Term | Definition |
Bessemer Process | Andrew Carnegie used this faster & cheaper way of making steel to monopolize the industry |
Transcontinental RR | completed in 1869 using Irish & Chinese labor, it connected East & West Coasts with the center of the country creating a National Market of goods & services |
free enterprise system | encouraged entrepreneurs to invest their money into develop new industries and seek maximum profit without interference from govt. |
Corporations | new models of business that sold stock ownership to investors to raise capital ($) to buy new machinery and expand production |
John D. Rockefeller | created Standard Trust Company that owned 90% of all oil refinery in the US, creating a horizontal monopoly that forced rail roads to give him special rates |
Andrew Carnegie | created a vertical monopoly with US Steel that controlled the mines, the steel plants, and ships to transport his steel |
Gospel of Wealth | book written by Andrew Carnegie that argued company profits were better off in the hands of owners who would use them to build schools & museums for all society, rather than pay workers who would drink & gamble away |
Philanthropy | the act of donating money to support public works such as schools and cultural centers |
Gilded Age | post-Civil War Era that saw the US become a major industrial power, invent new tech, raise the standard of living, but treat its workers poorly and damage the environment |
laissez faire | the "hands off" policy of the US govt. during the Gilded Age in which industries were not regulated over pay or working conditions |
shareholder | a partial owner of a corporation through the buying of stocks |
Knights of Labor | founded by Terrence Powderly to unite unskilled workers and demand safe work conditions, an end to child labor, and equal pay for women |
American Federation of Labor | founded by Samuel Gompers to unite skilled workers with limited demands: higher wages, 8 hour day, and closed shops where only union members could work |
collective bargaining | the act of union leader and industry owners to negotiate wages and work requirements |
Sherman Anti-Trust Act | law intended to regulate monopolies, but often used to break up unions as illegal |
Haymarket Square Affair | riots in Chicago that led to violence when radicals exploded a bomb killing 7 police. The Knights of Labor were blamed and lost popular support |
closed shop | places where only union member who paid dues could work. The limits led to higher wages since the union could negotiate for all workers |
Interstate Commerce Act | law that tried to regulate railroads that were charging higher rates to small farmers while giving cheaper rates to corporations who used them more |