Henretta, America's History for the AP® Course, 11e, Chapter 16

management revolution

An internal management structure adopted by large corporations that departmentalized operations and distinguished top executives from those responsible for day-to-day operations.

vertical integration

A business model, pioneered by late- nineteenth-century entrepreneurs such as Gustavus Swift and Andrew Carnegie, in which a corporation controlled all aspects of production from raw materials to packaged products.

predatory pricing

A tactic developed by large corporations in the late nineteenth century, in which a corporation drops prices below cost, in a limited area, to drive small competitors out of business and take control of a local market.

horizontal integration

A business concept invented in the late nineteenth century in which a powerful business forces rivals to merge their companies into a single conglomerate. John D. Rockefeller of Standard Oil pioneered this model.

trust

A small group of associates who hold stock from multiple firms and manage them as a single entity. Trusts quickly evolved into other centralized business forms, but critics continued to refer to giant firms with monopoly power as “trusts.”

"The Gospel of Wealth"

Andrew Carnegie’s argument that corporate leaders’ success showed their “fitness” to lead society and that poverty demonstrated, on the contrary, lack of “fitness” to compete in the new economy. Carnegie advocated, however, that wealthy men should use their fortunes for the public good.

deskilling

A system in which unskilled workers complete discrete, small-scale tasks to build a standardized item, rather than crafting an entire product. This process accelerated in the late nineteenth century as mechanized manufacturing expanded. With deskilling, employers found they could pay workers less and replace them more easily.

scientific management

A system of organizing work, developed by Frederick W. Taylor in the late nineteenth century, designed to coax maximum output from the individual worker, increase efficiency, and reduce production costs.

New South

A term describing economic diversification and growth of industry in the post–Civil War South. Because of the region’s poverty, much work was extractive (such as coal and timber production), and some (like textiles) was low-wage and involved child labor.

Chinese Exclusion Act

The 1882 race-based law that barred Chinese laborers from entering the United States. Later applied to other Asian immigrants as well, it was not repealed until 1943.

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

A nationwide strike of thousands of railroad workers and labor allies, who protested the growing power of railroad corporations and the steep wage cuts imposed by railroad managers amid a severe economic depression that had begun in 1873.

Greenback-Labor Party

A political party of the 1870s and 1880s that called on the government to protect worker rights, regulate corporations, continue Reconstruction policies in the South, and increase the money supply in order to assist borrowers.

producerism

An argument, made by late-nineteenth-century farmers’ and workers’ movements, that real economic wealth is created by workers engaged in physical labor and that merchants, bankers, and other middlemen unfairly gain wealth from such “producers.”

Granger laws

Economic regulatory laws that aimed to limit the power of railroads and other corporations. Were passed in the late 1870s by midwestern states in response to pressure from farmers and the Greenback-Labor Party.

Knights of Labor

The first mass labor organization of nationwide scope, which sought to bridge differences of occupation, race, and gender to unite all workers. The __________ peaked in strength in the mid-1880s.

Haymarket Square

The May 4, 1886, conflict in Chicago in which both workers and policemen were killed or wounded during a labor demonstration called by local anarchists. The incident created a backlash against all labor organizations, including the Knights of Labor.

Farmers' Alliance

A rural movement founded in Texas during the depression of the 1870s that spread across the plains and the South. Advocating cooperative stores to circumvent middlemen, the Alliance also called for greater government aid to farmers and stricter regulation of railroads.

Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)

Formed in 1887 to oversee the railroad industry and prevent unfair rates, the ICC was an important early effort by Congress to regulate corporate practices.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

Organization of skilled workers created by Samuel Gompers in 1886 that called for direct negotiation with employers in order to achieve better pay and benefits. The AFL became the largest and most enduring workers’ organization of the industrial era.