Into the Decades - 1901- 1909
Child Labor Information
- Children in Georgia, some younger than 10 years old worked 12 hours a day, sometimes 70 hours a week, for 4 cents an hour.
- In 1900, census revealed that 25% of all southern mill workers were children between the ages of 10 and 16, but children as young as 6 were also employed.
- Children, like adults worked long hours, often after dinner, with little time off for meals in unsafe conditions that were dark and dirty and workers became ill from breathing cotton lint.
- Not until 1938 were children employed in only certain occupations, (not hazardous) outside
1. Why were large numbers of young children in the work force during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s?
They could be paid less than adults; smaller hands and bodies could work quicker and easier in certain industries
2. During this period of time, where were children most likely employed and what types of work did they do?
Factories – spinners, sweepers, bobbin boys, doffers, packers; newsboys, deliveries
3. Describe the working conditions for young children in the work place.
Dirty, unhealthy and unsanitary; few if any breaks, long hours, little food.
4. What changes have been made over the years to improve working conditions for all workers?
Minimum wage, regulated hours, limited/restricted jobs
5. How did working affect the children’s every day life and activities?
No play, free time, limited education, age quicker, more health problems


1900's Information
Slang of the time:
Pipe Down!  = Be Quiet!
Hornswoggle =  to cheat
sneakers    =  athletic shoes
chew the fat = talk
the willies = be nervous or anxious
hoity toity = uppity or stuck up
shake a leg = hurry up, get a move on

Fads
Bicycling, chewing gum, vaudeville, huge hats for women, Gibson Girl, croquet
Inventions of Thomas Edison
Phonograph, electric incandescent light, peep show, motion picture machine, storage battery, talking picture machine, dictaphone, cement mixer, duplicating machine, vote recorder
Other Inventions at the Time
Alexander Bell Telephone
John Thurman Vacuum cleaner
Anna Baldwin Milking machine
Stephen Field Electric streetcar
George Eastman Camera
Wright Brothers Airplane

Prices
Baseball bat - .35     bathtub - 7.25       bicycle – 10.50
Open buggy – 26.00  shirt - .23  dozen eggs - .12
Turkey dinner - .20  trombone – 15.00  tailor made suite 9.00

In 1900, a Georgian who worked on a farm earned $239 a year, while one who worked at something other than agricultural earned $662 a year.

•HENRY FORD - tinkered for 20 years before building the first production model T in 1908.
• “Tin Lizzy” came only in black, top speed of 45 mph, 25 miles to the gallon.
• Assembly line made it possible to produce a car in 1.5 hours from 12.5 by hand.
• In 1914, Ford produced 308,162 cars, at the time, more than all other car makers at the time.
• Mass production resulted in lower prices – 1913 $850  by 1924 - $290.

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER -
John Davidson Rockefeller was born in Richford, New York in 1839. Determined to work for himself, Rockefeller saved all the money he could and in 1850 went into business with a young Englishman, Maurice Clark. The company, Clark & Rockefeller Produce and Commission, sold farm implements, fertilizers and household goods.

 Rockefeller's company was fairly successful but did not bring him the wealth he desired. In 1862 Rockefeller heard that Samuel Andrews had developed a better and cheaper way of refining crude petroleum
Rockefeller sold his original business and invested it in a new company he set up with Andrews called Standard Oil.
Within a year four of his thirty competitors were out of business. Eventually Standard Oil monopolized oil refining in Cleveland. Rockefeller now bought out Samuel Andrews for a million dollars and turned his attentions to controlling the oil industry throughout the United States. His competitors were given the choice of being swallowed up by Standard Oil or being crushed. By 1890 Rockefeller's had swollen into an immense monopoly which could fix its own prices and terms of business because it had no competitors. In 1896 Rockefeller was worth about $200 million.



