Gilded Age
Makenzie Birkey Hour 6
Monopolies
Where: Monopolies were common in the 19th century when the economy of America was on the rise.
When: Monopolies were outlawed in 1887 with the Interstate Commerce Act.
What: A monopoly is when a company buys out the rest of the competition in the industry so then you have no choice but to buy the product from them.
Why: It is important that we outlawed monopolies and trusts because otherwise they wouldn't have any need to improve the product and they would just keep on raising the price.
Henry Bessemer
What: Henry Bessemer invented the Bessemer Converter which was able to make 30 tons of steel in an hour from using molten iron.
Where: Henry Bessemer founded Henry Bessemer & Co. where he sold steel which he produced with his invention.
Why: He changed the way cities looked by allowing steel to give the buildings stronger frames.
When: In 1856 Henry Bessemer patented the Bessemer Converter.
Pullman Strike
When: The Pullman strike occurred in 1894.
Who: The Pullman Strike was organized by the America Railway Union which was led by Eugene Debs.
What: The Pullman Strike was one of the many strikes for labor improvements and salary raises.
Why: The workers struck because of the cut of over 2,000 workers and the drop on salary by about 25%.
Union Pacific Railroad
Where: The Union Pacific was building westward from the Missouri River.
What: The Union Pacific Railroad Company was one of the two companies hired to build the transcontinental railroad.
When: They started building in December of 1863 and finished in early 1869.
Why: They wanted to build the transcontinental railroad because it was a quicker and safer way to travel across the country.
Citation
Pullman Strike. no author. ehistory. ehistory.osu.edu. 2/6/14
Inventor of the week: Henry Bessemer. no author. Lemelson-MIT. http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/bessemer.html. 2/6/14
Monopoly. by George J. Stigler. Library of Economics and Liberty. econlib.org. 2/5/14