Gilded Age Labor Vocabulary: Unions, Strikes, and Business Strategies

working class

people who work for wages in factories, mills, mines, and other businesses, usually performing manual labor

Capitalism

an economic system in which factors, equipment, and other means of production are privately owned

division of labor

a method in which factory production is divided into separate tasks, with one task assigned to each worker

Bessemer process

a method of steelmaking invented in 1855 that enabled steel to be made more cheaply and quickly

factors of production

land, labor, and capital

sweatshops

a small factory where employees work long hours under poor conditions for low wages

capital

any financial asset—including money, machines, and buildings—used in production

child labor

the practice of using children as manual laborers

tenement

a run-down apartment building

corporations

a company recognized by law to exist independently from their owners, with the ability to own property, borrow money, sue, or be sued

labor unions

a group of workers organized to protest the interests of its members

strike

a labor in which workers refuse to go to work

monopoly

a company that completely dominates a particular industry

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

a national labor organization founded in 1920 to defend Americans' rights and freedoms as given in the Constitution

trusts

a set of companies managed by a small group known as trustees, who can prevent companies in the trust from competing with each other

Socialism

a political theory that advocates ownership of the means of production, such as factories and farms, by the people rather than by capitalists and landowners

horizontal integration

a corporate expansion strategy that involves joining together as many firms from the same industry as possible

collective bargaining

negotiations between employers and employees concerning wages, working conditions, and other terms of employment

vertical integration

a corporate expansion strategy that involves controlling each step in the production and distribution of a product, from acquiring raw materials to manufacturing, packaging, and shipping

Haymarket Affair

a violent clash in 1886 between union supporters and Chicago police that divided and weakened the labor movement

laissez-faire

the idea that the free market, through supply and demand, will regulate itself if government does not interfere

Homestead Strike

an 1892 Carnegie Steel plant workers' strike that was broken by the state militia and resulted in the union being shut out of the plant for four decades

Social Darwinism

an idea, based on Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, that the best run businesses

Pullman Strike

an 1894 railway workers' strike that was broken by federal troops, weakening the labor movement

Sherman Antitrust Act

an 1890 federal law that outlawed trusts, monopolies, and other forms of business that restricted trade

Anarchists

a person who rejects all forms of government

Entrepreneurs

a bold, ambitious person who establishes a new business

Philanthropist

a person who gives money to support worthy causes