Rise of the Big Business.

Before the 19th century, America was a still considered a developing country in terms of production of goods. Mass production as we know it today started in the early 19th century when big businesses like John D. Rockefeller's company, Standard Oil and J.D. Morgan's US Steel Company made their mark as the biggest businesses in their trade. The reason these companies began is because there was a sudden need for material such as steel for railroad tracks, and oil, which would be refined and then used in the first automobiles. Since the big businesses were run in large factories, there was a need for many workers to work along a manufacturing lines. Although this provided jobs for thousands of people, it was not a well paying or safe job which led to much conflict between workers and their owners. The workers in these factories were upset with their low payroll for such a dangerous job so they began to strike. Because of the large amount of wealth and power big business owners like Rockefeller and Morgan had, the workers had little effect and influence about their complaints. Because of this turmoil between owners and workers, Mark Twain dubbed this era the "Gilded Era" because of how positive the idea of big businesses sounded while it was actually a very different perspective on the inside. Even with the low salary, poor conditions, and little power these workers had, they still worked hard because of the theory "rags to riches" that was brought to people's minds by Horatio Alger. "Rags to riches" is influencing people that even though life is tough at the moment, it is possible to become rich and successful if you really work hard. While some people preached that “God has intended that the great are meant to be great, and the poor are meant to be poor”, people liked to believe that this wasn't true and that hard work would bring success. It did for some, but for many, they worked hard but never saw a change in salary or lifestyle. Although big businesses were a hardship for many of the people involved, it changed the way American's could live making America a “big” country.

The Cycle of Poverty

Recently we have learned about a time period in America where certain people got rich and some people worked for the rich.  Powerful people we have learned about such as Andrew Carnegie, J.D Rockefeller, J.P Morgan, and the Vanderbilts all started as an average working man, and with knowledge, strategies, and frankly, good luck, made their way to be the top richest people in the country.  In their time, they owned about 18% of the entire countries wealth.  That is a lot of money for only four people.  I would like to discuss the downsides of a system like this.

In theory, our system is supposed to be a fair system to where each person has an equal opportunity to become successful, however, this is not the case.  For example, a shepherd from Scotland immigrates to America for a better future.  He uses his skills of farming and shearing sheep to start his own wool company.  With the money he makes, his family no longer has to raise and sheer the sheep themselves, he starts to hire people to do that for him, producing more wool in less time than he would have himself, lowering the prices of his wool, causing him to sell more and make more money.  After a number of years, he is the most successful wool business in the country and has millions of dollars to himself.  He now has enough money to pay for his son and daughter to go to elite schooling, where they can learn business skills of their own to one day manage his wool company or start their own business.  This family is successful in life.

Now, take another example.  A young boy now working in the wool factory with horrible conditions and wages as low as one can fathom, struggles to eat and pay rent.  His father, in huge debt, because his wool company was put out of business because of the other man's cheap prices.  This young boy has no time to study for school, so he drops out and continues to work in the wool factory doing the only thing he knows how to do.  This boy and his family are barely living, while the other man and his family live in luxury, each member having their own pony and car, 6 dogs and a 17 bedroom mansion with a ballroom.  Is it the boy's fault that his father could not pay for his education? The boy grows up and has his own family, with the same fate because he could not pay for his children's education either.

In this system, the rich only get richer and the poor only get poorer.  We can apply the same concepts to today's society and companies like Walmart, and Google.  Though working conditions now have regulations and it is not as extreme, there is still a problem to the American economic system.

The Reconstruction Period and Morality? (JingChen (Lucy) Yang)

                During our previous socratic seminar, we learned about the Reconstruction period and how that had impacted the overall America's fundamental believe over equality and freedom. Especially diving into the signifiant issue of White Supremacy in the South, the majorities of black's struggle for freedom rose from these former pro-slavery states. Despite the government passing down the 15th, 16th the Southern states still managed to find a loophole. I find it intriguing and what is the extend a faith or fixed mindset can lead drive people to the extremes. In this case, for many in the South most people thought it was almost a violation of their rights to have free black Americans within their states. Almost backed by nothing, yet supported many because it solely benefited their positions in the social hierarchy.
                Due to this belief that spread around in the white supremacists South like wildfire, many began believing that despite the blacks were now free and capable of owning their own land, they would try to do everything to prevent them from any sort of power. Materialistic things couldn't of been in the hands of the blacks, any sort of political power within the congress or supreme court was seen to revolt against as well. Overall, it puzzled me that was it the fear of loosing a stance in the social hierarchy or was it a sense of pride on coming in to terms that the Southerners now had to accept the blacks as regular citizens?

Rockefeller: Captain of Industry or Robber Baron? (Adrienne Mitchel)

On Friday we watched a documentary that highlighted the lives of four industrialists — Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Morgan, and Rockefeller — and completed a document in which we had to determine if their actions were more positive or more negative. Although all of these influential men had very interesting stories, in this post I will only go in-depth about Rockefeller and discuss if he was more a Captain of Industry or a Robber Baron.

As a child, John D. Rockefeller was divided between his mother, who was a thrifty and shrewd woman, and his father, who was a devious con-man, and eventually he determined that he would not follow in his dad’s footsteps. In 1870, Rockefeller formed an oil refining corporation named Standard Oil. In order to expand his corporation, Rockefeller merged and bought out other companies, a process called horizontal integration. He also made deals with railroads that agreed to discount his shipments, which allowed Standard Oil to cut its oil prices. This resulted in competitors to either be sold to Standard Oil or go bankrupt, which consequently added to Rockefeller’s power. Standard Oil had become a monopoly, a company that completely dominates a particular industry, by 1882. At this peak of power, Standard Oil controlled 90% of the nation’s oil production. Carnegie became a philanthropist, using his fortune to establish the University of Chicago in 1892 and creating many charitable organizations that supported various fields.

