18 Flashcards
What methods did the railroad barons use to compete against each other?
Manipulated stock markets
- inflate value of corporation’s assets/profits before selling to public
- offer rebates (discounts) and kickbacks to favored shippers, high prices for farmers
- offered special arrangements for handling bulk goods
- showered free passes on poiticans
- cut rates for large shippers
What were the major effects of the railroads?
- market for goods on national scale
- mass production
- mass consumption
- economic specialization
- promote other industries, coal and steel
- established time zones
- creation of modern stock holder corporation and complex structures in finance, business management, and regulation of competition
Explain the government attempts to stop the growth of trusts and monopolies in the late 19th century.
attempted to OUTLAW RATE DISCRIMINATION.
initially supported, but negated when Court ruled that states could NOT REGULATE INTERSTATE COMMERCE.
Congress then studied devious railroad practices. Passed Interstate Commerce Act.
What was the Interstate Commerce Act? (ICC)
Established to oversee the practices of interstate railraods. Banned monopolistic activity like POOLING, REBATES, AND DISCRIMINATORY SHORT-DISTANCE RATES.
Were the government’s attempts to stop growth of trusts and monopolies effective?
Railroads challenged rulings. 15/16 were negated. Nullified ICC’s regulatoriness.
What was the Hepburn Act?
Passed in 1906. Strengthened the ICC (Interstate Commerce Act and Commission) by empowering it to SET RATES.
Describe Carnegie.
- Short
- Born in Scotland, immigrated in 1848 @ age 12
- father was a skilled handloom weaver
- started small, grew big
What did the “second Industrial Revolution” mainly focus on?
Steel, petroleum, electric power, and industrial machinery to produce other goods.
What is the Bessemer process?
blast air through molten iron = high-quality steel
What methods did Andrew Carnegie used to grow his empire?
Priced below competition. Lowered production costs by accounting and limiting wage increases to workers. Asked favors from friends. VERTICAL INTEGRATION. New technology combined with management and low wages to create mass-production system that could slash consumer prices. Portrayal of discipline and hard work.
What methods did John D. Rockefeller use to build his empire?
Applied latest technologies and efficient practices. Had an ability to understand the inner workings of an entire industry and benefits of vertical integration. Extorted rebates from railroad companies and temp cut prices for Standard Oil to force rival companies to sell out. Wanted no rivals: made a trust. Various companies controlled by Standard Oil and Rockefeller = HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION. The success caused other industries (sugar, tobacco, leather, meat) also organized trusts.
How did the industrial giants maintain control of their indusitries once they were established?
They drove out competitors with trusts or by keeping their costs extremely low.
What is an oligopoly?
The market condition that exists when the limited number of sellers can greatly influence price and other market factors. Limited number of competitors.
What is the Sherman Anti-Trust Act?
Outlawed trusts and any other monopolies that fixed prices in restraint of trade. Gave violators fines of up to 5,000 dollars and a year in jail. FAILED TO DEFINE TRUST OR RESTRAINT OF TRADE.
Why did Standard Oil’s structure change into a holding company when it was challenged?
Because a holding company, unlike a trust, which literally owned other buisnesses, a holding company OWNED A CONTROLLING SHARED OF THE STOCK of one or more firms. Made more money than ever.
_______ epitomized the inventive impulse and capacity for creation of new consumer products.
Thomas Edison
Describe how major inventions and innovations promoted the spread of business during the industrial era.
- Speed of communication. Morse, railroads. telephone.
- more consumer demand. Eased household drudgery and social interactions. Combined innovative technology with new methods of advertising and merchandising. Enabled sectors of economy to grow dramatically by adapting to changing fashions/preferences.
What was Edison’s first major invention?
Stock quotation printer. Enabled him to set up an invention factory in New Jersey. Made the light bulb. Sued for patent violations. Merged with competitor: GE. (Patent-pooling became another mechanism of market domination).
What were Edison’s-researchers other inventions?
Mimeograph, microphone, motion-picture camera and film, and the storage battery.
Why does the successful introduction of new technologies often involve a system of inventions rather than a single invention?
In order for one new single invention, other technologies or systems must be created for the possibility of the single invention. For the toilet, water systems and sewage systems had to be made. Machines to manufacture the pipes had to be created. Then the toilet itself.
How did the increase output of US factories/inventions affect the market? (-ing)
Created a need for businesses to find ways of selling their merchandise to a large public.