Give Me Liberty Chapter 16 Vocab

Trusts

legal arrangements where multiple companies were controlled by a single board to reduce competition

Vertical Integration

a business strategy in which a company controls every stage of production to lower costs and increase efficiency

Horizontal Expansion

a strategy where a company buys out or eliminates competitors in the same industry

Captains of Industry

a positive label for business leaders who expanded the economy

Robber Barons

a negative term for industrialists who gained wealth through exploitation

Andrew Carnegie

a steel magnate who used vertical integration to dominate steel production and promoted philanthropy through the Gospel of Wealth while opposing unions.

John D. Rockefeller

founder of Standard Oil who used horizontal expansion and trusts to control oil refining

Gilded Age

a period of rapid industrial growth and wealth in the late 1800s that masked deep social inequality

Social Darwinism

the belief that economic success reflected natural selection

Liberty of Contract

the idea that employers and workers should negotiate freely without government interference

Wabash v. Illinois (1886)

a Supreme Court case limiting state regulation of interstate railroads

Interstate Commerce Act (1887)

the first federal law regulating railroads to ensure fair rates

Lochner v. New York (1905)

a Supreme Court decision striking down labor-hour limits as violations of liberty of contract

Great Railroad Strike (1877)

a nationwide labor strike suppressed by federal troops

Knights of Labor

a national labor union open to skilled and unskilled workers that sought broad reforms but declined after public backlash from labor violence.

Progress and Poverty

Henry George’s book arguing poverty was caused by unequal land ownership and advocating a single tax on land to promote fairness.

Social Gospel

a religious movement applying Christian ethics to social problems and inspiring reform efforts to address poverty and inequality.

Haymarket Affair (1886)

a labor protest turned violent after a bombing in Chicago

Bonanza Farms

large commercial farms using industrial methods that increased production but hurt small farmers and fueled agrarian discontent.

Battle of Little Bighorn (1876)

a Native American victory over U.S. forces that led to harsher federal policies toward Plains tribes.

Dawes Act (1887)

a law dividing tribal lands into individual plots to force assimilation

Ghost Dance

a Native American spiritual movement promising cultural renewal that alarmed U.S. officials and led to violent suppression.

Wounded Knee Massacre (1890)

the killing of Lakota men

“Boss” Tweed

the leader of New York City’s Tammany Hall who exemplified political corruption through bribery and machine politics.

Gold Standard

a monetary system backing currency with gold that favored bankers and creditors while hurting farmers and debtors.

Civil Service Act of 1883

a reform law requiring merit-based government hiring that reduced patronage and political corruption.

Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)

the first federal law banning monopolies and restraints of trade

Greenback Labor Party

a political party advocating paper money and labor reforms that reflected growing worker and farmer discontent.