Rockefeller’s actions definitely displayed qualities that were both positive and negative. However, I believe he was more a Captain of Industry than a Robber Baron. Although the methods in which he drove his competitors out of business may have been slightly illegal and the working conditions in his factories weren’t the best, Rockefeller earned his enormous success by taking chances and seizing opportunities, fulfilling and exceeding what many would consider the American Dream. He managed to be extremely efficient and productive in his output and created jobs for many other Americans. Rockefeller’s actions undoubtedly helped contribute to the booming economy and consumer society of the United States today.

Westward Expansion and the Construction of the Railroad, by Kyle Nero

By the mid 19th century, American citizens were beginning to feel a bit crowded in the Eastern coast of the country.  Some had already begun to explore the far west of the country, but the trek was far too dangerous and risky for most to find it appealing.  However, in 1848, John Sutter made a discovery in the Central Valley of California that would forever change the United States: gold.  Once word got out, tens of thousands rushed west hoping to strike it rich.  As this was before the Panama Canal had been dug out, some pioneers attempted to embark on a boat and either travel north above Canada, or south below the tip of Southern America.  Most, however, took their entire families, jumped into wagons, and began their four month journey.  Many died over this period, due to a lack of food, a lack of water, freezing, and many other circumstances.  It was obvious that there had to be a better way to travel from coast to coast.  This is where the Transcontinental Railroad came in.  In 1863, construction on the railroad began.  Most of the work was done by immigrants - many Irish came to America due to the Irish Potato Famine, and they were looked down on in the East.  So, working on the railroad was especially appealing to the Irish.  There were also many Chinese immigrants and Mexican immigrants who came seeking work.  On May 10, 1869, the Transcontinental Railroad was finally completed.  To celebrate this feat which allowed us to transverse our large nation in 9 days, rather than 4 months, a golden spike was driven into the railroad at Promontory, Utah.

Homer Plessy: Standing Up (or should-I-say Sitting Down) for Equality (Adrienne Mitchel)

On the block day this past week in class we watched an informative documentary titled “Many Rivers to Cross: Into the Fire” that shed light on what American ideals in history were accessible to African Americans and what ideals were not. The portion I found most interesting in the documentary was the story of Homer Plessy, a mixed-raced American with African blood who appeared Caucasian. The documentary explained that Plessy boarded a whites-only railroad car, told the conductor he was black, and refused to leave in an attempt to be arrested. His actions were extremely bold, considering lynching was very common during that time as a punishment to blacks when they “needed to be taught a lesson.” However, Plessy knew that because he was so fair skinned and appeared white (only being ⅛ black), there was no chance he would be lynched because to onlookers it would seem as if a white person was being lynched. Plessy’s plan was to go to the Supreme Court to prove that the 14th Amendment, that guaranteed “equal protection of the laws,” did not work. However, the Supreme Court ruled that the 14th Amendment was not violated because the railroad cars were “separate but equal.”

Homer Plessy’s story intrigues me because it illustrates the stupidity and ignorance that is racism. Had Plessy not told anyone of his African ancestry, he would have been fully accepted by the whites. Conversely, if Plessy looked completely black, yet had still been ⅞ white, the whites would act condescending and violent toward him, despite him being almost completely white. Plessy’s story makes me wonder if the way that I look impacts how others perceive me. Being half Asian and yet looking very Caucasian, I can somewhat relate to Plessy in the sense that my ancestry doesn’t coincide with my appearance.  

As new generations become more interatial and lose cultural traditions, should race play a factor in our everyday lives? Should colleges and jobs exclude applicants on the basis of “diversity”? Should people be stereotyped because of their appearance? Can’t we all just be treated as people, with no classifications to subdivide and separate us?

The Role of Religion: A Broad Reflection

At first blush, one may be quick to disassociate religion from the structuring and foundation of American ideals. In fact, one of the major instigators for the creation of the United States was religious freedom, and thus religion is often considered to be separate from the major political events that define our country. Although some may disagree, upon examination of the historical timeline of the first half of American history it becomes clear that religion played more than the often attributed behind-the-scenes role as it served as a window into the thoughts and psyche of Americans that would lead to social, economical, and eventually political change that drove our nation forward.

The first settlers to come over to the America's came to escape religious persecution with the very idea to start a community where they would be able to practice however they chose. Many of the original thirteen colonies were formed from different sects of religions. Behind America's split from Britain was the notion that the people should be able to make decisions for themselves, choose their own path, and be lead by the people their choice. Jefferson and Hamilton were sons of the Enlightenment, and our constitution was founded off the ideals of the enlightenment but also off the morals of religion. Our country's founders wanted to limit the mingling between church and state, and they succeeded in some sense, but religion still acted as a catalyst beyond the country's foundation.

The First Great Awakening saw a clearer sense of American Identity as a new wave or religious revival swept over the county. The Second Great Awakening saw preachers trying to include people of every race. Blacks and women had more of a saw in religion than ever before, and these new ideas helped some slave owners to allow their slaves to become at least partially educated and inspired slaves to fight for freedom and more rights. Towards beginning of the Civil War, the separating attitudes of the North and South became most apparent by the splitting of the Methodist Episcopal Church of the South and the Northern Baptists. Differing economic drives and differing political views on slavery had divided the nation. Both the slave holders and abolitionists used religion to justify their positions and relied on the notion that god was on their side to inspire the boldness with which they defended their side.

Corinne McCabe