steel paper
...ly contributed to the rise of the steel industry during period. The railroads were given massive quantities of land greater than the size of Texas as incentive to keep the construction of railroads out west. The railroads brought an easy and efficient way of moving large quantities of steel ore to the steel mills and then to their customers. The Transcontinental Rail line was finished in 18969 making it much more efficient to move products to the western and major city markets. Also many farmers and ranchers built their homes close the railroads so as to make it easier for them to send their good to market. Thanks to the railroads steel factories could send large amounts of steel to where ever they need in the country. The steel industry was largely responsible for the growth and expansion of the railroads. Up until steel the railroads had been making had been making their tracks out of iron, which was not as strong or durable and didn’t last as long as steel. So with the advancement of steel technologies like the Bessemer 4/17/2003 converter steel became cheaper and more efficient to make so the railroads started using steel to make their tracks instead of iron. All the money from European investors was flowing into a young America fueling its industrialization. The industrialization of America had a huge impact on the steel industry during this period because they began to build machines and large building and factories that all required steel. So during the industrialization period there became a huge demand for steel. This demand created one of the biggest companies in America Carnegie Steel, which by the 1900th century had a strong monopoly on the steel industry. One of the things that made Carnegie Steel the dominant force in the steel industry at this time was policy of vertical integration. This means that they able to cut out the middleman, by buying his own steel mines and such. This allowed Carnegie Steel undersell their competitors because they had to pay a middle to get their raw materials, thus Carnegie steel gained a firm monopoly on the steel industry at the time. During this period you had a lot of exploitations of workers in all American industries, but especially the steel industry. Many of the unskilled workers during this time were forced to work long workdays and in many steel factories workers faced very unsafe working conditions, as matter a fact the working conditions during this period were so bad that 25,000 factory workers and labors died in industrial accidents. Many workers got no guarantee of a future with company. To do the large work force of immigrants who were willing to work for cheap many skilled workers were replaced by cheap migrant workers. This caused a lot of resentment in many middle class American citizens who felt at though the immigrants were taking their jobs. Many workers during this worked period worked around 60 hours a week. The poor treatment of workers during period by the steel industry led to the formation of many labor unions, which would strike and picket many of the steel factories until their demands for more reasonable working conditions. Also to cut costs many factories hired women and children to work on the lines. By 1900 20% of all manufacturing workers were women and 13% were children sixteen or younger. Politics during this period had a huge impact on the steel industry. All the big business men and the major corporations favored the Republicans who at the time had three major goals, which were: 1. Tariff protection for "core" manufacturing, made more broadly popular by offering protection for western wool producers and tariff-financed pensions for Union Veterans 2. Maintaining the gold standard 3. And creating an unregulated market for business. The major players in the steel industry were opposed to the Democrats who favored the rights of the workers and small farmers, and did wish to establish an unregulated market for business and actually sought to increase regulation of business. Realizing that if the Democrats were to come to power that many of their businesses would be hurt by the new regulations that the Democrats would impose on business. As a result, many of the big business men in America at the time used their power, money and influence to support the Republican Party. With the Republican P...