The Perfect Storm
What does it mean to be gilded?
Something cheap, covered with a thin layer of gold
What is Standard Time and why did RRs create a need for it?
The world divided into time zones, rather than using the sun. All RR stations could operate on the same schedule, not have accidents
What businessman made his fortune in steel, after designing the first steel bridge to cross the Mississippi River?
Andrew Carnegie
What man made his fortune in refining oil?
What happened at the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire?
Fire broke out on the 8th-10th floors, women were locked inside, many burned or jumped to their deaths
Why did Twain call the 2nd Industrial Revolution the Gilded Age?
Visible accumulation of wealth on the outside, poverty, poor working conditions, etc. underneath
Name two industries that grew due to new train and RR construction.
Wood, Coal, Steel, Iron, Glass
DAILY DOUBLE!!!
Which businessman made his $ in banking, and personally bailed out the US Government with a $60 million loan?
What was the name of Rockefeller's company?
Standard Oil
Poor working conditions led to the rise in what types of organizations, AND what owner of luxurious railroad cars was particularly unfair to his employees?
Labor Unions, George Pullman
Why did George Pullman's workers strike?
He lowered their pay without lowering their rent
How does a trust/monopoly work, and who was known for creating one in his particular industry?
One company that manages all "competing" companies in an industry - John D. Rockefeller
Name a major cause that Carnegie gave millions of dollars to.
Libraries, teachers
How many days per week and hours per day was typical for industrial workers in the late 1800's?
Name three new inventions that changed life and industry during this time period.
Typewriter, telephone, lightbulb, electricity distribution, bessemer process
What was social Darwinism, and who developed the idea?
Name a major cause that Rockefeller gave millions of dollars to.
Development of vaccines/medical research
DAILY DOUBLE!!!
What was a sweatshop?
Name four of the five elements creating a "perfect storm" of conditions for industry to grow rapidly in the late 1800's.
Govt support for business, Growth of RRs, Abundant natural resources, Immigrants providing new sources of labor and new markets for goods, Many new inventions
In the Credit Mobilier Scandal, which group of people gained significant stock profits after insuring a RR company got financial loans?
US Congressmen
What was vertical and horizontal integration, and who developed it?
Vertical: owning the resource, the production and distribution. Horizontal: owning all of an industry, and Andrew Carnegie
List three strategies Rockefeller used to succeed in business.
1. Paid employees low wages, 2. Lowered product costs to below production cost, forcing competitors to go bankrupt/sell out, 3. Raised prices on product significantly higher
How many days per week did workers often have to work in the steel industry?
Seven