Big Business Post Civil War
How and why business grew
One contributor to business growth is that all this new technology was coming out to help reach rich natural resources in the earth. This increased in production and it raised the money needed for growth. Plus transportation was growing bigger which helped merchants get to far away markets. Banks held a big part in growth of the economy, businesses wold borrow money from the bank to make their business expand or to even just start one.
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a role model in the early years of the American Steel Industry. Andrew started at the bottom working his way up from a telegraph operator, he got all the way to being a manager of the Pennsylvania railroads. He then decided he wanted to invest in the iron industry so he quit his job. Soon after he realized steel would be a big hit so he learned the process and started his own company. By 1890 Andrew was in control of the steel industry, by 1900 he was making 1/3 of the Nations steel.
Why government began to restrict businesses
State governments started to oppose trusts and monopolies, a couple of states passed laws to restrict business combinations. Corporations were sneaky by doing business in states that did not have these laws. People started wanting for federal law to stop trusts and monopolies, this led Congress to pass the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890. This law was suppose to ¨to protect trade and commerce against unlawful restraint and monopoly" . In the beginning the act did little to stop the big corporations however the act did restrain railroad workers from going on strike.