Vocabulary/Terms
Industry
What is a corporation?
A business owned by stockholders who share in its profits but are not personally responsible for its debts
These groups were formed by workers to help negotiate for better wages and working conditions.
Unions
This man was a major force in the steel industry.
Andrew Carnegie
How did steel change the look of cities?
The invention of the skyscraper made cities move up
Monopoly
Complete control of a product or business by one group or person
Describe vertical integration in the steel industry
Owning the iron (resources), owning the steel refinery (making of the product), owning the distribution/shipping vehicles
What is a strike?
To refuse to work in order to force an employer to meet your demands
John D. Rockefeller
Created Standard Oil and was a leader in the oil industry
How did the transcontinental railroad change America?
It connected the east and west coasts, it enabled industries and cities to grow, enabled businesses to sell to other cities/parts of the country
The term used to describe the time period of the late 1800s, which refers to massive economic growth and wealth, but also all the problems underneath.
The Gilded Age
Describe horizontal integration in the oil industry
Why was boycotting successful?
If many refuse to buy or use a good or service, that company would lose money and be forced to meet your demands
This man was a leader in the train industry and was nicknamed "The Commodore."
Cornelius Vanderbilt
NO! There were very few regulations on business practices.
What is the bessemer process?
The bessemer process is the new invention that drastically improved the production of steel.
How did business owners use lockouts to get what they wanted from the unions/workers?
They would lock the business doors and refuse entry of the workers until the workers agreed to the owners terms.
What is collective bargaining?
Negotiation of wages and other terms of employment by an organized body of employees.
What major invention was patented by Thomas Edison?
The lightbulb
What is an entrepreneur and how does this word relate to this unit? Give an example of an entrepreneur
A person who starts up and takes on the risk of a business.
Entrepreneur helped create many of the new industries of the Gilded Age.
Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt
Commerce
The buying and selling of goods or services
A monopoly was created when one person or group owned an entire industry so no other group would compete for customers.
What were the main issues affecting workers during the Gilded Age?
low wages, long work days, unsafe working conditions, child labor
This man was a major factor in the automobile industry and created the idea of the assembly line.
Henry Ford
What is Social Darwinism?
The belief that certain people are destined to be successful and the weak should be diminished. Survival of the fittest.