History: Chapter 4 & 5

How did department stores change the shopping experience?

Department stores change the shopping experience by making shopping seem glamorous and exciting.

Time zones

Divided the country into time zones in 1883, done by the American Railway Association.

Grenville Dodge

Engineer, and Union general from civil war/ union pacific that began pushing west into maha, nebraska, in 1865.

Prospectives

Expected or expecting to be something particular in the future.

Major Stephen Long

Explored the region in 1819. He called it the "Great American Desert" and it was unfit for cultivation.

John D. Rockefeller

Father of oil industry. Founder of standard oil. First monopoly.

Andrew Carnegie

Father of steel industry in Pittsburgh. Used Bessemer Process.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

One of the successful railroad consolidators. Connected railways from chiago to new york. Founder of Vanderbilt university.

Why did some people fear monopolies?

People who feared monopolies believed that a monopoly could change whatever it wanted for its products

Why did some people support monopolies?

People who supported monopolies had to keep prices low because raising prices would encourage competitors to reappear and offer products for a lower price.

Transcontinental railroad

Railroad that stretched across the west.

Economies of State

Reduction in the cost of a good brought about by increased production at a given facility.

Leland Stanford

Sacramento merchant/ grocer that was part of the Central Pacific Railway Company. Was governor and founder of Standford U.

Credit Mobiler

Scandal construction company set up by several stockholders of the Union Pacific Railroad.

Holding company

A company whose primary business is owning a controling share of stock in other companies. J.P. Morgan

Pool

A group sharing in some activity; example railroad owners who made secret agreements and set rate among themselves.

Dry Farming

A method of planting seeds deep in the ground where there was enough moisture for them to grow.

Railroads

A system of railcars and track that connected most of North America, and still in use today.

Homestead

A tract of land for public settlement

Why were American courts and legislatures suspicious of pools?

American courts and legislatures were suspicious of pools when they interfered with competition and property rights.

Corporation

An organization that is authorized by law to carry on an activity but treated through it were a single person.

James J Hill

Built and operated the Great Northern Railroad.

Consumer

Buyer, one who buys what is produced by an economy.

How did some retailers reach millions of people in rural areas in the late 1800s?

Catalogs-using attractive illustrations and appealing descriptions to advertise thousands of items for sale

Trust

Combination of firms or corporations formed by legal agreement to reduce competition. Standard Oil.

Horizontal integration

Combining of many firms engaged in the same type of business into one corporation. Standard Oil.

How were corporations able to achieve economies of scale?

Corporations were able to achieve economies of scale with the money that they raised from the sale of stock, corporations which could invest in new technologies, hire large work forces, and purchase many machines. This ended up increasing the corporations.

Great Plains

Flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, that lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky mountains in the United States and Canada. Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming.

Land Grants

Given by the federal government to build railroads on the land.

Homestead Act*

In 1862 the US government passed the law to encourage the settlement of the Great plains. For $10 registration fee one would receive a tract or plot of land to settle. Up to 160 acres.

Why were large corporations able to continue operating during times of economic recession?

Large corporation are able to continue operating during time of economic recession because operating costs were a small part of a corporation's costs that it made sense to continue operating.

Stock

Money or capital invested or available for investment or trading.

Jay Gould

THe most notoriously corrupt railroad owner.

Distribution

The act or process of being given out or disbursed to clients, customers, or members of a group.

What are the benefits of having a vertically integrated company?

The benefits of having a vertically integrated company by saving money and enabled many companies to become even bigger.

What are the characteristics of chain stores?

The characteristics of chain stores are; group of retail outlets owned by the same company and they focused on offering low prices

Vertical Integration

The combining of companies that supply equipment and services needed for a particular industry, Andrew Carnegie - Steel.

What did some companies do in order to keep prices from falling?

The companies stayed in order to keep prices from falling, some of them organized pools, or agreements, to keep prices at a certain level.

Why did the number of American corporations begin to increase in the 1830s?

The number of American Corporations begin to increase in the 1830s because states began passing general incorporation laws which allowed companies to become corporations and issue stock.

Pacific Railway Act

The railroad boom that happened when Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act, in 1862. Allowed transportation coast to coast, goods to market.

Sodbusters

Those who plowed the plains. Busting the soil.

Monopoly

Total control of a type of industry by one person or by one company - Standard Oil

What were two ways to avoid allegations of being a monopoly?

Two ways to avoid all allegations of being a monopoly. Trust and Holding Companies.

Wheat Belt

wheat is the dominant crop. DThe part of tNorth American Great Plains where akotas, Nebraska, Kansas.