Industrial America from the American Steel Industry to the Early 1970's
The steel industry has been profoundly important to the development of
USA by its value of output, input to the American manufacturing
industries and in terms of the extent of its employment in the past.
It’s been important because of its political clout of its corporations
and finally it’s been important for strategic reasons.
Background to the American Steel Industry
The industry dates from mid 19th century when it grew out of the iron
industry. There was huge demand for steel following the end of the
Civil War and the building of the great trans-continental railway. The
industry centred in Pittsburgh where the classic locational
determinants of the steel industry were operative in the late 19th
century. Rich deposits of iron-ore, juxtaposed to metallurgical coking
coal, limestone as a flux for smelting, plentiful supply of water,
plentiful migrant and immigrant labour, proximity to the markets of
the American Manufacturing Belt, ease of transport to those markets
and finally entrepreneurial ability and capital for e.g. Carnegie. At
the end of the 19th century, many of the American manufacturing of
steel was produced by small firms of a total output of 10million tons.
The US Steel Industry 1900-1940
Output increased significantly during this time period from 10million
tons to approximately 70million tons. By the early 1920s, the US
produced 3/5 of global output. Production was reduced in the Great
Depression before recovering in the later 1930s. In the early part of
the 20th century, the steel industry experienced some important
changes:-
Raw M...
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...production in areas other than the north and northeast illustrates
something of a locational shift in the industry, but the extent of
this should not be exaggerated.
In 1969 the US Steel Corporation was the largest steel-producing
company in the world and it accounted for a quarter of US steel
production. Second and third in terms of output were the Bethlehem
Steel Corporation and the Republic Steel Corporation respectively.
Conclusion
The 50s and 60s were a period of prosperity and large scale production
in the US steel industry. However, rationalisation had also been
on-going with more than 100 plants closing during these decades.
Incipient problems relating to lack of innovation, poor management and
import penetration were beginning to emerge and would become
particularly serious during the next 2 decades.
Steel Corporations Forge Tyranny The 1960s marked a time of great change, turmoil, and innovation in American history. President John F. Kennedy worked hard to ensure the best for the citizens of the United States and that is why, when steel corporations raised their prices 3.5 percent in a time of economic distress, Kennedy responded with outrage. In his speech to the American people on April 11, 1962, President John F. Kennedy used a plethora of rhetorical strategies to persuade the American public to join his crusade against the greed of large steel companies. President Kennedy begins his address by immediately stating his opinion on the issue; that the actions of steel corporations “constitute a wholly unjustifiable and irresponsible defiance of public interest.”
...ductivity shaped the development of the American economy in the 1920s. The nation’s industries shifted from coal to electricity. Mass production, electrification, and other innovations increased American productivity and established industries flourished while new industries developed. One of the most signigicant inventions during this time was the assembly line. This made hard work become less tedious and forever changed the lives of factory workers.
The mid-19th century is one of the major turnarounds in the history of the United States. That is the time when America became an industrial giant and emerged as one of the most powerful countries in the world. The Industrial Revolution changed the people’s way of living in the whole world, especially the United States, from hand and home productivity to machine and factory. America rose from a rural and agricultural country to an urban-industrial that introduced new technologies. The United States has been through a lot of ups and downs in spite of its emergence and three books tell the story of the Industrial America from three different perspectives.
White, Langdon. "The Iron and Steel Industry of the Birmingham, Alabama, District." Economic Geography (Vol. 4, No. 4 (Oct., 1928)): pp. 349-365.
Throughout the 19th century, industrialization was a turning point in the United States that led to huge changes in society, economics and politics. The incoming growth of factories had positives and negatives effects. Two specific changes were the new government regulations and the increasing immigration. These changes were extremely important because they settled the bases of the country.
White, Richard. "Rise of Industrial America." The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Gilder Lehrman, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.
There are five important things that every American citizen needs to know about the time period from 1877 to 1917:
For decades, the steel industry has been one of the toughest markets on a global scale with most steel corporations ending up in bankruptcy. Foreign and domestic competitors, management issues, environmental issues, political agenda’s and technology have had much to do with the demise and more so of the success of the steel industry. The issues that this case focus on Nucor Corporation was of:
Stanley, George E. "The Rise Of Manufacturing." The Era of Reconstruction and Expansion (1865-1900. N.p.: World Almanac Library, 2005. 20-21. Google Books. World Almanac Library. Web. 29 Sept. 2013.
