Chapter 17 - Industrial America: Corporations and Conflicts, 1877-1911 Flashcards
Andrew Carnegie
Scottish immigrant who exemplified American success by making steel a major U.S. industry
Gustavus Swift
inventor of the assembly line in the meat-packing industry
John D. Rockefeller
skilled businessman and co-founder of the Standard Oil Company
Henry George
author of Progress and Poverty, which suggested that industrialization would result in permanent poverty
Terence Powderly
leader of the Knights of Labor
Leonora Barry
full-time organizer of the Knights of Labor who investigated and exposed cases of workplace sexual harassment
Samuel Gompers
leader of the American Federation of Labor
Homestead lockout
1892 lockout of workers at the Homestead steel mill (Pennsylvania) after Andrew Carnegie refused to renew the union contract
management revolution
an internal management structure adopted by many large corporations that distinguished top executives from those responsible for day-to-day operations
vertical integration
model in which a company controlled all aspects of production, from raw materials to finished goods
horizontal integration
business concept in which companies pressure competitors and force them to merge their companies into a conglomerate
trust
a small group of associates that hold stock from a group of combined firms, managing them as a single entity
deskilling
the elimination of skilled labor under the new system of mechanized manufacturing
mass production
a system in which goods are produced by assembly of standardized parts
scientific management
a system of organizing work that was designed to coax maximum output from the individual worker, increase efficiency, and reduce production costs
Ellis Island
gateway for millions of immigrants beginning in the late 1800s
Chinese Exclusion Act
1882 law barring Chinese laborers from entering the United States
Great Railroad Strike of 1877
strike in which thousands of rail workers walked off their jobs due to wage cuts and the depression
National Guard
organization created to enforce order in the U.S. following the events of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877
Greenback-Labor Party
national political movement calling on the government to increase the money supply in order to assist borrowers and foster economic growth
producerism
argument that real economic wealth is created by workers who make their living by physical labor (not merchants, lawyers, bankers, or other middlemen)
Granger laws
economic regulatory laws passed in some midwestern states in the late 1870s
Knights of Labor
first mass labor organization created among America’s working class
anarchism
revolutionary advocacy of a stateless society
Haymarket Square
location of a conflict in Chicago in which both policemen and workers were killed or wounded during a labor demonstration called by local anarchists
Farmers’ Alliance
rural movement founded in Texas that advocated cooperative stores and exchanges that would circumvent middlemen, greater government aid to farmers, and stricter regulation of railroads
Interstate Commerce Act
1887 act that created the Interstate Commerce Commission, an organization for overseeing the railroad industry
closed shop
a workplace in which a job seeker had to be a union member to gain employment
American Federation of Labor
organization that coordinated the activities of craft unions and called for direct negotiation with employers
