HIST 2620 1nd Edition Lecture 5 Outline of Last Lecture I Technological Advances improving Corporation Success II Scientific Management on the Factory Floor III Robber Barons No More IV Urbanization Outline of Current Lecture I Living Conditions II Political Machines and Organized Crime III Gilded Age IV The Antitrust Movement V Labor Strife VI Organization of American Labor Current Lecture I Living Conditions You would have a number of families living together in a two three room apartment complex These dumbbell tenements when looked at from above look like a dumbbell These were usually no more than four or five floors high They had several apartments on each side and made for unsanitary conditions For example lower east side NYC mostly Jewish immigrants in late 19th century It was 700ppl acre in these areas which was comparable to Indian cities Sewer systems designed for only a certain flow the large growth of population caused a backup in these sewage systems Large number of births and a high infant mortality rate These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute II They then began to inspect the tenements and hold the owners to the laws of upkeep In 1900 they began a complete redesign of the sewer systems Chicago reversed the flow of the Missouri river to flow into the Mississippi instead of lake Michigan Political Machines and Organized Crime Corruption and organized crime The dominant political parties in the most important cities ran political machines New York Boston Democrats Ohio Republicans William Marcy Tweed was the Boss of the Tammany hall political machine in New York He was the boss from 1858 1871 they were not elected to lead the Democratic Party in NY They made their way up the political ladder by favors and networking He spent millions of dollars on a very expensive courthouse which angered the government The reason it was so hard to catch up with these Bosses is because they just blame each other There was a lot of voter fraud at this time among the political machines Political machines are not the only example of corruption o For example if you wanted to run an illegal gambling den in NY but you want the police to stay away You would pay the Boss and the police would leave you alone o For example if you wanted a contract with the city the person who gave the biggest kickback to Tammany Hall would get the contract At this time The Mafia and other underworld corruption is going on The Tongs in the west are an Asian extortion group They controlled and harassed Chinese immigrants into doing what they want with violence and coercion Even in the Kennedy family there was some illegitimate money made through bootleg liquor and other corrupt practices III Gilded Age Urbanization increased from 20 urban in 1860 40 in 1900 One of the reasons these cities are going to grow rapidly and remain livable is because of the streetcars This allowed the growth of cities beyond the walking city and expands the amount of living room There were however great disparities of wealth in cities almost side by side The middle class is developing at this time and they can afford to live outside the city This begins the first Suburban areas and the settlement of the middle class for a more pastoral life They are still tied to the cities to work and traveled by train Foundation for a conflict that will explode after this a battle between those who thought utility companies should NOT be in private hands but should instead be publicly held Supporters believed that one should not make a profit on a public good What is a better way to supply utilities IV Rich Vs Poor o The gulf widens dramatically because the people at the top are becoming more and more wealthy The top tier is growing so quickly no because the poor are becoming more poor Thorstein Veblen was the son of Norwegian immigrants an economist He wrote a book The Theory of the Leisure Class 1899 He attacked in his book the implantation of Laissez Faire He argues that it was shaping American Society negatively The newly rich Americans should not be emulated because these people WANTED you to know they were rich they were very conspicuous in consuming high end goods o Robber Barons the criticism was of the power they were able to BUY Their wealth allowed them to buy much more power than was their right to have in the market of the U S at this time 3 Utopian Economic Plans Henry George Progress and Poverty 1879 He saw rising Land values to be the source of inequality in the U S He argued that a single land tax should be put in place Ultimately the social progress would come from a land tax that would ultimately end monopolies Edward Bellamy Looking Backward 1888 The extremes of American Society need to be countered some way He writes that a person from the Future looks at the world as it existed from 1888 He tells everyone how the problems had fixed He says that they had put into place a Socialist State that fixed everything Henry Lloyd Wealth Against Commonwealth 1894 He believed the aggression of trusts would eventually lead to economic slavery He believed in the need to put into place a system where government cooperates by owning and operating the means of production The Antitrust Movement 1890 the passage of the act of congress Sherman s Antitrust Act of 1890 The courts would weaken the interstate commerce act that came before so the Sherman Antitrust Act established a restrain of trade Every contract in the form of trust or otherwise in the restrain of trade is Illegal or any action that would monopolize trade and take that opportunity away from other companies o U S V E C Knight Company 1895 E C Knight was a sugar refining company that the U S found had a monopoly The company was involved in manufacturing and in its decision the court said that manufacturing was an Intra state activity So Manufacturing s effects are played out WITHIN a state Because of this it is not considered commerce so it does not fall under the Sherman Anti trust Act This is because it is not Inter State so isn t under jurisdiction o Other companies are going to be sure to argue that they are NOT involved in commerce and tat they are intra state companies V Labor Strife VI The discontent among American working comes from many factors U S had the highest rate of industrial accidents in the 19th century Craft laborer artisan that is skilled and trained for a