Advancements in new technology clearly promoted the industrial growth of the United States. The new technologies allowed business owners to reduce labor in the movement of materials from one point to the other. This occurred by using the new technology of railroads and machinery. Business owners used the railroads to transport their finished product and raw materials around the country more efficiently, which enabled businesses to expand. The business owners were now able to use machines for lifting materials from one floor to another and to use conveyer belts to move materials around on an assembly line. The use of machines is evident because the graph in document 5 clearly shows that American industrial and agricultural power sources between 1850 and 1900 changed. This is evident because in 1850, only 13% human power and 35% water and coal power was used, but in 1900 a mere 5% human power and a whopping 73% water and coal power was used. The use of machines more than doubled over the course from 1850-1900, and the human output de...
American had an economy based on manual labour which was replaced by one dominated by industry and the manufacture of machinery. It began with the expansion of the textile industries and the development of iron-making techniques, and trade expansion was enabled by the introduction of canals, improved roads and railways.
The industrial revolution was a huge thing in the 1800’s. The industrial revolution was when there were many new technological breakthroughs, such as medicine and new inventions that helped people. There were many new things that people could use that would change the way that these people lived their lives. Because the industrial revolution happened, Americans today can still use these inventions and use that knowledge and innovate them to make it better. One such device is the cotton gin patented by Eli Whitney in 1794.
In the years leading up to the industrial era, manual labor was required across the country in order to produce goods such as wheat, steel, or other raw materials. In order to create these, skilled workers were needed so they could produce the materials. While the materials that the skilled workers made were of a high quality, there was a drawback; in order to make such high quality materials, companies needed to pay these workers more than the average worker. In response to this, companies set out to find a way to make more product for cheaper. A prime example of how they did this is when they created the Bessemer process. This is a machine/process that converts iron into steel via injection of air into the raw iron. The process is credited with launching the steel industry and cheapening the cost of production because it was no longer necessary to employ high skilled workers (Document B). With this, the need for highly paid skilled workers was no longer necessary because steel companies could employ low skill workers and pr...
As a result of the United States joining the war in 1916, industry productions boomed. (Effects of WWI in America) Factories and manufacturers had to keep up with the growing demands of the war effort by solely producing weapons, tanks, airplanes, and any other necessary products. In order to produce more material in a short amount of time, new technologies were developed to help manufacturers meet the needs of the people and government. Also, more employment opportunities opened for women and African-Americans. With fewer healthy, working men in America, women became the main work force, largely employed in factories across the nation. (Effects of WWI in America) African-Americans also became popular in factories as they migrated to cities in search of job opportunities. As industries boomed during this time, so did the economy. According to David Jarmul, "Because World War One left Europe so devastated, industry boomed in the United States to fill the worldwide demand." By the end of World War One, the United States produced more goods and services than any other nation. (Jarmul) Americans had more coal, food, cloth, and steel than even the richest foreign countries. In 1920, the United States ' national income became greater than the combined incomes of France, Britain, Canada, Japan, Germany, and seventeen smaller countries. The Unite...
The industrial revolution began in Europe in the 18th century. The revolution prompted significant changes, such as technological improvements in global trade, which led to a sustained increase in development between the 18th and 19th century. These improvements included mastering the art of harnessing energy from abundant carbon-based natural resources such as coal. The revolution was economically motivated and gave rise to innovations in the manufacturing industry that permanently transformed human life. It altered perceptions of productivity and understandings of mass production which allowed specialization and provided industries with economies of scale. The iron industry in particular became a major source of economic growth for the United States during this period, providing much needed employment, which allowed an abundant population of white people as well as minorities to contribute and benefit from the flourishing economy. Steel production boomed in the U.S. in the mid 1900s. The U.S. became a global economic giant due to the size of its steel industry, taking advantage of earlier innovations such as the steam engine and the locomotive railroad. The U.S. was responsible for 65 percent of steel production worldwide by the end of the 2nd World War (Reutter 1). In Sparrows Point: Making Steel: the Rise and Ruin of American Industrial Might, Mark Reutter reports that “Four out of every five manufacturing items contained steel and 40 percent of all wage earners owed their livelihood directly or indirectly to the industry.” This steel industry was the central employer during this era.