Title: The 1900s Business and the Economy: Overview | Encyclopedia.com
Headings: The 1900s Business and the Economy: Overview
The 1900s Business and the Economy: Overview
The 1900s Business and the Economy: Overview

Content: The general prosperity of the decade made many Americans eager consumers, especially as companies began to spend more time and money on product advertising. The rise of big business and poor working conditions for common laborers led to increased tensions between employers and employees. Throughout the decade many workers joined organized labor unions, but their efforts to improve pay and workplace conditions were often unsuccessful. Several long and violent strikes occurred during the 1900s, and some of these work stoppages required government intervention to resolve the disputes. The great differences in the lifestyles of owners and workers was highly publicized, notably through the Anthracite Coal Strike. Nevertheless, union power became increasingly fragmented as worker unity was lost amid internal divisions based on race, gender, nationality, skill, and political beliefs. Although the 1900s had a generally optimistic economic outlook, the confidence of many Americans was shaken by the sharp stock market drop in 1907. The first sign of financial panic was a run on the Knickerbocker Trust Company of New York, which collapsed the banking and credit system. Confidence was restored because of the actions of the U.S. Treasury along with capitalists under the leadership of J.P. Morgan, who stabilized the banks and corporations with their own funds. Despite the gap between America's rich and poor, the first decade of the century brought increasing commercialism to the lives of all Americans.