Parallel
to these achievements was the development of the nation's industrial infrastructure. Coal was found in abundance
in the Appalachian Mountains from Pennsylvania south to Kentucky. Large iron mines opened in the Lake Superior
region of the upper Midwest. Mills thrived in places where these two important raw materials could be brought
together to produce steel. Large copper and silver mines opened, followed by lead mines and cement
factories.
As
industry grew larger, it developed mass-production methods. Frederick W. Taylor pioneered the field of
scientific management in the late 19th century, carefully plotting the functions of various workers and then
devising new, more efficient ways for them to do their jobs. (True mass production was the inspiration of Henry
Ford, who in 1913 adopted the moving assembly line, with each worker doing one simple task in the production of
automobiles. In what turned out to be a farsighted action, Ford offered a very generous wage -- $5 a day -- to
his workers, enabling many of them to buy the automobiles they made, helping the industry to
expand.)
The
"Gilded Age" of the second half of the 19th century was the epoch of tycoons. Many Americans came to idealize
these businessmen who amassed vast financial empires. Often their success lay in seeing the long-range potential
for a new service or product, as John D. Rockefeller did with oil. They were fierce competitors, single-minded
in their pursuit of financial success and power. Other giants in addition to Rockefeller and Ford included Jay
Gould, who made his money in railroads; J. Pierpont Morgan, banking; and Andrew Carnegie, steel. Some tycoons
were honest according to business standards of their day; others, however, used force, bribery, and guile to
achieve their wealth and power. For better or worse, business interests acquired significant influence over
government.
Morgan,
perhaps the most flamboyant of the entrepreneurs, operated on a grand scale in both his private and business
life. He and his companions gambled, sailed yachts, gave lavish parties, built palatial homes, and bought
European art treasures. In contrast, men such as Rockefeller and Ford exhibited puritanical qualities. They
retained small-town values and lifestyles. As church-goers, they felt a sense of responsibility to others. They
believed that personal virtues could bring success; theirs was the gospel of work and thrift. Later their heirs
would establish the largest philanthropic foundations in America.
While
upper-class European intellectuals generally looked on commerce with disdain, most Americans -- living in a
society with a more fluid class structure -- enthusiastically embraced the idea of moneymaking. They enjoyed the
risk and excitement of business enterprise, as well as the higher living standards and potential rewards of
power and acclaim that business success brought.
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