Big business terms

Flashcards covering key figures, concepts, and events related to Social Darwinism, industrialization, labor movements, and immigration from the provided lecture notes.

Social Darwinism

An ideology that applies Darwin’s natural selection to society and economics.

Herbert Spencer

English philosopher and leading advocate for Social Darwinism, coined the phrase 'Survival of the fittest'.

William Graham Sumner

Yale professor and leading American advocate of Social Darwinism.

John D. Rockefeller

Founder of Standard Oil, which became the largest oil monopoly in the U.S.

J.P. Morgan

Wealthy banker who dominated corporate finance, known for his involvement with U.S. Steel.

Andrew Carnegie

Industrialist who built Carnegie Steel, which later became U.S. Steel.

Gospel of Wealth

Andrew Carnegie's idea that the rich had a duty to use their money for the benefit of society.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

A national labor union focused on skilled workers and better working conditions.

Samuel Gompers

The first president of the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

Karl Marx

German philosopher known for developing the theory of Communism.

Bourgeoisie

A Marxist term for the owners or those who controlled production.

Eugene V. Debs

A labor leader and five-time Socialist Party candidate for President.

Pullman Strike

A nationwide railroad strike that occurred between the American Railroad Union and the Pullman Company.

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

A radical 1905 union, also known as the 'Wobblies,' which advocated for one big union of all workers and socialist/Marxist ideas.