chapter 24 // BOLDED Flashcards
Wabash, St. Louis, & Pacific Railroad Company v. Illinois
A Supreme Court decision that prohibited states from regulating the railroads because the Constitution grants Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce. As a result, the reformers turned their attention to the federal government, which now had sole power to regulate the railroad industry.
Interstate Commerce Act
Congressional legislation that established the Interstate Commerce Commission, compelled railroads to publish standard rates, and prohibited rebates and pools. Railroads quickly became adept at using the act to achieve their own ends, but it gave the government an important means to regulate big business.
Standard Oil Company (1870-1911)
John D. Rockefeller’s company, formed in 1870, which came to symbolize the trusts and monopolies of the Gilded Age. By 1877 Standard Oil controlled 95 percent of the oil refineries in the United States. It was also one of the first multinational corporations and at times distributed more than half of its kerosene production outside the United States. By the turn of the century it had become a target for trust-busting reformers, and in 1911 the Supreme Court ordered it to break up into several dozen smaller companies.
horizontal integration
The practice perfected by John D. Rockefeller of dominating a particular phase of the production process in order to monopolize a market, often by forming trusts and alliances with competitors.
trust
A mechanism by which one company grants control over its operations, through ownership of its stock, to another company. The Standard Oil Company became known for this practice in the 1870s as it eliminated its competition by taking control of smaller oil companies.
National Labor Union (1866-1872)
This first national labor organization in U.S. history gained 600,000 members from many parts of the work force, although it limited the participation of Chinese, women, and blacks. The organization devoted much of its energy to fighting for an eight-hour work day before it dissolved in 1872.
interlocking directorates
The practice of having executives or directors from one company serve on the board of directors of another company. J.P. Morgan introduced this practice to eliminate baking competition in the 1890s.
Knights of Labor
The second national labor organization, organized in 1869 as a secret society and opened for public membership in 1881. The Knights were known for their efforts to organize all workers, regardless of skill level, gender, or race. After the mid-1880s their membership declined for a variety of reasons, including the Knights’ participation in violent strikes and discord between skilled and unskilled members.
Haymarket Square (1886)
A May Day rally that turned violent when someone threw a bomb into the middle of the meeting, killing several dozen people. Eight anarchists were arrested for conspiracy contributing to the disorder, although evidence linking them to the bombing was thin. Four were executed, one committed suicide, and three were pardoned in 1893.
American Federation of Labor
A national federation of trade unions that included only skilled workers, founded in 1886. Led by Samuel Gompers for nearly four decades, the AFL sought to negotiate with employers for a better kind of capitalism that rewarded workers membership with better wages, hours, and conditions. The AFL’s membership was almost entirely white and male until the middle of the twentieth century.
closed shop
A union-organizing term that refers to the practice of allowing only unionized employees to work for a particular company. The AFL became known for negotiating closed-shop agreements with employers, in which the employer would agree not to hire nonunion members.
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Aggressive eastern railroad builder and consolidator who scorned the law as an obstacle to his enterprise.
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell was one of the primary inventors of the telephone, did important work in communication for the deaf and held more than 18 patents.
Thomas Alva Edison
Inventor Thomas Edison created such great innovations as the electric light bulb and the phonograph. A savvy businessman, he held more than a 1,000 patents for his inventions.
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie, a self-made steel tycoon and one of the wealthiest 19th century U.S. businessmen, introduced the principle of “vertical integration”.
