This was seen in Munn v Illinois where the State of Illinois implemented a maximum warehouse rate to return the exportation of grain eastward. Conversely, on the occasions where the government did not step in to check the power of corporation, companies operated abusively towards their employees. This was seen in Parsons writings where he talks about the bribing of court officials and the environment that it created. This environment led to apathy towards workers on the part of corporations. This is outlined in Gompers’ writings when he talks about the direct relationship between the working class and their employers. He shows the relationship is one-sided, meaning that the corporations had been treating their employees negatively. Nevertheless, when considering the success that the initial implementation government regulations had with balancing the relationship between employers and employees, it would have been beneficial to all if there was more widespread regulations throughout the early nineteenth
Before the 1860s U.S. railroads were inefficient for big business to explode, and shipping goods wasn’t as easy before Cornelius Vanderbilt organized a steam ship company. He also controlled all lines of railroad linking New York to the Great Lakes. His strategy was to create a monopoly to gain wealth and power of all the effective railroad lines into one major company. He expressed competition and set unfair prices for the workers. The workers soon revolted and went on strike in 1877 due to the low pay and increase of work hours.
The Reforms of the Hepburn Act Crowds of fatigued men flock to the crow of the whistle for their day of backbreaking work away from their families, receiving little pay in perilous conditions. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, railroads became one of America’s rudimentary industrial enterprises. However, in a century of ruthless “Robber Barons” and their powerful monopolies, many lower class laborers were accustomed to meager wages, hazardous working conditions, and incessant shift hours. Most popular for its corruption, the railroad industry was headed by the captains Cornelius Vanderbilt and Jay Gould. In 1877, many railroad companies took advantage of more isolated areas through unfair shipping practices and inconsistent pricing (Laws.com).
In addition, influential in the struggles of the American farmers were the Indians who constantly struggled with the white invaders. As is displayed in document B, the railroads covered the United States by 1890. The purpose of this document is to show the sprawling of the national railroad service and just how dependent the railroads were of outside influence. In
Labor and the US Government from 1890-1945 A key aspect of this nation’s history lies in the ever-shifting relationship between its government and its common man, most specifically its labor workers. This relationship plays a crucial role in the understanding of the changes that took place in America between 1890 and 1945. The changing relationship between government and labor workers in the United States between 1890 and 1945 demonstrates a period of unrest and a transitional period in which the focus shifted towards the working class as a result of the greed and corruption of 19th century business elite , as can be seen in the labor strikes requiring government intervention of the late 19th century, the progressives of the early 20th century
The Transcontinental Railroad was a conflicted issue because the railroad brought an influx of immigrants, most notably the chinese to America. Many Americans didn’t mind
Transcontinental Railroad Tera Richardson, 4336787 History 102 B008 Sum 17 Professor Traci Sumner American Military University July 22, 2017 Abstract The transcontinental railroad was one of the biggest advocates for the industrial economy and westward expansion. The railroads could transfer goods and people across the country with ease, and quickly. While some bad came from this miraculous progression, such as the panic of 1873 and a yellow fever epidemic, the good outweighed the bad as it enabled the United States to fulfill its Manifest Destiny through westward expansion.
What attracted most ranchers to the Granger development was the requirement for brought together activity against the monopolistic railways and grain lifts that charged excessive rates for taking care of and transporting ranchers ' harvests and other farming items. The development got disciples as it turned out to be progressively politically after 1870. With the Greenback 's ascent Party and later associations for the statement of rural dissent, in any case, the Granger development started to die down late in the 1870s. Not recommended rancher claimed cooperatives for the assembling of rural gear sapped a significant part of the bunch 's quality and money related assets. By 1880 enrollment had dropped to somewhat more than 100,000.
Because of the rapid settlement of the western land in the 1850s, Congress wanted to enforce a transcontinental railroad to replace America’s current weak transportation system—horse-drawn carriages were still used and soldiers often had to walk. But due to the constant competition between the Northern members and the Southern
Thesis : After the Civil War, America was in a post-war boom. During the 1870-1890, big business moguls, such as Rockefeller and Carnegie, create huge corporations which not only affected the economy, but also affected the political realm of America. While many may assume that during the rise of these big business helped to change the economy and politics, the real focus was on the responses formed by society, such as labor unions, increase public outcry, and political opposition groups that helped to change society. A: Economically, big business flourished during the late 1800s.
The work was also dangerous with not much supervising by the government. Workers, on the other hand, had little or even no bargaining power to leave the unsafe conditions. Nowadays, When Americans only pay attention when extreme work strike, levels of abuse are the norm hidden in the factories around the globe. Although the condition seems much improved, consumers don’t know the true fact- “Today, American citizens simply cannot know the working conditions of the factories that make the products they buy.
During the period of 1870 to 1900 large corporations, such as the railway company, grew significantly in size, number, and influence. The cause of this was the need for a new way of transportation, the demand was great so the railways expanded all over the United States so that they could meet these demands. These large corporations affected the economy by making it easier to pay for everyday chores, politics in the way that it gave politicians too much power but in doing so gave normal limited power. The corporations had great power and influence which made them a huge impact to society.
In turn, railroad companies spent large sums of money purchasing railroad supplies. The cycle of employing large numbers of workers, building the railroads, and spending large sums of money stimulated extraordinary growth in the economy. In addition, railroads caused the remarkable growth of nationwide marketing in America in the late 19th century. Railroads allowed mail-order
According to the article The Railway Journey, modern transportation “created a definite spatial distance between the places of production and the place of consumption did the goods become uprooted commodities” (40 Railroad Journey). Basically, this means that since the railroad allowed goods to be shipped to further distances at faster rates which resulted in mass productions and shipments of goods which resulted in a stable economy for the United
To further the control of information within the United States railroad companies hired lobbyists and journalists to paint a specific picture of the transcontinental advancements to the American
The Pullman Strike also had an impact on transporting people and goods. This was a problem because back then trains were a main source of transportation. Nowadays, there are additional means of transportation, such as trucks and