Impact Of The Interstate Commerce Act Of 1887

The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 was a federal law that aimed to regulate the railroads, which were a major mode of transportation at the time. The primary purpose of the ICA was to address issues of discrimination and unjust rates by railroads, as well as to promote competition and ensure fair treatment of shippers and consumers. The act established the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) which was given the power to regulate the railroads, enforce the act's provisions, and investigate complaints.The main purpose of the ICA was to address widespread complaints about discriminatory and monopolistic practices by the railroads owners, such as charging higher prices for shorter hauls, charging different rates for the same goods, and giving

This played a crucial role in driving economic growth and modernization during the Gilded age, which made the United States a global economic power. However, it also created significant social and economic inequality, many business leaders amassed great wealth and power to the point they pretty much had control over the government, while working conditions for laborers remained poor and wages remained low without any care as to their workers condition. Therefore despite their positive impact on the American economy, business leaders' also had negative consequences for society, as they led to the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few individuals and perpetuated poor working conditions and low wages for the majority of Americans. Overall, while the actions of business leaders during the Gilded Age played a crucial role in driving economic growth and modernization, they also contributed to significant social and economic inequality in

For example, Thomas Edison used a machine that made tasks faster, and these tasks used to take weeks but now because of the invention it only took a few days(doc 2). The writer of this excerpt was Thomas Edison and he was a major Business leader of his time. He was also a lead inventor who created items to make life easier like the light bulb but he also invented some other machinery to make life more efficient.The document also shows how these business leaders were advancing the nation. Even though people portrayed Business leaders as selfish people. (doc7) says otherwise because it shows a graph of how much John D. Rockefeller donated to different organizations like Yale,Rockefeller Foundation,etc.. he did not make any money from these organizations, this shows that some of these businessmen actively tried to better the community and economy by giving back. The purpose of this document is to show how big of an impact Business leaders could have had if they decide to use their wealth to help the community because now we can still see these organizations prospering like Yale