4-1: Railroads
What is a railroad baron?
Powerful, rich business leader who controlled a major railroad.
What is Thomas Edison famous for inventing?
Lightbulb
What is an entrepreneur?
A person who starts their own business
What is an "injunction?"
A court order to stop something from happening
Who was Lewis Latimer?
Improved wires in Edison's lightbulb
What is a rebate?
A discount or return of part of a payment
Who were the Wright Brothers?
Created the gas-powered plane
If I am a person who invests in a company by buying stock, I am a...
Shareholder
Eugene Debs let what?
The Pullman strike (he went to jail)
Name a famous railroad baron
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Where did railroads allow the US to expand?
Westward, away from waterways (Great Plains)
Who perfected the assembly line?
Henry Ford
What is a trust?
A combination of corporations formed to reduce competition.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire led to what?
Creation of International Ladies' Garment Workers Union that pushed for a safer working environment.
What is a "pool?"
Secret group of railroad barons who made agreements and set rates among themselves
What industries grew along with the railroads?
Iron and lumber
George Pullman invented the...
Sleeper passenger train car
Who was Andrew Carnegie?
Dominated the steel industry
When unions represent a group of workers in talks with management over working conditions
What was the Sherman Antitrust Act?
Made trusts and monopolies illegal.
What does "Standard Gauge" mean?
Same distance between rails agreed on by railroad companies = made travel easier & quicker
Who was George Westinghouse?
Developed transformers = could send electricity over a longer distance more quickly.
Define "merger."
The combination of two or more businesses into one
What was the AFL?
American Federation of Labor: group of national unions to represent workers.
When did the steelworkers' union lose members? Why?
The end of the Homestead Strike; the plant reopened with nonunion workers.