Vocab Terms- Section 9

entrepreneur

a person who organizes and operates a business

free enterprise

an economic system where private businesses operate in competition and without state control

laissez-faire

a policy of letting things take their own course (no interference)

protective tariff

designed to shield production from foreign competition by raising prices of imported goods

patent

grant rights to; grant a patent for

Thomas Edison

an american inventor who invented devices in multiple fields

bessemer process

an industrial process for making steel

suspension bridge

a bridge that has a roadway supported by cables that are anchored at both ends

time zone

an area which observes a standard time for certain purposes

mass production

the production of large quantities of a standardized product

cash crop

a crop that is grown and gathered for the market

corporation

an organization authorized by the state to act as a single entity

monopoly

the control of the supply/trade in a commodity or service

cartel

an association of manufacturers with the purpose of maintaining high prices and restricting competition

John D. Rockefeller

Founder of the standard oil company

horizontal integration

business strategy in which a company grows its operations at the same level as an industry

trust

a legal relationship in which the holder of a right gives it to a person who must use it solely for another's benefit

Andrew Carnegie

led the expansion of the steel industry

vertical integration

the combination in 1 company of 2 + stages of production operate by seperate companies

Social Darwinism

the idea that certain people become powerful in society because they are better

interstate commerce commission

a regulatory agency created to oversee the conduct of the railroad industry

Sherman Antitrust Act

authorized to institute proceedings against trusts in order to dissolve them

sweatshop

a factory where workers are employed at low wages for long hours with poor conditions

company towns

a place where practically all stores/housing are owned by 1 company that is also the main employer

collective bargaining

negotiation of wages and other conditions of employment by an organized body of employers

socialism

a political/economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production/distribution/exchange should be owned and regulated by the community as a whole

Knights of Labor

a secret society of tailors that played a key role in the great railroad strike

Terrence V. Powderly

an American labor union leader best known head of the knights of labor

Samuel Gompers

founder and longest serving president of the AFL

american federation of labor (AFL)

a national foundation of labor unions founded to provide support

Haymarket Riot

the aftermath of a bombing at a labor demonstration

Homestead Strike

an industrial lockout/strike resulting in a battle between strikers and private security agents

Eugene V. Debs

One of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World

Pullman Strike

2 interrelated strikes that shaped the national labor policy in the US during a period of deep economic depression

"new immigrants"

immigrants largely from southern and eastern Europe

steerage

the cheapest accommodations on a passenger ship

ellis island

an island in New York Bay that was formerly the principal immigration station for the United States

Angel Island

served as an immigration port in San Francisco for 30 years

Americanization

The influence of american culture on other countries and immigrants

"melting pot"

a place where a variety of cultures assimilate

nativism

the policy of protecting the interests of native-borns against those of immigrants

Chinese Exclusion Act

a federal law prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years

urbanization

the process of making an area more urban

rural to urban migrants

those who leave their rural town for another place more urban

skyscrapers

tall buildings with multiple floors

Elisha Otis

Founder of the Otis elevator company and inventor of a safety device for elevators

mass transit

the transportation of large numbers of people by bus/subway/train

suburbs

an outlying district of a city

Frederick Law Olmstead

considered to be the father of landscape architecture

tenements

a set of rooms forming a separate residence within a house or block of apartments

cholera

a bacterial disease caused by drinking contaminated water

Mark Twain

father of american literature

Gilded Age

a period of rapid economic growth

conspicuous consumerism

a means to show one's social status

mass culture

a set of practices dominant in a society at any given time

Joseph Pulitzer

helped establish the pattern of modern newspaper; leading national figure in the democratic party

William Randolph Hearst

known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain

Horatio Alger

an author who wrote to inspire and comfort his readers

Tin Pan Alley

a city district where composers and publishers of popular music do business

vaudeville

a theatrical genre of variety entertainment