5a: Gilded Age: Industrialization and Urbanization

Industrialization

The process in which a society or country (or world) transforms itself from a primarily agricultural society into one based on the manufacturing of goods and services. Individual manual labor is often replaced by mechanized mass production and craftsmen are replaced by assembly lines

Labor

workers, especially manual workers, considered collectively

Growth

the process of increasing in amount, value, or importance

Union

an organized association of workers formed to protect and further their rights and interests

Strike

(of employees) refuse to work as a form of organized protest, typically in an attempt to obtain a particular concession or concessions from their employer

Wage

a fixed regular payment, typically paid on a daily or weekly basis, made by an employer to an employee, especially to a manual or unskilled worker

Railroads

train transport

Robber baron

an unscrupulous plutocrat, especially an American capitalist who acquired a fortune in the late nineteenth century by ruthless means

Big Business

large scale commercial or financial activity

Monopolies

exclusive possession or control of the supply in a commercial activity

Sherman Antitrust Act

federal law passed in 1890 that committed the American government to opposing monopolies. The law prohibits contracts, combinations, or conspiracies "in the restraint of trade or commerce."

Interstate Commerce Act

1887 is a United States federal law that was designed to regulate the railroad industry, particularly its monopolistic practices. The Act required that railroad rates be "reasonable and just," but did not empower the government to fix specific rate

Captain of Industry

a business leader whose means of amassing a personal fortune contributes positively to the country in some way

Urbanization

becoming more like a city

Immigration

the action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country

Efficient

achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense

Economy

the wealth and resources of a country or region, especially in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services

Factory

a building or group of buildings where goods are manufactured or assembled chiefly by machine

Child Labor

the use of children in industry or business, especially when illegal or considered inhumane

Capital

Money that is invested to drive economic activity

Capitalism

Economic system where most businesses are for profit, led by private investors

Tammany Hall

NYC political organization, known for corrupt management of NYC, led by Boss Tweed

Corruption

Dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power

Boss Tweed

American politician, known for corrupt management of NYC and Tammany Hall

Trust busting

government activities seeking to dissolve corporate trusts and monopolies (especially under the United States antitrust laws

Theodore Roosevelt

leader of the Republican Party in the early 1900's - President of the United States, known as a trust-buster for breaking up large monopolies

John D. Rockefeller

Standard Oil Company, ruthless business tactics (survival of the fittest), known philanthropist who donated money to help create the University of Chicago, Rockefeller University and the Rockefeller foundation.

Andrew Carnegie

industrialist who led the expansion of the American steel industry, Known philanthropist who donated money for libraries and concert halls.

J.P. Morgan

Head of a New York investment house. Most powerful figure in American finance in the Gilded Age. Known for collecting art some donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art in NYC.

Henry Ford

United States manufacturer of automobiles who pioneered mass production through his use of assembly lines (1863-1947).

Munn v. Illinois

1876; The Supreme Court upheld the Granger laws. The Munn case allowed states to regulate certain businesses within their borders, including railroads, and is commonly regarded as a milestone in the growth of federal government regulation.

Wabash, St Louis & Pacific R.R. v Illinois

1886 - Stated that individual states could control trade in their states, but could not regulate railroads coming through them. Congress had exclusive jurisdiction over interstate commerce.

Northern Securities Co. v. United States

Northern Securities Company (JP Morgan and James G. Hill - railroads) seen by Roosevelt as "bad" trust, Supreme Court upheld his first trust-bust

corporation

businesses that are owned by many investors who buy shares of stock

Laissez faire

An economic doctrine that opposes any form of government intervention in business.

Social Darwinism

The belief that only the fittest survive in human political and economic struggle. Herbert Spencer's application of Charles Darwin's theory to humans.

Philanthropist

a person who seeks to promote the welfare of others, especially by the generous donation of money to good causes.

Old Immigration

Immigrants from Northwest Europe arriving in the EARLY 1800s

New Immigration

Immigrants from Southern and Eastern European countries and Asia arriving in the LATE 1800s

Assembly line

Production method that breaks down a complex job into a series of smaller tasks

Mass production

production of goods in large numbers through the use of machinery and assembly lines

Gilded Age

Term coined by Mark Twain to illustrate the late 1800s, Symbolized the gold exterior of society (industrialization and wealth) and the rotting interior of society (poor wages, health, conditions, & corruption)