Unit 3 Gilded Age and Progressive Era, 1870-1920

Andrew Carnegie

Built a steel mill empire; US STEEL

capital

money for investment

Laissez-faire

Idea that government should play as small a role as possible in economic affairs.

Robber Barons

Great industrialists who dominated particular industries and who were seen as exploiting their power - at the public's expense. The first robber barons were railway magnates.

pool

informal agreement between firms to limit output or divide markets

Standard Oil Company

Founded by John D. Rockefeller. Largest unit in the American oil industry in 1881. Known as A.D. Trust, it was outlawed by the Supreme Court of Ohio in 1899. Replaced by the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey.

trust

A group of corporations run by a single board of directors

holding company

a company whose primary business is owning a controlling share of stock in other companies

John D. Rockefeller

Was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of modern philanthropy.

J.P. Morgan

An influential banker and businessman who bought and reorganized companies. His US Steel company would buy Carnegie steel and become the largest business in the world in 1901

Investment Banking

Financial activities that involve underwriting new security issues and providing advice on mergers and acquisitions.

monopoly

a situation where someone or some company has sole command or possession of something.

Inflation

a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money.

Protectionism

the protection of domestic industries against international competition, by trade tariffs and other means

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

First federal action against monopolies, it was signed into law by Harrison and was extensively used by Theodore Roosevelt for trust-busting. However, it was initially misused against labor unions

United States v. E.C. Knight Co.

This was a case where the government sued E.C Knight Co. due a violation in the Sherman Anti-Trust Act since E.C. controlled 98% of the sugar refinement industry. The court ruled in favor of E.C. Knight, stating that manufacturing was not subject to the act. This made regulation more difficult.

Alexander Graham Bell

Invented the telephone

Thomas Edison

American inventor best known for inventing the electric light bulb, acoustic recording on wax cylinders, and motion pictures.

George Westinghouse

Invented the air brake for trains.

Nikola Tesla

Invented the Alternating Current (AC current) for electricity.

Frank Sprague

engineer who developed the electric trolley car

Union Pacific Railroad

A railroad that started in Omaha, and it connected with the Central Pacific Railroad in Promontory Point, UTAH

Central Pacific Railroad

A railroad that started in Sacramento , and connected with the Union Pacific Railroad in Promontory Point, UTAH

Credit Mobilier Scandal

1872 illegal manipulation of contracts by a construction and finance company associated with the building of the Union Pacific Railroad

George Pullman

made his fortune by designing and building sleeper cars that made long distance rail travel more comfortable. Built a company town near Chicago for his employees.

Pullman Cars

Railway cars that were designed to be like luxury hotels but on the railways

Cornelius Vanderbilt

A railroad owner who built a railway connecting Chicago and New York. He popularized the use of steel rails in his railroad, which made railroads safer and more economical.

freight rate

The charge levied by a transporter for the loading, moving, and unloading of goods; includes line-haul costs and terminal costs.

Granger Laws

A set of laws designed to address railroad discrimination against small farmers, covering issues like freight rates and railroad rebates.

Munn v. Illinois

1877 Supreme Court decision that allowed states to regulate certain businesses within their borders

Wabash v. Illinois

Supreme Court case in 1886, which ruled that individual states could not regulate interstate commerce.

Interstate Commerce Act 1887

Congressional legislation that established the Interstate Commerce Commission, compelled railroads to publish standard rates, and prohibited rebates and pools. Railroads quickly became adept at using the Act to achieve their own ends, but the Act gave the government an important means to regulate big business.

Tariffs

Taxes on imported goods

Mongrel Tariff

Tariff of 1883, a compromise measure that satisfied nobody. Duties were lowered on a few items, but increased on most manufactured goods.

McKinley Tariff Act 1890

raised tariffs to the highest level they had ever been. Big business favored these tariffs because they protected U.S. businesses from foreign competition.

Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act 1894

Congress passed this law to protect American sugar growers in the US. Cuba was no longer able to sell much sugar to America and the decline in exports killed the Cuban economy.

Dingley Tariff of 1897

Act which raised import duties to an all-time high