Katahira-Ables, Yuto
March 11, 2014
APUSH period 2
Impacts on Big Businesses DBQ Essay Re-Write
Growing corporations had immense influence and control over the economy and government in the post- Civil War United States. However, the influence that grew with the corporations could be easily interpreted as negative. Economically, big businesses created a widening gap between the rich and poor, and lowered the working conditions and wages for the working class. Politically, big businesses controlled the federal government, and business tycoons manipulated the influences of Americans through corrupt deeds. In determining whether big businesses had negative impacts, one must assess the extent to which people responded. In response, labor unions were formed, a new party emerged, and philanthropists felt obligated to help the “less fortunate”.
With the arrival of new businesses came the arrival of new working conditions. First, the invention of the light bulb by Thomas Edison impacted the way workers worked as it allowed corporations to lengthen work hours. Corporations also introduced the invention of the assembly line which made machines do all the skilled work and workers only had to operate the machines. The assembly line deprived the skills of men as they were no longer needed. Businesses could then employ many workers which enabled them to pay low wages as well as fire workers without much justification. Most of the employed were unskilled workers such as immigrants of whom could be payed with much lower wages than Americans.
Moreover, workers were so angered by the new working conditions, which consisted of the idea of Taylorism where workers were to perform one task at one machine, that the working class created labor unions as a response. Leaders arose such as Samuel Gompers and created the American Federation Labor (AFL) where skilled workers could unite and protest against the corporations. They protested against work hours, wages, and the decreasing use of skilled labor. Other labor unions included the Knights of Labor where they welcomed women as well as men, saying Americans as a whole have been affected by the corporations and not just skilled men. This unifying group of workers were all fighting against a common cause to fight corporations, and in return, sparked major attention with wealthy philanthropists.
The emergence of new labor unions made the gap between the rich and poor more noticeable, which was suggested by the way philanthropists reacted to the agonies of the working class. Andrew Carnegie, a wealthy man due to his success in steel production, felt obligated to help the less fortunate because it wasn't their fault they were stuck in poverty. His ideas stemmed from the ideology of Social Darwinism which states that people are born with more abilities than others that help them thrive in society-- a phenomenon called natural selection where survivals are of the fittest. The idea of Social Darwinism resonated with others like Rockefeller that made him and others donate to the poor through building libraries, schools, and parks.
Economically, it is self evident that there were negative impacts; however, big businesses also had negative impacts on politics. This was evident through the passage of the Dingley Tariff which rose the tariff to an all time high in order to protect big businesses. This put many farmers in debt because they needed the tariff to be low in order to sell their crops in markets; therefore it didn’t help at all when market prices began to lower too. In response, the farmers created the subtreasury plan which was a plan where farmers store their commodities in government until the market prices rose. However it was deemed ineffective as the government did not approve of the plan.
Moreover, the government then announced that gold would be worth 16 times more than silver and through the Currency Act, made the paper money based on gold. Now farmers needed silver to be the basis of the paper money because it was abundant and it would cause inflation to rise which would get the farmers out of their debt. This was evident through their slogan, “Free Silver”. When the Crime of 73’ only enforced the basis for gold, farmers got furious and in response created organizations. The most widely spread organization was the Farmer’s Alliance, an organization that focused on local problems where they formed cooperatives and other marketing mechanisms. Thier main goal was to free farmers from the hated “furnishing merchants” who kept so many farmers in debt. The Farmer’s Alliance eventually escalated to into the birth of a third party, the Populist Party. The Populist Party was a party of the American farmers that wanted the authority of the government (the people) expanded. They also added many political leaders in the House and Senate; therefore, it is easy to say that they had an immense influence in America.
In conclusion, big businesses had a negative impact on American economy and politics and this can be supported by the responses such as the forming of labor unions, the emergence of political parties, and the charity donations of philanthropists.
