The Rise of Industrial America Vocab

second industrial revolution

(1871-1914) Involved development of chemical, electrical, oil, and steel industries. Mass production of consumer goods also developed at this time through the mechanization of the manufacture of food and clothing. It saw the popularization of cinema and radio. Provided widespread employment and increased production.

monopoly

(economics) a market in which there are many buyers but only one seller

injunction

(law) a judicial remedy issued in order to prohibit a party from doing or continuing to do a certain activity

arbitration

(law) the hearing and determination of a dispute by an impartial referee agreed to by both parties (often used to settle disputes between labor and management)

haymarket riot

100,000 workers rioted in Chicago. After the police fired into the crowd, the workers met and rallied in Haymarket Square to protest police brutality. A bomb exploded, killing or injuring many of the police. The Chicago workers and the man who set the bomb were immigrants, so the incident promoted anti-immigrant feelings.

knights of labor

1st effort to create National union. Open to everyone but lawyers and bankers. Vague program, no clear goals, weak leadership and organization. Failed

middle class

A social class made up of skilled workers, professionals, business people, and wealthy farmers

edwin drake

American pioneer in oil industry; became first to drill for petroleum

terrance powderly

An American labor union originally established as a secret fraternal order and noted as the first union of all workers. It was founded in 1869 in Philadelphia by Uriah Stephens and a number of fellow workers. Powderly was elected head of the Knights of Labor in 1883.

george westinghouse

An american entrepreneruer and engineer who invented the railroad and the air brake

J.P. morgan

Banker who buys out Carnegie Steel and renames it to U.S. Steel. Was a philanthropist in a way; he gave all the money needed for WWI and was payed back. Was one of the "Robber barons"

transcontinental railroad

Completed in 1869 at Promontory, Utah, it linked the eastern railroad system with California's railroad system, revolutionizing transportation in the west

andrew carnegie

Creates Carnegie Steel. Gets bought out by banker JP Morgan and renamed U.S. Steel. Andrew Carnegie used vertical integration by buying all the steps needed for production. Was a philanthropist. Was one of the "Robber barons"

herbert spencer

English philosopher and sociologist who applied the theory of natural selection to human societies (1820-1903)

federal land grants

Federal gov. granted land for railroad companies to build more routes

sear, roebuck, montgomery ward

Large mail order companies use improved rail systems to ship to rural customers anything found in their thick catalogs

eugene debs

Leader of the American Railway Union, he voted to aid workers in the Pullman strike. He was jailed for six months for disobeying a court order after the strike was over.

horatio alger

Popular novelist during the Industrial Revolution who wrote "rags to riches" books praising the values of hard work

new york central railroad

Ran from New York City to Chicago and operated more than 4,500 miles of track.

robber barons

Refers to the industrialists or big business owners who gained huge profits by paying their employees extremely low wages. They also drove their competitors out of business by selling their products cheaper than it cost to produce it. Then when they controlled the market, they hiked prices high above original price.

standard oil trust

Rockefeller's company, in 1881, owned 90 percent of the oil refinery business, with a board of trustees at the head

panic of 1893

Serious economic depression beginning in 1893. Began due to rail road companies over-extending themselves, causing bank failures. Was the worst economic collapse in the history of the country until that point, and, some say, as bad as the Great Depression of the 1930s.

homestead strike

Strike at Andrew Carnegie's steel plant in which Pinkerton detectives clashed with steel workers

social darwinism

The application of ideas about evolution and "survival of the fittest" to human societies - particularly as a justification for their imperialist expansion.

gospel of wealth

This was a book written by Carnegie that described the responsibility of the rich to be philanthropists. This softened the harshness of Social Darwinism as well as promoted the idea of philanthropy.

morrill tariff

This was an act passed by Congress in 1861 to meet the cost of the war. It raised the taxes on shipping from 5 to 10 percent however later needed to increase to meet the demanding cost of the war. This was just one the new taxes being passed to meet the demanding costs of the war. Although they were still low to today's standers they still raked in millions of dollars.

laissez faire capitalism

This was the style of capitalism in which the government had no interference with the economy

cornelius vanderbilt

United States financier who accumulated great wealth from railroad and shipping businesses (1794-1877)

jay gould

United States financier who gained control of the Erie Canal and who caused a financial panic in 1869 when he attempted to corner the gold market (1836-1892)

thomas edison

United States inventor

alexander graham bell

United States inventor (born in Scotland) of the telephone (1847-1922)

samuel gompers

United States labor leader (born in England) who was president of the American Federation of Labor from 1886 to 1924 (1850-1924)

samuel morse

United States portrait painter who patented the telegraph and developed the Morse code (1791-1872)

john d. rockefeller

Was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of modern philanthropy.

corporation

a business owned by stockholders who share in its profits but are not personally responsible for its debts

stock

a certificate documenting the shareholder's ownership in the corporation

american federation of labor

a federation of North American labor unions that merged with the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1955

credit mobilier

a joint-stock company organized in 1863 and reorganized in 1867 to build the Union Pacific Railroad. It was involved in a scandal in 1872 in which high government officials were accused of accepting bribes.

industrial union

a labor union that admits all workers in a given industry irrespective of their craft

blacklist

a list of people who are out of favor

lockout

a management action resisting employee's demands

vertical integration

absorption into a single firm of several firms involved in all aspects of a product's manufacture from raw materials to distribution

horizontal integration

absorption into a single firm of several firms involved in the same level of production and sharing resources at that level

yellow-dog contract

an agreement some companies forced workers to take that forbade them from joining a union. This was a method used to limit the power of unions, thus hampering their development.

bessemer process

an industrial process for making steel using a Bessemer converter to blast air through through molten iron and thus burning the excess carbon and impurities

trade union

an organization of employees formed to bargain with the employer

protestant work ethic

way of life based on Biblical teaching that God expects all men to work and all work is a noble duty to be performed toward God

pullman strike

in Chicago, Pullman cut wages but refused to lower rents in the "company town", Eugene Debs had American Railway Union refuse to use Pullman cars, Debs thrown in jail after being sued, strike achieved nothing

upward mobility

movement up the social class ladder

white collar workers

office workers, sales people, and other highly trained individuals

u.s. steel

powerful and wealthy 19th century steel corporation founded by Andrew Carnagie and JP morgan

central pacific

railroad which extended from sacramento, california eastward

concentration of wealth

richest 10 percent of US in 1890s controlled 90 percent of nation's wealth

scab

someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike

trunk line

the main railroad lines with smaller railroad crossings and branches leading off from it.

union pacific

the railroad company that began building of the transcontinental railroad from its eastern starting point in Omaha, Nebraska

iron law of wages

thought of by David Ricardo, philosophy that as people had more kids wages went down, as people had less kids there were higher wages