Born: November 25, 1835
Died: August 11, 1919
 Andrew Carnegie's life was a true "rags to riches" story. Born to a poor Scottish family that immigrated to the United States, Carnegie became a powerful businessman and a leading force in the American steel industry. Today, he is remembered as an industrialist, millionaire, and philanthropist. Carnegie believed that the wealthy had an obligation to give back to society, so he donated much of his fortune to causes like education and peace.
John Pierpont Morgan, the son of a successful financier, was born on 17th April, 1837. In 1867, Morgan transferred to his father's banking company and ten years later became a partner in Drexel, Morgan and Company. This was reorganized as J. P. Morgan and Company in 1895, making it one of the most important banking houses in the world.
In 1891 Morgan arranged the merger to form General Electric, which then became the country's main electrical-equipment manufacturing company. After financing the creation of the Federal Steel Company it merged with Carnegie Steel Company to form the United States Steel Corporation.

Morgan had good links with the London financial world and was able to arrange the capital for growing industrial corporations in the United States with money from British bankers. This enabled Morgan to become a member of the board of directors in several of these companies including most of the major railroad companies. By 1902 Morgan controlled over 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of American railroads.

In his final years, Morgan concentrated on gaining control of various banks and insurance companies. This in turn gave him influence over most of the nation's main corporations. Some muckraking journalists began to criticize the enormous power that Morgan now had. John Pierpont Morgan died on 31st March, 1913.

Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794-January 4, 1877) was an American steamship and railroad builder, executive, financier, and promoter. He was a man of boundless energy, and his acute business sense enabled him to outmaneuver his rivals. He left an estate of almost $100 million.
Vanderbilt was born to a poor family and quit school at the age of 11 to work for his father who was engaged in boating. When he turned 16 he persuaded his mother to give him $100 loan for a boat to start his first business.
After the outbreak of the Civil War, he entered the railroad field, and by 1867 he had gained control of the New York Central RR. Although his efforts to gain control of the Erie RR proved unsuccessful, Vanderbilt vastly expanded his railroad empire and by 1873 connected Chicago with New York City by rail. He amassed a great fortune and gave $1 million to found Vanderbilt Univ.

More Interesting Information
- 18% of households in the US had a least one full-time servant or domestic help
- There were about 230 reported murders in the entire US  
 
- A three minute call from Denver to NYC cost $11.
- Ice tea was “created” for the 1st time in 1904 at the World’s Fair
- Only 14% of all homes in the US had a bathtub and 8% had a telephone

- The average worker made between $200 and $400 a year
Jobs and Yearly Salaries
Accountant - $2,000   Dentist - $2,500
Veterinarian - $1,500-$4,000   Mechanical Engineer $5,000
- Most women only washed their hair once a month

-Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering their country for any reason  
 
- Leading Causes of Death: pneumonia, flu, tuberculosis, diarrhea, heart disease, stroke
- More than 95% of all births took place at home.
- Crossword puzzles, canned beer, hadn’t been invented yet and there was no Mother’s or Father’s Day!
- 2 of 10 US adults couldn’t read or write – 6% graduated from high school
- Hard to believe: Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstore.
Back then, the pharmacist said, “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.”
VIDEO NOTES

2/15 Video Notes  1900 –1909

 

-         John Phillips Sousa – became the “music of America

 

-         Eiffel Tower – largest manmade structure in the world

 

-         Imperialism – U.S. take over of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, Panama Canal area

 

-          Pres. McKinley assassinated – Theodore Roosevelt president – more popular with the people, friend to labor unions not politicians; doubled the size of the US Navy and National Parks; youngest president at 42

 

-          “Peace and Prosperity” plan of government – speak softly and carry a big stick.

 

-          First time a presidential order is used between labor and business – threatens to send in military to settle mine strike

 

-          Panama Canal construction

 

-          trains used for long distance travel – cars only playtoys for the rich

 

-          highway to the world – rural mail delivery – catalogs – Sears and Wards sold everything from birth to death – catalogs used in schools to teach reading and math – farmer’s bible

 

-          cattle ranching big in West, Indians all on reservations

 

-          Jim Crows laws still in force to keep segregation

 

-          JP Morgan – first million dollar industry – steel – great changes in construction abilities – skyscrapers

 

-          Booker T. Washington – most famous black – book Up From Slavery – Tuskegee Institute to offer technical training for blacks

 

-          Most disasters caused by fire in cities

 

-         Buffalo Bill and the Wild West Show – Annie Oakley, Wild Bill Hicock

 

-         NYC – high society center; richest in land lived here, vacationed elsewhere