US History - Industrial Supremecy - Assignments Flashcards
Thomas Edison
1870s: introduction of electricity as source of light and power, invented lightbulb
Designed improved generators
Built large power plants to furnish electricity to whole cities
New Inventions
Mostly in communication, e.g.: 1866: Cyrus W. Field laid transatlantic telegraph cable to Europe, next decade: Alexander Graham Bell developed first telephone with commercial capacity
Automobile
One of the inventions with farthest-reaching impact in US was the car. Two technologies critical for development: creation of gasoline and internal combustion engine
Henry Ford
1906: produced the first Ford cars
General Electric
Fearful of technological competition, created one of first laboratories in 1900, emergence of corporate research and development laboratories coincided with decline in government support for research, helping corporations attract skilled researchers who had lost their traditional forms of support. Also decentralized sources of research funding and ensured that inquiry would move in many directions, and not just along paths determined by government
Taylorism
Many industrialists had new principles of scientific management after its leading theoretician Taylor. Urged employers to reorganize production process by subdividing tasks. Sped up production and made workers more interchangeable. Had to do something in certain time and if not you were fired.
Cornelius Vanderbilt
one of the first, made money from steam ships, american waters, also owned railroads, many cities where they came through he built big houses, built university in railroad town
Limited Liability
Appealing to the public since they only risked the amount of their investments and were not liable for any debts of the corporation beyond that point. Ability to sell stocks to broad public made it possible for entrepreneurs to gather vast sums of capital and undertake great projects.
Andrew Carnegie
rags to riches, poor Scottish immigrant, owned US Steel, treated workers terribly, sells company to J. P. Morgan
J. P. Morgan
Banker
Gustavus Swift
Forged small meatpacking company into a great national corporation
Horizontal Integration
Method of consolidation: combined number of firms engaged in same enterprise into single corporation
Vertical Integration
Method of consolidation: company took over all different businesses on which it relied for its primary function
John D. Rockefeller
Owned Standard Oil, first monopoly
Trust agreement
Arrangement of combining companies, so would get bigger and more productive, less tax
Holding company
Would be formed by trust agreements, purpose is to hold a lot of shares of companies