Unit VI

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Unit VI A Growing America

• Chapter 19Section 2 Big Business
• Lecture Station

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(No Transcript)
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Big Business

• The Big Idea
• The growth of big business in the late 1800s led
  to the creation of monopolies.
• Main Ideas
• The rise of corporations and powerful business
  leaders led to the dominance of big business in
  the United States.
• People and the government began to question the
  methods of big business.

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Main Idea 1 The rise of corporations and
powerful business leaders led to the dominance of
big business in the United States.

• Many entrepreneurs.
• A new type of business organization developed
  called the corporation
• Corporate leaders.
• Successful corporations.
• Corporations encouraged.
• laissez-faire capitalism
• Social Darwinism
• Trusts
• Mass Marketing

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Advantages of Corporations and Stockholders.

• 1. Stockholders are not responsible for the
  debts of the corporation.
• 2. If the corporation fails the stockholders
  only lose the money they invested. Invest in
  strong companies that will survive.
• 3. Stockholders can sell their stock to whomever
  they wish when ever they wish.
• 4. By 1900 over 100 million shares were traded
  on the NYSE every year.

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The Rise of Big Business

• Terms
• Entrepreneurs- Risk takers who started new
  ventures in free enterprise.
• Capitalism- Free Enterprise. Economic system
  based on ownership of land, factories,
• Laissez-faire- companies operating without
  government interference.
• Social Darwinism- competition by the species,
  survival of the fittest. Natural selection.
  Strong business prosper, weak ones fail. Society
  should not interfere with business. Govt stay
  out.
• Tycoons- businessman with great wealth and
  power.
• Robber Barons- destroying competitors with tough
  tactics
• Captains of Industry- Using business skills to
  strengthen the economy.

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Business Leaders

• Andrew Carnegie
• Used vertical integration
• Carnegie Steel
• Gospel of
• Wealth

• John D. Rockefeller
• Standard Oil Company
• Developed horizontal integration,
• Formed a trust
• Rebates

Leland Stanford
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Industrial Tycoons Made Huge Fortunes
John D. Rockefeller Andrew Carnegie
Cornelius Vanderbilt George Pullman
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Rock Oil Lights the World

• First uses-
• Drilling-
• 1859- George Bissell, Edwin Drake and Titusville,
  Penn.
• Wildcatters-
• 1901- Boom in Texas lasts 20 years.
• Cleveland, Ohio (railroads and rivers) and
  Rockefeller
• Pipelines, Oil lamps
• Rebates.

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Dominance of Big Business

• What role do stockholders play in corporations?
• Why are corporations advantageous for
  stockholders?
• Why do you think Andrew Carnegie was one of the
  most admired businesspeople of his time?

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Main Idea 2People and the government began to
question the methods of big business.

• Big business as a problem in the late 1800s.
• Concerned about
• Social Darwinism.
• Rich should help the poor.
• Carnegie, Rockefeller, Stanford, and other
  business leaders gave away large sums of money to
  charities.

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Monopolies

• Business competition became fierce
• Pools.
• Holding companies
• Trusts

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The Antitrust Movement

• Critics said many businesses earned their
  fortunes through unfair business practices.
• Used size and strength
• Powerful trusts sold goods and services.
• Monopoly, or total ownership of a product or
  service.
• The Sherman Antitrust Act passed in 1890.
• The act did not.
• Corporations and trusts continued.

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Questioning the Methods of Big Business

• What is Social Darwinism?
• Why did some business leaders give money to
  charity?
• Why did critics oppose the practices of big
  business?
• Was the Sherman Antitrust Act successful in
  curbing the power of wealthy trusts? Why?

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Section 2 Activity Write at least three
sentences on the back of the Sect. 2 homework
sheet on why these men were so important in U.S.
History?