Economic Growth During this Period Economy was dominated by huge corporations economic and social life As businesses grew owners sought to integrate all processes of production and distribution of goods into single companies and create larger firms companies helped domestically and with high tariffs machinery increased labor the population rapidly expanded calling for an increase in production of food and other things causing overproduction and food became scarce Transcontinental Railroad Symbolized the urban industrial revolution robber barons union pacific from Omaha Nebraska Masses of people and goods were moved faster and farther than any other form of transportation ex soldier s former slaves and Chinese America s first big business first magnet for Wall Street in New York City Expensive to build and long term debts were required to finance the cost which became a major cause of financial panic of 193 and ensuing depression Credit Mobilier the 1867 1868 scandal in which Union Pacific executives formed their own railroad construction company then hired and overpaid themselves to build their own railroad Bribed congressman and overcharged Union Pacific 94 million for a construction project that only cost 44 million Cornelius Vanderbilt stands out among the railroad barons notorious for buying railroads making them look better but not work better and then selling them to rich people Thomas Edison invented the phonograph in 1877 invented the first light bulb in1879 also invented the storage battery Dictaphone mimeograph electric motor electric transmission and the motion picture camera and projector laboratory at Minnow Park in New Jersey George Westinghouse inventor of the air brake for railroads bought out Tesla developed the first alternating current electric system in 1886 and set up the Westinghouse Electric company to manufacture the equipment John D Rockerfeller Started the standard oil company in 1870 and took over all other oil businesses born to poverty monopoly on oil made company bigger philanthropy gave money to poor Andrew Carnegie rose from poverty steel magnate and business icon sold steel company to J P Morgan Carnegie Library sold company in the end made money in many areas including oil railroads iron and steel and bridge building wrote The Gospel of Wealth in 1889 wealthy people obligated to give to poor Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone in 1876 at just 29 years old sold to AT T American Telephone and Telegraph Company originally teacher who taught the deaf Pennsylvania Oil Rush occurred during the 1860s as a result of the first oil well in the United States that start producing in 1859 in Titusville oil found in Pennsylvania in 1869 outweighed in economic importance a decade before California Gold Rush more important than gold rush oil turned into kerosene Standard Oil Controlled over 90 percent of the oil refining in the country produced its own oil barrels and anything else it needed and in economic terms this is called vertical integration owned most of the pipeline leading to railroads plus the railroad tank cars and the oil storage facilities Holding Companies Perfect by Rockerfeller it controlled other companies by holding all or at least a majority of their stock got around monopoly laws J P Morgan Financed industries Born to wealth first billion dollar business was an investment banker he would buy corporate stocks and bonds wholesale and sell them at profit bought Carnegie s business Sears Roebuck Company Founded by Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck who began offering a cornucopia of goods by mail in the early 1890s mail order catalog 2nd most read book to bible by 1907 it became one of the largest business enterprises in the nation The Molly Maguires Irish group who took their name from an Irish patriot who had led violent resistance against the British outraged by the dangerous working conditions in the mines and the owner s brutal efforts to suppress union activity used intimidations beatings and killings to right perceived wrongs against Irish workers At trials in 1876 24 of the Molly Maguires were convicted and 10 were hanged These trials also resulted in a wage reduction in the mines and the final destruction of the Miner s National Association The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 First major interstate strike in American History the major rail lines in the east had cut wages after the financial panic of 1876 and ensuing depression The Workingmen s Party of California organized by Denis Kearney called for the United States to stop Chinese immigration The Knights of Labor pg 766 union that lasted from 1869 until 1886 wanted equal pay for women and men The Haymarket Affair pg 77 started when a bomb was thrown at Haymarket square resulting in the deaths of police officers and civilians one of the participants was a member of the Knights of Labor The American Federation of Labor pg 778 union that still exist skilled laborers lead by Samuel gompers from 1886 until 1924 secured concrete labor reforms Mother Jones pg 784 lost family and money fought for higher wages social justice shorter hours safer workplaces and restrictions on child labor never won a strike Daniel De Leon pg 785 editor of Marxist newspaper leader of socialist labor party Socialist Party of America led by Eugene v Debs dominated today by Democrat and Republican quite successful in Oklahoma elected 30 mayors The New South Gospel major prophet was Henry W Grady who wanted south to be a utopia and better education wanted racial harmony in south The American Tobacco Company controlled by duke family James Buchanan Buck Duke recognized that the tobacco industry was Half smoke and half ballyhoo Half smoke and half advertising company dominated tobacco Cleveland the Tariff Federal regulation of interstate railroads Cleveland urged Congress to take the lead in regulating the rail industry In 1887 Cleveland signed into law an act creating the Interstate Commerce Commission ICC which ensured that freight rates were reasonable and just Late nineteenth century government tariff policies were charged with fostering big business at expense of small producers and retailers by effectively shutting out foreign imports enabling U S corporations to dominate American markets and charge higher prices for their products Granger Laws Passed by Grangers in five states Minnesota Iowa Wisconsin and Illinois a series of laws passed in western states of the United States after the American Civil War