Lesson 12-18 History Test

🏭 Industrialization and Big Business

Capitalism

Economic system where private individuals own businesses and compete for profit.

Bessemer Process

Method that made steel production faster and cheaper.

Factors of Production

Land, labor, and capital—resources needed to produce goods.

Corporations

Businesses owned by many investors who buy stock.

Monopoly

Complete control of a product or service by one company.

Trusts

Groups of companies that join together to reduce competition.

Horizontal Integration

When one company controls all businesses in a specific industry.

Vertical Integration

When one company controls every step of production (raw materials → finished goods).

John D. Rockefeller

Oil industry leader; founded Standard Oil; used horizontal integration.

Andrew Carnegie

Steel industry leader; used vertical integration; believed in philanthropy.

Laissez-Faire

Government should not interfere with business.

Social Darwinism

“Survival of the fittest” applied to society and business.

Sherman Antitrust Act

1890 law to break up monopolies and restore competition.

Entrepreneurs

Risk-takers who start businesses.

Philanthropist

A wealthy person who donates money to charitable causes.

👷‍♀️ Labor and Working Conditions

Working Class

Laborers who worked long hours for low wages.

Sweatshops

Unsafe, overcrowded workplaces.

Child Labor

Using children for labor in factories/mines.

Tenements

Overcrowded, unsanitary apartment buildings.

Labor Unions

Groups formed to protect workers’ rights.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

Union of skilled workers founded by Samuel Gompers.

Socialism

Idea that society (not individuals) should control industry and wealth.

Collective Bargaining

Negotiation between workers and employers for better conditions.

Haymarket Affair

1886 labor protest turned violent; hurt labor movement.

Homestead Strike

1892 steelworkers’ strike against Carnegie Steel.

Pullman Strike

1894 railway strike that stopped trains nationwide.

Anarchists

People who oppose all government.

🌎 Immigration and Urbanization

Push Factors

Conditions that drive people out of their country (war, famine, poverty).

Pull Factors

Attractions that draw people to a new country (jobs, freedom).

Pogroms

Organized attacks against Jewish people in Eastern Europe.

America Letters

Letters sent home by immigrants describing life in the U.S.

Steerage

Cheapest deck on a ship, used by poor immigrants.

Ellis Island Immigration Station

Main port of entry for European immigrants (New York).

Angel Island Immigration Station

Main port of entry for Asian immigrants (San Francisco).

Deportation

Being sent back to one’s country of origin.

Contract Laborers

Immigrants brought to work for low wages.

Settlement House

Place offering help to immigrants (education, housing, jobs).

Hull House

Famous settlement house founded by Jane Addams.

Political Bosses

Leaders who controlled city politics.

Tammany Hall

New York political machine led by Boss Tweed.

Patronage

Giving government jobs to friends or supporters.

Pendleton Act

Ended the spoils system; required civil service exams.

Civil Service

Professional branches of government employment.

Americanization

Teaching immigrants to adopt American customs.

Nativism

Belief that native-born Americans are superior to immigrants.

Chinese Exclusion Act

1882 law banning Chinese immigration.

Urbanization

Growth of cities due to industrialization.

💥 Progressivism and Reform

Progressives

Reformers who wanted to fix problems caused by industrialization.

Social Gospel

Movement combining Christian values with social reform.

Temperance Movement

Campaign to ban alcohol.

Muckrakers

Journalists who exposed corruption and injustice.

Ida Tarbell

Muckraker who exposed Rockefeller’s unfair practices.

Lincoln Steffens

Muckraker who exposed city corruption.

Upton Sinclair (The Jungle)

Exposed unsanitary meatpacking conditions.

Square Deal (Roosevelt)

Program promoting fairness for workers, businesses, and consumers.

Pure Food and Drug Act

Required accurate labeling and banned harmful ingredients.

Conservation

Protection of natural resources.

Federal Reserve System

Central banking system established in 1913.

Sixteenth Amendment

Allowed income tax.

Seventeenth Amendment

Direct election of senators.

Eighteenth Amendment

Prohibition of alcohol.

Nineteenth Amendment

Gave women the right to vote.

NAWSA

National American Woman Suffrage Association.

Tuskegee Institute

Founded by Booker T. Washington to teach trade skills to African Americans.

NAACP

Organization to fight racial discrimination (founded by W.E.B. Du Bois).

New Freedom

Woodrow Wilson’s plan for stronger antitrust laws and banking reform.

Which reformer exposed the oil industry’s corrupt practices?

Ida Tarbell

The 19th Amendment gave

Women the right to vote

Which law aimed to stop monopolies and promote fair competition?

Sherman Antitrust Act

What were “pull factors” for immigrants?

Jobs and Opportunities

What did the Social Gospel movement emphasize?

Christian Values in social reform

Explain how trusts and monopolies affected competition during the Gilded Age.

They reduced competition by allowing powerful corporations to dominate entire industries.

What were the main goals of the Progressive Movement?

To increase democracy, eliminate government corruption, and protect workers.

Describe the difference between the Chinese Exclusion Act and Ellis Island.

The Chinese Exclusion Act banned Chinese immigration and showed racial discrimination. 

Ellis Island processed millions of European immigrants and symbolized hope and opportunity.

How did muckrakers influence public opinion and government reform?

Muckrakers raised public awareness by exposing corruption and poor conditions in cities, factories, and politics 

What was the impact of industrialization on cities and workers?

Industrialization caused rapid urbanization and cities to grow, but living conditions got worse.