The Labor Movement

Factories
Factory workers put in 12 hour days, seven
days a week
Average salary was $10 a week

Sweatshops
Women worked in clothing factories and
earned less than men
These factories were hot, cramped workshops
called sweatshops

Sweatshops
Sweatshops were
very dangerous
places to work
because owners were
not careful
Example: The Triangle
Shirtwaist Co. fire
http://safeshare.tv/w/oKrIcUwoFb

Children at Work
Children often
had to work to
support their
family
members
Paid even less
than adults

Children at Work
Jobs: worked in textile mills, canned fruits and
vegetables, opened oyster shells, picked crops,
sorted through coal

Children at Work
Worked 12 hours a day for just 10-20 cents each
day
Work was often dangerous or unhealthy

Child Labor

Child Labor

Labor Unions
Labor Union
organizations
that helped
improve working
conditions and
get better wages

Labor Unions
Workers would often go on strike they would
refuse to work to try to force business owners to
meet their demands

Homestead Strike
The price of steel was
falling, so Carnegie and
his partner decided to
lower workers wages
Armed guards were
called to control the
strikers
Both fought and some
people died
The strike lasted for
months but nothing was
ever solved

Homestead Steel Strike

(1892)

Homestead Steel
Works

http://safeshare.tv/w/FcmzCnYbuc

Newsies
Children who
used to sell
newspapers
Used to buy 100
newspapers for
50 cents and
then sell them
for 1 cent each
Newspaper
companies began
to charge 100
newspapers for
60 cents

Newsies
Newsies went on strike
and the sales of
newspapers dropped
sharply for two weeks
The newspaper owners
came to an agreement
100 newspapers for 60
cents
Would buy back any
newspapers that were
not sold

Labor Unions
Unions continued to help improve lives for
workers in the 1900s
New laws shortened hours and improved safety
Unions created a new holiday Labor Day

The Rise of Big Business

History
This time in history is known as the Industrial
Revolution (1800s)
Large and rapid change in the way things were
made

Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
and his family
immigrated to the
U.S. from Scotland
and settled near
Pittsburg,
Pennsylvania in
1848
Had to borrow
money for the
voyage

Andrew Carnegie
Wanted to produce steel
at the lowest possible
cost
Bought iron and coal
mines
Bought ships and
railroads to move the
steel

Andrew Carnegie
By 1900, the U.S. was producing more steel
than any other country in the world
Used to build buildings, automobiles, bridges,
trains, and railroads

Andrew Carnegie
Carnegie became one of
the richest men in the
world
Sold his steel company in
1901 to J.P. Morgan for
$250 million
Gave away much of his
money
Built hundreds of public
libraries

J.P. Morgan
The countrys richest and most powerful
bankers

John D. Rockefeller
When John D.
Rockefeller was a
teenager, he saw a
great opportunity to
start his own
business
(entrepreneur)
He realized that he
could earn money in
the oil business

John D. Rockefeller
Built his first oil
refinery in 18 63 in
Cleveland, Ohio
When he started
making money with
this company, he
built others
Company was
called: Standard Oil

John D. Rockefeller
In the 1880s, Rockefeller controlled 90% of
the oil business in the United States
His company became a monopoly: a company that
has control of an entire industry

http://safeshare.tv/w/zEdyIxzdak

Famous Business Owners

George Westinghouse
Created a new way to
deliver electricity to
homes and businesses
Competed with Thomas
Edison, but
Westinghouse had the
better product

Famous Business Owners

William Randolph
Hearst
Thought of new
ways to compete in
the newspaper
business
Used big, eyecatching headlines
to sell more
newspapers

Famous Business Owners

Madame C.J. Walker
Bottled shampoo
and other products
in her attic
Sold them door to
door
Within ten years,
she had thousands
of employees
First African
American woman to
become a millionaire

Economic Terms
Investor: people who give money to a
business or project, hoping to make a profit
Corporation: a business that is owned by
investors

Economic Terms
Corporations sell shares of a company (stocks) to
investors
Use the money that they gain to buy materials that they
need for their company

Economic Terms
Monopoly: a company that has control of an
entire industry

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