Apush chapter 14 vocabulary

Gross national product (GNP)

The total value of all goods and services produced by a country

Laissez Faire

Literally means “let do” believes that the government should not interfere in the economy other than to protect private property rights and maintain peace

Entrepreneurs

People who risk their capital in organizing and running a business

Time zone

The American Railway Association divided the country into four time zones in regions where the same time was kept

Land Grants

money given to encourage the building of railroads

Corporation

An organization owned by many people but treated buy law as though it were a single person

Economies of scale

Corporations make their good more cheaply because they produce so much so quickly using large manufacturing facilities

Fixed costs

Costs a company has to pay, wether or not its operating

Operating costs

Costs that occur when running a company

Pools

Agreements to maintain prices at a certain level

Horizontal integration

Combining many firms engaged in the same type of business into one large corporation

Monopoly

When a single company achieves control of an entire market

Vertical integration

Owns all of the different businesses on which it depends for its operation

Trust

A new way of merging businesses that did not violate the laws against owning other companies

Holding company

A holding company does not produce anything itself, instead owns stock of companies that do produce goods

Deflation

A rise in the value of money

Trade Unions

Unions limited to people with specific skills

Industrial Unions

united all craft workers and common laborers in a particular industry

Lockout

Locking workers out of property and refusing to pay them

Marxism

argues that the basic force shaping capitalist society was the class struggle between workers and owners. Believed that workers would revolt and overthrow government

Arbitration

a process in which an impartial third party helps workers and management reach an agreement

Closed Shops

Companies could only hire union members