History

Consumerism As more and more goods became available to more and more people, the desire to obtain goods became pivotal in the desire to work. In the 1800's this meant the poorest people were desiring enough money to enjoy luxuries such as salt, sugar, coffee, and tea. In the 1900s however, the poorest people were desiring radios, television and cars. "The main spur to trade, or rather to industry and ingenuity, is the exorbitant appetite of men, which they will take pain to gratify ." - John Cary Working class people would see a neighbor come home with a car and they would desire to also own one. It was a point of pride to be the first in the neighborhood to own a radio, TV or car. Our economy is built on people wanting things. (10th commandment) The popularity of products leads to improved products and competing products. If people didn't want the cool things their neighbors wanted then the demand for goods would go down and we won't see as exciting products such

As workers unions and social welfare reform https://youtu.be/pOIvdhmMaOE

Part One - Boot Straps.  Part Two - Jacob Riis Part Three - Yellow Journalism  Part Four - Spanish American War Part Five - American-Filipino War + Part Six - McKinley Assassination + Part Seven - Ida Tarbell vs Rockefeller + Part Eight - Panama Canal & Yellow Fever + Part One - Boot Straps  Early Years - free will and personal responsibility  Theodore Roosevelt was a President, Soldier, Police Commissioner, Explorer, Boxer, Cowboy and inspired the Teddy Bear. But he didn't start that way.  Born with asthma, he was an imaginative child who took an interest in the natural world. When he was 13 his father gave him his first shotgun. He discovered he was a terrible shot and it's said that's when he realized he was near sighted. He got his first pair of spectacles. While away on a school trip, young Roosevelt, an asthmatic and spectacled teenager, was bullied and beaten up. When he told his father, his dad told him he needed to work on his body physically. So hi

Recognizing nuance, seeing both sides, labor history Capitalism built much of the western world we enjoy today. However, during the late 1800's American capitalism was an unregulated monster. A side effect of unregulated capitalism is frequent and disruptive economic crashes, recessions and predatory practices. Much of the late 19th century and early 20th century was defined by it. Every time a crisis hit, the wealthy pulled back on wages and employees to protect their investments and the poor were often left jobless and destitute. The Panic of 1796 Recession in 1802 Depression of 1807 Recession of 1812 - caused by war Depression 1815 Recession of 1822 Recession of 1825 Recession of 1828 Recession of 1833 Recession of 1836 Recession of 1839 Recession of 1845 Recession of 1847 Recession of 1853 Panic of 1857 Recession of 1860 Recession of 1865 Recession of 1869 Panic of 1873 Depression of 1882 Recession of 1887 Recession of 1890 Panic of 1893 Panic o

Andrew Carnegie (1860-1919) Iron & Steel Grew up  poor in Dunfermline, Scotland. His family shared a single room with another family. His mother received letters from her sister who had moved to America. So the Carnegie family got on a ship from Glasgow to New York. It was tightly packed and unsanitary. At this time there had yet to be any immigration laws and there was no Ellis island to check into. The family made their way to settle in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At 13 he began working at the same factory as his father. A few years later he began working as a telegraph operator. In 1859, at 24, Carnegie's mentor told him about guaranteed investment. This information was obtained through "insider trading" which is considered unfair today and is illegal. However, it wasn't illegal in 1859. Carnegie told his parents about the opportunity and together they raised $500 and they saw great profits on the investment. "Self-Made" man. Carnegie t

John D Rockafeller (1860-1937) Oil John D Rockefeller was the second son born to William A Rockefeller, also known as "big bill" & "devil bill". His father was a charismatic snake oil salesman who had a secret second family. It was said that Rockefeller's father bragged, "I cheat my boys every chance I get. I want to make 'em sharp." His mother, however, was a religious and stable influence. Once Rockefeller's father came clean about having 2 families, he amazingly asked both wives to move into the same house with their children. This might have been one of the reasons Rockefeller got serious early and got a job accounting at 16. His contemporaries described him as reserved, earnest, religious, methodical, and discreet.  After working and saving, he got a loan and began trading goods. During the civil war he made huge amounts of profits selling food and supplies. Rockefeller was an abolitionist. While his brother Frank fo

Robber Barons or Captains of industry? The Gilded Age- 1870-1900 The Gilded Age was coined by Mark Twain. Gilded Age  was a pejorative term for a time of materialistic excesses combined with extreme poverty. P ortrayed as an era of serious social problems masked by a thin gold gilding of economic expansion. The most successful were often labeled positively as captains of industry and negatively as robber barons. The term "self made man" was also a term that was thrown around a lot. https://youtu.be/ZE_XeLjq0oI Cornelius Vanderbilt (1860-1877) Trains & Shipping Son to Dutch immigrants, he struggled to read and write in English. His father ran a ferry service which is where he first learned about transportation. He loaned $100 from his parents to buy a single small ferry. When the war of 1812 broke out Vanderbilt had gained a good reputation and his boats were used heavily in transporting troops around New York harbor. He gained the nickname 'The Com

Origins of Money - Sapiens 173 to 179 Adam Smith - Wealth of Nations- 1776 (1723-1790) P320-322 of sapiens https://youtu.be/ejJRhn53X2M Adam Smith believed that the free market brought the best ideas to the surface. Companies that didn't improve would fail and businesses that would innovate and improve would win out. It was survival of the fittest but with businesses. Smith wrote this in the early days of the industrial Revolution and envisioned competition that lead to an improved life for everyone. He believed that people were naturally self interested. This greed was a good thing because from it would come the best systems. The best employers would pay the best workers which would make applicants train harder. Overall, the invisible hand of business would guide civilization to prosperity. Don't like your factory? Build a better one. Don't like your boss? Be a better one Don't have the money? Share your ideas with those who do and if it's goo

Ford-Edison Homes in Fort Myers. Ford was born on a farm in Michigan. His father was Irish and his mother was American. Together they had 5 children. When Ford was 13 years old his mother died. His father expected him to take over the family farm eventually, but he despised farm work. He later wrote, "I never had any particular love for the farm—it was the mother on the farm I loved." The year before, his father had bought Ford a pocket watch. Ford was curious how it was that the watch worked. So he dismantled and resembled it for fun. In 1879 Ford left home and was given an apprentice machinist position in Detroit. After less than a year he returned to his father’s farm where his dad let him operate a portable steam engine on the farm. Ford became very good at repairing it. Ford was always interested in how things work and saw fixing things as an exciting challenge. In his spare time he tinkered with electricity and machinery. He built his first primitive motor c

1888 - Benz Patent-Motorwagen 1900's - Curved Dash Oldsmobile  1910's - Ford Model T 1920's Ford Model T 1928 - Chevrolet National  1939 - Volkswagen Beetle  1948- Tucker Torpedo  1955- Chevrolet Bel Air 1968 - Ford Shelby GT 1977 - Pontiac Firebird  1988- Lamborghini Countach 1992- Dodge Viper 2020 - Tesla Cybertruck