What was the impact of big business on politics 1870 to 1900?

In the post-Civil War era, big business in the United expanded dramatically and rapidly. This expansion led to a stark increase in the production of American goods, in the amount of unskilled laborers, and in the amount of wealth in the country, while simultaneously eliminating small-scale competition and sharply weakening the demand for skilled workers; furthermore, the expansion of big business  caused unprecedented large scale corruption in the political system. The American people responded to these impacts through both an increased participation in consumerism and the formation of both political and economic organizations that sought to curb the prodigious influence of big business on American society.

Big business led to a drastic expansion in the production of American goods and the amount of capital in the nation. Big business al specifically increased the production of energy. A graph showing the food, fuel, and lighting prices as well as the standard of living illustrated that prices for  food, fuel, and lighting declined significantly between 1870 and 1899 and that the standard of living also slightly  decreased. These decreases were due to big business and the ability to mass produce these utilities by companies like Pillsbury and Standard Oil and due to the utilization of technological innovations such as the use of the Bessemer Converter (used to mass produce steel) by US Steel  (A). Mass production also led to an increase in the amount of wealth in the United States. Industrial exports, especially steel, sharply increased because of the mass production of products by massive corporations like US Steel and Ford Automobiles. Through the wealth created by big business, the United States saw the first large scale charity work by industrialists.

Large corporations produced immense, concentrated amounts of wealth in American society; through their concentrated fortunes, many American industrialist were enabled to give back to the nation and society. Andrew Carnegie, in Wealth, stressed the need for the rich to give back to the poor and present them with an opportunity to better their social and economic situation. Carnegie, himself once a poor Irish immigrant, set up a trust to provide libraries for the urban poor as a means of climbing the socioeconomic ladder (E). Other industrial leaders made similar efforts as Carnegie. John D. Rockefeller, for example, set up similar trusts to bolster the situation of the poor. Large scale corporations not only impacted the poor of American society with an increased amount of charity work, but also with an increased amount of job opportunities.

Large-scale businesses also led to a myriad of job opportunities for unskilled workers and minorities. A photograph of female typists in 1902 exemplified the magnitude to which minority groups and unskilled laborers were employed under big business. Although wages were low and working conditions were poor, big business did create hundreds of thousands of previously unavailable job  opportunities for minority groups and unskilled workers (J).  along with new job opportunities came mass production and with this mass production, came the American response of a growing involvement in consumer culture.

The American people responded to mass production by purchasing more goods and strengthening the consumer culture. Theodore Dreiser, in Sister Carrie, illustrated the the effect of department stores on the public and the increasing urbanization and consumerism associated with it. These department stores--such as those of the Montgomery Ward Company--were enabled by the ability to mass produce consumer goods and appealed mostly to those who could afford them--namely, the upper and middle classes (I). So, consumerism was a response to big business’s impact on the American people that was largely limited to the wealthy or those who could afford to consume goods. However, Big Business did sharply limit competition in the market and harm the local economy.

Big business monopolized industry and harmed the local economy. As noted in by George Rice in “How I Was ruined by Rockefeller”, big business eliminated competition through methods such as vertical and horizontal integration, utilizing the theories of economies of scale, and, perhaps most significantly, through the rebate on shipping goods by railroad. Through these practices, small companies had essentially no way to avoid the monopolization of their companies by a bigger one, such as Rockefeller’s Standard Oil (H).  Large scale corporations, utilizing Taylorism, also sharply cut the demand for skilled workers. The economist and engineer David Wells in 1889 discussed this bypass of the skilled worker in the new industrial system (C).  Because Industrialist could produce the same product as a skilled worker more cheaply and efficiently, the decline of the skilled worker came about rather quickly. Big business not only monopolized the economy, but also caused unprecedented corruption in the political system.

Big business impacted American politics by establishing a firm and corrupt foothold in the government. A labor leader in 1887 illuminated the vast amount of control corporation owners had, not only in the economy, but in American society as a whole, most notably in politics (C). The  amount of control big business had in politics was incredibly large, best depicted in these of the Sherman Antitrust Act to break up labor unions by the federal government (which was controlled by industrialists). Joseph Keppler’s political cartoon in Puck described the massive corruption in the political system to the extent that he claimed that the Senate was no longer for the people, but now for the leading industrial tycoons (D).  The American people responded to the unprecedented influence of big business in society by forming political and economic organizations that sought to curb the authority of large corporations.

Perhaps the most significant response of the American people to the impacts of big business on society was the formation of political and economic organizations to combat the authority of big business. Samuel Gompers, leader of the American Federation of Labor, demanded that corporations improve conditions and wages for the worker and recognize the right of workers to unite for a common voice to combat the corporations. Other unions like the Knights of Labor and the Grangers sought to limit the authority of big business and used tactics such as striking. The most notable of which were the Haymarket Square and Pullman Strikes; however, the government did not intervene on the side of labor in either instance, once again illustrating the corruption of the political system by big business. Other organizations sought to use politics as a means to combat big business. The People’s Party stated in their platform that their goal was to limit the influence of big business in the government and return authority to those it belongs to--the people (F). Both the PEople’s party and the Grangers established considerable gains in ending corruption in the political system; The People’s Party removed many corrupt officials from office and the Grangers established laws the benefited farmers. This was a response mostly confined to the poor and the progressives of the  middle class.

In conclusion, Big business impacted the economy through monopolization, increased production, and the employment of unskilled laborers; moreover, big business caused political corruption, to which the American people responded with organizations to combat the authority of big business in society and with increased consumerism

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During the period of 1870 to 1900 large corporations, such as the railway company, grew significantly in size, number, and influence. The cause of this was the need for a new way of transportation, the demand was great so the railways expanded all over the United States so that they could meet these demands. These large corporations affected the economy by making it easier to pay for everyday chores, politics in the way that it gave politicians too much power but in doing so gave normal limited power. The corporations had great power and influence which made them a huge impact to society. The economy was consistent in the United States during the 1870’s but as the years went on large businesses were able to lower the cost of food prices, fuel and lighting…show more content…
The businesses took advantage of their workers by extending work hours but also leaving their wages the same. They were trying to work them for every penny they could not caring who they were hurting in the process. The people also disfavored the new political system they did not agree with politicians no longer listening to the opinions of the people, they felt that they were being silenced and they could do nothing about it. The corporations may have lowered the costs of a few accommodations but it was outweighed by the unfairness the people had to deal with. The growing of large businesses in size, number, and influenced changed the United States severely. The economy was greatly relieved but the politicians were corrupted and the people very unhappy. The businesses were smart in using the reduction and increasing of prices to link all the businesses but taking advantage of the people by silencing them and increasing their labor hours really hurt them. It also did not help that the politicians that were corrupted made bad decisions for money and no the