Late 19th Century Economic and Social History Flashcards

Flashcards covering economic systems, business practices, labor movements, and social policies from the late 19th-century United States, based on provided lecture notes.

What is free enterprise (capitalism)?

freedom of private business to organ size and operate for profit in a competition system without interference by government beyond regulation necessary to protect public interest and help the national economy in balance

What is Laissez faire?

the absences of government control over personal and economic life

What is a protective tariff?

the taxes on imported goods designed to protect domestic industry

What is a cash crop?

crop groom for sale

Who are entrepreneurs?

people who build and manage business or enterprises in order to make a profit, often riesling his own money or livelihood

What is a corporation?

Company recognized as a legal unit that has rights and liabilities separate from each of its members

What is a monopoly?

exclusive control by one company over an entire industry

What is a cartel?

association of products of a good or survive that prices and controls stocks in order to monopolize a market

What is a trust?

group of separate companies that are placed under they control of a single managing board in order to form a monopoly

What is horizontal integration?

system of consolidating many firms in the same business

What is vertical integration?

system of consolidating firms involved in a all steps of a products manufacturing

What was the late nineteenth-century concept of social darwinism?

the belief held by some in the late nineteenth century that certain nations and races were superior to others and therefore destined to rule over the

What was the purpose of the Interstate commerce commission?

first federal agency manufacturing business operations, created in 1887 to oversee interstate railroad protections.

What did the Sherman antitrust act of 1890 prohibit?

1890 law banning trust that retrained interstate trade or commerce

What is collective bargaining?

process in which employees negotiate with labor unions about laws, wages and the working conditions

What is socialism?

system or theory under which the means of production are publicly controlled and regulated rather than owned by individuals

What was the Hay market riot?

1186 labor related protest in Chicago which ended in deadly violence

What was the Homestead strike?

1892 strike against carnegie steel works in homestead pennsylvania

What was the Pullman strike?

violent 1894 railway workers strike which began outside Chicago and spread nationwide

What is nativism?

inclination to favor native inhibitions as opposed to immigrants

What did the Chinese exclusion act 1882 mandate?

1882 law that prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers

What is urbanization?

expansion of cities and/or an increase in the number of people living in them

What are tenements?

multistory building divided into apartments to house as many residents as possible

What does the term Gilded age describe?

term coined by mark twain to describe the past reconstruction era as a facade of prosperity

What is assimilation?

absorbed into the mani cutlery of a society

What did the Dawes general allotment act of 1887 do?

1887 law that divide reservation land into private family plot

What was the Hampstead Act of 1862?

1862 law that gave 160 acres of land to persons willing to live and cultivation it for 5 years

What is the spoils system?

practice of the political part in power giving jobs and appointments to its supporters rather than to people with qualifications

What was the purpose of the Pendleton civil survive act?

1883 law that created a civil service system for the federal government in an attempt to hire employees on a merit system rather than spoils system

What was the Farmers alliance?

network of farmers organizations that worked for political economic reformation in the late 1800s