Untitled Flashcards Set

Vertical Integration

A business strategy where a company controls all aspects of production, from raw materials to finished goods.

Horizontal Integration

A business strategy where a company buys out or allies with competitors to dominate an industry.

Captains of Industry

Business leaders who positively impacted the economy by building industries and creating jobs.

Robber Barons

Powerful 19th-century business leaders who used unethical practices to gain wealth.

Labor Union

An organized group of workers that fights for better wages, hours, and conditions.

Andrew Carnegie

Steel industry leader who used vertical integration.

John D. Rockefeller

Oil industry leader who used horizontal integration and created Standard Oil.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Railroad tycoon who expanded and controlled major rail lines.

J.P. Morgan

Banker who financed industrial growth and reorganized railroads.

Boss Tweed (William Tweed)

Corrupt NYC political leader who controlled Tammany Hall and used bribery and fraud.

Nativism

A belief that native-born Americans should be favored over immigrants.

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

A U.S. law that prohibited Chinese immigration due to anti-Chinese sentiment.

Political Machine

A corrupt organization that controlled city governments, often by bribing immigrants for votes.

Tammany Hall

A political machine in NYC led by Boss Tweed, known for corruption.

Graft

The use of political power for personal gain, often through bribery or fraud.

Sweatshop

A factory with extremely poor working conditions, low wages, and long hours.

Tenement

Overcrowded, poorly built apartment buildings in cities where many immigrants lived.

Child Labor

The use of children for industrial work, often in dangerous conditions.

The Jungle

A book by Upton Sinclair that exposed the unsanitary conditions of the meatpacking industry.

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

A workplace disaster that led to improved safety laws.

Social Darwinism

The idea that only the strongest businesses and individuals will succeed, while the weak will fail.

Muckrakers

Journalists who exposed corruption and social injustices during the Gilded Age.

Transcontinental Railroad

The first railroad that connected the U.S. from coast to coast.

Telephone (Alexander Graham Bell, 1876)

Revolutionized communication.

Electric Light Bulb (Thomas Edison, 1879)

Allowed factories and cities to operate longer hours.

Gilded Age

A time in U.S. history when things looked great on the outside but were actually full of corruption, poverty, and inequality.

Extreme wealth vs. extreme poverty

A significant issue during the Gilded Age exemplifying economic disparity.

Political corruption (Boss Tweed)

A major issue during the Gilded Age where leaders abused power for personal gain.

Monopolies (Carnegie, Rockefeller)

Companies dominating their industry, limiting competition and controlling prices.

poor working conditions

A prevalent issue faced by workers leading to calls for reform.

urban slums

Overpopulated and impoverished urban districts during the Gilded Age.

Child Labor

The employment of children in dangerous work conditions that were prevalent.

Labor rights

Legal rights and protections afforded to workers.

Tammany Hall

A political organization known for its corrupt practices in NYC.

Pure Food and Drug Act

Legislation established as a result of the unsanitary conditions exposed by The Jungle.

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire ramifications

Led to new fire safety laws and labor regulations.