CH 3 Vocab
One who organizes, manages & assumes the risks of a business or enterprise
What is Entrepreneur
One who enters and becomes established in a country other than that of their original nationality
What is an immigrant
How did innovations in communication improve the standard of living in the United States?
The telephone improved the standard of living by helping families stay in touch; It improved the economy's efficiency by letting businesses gather information and place orders more quickly; and it enabled society to learn of news and events in time to make better decisions
What economic and cultural issues led to protests against the Chinese immigrants in California, and what foreign policy did the US government adopt in response?
White workers protested against Chinese immigrants in part out of racism and in part out of a concern they were taking jobs and leaving white workers unemployed; The US government responded by passing the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
A company tool to fight union demands by refusing to allow employees to enter its facilities to work
What is a Lockout
Total control of a type of industry by one person or company
What is a Monopoly
Multifamily apartments, usually dark, crowded, & barely meeting minimum living standards
What is a tenement
What kinds of business practices caused some railroad owners to be accused of being "robber barons"?
They created companies owned by the same stockholders, and then had the companies work together to obtain contracts and manipulate prices for their own benefit. Also bribed members of Congress for grants
How did the Americanization movement seek to assimilate American immigrants into US culture?
The push to create public schools was part of the Americanization movement; Public schools would teach immigrants - especially children - English, American history and values, and instill discipline that would help in the workplace
An organization linked to a political party that often controlled local government
What is a Political Machine
The reduction in the cost of a good brought about especially by increased production at a given facility
What are Economies of Scale
The Acquisition of money in dishonest ways, such as bribing a politician
What is Graft
What technological innovation did Andrew Carnegie bring to the steel industry and how did it affect the economic development in the United States?
Carnegie introduced the Bessemer process to the steel industry, and it made his steel mills so efficient that they could produce steel more cheaply than ever before, thus increasing the pace of US economic development
Define patronage and explain the spoils system
Patronage is when government jobs are given to friends and supporters as a reward for their support; The spoils system is the idea that when people are elected to office, they can choose who to hire for jobs in the government
Why did railroad construction expand so rapidly after the Civil War?
The government program of land grants provided business leaders with a way to raise money quickly to build railroads
A court order whereby one is required to do/refrain from doing a specific act
What is an Injunction
An institution located in a poor neighborhood that provided numerous community services such as medical care, childcare, libraries, and classes in English
What is a Settlement House?
What were some of the costs of the laissez-faire approach to economics for American workers?
Because government did not regulate workplace safety, conditions in factories and mines were difficult, dangerous, & unhealthy. Workers breathed in dust & fumes, & machines lacking safety measures led to injuries
Explain why many Americans believed that Civil Service reform was needed
Americans believed Civil Service reform was needed because they felt patronage led to corruption and efficiency
How did ethnic and religious groups from Eastern Europe contribute to shaping American culture in the late 1800s?
ANSWERS CAN VARY: Catholics became the 2nd largest religious group in America; Large numbers of orthodox Christians & Jews arrived; Respective ethnic groups contributed in specific areas, although each group had people in all professions
A decline in the volume of available money or credit that results in lower prices, & therefore increases the buying power of money
What is deflation
a political movement founded in the 1890s representing mainly farmers that favored free coinage of silver and government control of railroads and other large industries
What is Populism
What actions led to union leaders take to expand economic opportunities for women in the late 1800's?
They fought for better wages, a minimum wage, an 8-hour workday, benefits, and the abolition of child labor
What social issues faced African Americans in the rural South in the years after the Civil War? How did they respond?
Many rural African Americans were sharecroppers, deeply in debt; Some chose to leave the South and move west (Exodusters); Others formed the Colorado Farmer's Alliance and joined the People's Party
How do big businesses benefit from Economies of Scale?
When a company incorporates and sells stock, it raises money to invest in new technologies, hire larger workforces, and purchase machines to increase its efficiency. When purchasing goods or services on a large scale, the corporation has the power to negotiate better prices/rates, thus decreasing the overall cost of the manufacturing and producing goods quickly and in large quantities