test 2/15/2023 Flashcards
Horizontal and Vertical Integration
Horizontal integration occurs when a business grows by purchasing related businesses—namely, its competitors. Vertical integration occurs when a business takes control of one or more stages in production or distribution, thereby owning all of the parts of the industrial process
Monopolies
A monopoly implies an exclusive possession of a market by a supplier of a product or a service for which there is no substitute. In this situation the supplier is able to determine the price of the product without fear of competition from other sources or through substitute products. It is generally assumed that a monopolist will choose a price that maximizes profits.
Trusts
a trust is a relationship in which one person holds title to property, subject to an obligation to keep or use the property for the benefit of another.
Bessemer Process
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron. The biggest way that the Bessemer Process changed the world was by making steel cost-effective and mass-producible. Steel became a dominant construction material solely because of this invention
Unions
A union is an organization formed by workers who join together and use their strength to have a voice in their workplace. Through their union, workers have the ability to negotiate from a position of strength with employers over wages, benefits, workplace health and safety, job training and other work-related issues.
Great Strike of 1877
Great Railroad Strike of 1877, series of violent rail strikes across the United States in 1877. That year the country was in the fourth year of a prolonged economic depression after the panic of 1873. The strikes were precipitated by wage cuts announced by the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad—its second cut in eight months. Railway work was already poorly paid and dangerous. Moreover, the railroad companies had taken advantage of the economic troubles to largely break the nascent trade unions that had been formed by the workers before and after the American Civil War.
Knights of Labor
Knights of Labor, the first important national labour organization in the United States, founded in 1869. Named the Noble Order of the Knights of Labor by its first leader, Uriah Smith Stephens, it originated as a secret organization meant to protect its members from employer retaliations. The Knights pressed for the eight-hour work day for laborers, and embraced a vision of a society in which workers, not capitalists, would own the industries in which they labored. The Knights also sought to end child labor and convict labor.
US Gov’t attitudes towards Unions in 19th century
Government leaders were critical of the early labor movement. In the late 19th century government leaders favored business and opposed unions for a number of reasons. Business leaders contributed heavily to political campaign funds. Many politicians often shared the same outlook/thought process as business leaders. The politicians also saw the workers’ demands as just plain greedy. Most were hostile towards unions because they feared workers’ wages demands would lead to inflation.
Rockefeller and Standard Oil
Standard Oil was an American company and corporate trust that from 1870 to 1911 was the industrial empire of John D. Rockefeller and associates, controlling almost all oil production, processing, marketing, and transportation in the United States. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-founder and chairman, John D. Rockefeller, among the wealthiest Americans of all time. Ended in 1911, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was an illegal monopoly.
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Shipping and railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt was a self-made multi-millionaire who became one of the wealthiest Americans of the 19th century. After working as a steamship captain, Vanderbilt went into business for himself in the late 1820s, and eventually became one of the country’s largest steamship operators. In the process, he gained a reputation for being fiercely competitive and ruthless. In the 1860s, he shifted his focus to the railroad industry, where he built another empire and helped make railroad transportation more efficient. When Vanderbilt died, he was worth more than $100 million.
Andrew Carnegie/Gospel of Wealth
it is a book. Carnegie boldly articulated his view of the rich as mere trustees of their wealth who should live unostentatiously, provide moderately for their families, and use their fortunes to promote the “general good.” He goes on to suggest some “best uses” to which the millionaire can devote his wealth (universities, libraries, medical institutions, public parks, and more).
Pullman Strike of 1894
The Pullman Strike (May–July 1894) was a widespread railroad strike and boycott that disrupted rail traffic in the U.S. Midwest in June–July 1894. Responding to layoffs, wage cuts, and firings, workers at Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago went on strike, and, eventually, widespread railroad strike and boycott that severely disrupted rail traffic in the Midwest of the United States. U.S. Pres. Grover Cleveland dispatch federal troops to address the strike.
Homestead Strike
In 1892, the Carnegie Steel Company in Homestead, Pennsylvania discharged workers from the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers Union. A bloody confrontation ensued between the workers and the hired Pinkerton security guards, ultimately killing 16 people and causing many injuries. Ultimately, the Amalgated Association union voted to end restrictions on working at the Carnegie Steel Company, leaving the union virtually destroyed. The strike inspired workers, but it highlighted how difficult it was for unions to challenge the combined power of corporations and the government.
Haymarket Riot 1886
The Haymarket Riot occurred on May 4, 1886, when a labor protest rally near Chicago’s Haymarket Square turned into a riot after someone threw a bomb at police. At least eight people died as a result of the violence that day. The Haymarket Riot was viewed as a setback for the organized labor movement in America, which was fighting for rights like the eight-hour workday. At the same time, many in the labor movement viewed the convicted men as martyrs.
Nativism
Nativism is the political policy of protecting the interests of native inhabitants over those of immigrants, including the support of immigration-restriction measures.
