Chapter 15&16 test Flashcards
The “second Industrial Revolution” began with the
Development of a faster, less expensive process for producing steel
Railroad expansion did all of the following
- Cause the growth of other industries
- Provide jobs
- Strengthen national markets
As the 20th century began
Americans were using two new energy sources: electricity and oil
Laissez-faire capitalism
Theory that calls for no government regulation of economic matters
To manage large industries and raise vast amounts of capital
Business leaders organized corporations
Trust
Group of companies controlled by one board of directors
Economies of scale
Business principle in which buying supplies and producing goods in bulk lowers the production costs and increases profits
Vertical integration
Business method used to control costs by acquiring companies, such as mines and railroads, that provide materials and services for a manufacturing enterprise
Horizontal integration
Business method used to control many companies involved in one stage of manufacturing, such as oil refining
Business people such as Marshall Field, R.H. Macy, and John Wanamaker
Pioneered department stores
Unlike the old immigrants
The majority of new immigrants were Eastern Europeans and Italians
Ethnic neighborhoods and foreign language newspapers affected immigrants by
Aiding adjustment to Americans life
Immigration Restriction League
Proposed mandatory literacy test
Mass transit
Development that encouraged suburban growth
The following three statements are true of urban dwellers in the late 1800’s
- Most married middle class women worked at home
- Some wealthy people supported philanthropy
- The new rich made their money in the industry
Tenement houses
Housing in which many new immigrants resided
Settlement houses
Centers that provided social services for the urban poor
Churches and institutions that provided job training, counseling, and other services exemplified
The Social Gospel
Public education
Helped attain a 90 percent literacy rate for Americans by 1900
The new urban culture that formed toward the end of the 19th century included the following
- Newspaper and comic strips and popular fiction
- Vaudeville and theater
- Boxing and baseball
Critics thought that the corruption plaguing Grant’s administration was caused largely by
The spoils system
Stalwarts
Republicans who strongly defended the patronage system
Chester Arthur
President who helped gain passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Act
The Pendleton Civil Service Act applied to
Roughly 10 percent of federal jobs
Republicans
Politicians during Benjamin Harrison’s presidency who installed supporters in almost all jobs not on the civil service list
The 1890 Congress was called the Billion Dollar Congress because
It spent money freely for government pensions and other pet projects
African Americans
Workers who were confined to the most dangerous factory jobs
Most industrial laborers, working life was characterized by
- Low wages
- Long hours
- Few benefits
Mother Jones
Union organizer for the Knights of Labor
Yellow dog contract
Pledge by a worker not to join a Union
American Federation of Labor
Established in 1886 by Samuel Gompers to organize skilled workers
The Government reacted during the violent strikes of the 1890’s by
Siding with big business against unions
The major problems farmers in the late 1800’s were
Low farm prices and high farm costs
National Grange
Organization whose work eventually led to the formation of the Interstate Commerce Commission
Bland Allison Act
Required the government to buy silver each month to mint into coins
The Populist party called for
A graduated income tax, a shorter workday, government ownership of railroads and free coinage of silver
The election of William McKinley led to
The decline of the Populist Party
William Jennings Bryan
Lost the 1896 presidential election despite the support of the Populist Party
