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The Growth in Big Business, Cities and Mass Migration - Coggle Diagram
The Growth in Big Business, Cities and Mass Migration
Cities Grew Massively Which Created New Opportunities - But They Often Contained Poor Areas Too
Big business
in 1848, 13 year-old Andrew Carnegie emigrated to America from Scotland. In 1901, at the age of 66, he formed the United States Steel Corporation, a company worth over $1 billion.
His investment in the railroads allowed him to buy a steel plant in Pittsburgh which became the source of his wealth.
During the last years of his life, he gave much of his fortune (around 90%) away.
The workers
Workers formed trade unions to protect their rights.
In 1892, a dispute over pay led to a strike at Carnegie's Steel Company.
In 1893, the Pullman Railroad Car Company cut the wages of its workers in Chicago, causing 260,000 workers to go on strike.
The President sent troops to break the strike - violence broke out and 26 workers were shot.
The growth of big corporations
1877 to 1900 saw huge businesses run by a president and board of shareholders rather than one person.
The earliest examples of big corporations were the railroad companies.
Between 1850 and 1900, 5,300 manufacturing firms in the USA had been absorbed into 334 corporations.
Big Business Created some Opportunities but Brought Many Challenges Too
Industry
Cotton and tobacco
The number of cotton mills in the South doubled between 1880 and 1900.
The Southern States could now support their own cotton-growing industry and were the major producer of cotton-cloth.
The American Tobacco Company controlled 90% of cigarette production and 75% of tobacco production.
Farms and ranches
Small scale farming on the Plains died out.
Huge bonanza farms (farms over 10,000 acres and employing 250 workers) and ranches began to appear in the 1880s.
Bonanza ranches developed. By 1886, an over-supply of cattle meant beef prices fell whilst a harsh winter in 86-87 killed millions of cattle. This led to the collapse of smaller ranches.
By 1900, most farms and ranches in the West were owned by just a handful of people often by Eastern capitalists.
Minerals
The growth of railroads led to a demand for coal, iron, steel and other minerals (for example, oil).
The Government passed a law in 1872 allowing companies to set up mines easily.
Coal production in the South increased ten-fold between 1875 and 1890.
Discoveries of copper, tin, lead and silver brought new companies to the West. Resources like copper and silver were used in cables for electricity.
Impact on people
Cotton and tobacco
More cotton factories meant more demand for cotton. Cotton was usually picked by poorly paid Black Americans or sharecroppers.
New factories created jobs but these were low paid and low skilled and usually for white workers.
The American Tobacco Company controlled nearly all production. This meant there was no reason to improve wages for workers.
Farms and ranches
People who could not afford their own land could get employment on a farm or ranch and save to buy their own.
Bonanza farms controlled the best land, water and railroads, stopping smaller farms from competing.
Bonanza ranches sometimes used violence to intimidate small scale ranchers.
Black and minority farmers could not usually compete with the bonanza farmers.
Environmental damage meant that the limited water was used up forcing many Native Americans onto reservations.
Minerals
Big corporations (companies) used their power and political influence to pay workers as little as possible.
When steel workers went on strike in 1892, the local militia were sent in and six strikers killed.
Black and Mexican workers were employed by companies when white workers went on strike.
Trade Unions (organisations set up to protect workers' rights) had little power and usually used this power to stop Black or Mexican workers from getting employment.
Big companies could 'blacklist' troublesome employees, stopping them from getting other work.
Cities Grew Massively Which Created New Opportunities - But They Often Contained Poor Areas Too
In 1870, there were fourteen cities with more than 100,000 people in the USA - by 1900, there were 38.
Chicago grew from a town of 200 (1833) to a city of 300,000 (1870).
Cities controlled local water supplies and used these to increase their own power.
Cities attracted people, especially in the American West, where access to water was a key part of surviving.
During the 1880s, the invention of the elevator and skyscraper led to cities building ever taller buildings - they held the promise of America's riches but many were left disappointed.
Cities were extremely overcrowded. It was not uncommon for 32 families to share a six or eight storey tenement (apartment building).
Overcrowding led to disease. In Chicago, 60% of babies died before the age of one.
However, cities also drew people in with promises of work, entertainment, education and freedom.
Women and Black Americans gained some benefits from city life. Western cities were a driving force behind women getting the vote in the USA in the 1920s.
The Impact of Mass Migration to the USA
Many migrants were inspired by the idea of the 'American Dream' - represented in events like the Chicago World Fair.
Reasons for coming to America
The American economy was booming by the 1880s.
Travel to America was faster and cheaper thanks to steam ships.
Jews and other minority groups were being persecuted in places like Russia.
America offered freedom of religion and thought.
Arriving in America
600,000 immigrants came from Italy in the 1890s.
The US Government had left immigration rules up to states but in the 1890s began to control it.
Ellis Island (in New York) opened in 1892 to process immigrants. Immigrants would travel from Ellis Island to New York via ferry.
Immigrants had to pass a basic language test and a medical examination.
Living in America
Most immigrants went to cities to find work.
Anti-immigrant violence was common.
The American Protective Association was set up to 'protect' Protestant Americans from Catholics, Jews and Buddhist immigrants.
Laws prevented Chinese workers from moving freely in California (Chinese Exclusion Act). Chinese people made up 10% of the population of San Francisco but could not leave an area known as 'Chinatown'.
Immigrants ended up in the poorest areas of cities.