Key U.S. Industrialization and Labor Movement Terms

Bessemer Steel Process

A method of making steel quickly and cheaply by blowing air through molten iron.

Alexander Graham Bell

Inventor credited with creating the telephone.

Vanderbilt

railroad and shipping tycoon who built a transportation empire.

Carnegie

steel magnate who founded Carnegie Steel.

J.P. Morgan

Powerful banker who financed and organized major corporations.

Rockefeller

founder of Standard Oil and one of the richest businessmen in U.S. history.

Interstate Commerce Act (1887)

First federal law regulating railroads; created the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC).

Vertical Integration

Controlling every step of production, from raw materials to sales.

Horizontal Integration

Buying out or merging with competitors in the same industry.

Social Darwinism

Belief that competition allows the strongest people and businesses to succeed.

Laissez-Faire

Economic policy where the government interferes as little as possible in business.

Trustee

A group of companies managed by a single board to reduce competition.

AFL (American Federation of Labor)

Labor union led by Samuel Gompers that focused on skilled workers.

"Bread and Butter Issues"

Everyday concerns of workers such as wages, hours, and working conditions.

Rebate

A partial refund often given by railroads to large businesses as a discount.

Monopoly

When one company controls an entire industry with little or no competition.

Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)

Law intended to stop monopolies and trusts that restrained trade.

Standard Oil

Rockefeller's oil company that became a powerful monopoly.

Pittsburgh Plus Pricing

Pricing system where steel buyers paid Pittsburgh shipping costs even if steel was made elsewhere.

Taylorism

Scientific management system created by Frederick Taylor to improve worker efficiency.

Farmers' Alliance

Organization formed by farmers to fight economic problems and railroad abuses.

Populist Party

Political party representing farmers and laborers in the 1890s.

Omaha Platform

The Populist Party's 1892 statement of demands, including free silver and government regulation of railroads.

1887 Railroad Strike

First major national labor strike in the U.S., caused by wage cuts.

Knights of Labor

Labor organization that welcomed both skilled and unskilled workers.

Haymarket Square Riot

Violent labor protest in Chicago in 1886 after a bomb exploded during a rally.

Pinkerton Detective Agency

Private security force often hired by companies to break strikes.

Homestead Steel Strike

1892 strike at Carnegie's steel plant that ended in violence and union defeat.

Pullman Strike

1894 nationwide railroad strike led by Eugene V. Debs after wage cuts at the Pullman Company.

Labor Day

Federal holiday honoring American workers, established in 1894.