The Rise of Industry and Industrial Labor in the Gilded Age

Vocabulary flashcards covering industrial labor, unionization, technological innovations, corporate strategies, and socio-economic dynamics of the Gilded Age.

Industrial Labor

Work in factories, mills, and mines characterized by long hours, dangerous working conditions, and low pay, often issued as scrip.

Scrip

A form of low pay given to industrial laborers in factories, mills, and mines instead of standard currency.

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory

A historical example representing the harsh realities and dangerous working conditions of industrial labor.

Knights of Labor

A notable early labor union formed by workers to pursue shared workplace goals.

Collective Bargaining

A primary power and method utilized by labor unions to negotiate for workers' goals with employers.

Strikes

A form of collective action and power used by labor unions to halt work in order to achieve their goals.

Laissez-faire

A governmental approach of non-interference that served as a key factor in the rise of industry during the Gilded Age.

Bessemer Process

A technological advancement that enabled efficient, large-scale steel production.

Thomas Edison

An inventor whose development of the electric light significantly advanced industrial technology.

Assembly Line

A manufacturing method that enabled mass production during the rise of industry.

Alexander Graham Bell

An inventor who advanced communication technology through the invention of the telephone.

Andrew Carnegie

A prominent robber baron and philanthropist who led US Steel.

John D. Rockefeller

A robber baron and philanthropist who founded and controlled Standard Oil.

Trusts

A form of business organization and strategy used to establish a monopoly over an industry.

Vertical Integration

A business strategy and organizational method used by corporations to manage all aspects of production.

Horizontal Integration

A corporate business strategy aimed at expanding market dominance by merging with or acquiring competitors.

"The Gilded Age"

A term coined by Mark Twain describing an era marked by extreme wealth disparity and political corruption.

"New Immigrants"

Immigrants, often refugees, whose arrival driven by urbanization provided a major source of cheap industrial labor.

Ethnic Neighborhoods

Urban communities formed by new immigrants that existed in contrast to full assimilation into American culture.

Tenements

Crowded and poor living quarters that characterized residential conditions for urban immigrants and laborers.