The Gilded Age
Andrew Carnegie
Built a steel mill empire; US STEEL
John D. Rockefeller
Established the Standard Oil Company, the greatest monopoly known in history
Entrepreneur
Someone who starts a business and is good at making money.
Industrialization
the birth and growth of businesses that make and distribute products through the use of machinery
Urbanization
the growth of cities
Captain of Industry
A business leader who contributed to the growth of the country in a positive way while gaining their fortune.
Corporation
A business that is owned by many investors.
Bessemer Process
A cheap and efficient process for making steel, developed around 1856.
Trust
A group of corporations that unite in order to reduce competition and control prices in a business or an industry.
Progressives
A group of reformers who worked to solve problems during the Industrial Age.
Gilded Age
A name for the late 1800s, coined by Mark Twain to describe the tremendous increase in wealth during the industrial age and the over-the-top lifestyles it allowed the very rich. The great industrial success of the U.S. and the fabulous lifestyles of the wealthy hid the many social problems of the time, including a high poverty rate, a high crime rate, and corruption in the government.
Cornelius Vanderbilt
A railroad baron, he controlled the New York Central Railroad.
Robber Baron
A ruthless business owner who gained huge profits by paying their employees low wages, driving competitors out of business, and taking advantage of the government.
J.P. Morgan
An influential banker and businessman who bought and reorganized companies. His US Steel company would buy Carnegie steel and become the largest business in the world in 1901
laissez-faire
The theory that economies work best when governments do not interfere with them. (French for "Leave Alone")
Mass Production
The use of interchangeable parts and assembly lines to make large quantities of identical goods.
Monopoly
a company that controls all production and sales of a particular product or service
Philanthropist
a person who seeks to promote the welfare of others, especially by the generous donation of money to good causes.
Labor Union
organization of workers who bargain with employers as a group
