Period 2: 1898-1930
Introduction:
During this time period, the gilded age comes to an end, which means huge changes in the world of business. In response to all of the problems with businesses in the gilded age, like monopolies, poor treatment and pay of workers, and child labor, several laws and acts are passed in an attempt to keep these problems from ever coming up again. In 1914 the clayton antitrust act is passed to supplement the poorly constructed sherman antitrust act. These acts were passed in order to break up and outlaw monopolies and trusts formed by huge businesses. The federal employee's compensation act was passed in 1916. This act provided compensation to federal workers who were injured on the job, and although it only helped federal employees, it was a huge step in the right direction for workers compensation. In 1916 the Keating Owen Child Labor Act was passed in order to help stop child labor. This act made it illegal for businesses who employed children under the age of 14 to sell their products.
During this time period, the gilded age comes to an end, which means huge changes in the world of business. In response to all of the problems with businesses in the gilded age, like monopolies, poor treatment and pay of workers, and child labor, several laws and acts are passed in an attempt to keep these problems from ever coming up again. In 1914 the clayton antitrust act is passed to supplement the poorly constructed sherman antitrust act. These acts were passed in order to break up and outlaw monopolies and trusts formed by huge businesses. The federal employee's compensation act was passed in 1916. This act provided compensation to federal workers who were injured on the job, and although it only helped federal employees, it was a huge step in the right direction for workers compensation. In 1916 the Keating Owen Child Labor Act was passed in order to help stop child labor. This act made it illegal for businesses who employed children under the age of 14 to sell their products.
Primary Source:
Keating Owen Child Labor Act: This act was passed in 1916 in order to prevent child labor, especially in factories owned by big businesses. The act prohibited the sale of goods manufactured in factories that employed children under the age of fourteen, mines that employed children under the age of sixteen, and any facility where children under the age of fourteen worked after 7.00PM or before 6.00AM, or more than 8 hours a day. In order to enforce this act, the Secretary of Labor would assign inspectors to inspect any facility that manufactured goods for commerce. These inspectors could make unannounced visits, and would have full access the the facility they were inspecting. Only nine months after the passing of the act, in Hammer v. Dagenhart, the act was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States. "no producer, manufacturer, or dealer shall ship or deliver for shipment in interstate or foreign commerce, any article or commodity the product of any mine or quarry situated in the United States, in which within thirty days prior to the time of the removal of such product therefrom children under the age of sixteen years have been employed or permitted to work, or any article or commodity the product of any mill, cannery, workshop, factory, or manufacturing establishment, situated in the United States, in which within thirty days prior to the removal of such product therefrom children under the age of fourteen years have been employed or permitted to work, or children between the ages of fourteen years and sixteen years have been employed or permitted to work more than eight hours in any day, or more than six days in any week, or after the hour of seven o'clock postmeridian, or before the hour of six o'clock". This act affected my topic because it significantly limited the employment of children in factories, mines, and other facilities that manufacture goods for commerce. Children made up a large percentage of employees hired to work in factories, mainly because the factory owners didn't have to pay them as much as adults for their work, and also their smaller hands could reach into parts of the machines that an older worker couldn't get to. After the act was passed, lots of factories were forced to hire more employees in order to replace the children they employed to work in the factory.
Keating Owen Child Labor Act: This act was passed in 1916 in order to prevent child labor, especially in factories owned by big businesses. The act prohibited the sale of goods manufactured in factories that employed children under the age of fourteen, mines that employed children under the age of sixteen, and any facility where children under the age of fourteen worked after 7.00PM or before 6.00AM, or more than 8 hours a day. In order to enforce this act, the Secretary of Labor would assign inspectors to inspect any facility that manufactured goods for commerce. These inspectors could make unannounced visits, and would have full access the the facility they were inspecting. Only nine months after the passing of the act, in Hammer v. Dagenhart, the act was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States. "no producer, manufacturer, or dealer shall ship or deliver for shipment in interstate or foreign commerce, any article or commodity the product of any mine or quarry situated in the United States, in which within thirty days prior to the time of the removal of such product therefrom children under the age of sixteen years have been employed or permitted to work, or any article or commodity the product of any mill, cannery, workshop, factory, or manufacturing establishment, situated in the United States, in which within thirty days prior to the removal of such product therefrom children under the age of fourteen years have been employed or permitted to work, or children between the ages of fourteen years and sixteen years have been employed or permitted to work more than eight hours in any day, or more than six days in any week, or after the hour of seven o'clock postmeridian, or before the hour of six o'clock". This act affected my topic because it significantly limited the employment of children in factories, mines, and other facilities that manufacture goods for commerce. Children made up a large percentage of employees hired to work in factories, mainly because the factory owners didn't have to pay them as much as adults for their work, and also their smaller hands could reach into parts of the machines that an older worker couldn't get to. After the act was passed, lots of factories were forced to hire more employees in order to replace the children they employed to work in the factory.
Photograph 1: Clayton Anti-Trust Act
This political cartoon demonstrates how the Clayton Anti-Trust Act affected trusts and monopolies formed by big businesses. The act was written to clear up all of the poorly worded parts of the Sherman Anti-Trust act that allowed businesses to keep trusts and monopolies by taking advantage of various loopholes found throughout the act. The Clayton Anti-Trust act was much more clear, and had a much better result, ending lots of big monopolies and trusts formed by businesses. This relates to my topic because this act changed the way businesses were run by re-introducing competition between businesses that had been prevented for so long by the big monopolies.
Photograph 2: Declaration of War Against Germany
This picture shows the declaration of war against Germany. This is important because it results in the U.S joining world war 1 which forces some big changes in businesses and factories. During the war, the U.S didn't have enough supplies to fight the war so factories were changed and required to produce products for war, such as shells, bullets, tanks, or jeeps. Businesses were forced to meet daily quotas for the war products they produced in their factories. This affected the businesses because although they were still making money, they weren't able to produce the typical products they made, and they had to change their factories around in order to be able to produce weapons for the war.
Photograph 3: The Jungle
The Jungle was a book written by Upton Sinclair about the meat packaging industry during the gilded age. The book goes into extreme detail about the all of the disgusting and careless habits exhibited by the industry's workers, and really exposed the fact that the meat packaging industries were able to get away with their disgusting habits without any punishment issued from the government. This book affects my topic because after president Roosevelt gets a hold of the book, he immediately implements regulations in the meat packaging industry. This is a big deal because it's one of the first industries ever required to have regulations, which is a huge step in the right direction for fair, healthy business practices.