Term | Definition |
Social Darwinism | the idea that the marketplace should not be regulated, since the fittest succeed in business and the weak are eliminated |
horizontal integration | when companies producing similar products merge or are eliminated to get rid of competition |
trust | a company that holds all the stock of a certain kind of business-- eliminates competition |
socialism | economic theory that states the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned by the people as a whole, not individuals |
Chinese Exclusion Act | Congressional Act banning entry to the US for all Chinese except students, teachers, merchants, tourists, and govt. officials |
Gentlemen's Agreement | Agreement Japan made with the US-- limited Japanese emigration to the US in exchange for the repeal of a San Francisco Japanese segregation order in schools |
nativism | overt favoritism toward native-born Americans |
political machine | organization that offers services to voters and businesses in exchange for political or financial support |
settlement houses | community centers in slum neighborhoods that provided assistance to people in the area, especially immigrants |
Americanization | social campaign designed to assimilate immigrants into American culture |
monopoly | the exclusive possession or control of the supply or trade in a commodity or service |
Boss Tweed | the head of Tammany Hall, a powerful political machine dominating New York politics in the mid-19th century |
vertical integration | process of buying out suppliers of raw materials and transport to reduce costs |
laissez-faire | "allow to do"-- the idea that business should be left alone to do its thing without government intervention |
Bessemer Process | the process of injecting air into molten iron to remove impurities-- the process allows for the making of a lot of cheap, high-quality steel |
Pullman Strike | Strike in which the workers of the Pullman Co. tried to get better wages-- broken up by government troops |