(Editor’s note: This is the first segment in a two part
series, introducing readers to the Industrial Revolution and the underpinnings of
modern times.)
What were the key ingredients to "make" America's
In
truth, the US
was “ready” for the Industrial Revolution long before it actually arrived, but
divisiveness on the slavery question held back progress. Compromise after compromise had put off
resolution of the most basic of civil rights issues, until it could be put off
no longer. When the Civil War ended, and
the states were reconstructed, the US could return to the matter of
industrial progress and prowess at the turn of the 20th century.
Some say the birth of the Industrial Revolution was a precipitous event,
transitioning America
from a promised land into a crusader state, to capture and protect the wealth
of foreign markets for its own citizens. In this way America was said to mimic every
great empire which had come --- and gone --- before.
The Industrial Revolution was the great free
for all, US
government “guided” by principles of Social Darwinism. Basically, it was a game of survival of the
fittest, most adaptable, Darwin ’s
theory of evolution as applied to society.
Those individuals who had figured out how to amass
great personal wealth were viewed as being in the best position to make
leadership decisions for the good of the masses.
Government’s role was either to support these
individuals and their industries or avoid meddlesome interference
(laissez-faire acceptance of supply and demand theory).
Industrial ventures operated through large, capital massing business
organizations, called “trusts.” But the relationship
of these trusts to their government was to test severely the lawmaker’s role as
the impartial umpire in the people’s pursuit of happiness.
The so-called titans of capitalism were
bolstered by the collective success of the nation occasioned by explosive
economic growth brought on by the Industrial Revolution. The early capitalists featured names
like Rockefeller in the business of oil, Morgan in banking, Carnegie in steel,
and Vanderbilt in railroads. They were
firm believers in a free, unregulated market promoted by competition, with a
new consumer class, a thriving force in the industrial economy. With the incentive to reap great profits,
these titans consolidated operations into large mega-corporations, streamlined the various systems of
production, eliminated redundancies and maximized efficiencies. While consolidation permitted them to
control their industries, a primary
goal was still to give the customer the best product at the lowest price.
It is perhaps helpful to think of the process of “making” an Industrial
Revolution as similar to baking a wedding cake. There were several key
ingredients. Among them were natural
resources, such as oil, copper, land and water; a capital supply serving as
“fertilizer.” Government support was in
the form of protective tariffs for the new, fledgling American industries, the
birth of the modern corporation, low interest loans and adherence to the monetary gold standard. Entrepreneurs took risks, mastered the art of
vertical integration, business re-organization, and buying low and selling high.
Technological developments, such as
electricity, steel, glass and the internal combustion engine, permitted
innovations in rail transit, and the invention of the telephone and canned food. A work force/consumer class was fueled mostly
by an abundant flow of previously
uneducated and unskilled laborers comprised mainly of a seismic inflow of new
immigrants. They had migrated to the cities in search of opportunities, filling the
abundance of new industrial jobs.
For sure, there were many positives to
consider. In the span of a mere generation,
the US became the #1 industrial power in the world, during which time a modern
industrial economy emerged. Skyscrapers
were constructed, soon began to overtake the urban landscape, and our modern,
industrial, steel and glass cities were born.
Immigrants comprised a new
economic unit, a powerhouse called the “middle” class, a new term for the era. With
rising income, industrial workers doubled as what became known as consumers. Their
collective purchasing power permitted them to achieve a raised standard of
material existence previously unknown.
It also kept the economy humming.
While the titans of industry were champions
of competition, ironically, their goal was to eliminate competition. Specifically, they sought to accomplish this
by creating and then maintaining a hierarchy with themselves at the top. Many had arrived there through superior
intellect or other legitimate means. But
some used questionable or even illegal business practices. Bribes, kickbacks and other monopolistic
trade practices were all utilized to destroy competitors.
The
times were regarded in negative terms as the Gilded Age, with great wealth
flashed to the masses but accessible only to a precious few. Those precious few were sometimes referred to
not so nicely as robber barons. Style points both in politics and culture triumphed over substance. Consider the image of sunglasses attached to a
bright, smiling face.
((Editor’s note: The second and concluding segment in this two
part series introduces readers to Andrew Carnegie, the Gospel of Wealth and the
third lesson of US History.)
-Michael D'Angelo
