Key Developments in Gilded Age Industry and Labor

Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad Company v. Illinois

A Supreme Court decision that prohibited states from regulating the railroads because the Constitution grants Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce.

Interstate Commerce Act

Congressional legislation that established the Interstate Commerce Commission, compelled railroads to publish standard rates, and prohibited rebates and pools.

vertical integration

The practice perfected by Andrew Carnegie of controlling every step of the industrial production process in order to increase efficiency and limit competition.

horizontal integration

The practice perfected by John D. Rockefeller of dominating a particular phase of the production process in order to monopolize a market, often by forming trusts and alliances with competitors.

trust

A mechanism by which one company grants control over its operations, through ownership of its stock, to another company.

Standard Oil Company

John D. Rockefeller's company, formed in 1870, which came to symbolize the trusts and monopolies of the Gilded Age.

interlocking directorates

The practice of having executives or directors from one company serve on the board of directors of another company.

Bessemer Process

Refers to the innovation in steel production where air was blown on molten iron to remove impurities, allowing steel to be produced cheaply at mass quantities.

Social Darwinists

Believers in the idea, popular in the late nineteenth century, that people gained wealth by 'survival of the fittest.'

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

A law that forbade trusts or combinations in business, this was landmark legislation because it was one of the first congressional attempts to regulate big business for the public good.

National Labor Union

This first national labor organization in U.S. history gained 600,000 members from many parts of the work force, although it limited the participation of Chinese, women, and blacks.

Knights of Labor

The second national labor organization, organized in 1869 as a secret society and opened for public membership in 1881. The Knights were known for their efforts to organize all workers, regardless of skill level, gender, or race.

Haymarket Square

A May Day rally that turned violent when someone threw a bomb into the middle of the meeting, killing several dozen people. Eight anarchists were arrested for conspiracy contributing to the disorder, although evidence linking them to the bombing was thin.

American Federation of Labor

A national federation of trade unions that included only skilled workers, founded in 1886. Led by Samuel Gompers for nearly four decades, the AFL sought to negotiate with employers for a better kind of capitalism that rewarded workers fairly with better wages, hours, and conditions.

closed shop

A union-organizing term that refers to the practice of allowing only unionized employees to work for a particular company.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

(1794-1877) A railroad magnate who made millions in steamboating before beginning a business consolidating railroads and eliminating competition in the industry.

Alexander Graham Bell

(1847-1922) The inventor of the telephone, patented in 1876.

Thomas Alva Edison

(1847-1931) The inventor of, among other things, the electric light bulb, the phonograph, the mimeograph, the moving picture, and a machine capable of taking X-rays. Ultimately he held more than one thousand patents for his inventions.

Andrew Carnegie

(1835-1919) A tycoon who came to dominate the burgeoning steel industry. His company, later named United States Steel, was the biggest corporation in U.S. history in 1901.

John D. Rockefeller

(1839-1937) The founder of the Standard Oil Company, he developed the technique of horizontal integration and compelled other oil companies to join the Standard Oil 'trust.'

Mary Harris "Mother" Jones

(1837-1930) A prominent labor activist and community organizer, dubbed 'the most dangerous woman in America' in 1902 by a West Virginia district attorney.

Samuel Gompers

(1850-1924) The president of the American Federation of Labor nearly every year from its founding in 1886 until his death in 1924.