Ch. 4 Vocabulary

Question 1

Entrepreneur

Answer 1

people who invested money in a product or enterprise in order to make a profit> fueled industrialization & established factories, railroads, mines- created jobs & protective foreign investment

Question 2

Protective Tariff

Answer 2

taxes that would make imported goods cost more than those made locally> to encourage the buying of American goods + enacted by Congress in the late 1800s

Question 3

Mass Production

Answer 3

production of goods in large numbers through use of machinery & assembly lines> developed to meet growing demand for goods

Question 4

Corporation

Answer 4

company recognized as a legal unit that has rights & liabilities separate from each of its member> funded new technology, enter new industries, or run large plants across the country + low risk/ high reward & solution for expanding businesses

Question 5

Monopoly

Answer 5

complete control of a product or service> corporation bought out its competitors or drove them out of business- last company was free to set its own prices; consumers have no choice

Question 6

Cartel

Answer 6

businesses making the same product agree to limit their productions & thus keeping prices high> another way of limiting competition

Question 7

Social Darwinism

Answer 7

the belief held by some in the late 19th century that certain nations & races were superior to others & therefore destined to rule> fueled discrimination + applied to capitalism

Question 8

Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)

Answer 8

first federal agency monitoring business operations, created in 1887 to oversee interstate railroad procedures> had limits, but a 1st step + often used in corporations’ favor- argued labor unions restrained trade

Question 9

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

Answer 9

outlawed any trust that operated in restraint of trade or commerce among the several states> rarely enforced at first, but a 1st step + often used in corporations’ favor- argued labor unions restrained trade

Question 10

Sweatshops

Answer 10

small factories where employees have to work long hours under poor conditions for little pay> common in USA in 1880’s & 1890’s

Question 11

Collective Bargaining

Answer 11

negotiating as a group for higher wages or better working conditions> workers attempt to gain power over employers

Question 12

Socialism

Answer 12

economic & political philosophy that favors public, instead of private, control of property, income> some ideas borrowed by labor activists

Question 13

Knights of Labor-1886

Answer 13

labor union that sought to organize all workers & focused on broad social reforms> grew rapidly, but largely disappeared by 1890’s

Question 14

American Federation of Labor-1886

Answer 14

labor union that organized skilled workers in specific trades & made small demands rather than seeking broad changes> not as successful at gaining members as Knights, at first