Today Joseph presented on Chapter 6 Section 3. The key questions are...-Tell me about Andrew Carnegie.I learned that Andrew Carnegie was born into a middle class family in Scotland. His family moved from Scotland to the United States. He looked for different ways to make a good product better and also was able to attract talented people to his company because he would offer them stocks. I also learned that in the United States he contolled most of the steel industry with his company Carnegie Steel. One reason that his company became so powerful was the idea he came up called Vertical and Horizontal Integration. There is something in the book on page 242. Rags to riches story.-Tell me about John D. Rockefeller.I learned John D. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum (oil, also called black gold). His became powerful because it would join with other oil companies with trust agreement. During a trust, companies would turn over stock to a group of trustees. His company was greatly affected by the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. I learned that it was act that made it illegal to form a trust that interferred with trade between companies or states. He founded the Standard Oil Company and ran the company until he retired. He is a rags to riches story.-What was Social Darwinism and how did it apply to business?I learned that Social Darwinism is a concept based on on evolution by Charles Darwin, it was made by Herbert Spencer who was an English Proffesor. Darwin's theory said "Survival of the Fittest". I also learned it applied to businesses because a bigger business would take over smaller businesses, so only the strongest businesses will survive.-Explain how companies formed monopolies(vertical/horizontal integration, trusts).I learned that a monopoly is when a business tries to get rid of the competition in their own industry. Bigger more wealthy businesses would lower their prices lower than the price of a small company. I learned that the bigger businesses could surivive longer with a smaller profit, so the consumers would buy from the bigger businesses because of the lower cost. When the smaller business would go out of business they would raise their prices back up. I also learned that horizontal intergration is when the company would monopolize all of the businesses around them, so they would make more money. Vertical is when the business would buy the railroads, shipping companies, stores, and gas stations, so that they wouldn't have to pay for these expenses.-How did the government try to regulate business?I learned that the United States Government tried to regulate businesses by the Serman Anti-Trust Act. It was an act that made it illegal to form a trust or monopoly that interferred with the trade between other companies and states. This business helped some smaller businesses survive longer.-What are labor unions and what is their purpose?I learned that labor unions were groups of people that went on strike to gets things such as better working conditions. The people in these labor unions usually were from the same industry. When they went on strike they were trying to pass new laws that would help.-Were labor unions successful in achieving their goals? Explain/Give examples.I learned that at first they labor unions were not sucessful because when they would go on strike back in the old days the companies would just hire immigrants that would pay for lower wages, but if you look at it from today labor unions have established the current 48 hour work week, child labor laws, minimum wage, and benefits such as health care.
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