Industry and Immigration Optional terms

Horatio Alger

Horatio Alger

(1832-1899) was an American author who sold more than 20 million copies of novels that explored the rags-to-riches theme. Alger created characters who rose to fame and wealth through hard work and determination

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

Labor union that organized skilled workers in a specific trade and made specific demands rather than seeking broad changes

Bessemer Process

Method developed in the mid-nineteenth century for making steel more efficiently

Cartel

Association of producers of a good or service that prices and controls stocks in order to monopolize the market

Cholera

A severe bacterial infection of the small intestine that cause dehydration, usually caused by drinking contaminated water

Collective bargaining

Process in which employers negotiate with labor unions about hours, wages, and other working conditions

Company Town

Communities in which residents rely upon one company for jobs, housing and buying goods

Gilded Age

Term coined by Mark Twain to describe the post REconstruction era as a facade of prosperity

Haymarket Riot

1888 labor-related protest in CHicago which ended in deadly violence

Horizontal integration

System of consolidating many firms in the same business

Interstate COmmerce Commision (ICC)

First federal agency monitoring business operations, created in 1887 oversee interstate railroad procedures

Knights of Labor

Labor union that sought to organize all workers and focused on broad social reforms

Mass culture

Similar cultural patterns throughout a society as a result of the spread of transportation, communication and advertising

Mass production

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

Melting pot

Society in which people of different nationalities assimilate to form one culture

Monopoly

Exclusive control by one company over an entire industry

Nativism

Inclination to favor native inhabitants as opposed to immigrants

“new” immigrants

Southern and Eastern European immigrants who arrived in the united states in a great wave between 1880 and 1920

Patent

Official rights given by the government to an inventor for the exclusive right to develop, use and sell an invention for a set period of time

Joseph Pulitzer

(1847-1991) was an influential American newspaper editor and publisher. Pulitzer helped format the modern newspaper and included investigative reporting, sports, and fashion coverage, comics and illustration in his paper

Pullman Strike

Violent 1894 railway workers’ strike which began outside of chicago and spread nationwide

Sherman Antitrust Act

1890 law banning any trust that restrained interstate trade or commerce

Sweatshops

Small factories where employees have to work long hours under poor conditions for little pay

Tin Pan Alley

Section on 28th Street in New York city that became the center of the music publishing industry in the late 1800s; genre of popular American music

Trust

Group of separate companies that are placed under the control of a single managing board in order to form a monopoly

Vaudeville

Type of show that included dancing, singing, and comedy sketches and became popular in the late nineteenth century

Vertical integration

System of consolidating firms involved in all steps of a products manufacture