U.S. History / Unit 3: Big Business and Industrialization

The Gilded Age

Mark Twain's satirical novel, the title of which became the popular name for the period from approximately 1870 to 1900.

capitalism

economic system characterized by ownership of private property, generally free trade, and open and accessible markets

laissez-faire

an economic system without government interference or control over economic activities

Social Darwinism

a view of society based on Charles Darwin's scientific theory of natural selection using the concept of the "survival of the fittest" to justify class distinctions and to explain poverty

vertical integration

business practice of consolidating and owning the businesses involved in each step of a product's manufacture by taking over its suppliers, distributors, and transportation systems

horizontal integration

business practice of consolidating and owning many businesses that make the same type of product in a particular field of business

monopoly

exclusive control by one company over an entire industry without any outside competition

philanthropy

charitable donations to public causes typically made by the very wealthy; industrialists of the Gilded Age donated lots of money to give those less advantaged the chance to improve themselves through education

Steel

a strong, hard metal made of iron and carbon that is both durable and flexible; first mass-produced in the 1860s; quickly became the most widely used metal in construction, machinery, and railroad equipment

Bessemer Process

a way to manufacture steel quicker, cheaper, and more efficiently; hot air is blasted through melted iron to quickly remove impurities

Johnstown Flood

on May 31, 1889, the South Fork Dam upstream of the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, broke; water from the reservoir flooded the town of Johnstown, killing over 2,200 people

labor unions

an organized association of workers formed to protect and further their rights and interests with the primary goal of bargaining over issues like labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, work conditions, etc.

Homestead Strike

July 1892 strike against wage-cutting at Carnegie's steelworks in Homestead, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh provoked violence in which three company-hired detectives and ten workers died.

Pullman Strike

A violent strike by railway workers led by Eugene Debs over drastic wage cuts at the Pullman Palace Car Company on May 11, 1894; interstate natural of railroad industry caused intervention by the federal troops

Sherman Antitrust Act

1890 law intended to ban the creation of monopolies by making it illegal to establish trusts that restrained or interfered with free trade or interstate commerce