2: Industrialization (U.S. History II)

proprietorship

A business owned by one person or family

corporation

a business owned by stockholders who share in its profits but are not personally responsible for its debts

partnership

A business owned by two or more people

dividends

a part of a company's profit that is divided among the people with shares in the company

vertical integration

absorption into a single firm of several firms involved in all aspects of a product's manufacture from raw materials to distribution

horizontal integration

system of consolidating many firms in the same business

John Rockefeller

Standard Oil tycoon who established the nation's first trust known for his horizontal integration business model

Knights of Labor

Under the leadership of Terrence V. Powderly, this union included both skilled and unskilled workers, women, and African Americans, but not Chinese

American Federation of Labor

Focused on skilled workers; for working within the system

Industrial Workers of the World

The "Wobblies"; opposed capitalism; focused on unskilled workers; used industrial sabotage

socialism

Under this system, the government or worker cooperatives own the businesses

Closed shops

Businesses that would only hire union members

Open shops

companies in which employees covered by the contract do not have to join the union or be assessed a fee for union representation

Great Railroad Strike

Nationwide 1877; workers ceased working due to 10% wage cuts; blocked freight trains; Pres. Hayes orders federal troops into major cities to end strikes violently

Haymarket Riot

Chicago 1886; local craft unions; peaceful strike taken over by anarchists; bomb goes off near police who end strike violently

Homestead Strike

Near Pittsburgh 1892; Henry Clay Frick announces wage cut; workers strike; Frick institutes lockout and hires scabs and strikebreakers; state militia ends strike violently

Pullman Strike

Chicago 1894; workers strike due to wage cuts and company town prices; ARU blocks trains; mail cars attached; Pres. Cleveland orders federal troops to end strike violently

Sherman Antitrust Act

Law created to limit the power of monopolies in restraint of competition; allowed federal troops to intervene against Pullman strikers in 1894 who blocked mail cars

Pinkerton's

Detective agency that hunted down violent union strikers like the Molly Maguires, and gathered evidence to have them prosecuted

blacklist

A list circulated among employers containing the names of persons who should not be hired

company town

Communities near workplaces where housing was owned by the business and rented out to employees

scrip

Paper money that could only be used to pay rent to the company or used at company stores

Union Pacific Railroad

Built the eastern half of the Transcontinental Railroad and included Civil War veterans, newly recruited Irish immigrants, frustrated miners and farmers, cooks, adventurers, and ex-convicts

Central Pacific Railroad

Built the western part of the Transcontinental Railroad and hired about 10,000 workers from China

Bessemer Proces

A way to manufacture steel quickly and cheaply by blasting hot air through melted iron to quickly remove impurities

Morse code

Different combinations of dots and dashes that represent each letter of the alphabet used in telegraphs

Compressed air brake

Allowed all train cars to stop at the same time invented by George Westinghouse

telephone

Communication device invented by Alexander Graham Bell

light bulb

Thomas Edison

Refrigerated railcar

Made the distant transportation of fresh meat possible invented by Gustavus Swift

Dynamo

Generator for producing electricity

Transformer

A device that increases or decreases the voltage of two linked AC circuits

Lassez-faire Capitalism

Economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately owned and operated for profit with minimal or no government interference

Communism

Economic system that calls for public ownership of the means of production and all decisions are government-controlled

Social Darwinism

The application of Darwin's theory of evolution and "survival of the fittest" to societies and businesses

J.P. Morgan

Investment banker that helped companies sell stock to investment bankers at a discount and eventually bought Carnegie Steel

Great Northern Railroad

Owned by James J. Hill and ran from Wisconsin and Minnesota in the East to Washington in the West, without any federal land grants or subsidies

regulation

government intervention in a market that affects the production of a good

economies of scale

Lower production costs as a result of larger volume of production

department stores

Provided a huge selection of products in one large building

Chain stores

A group of retail outlets owned by the same company that focused on offering low prices

Mail-order retailers

Issued catalogs through the mail, which used attractive illustrations and appealing descriptions to advertise thousands of items for sale