Unit 2 Vocab

1. American industrial revolution

• When the Civil War ended, American industry expanded and millions of people left their farms to work in mines and factories

2. laissez faire

• When the government does not bother businessmen (they have their "hands off")

3. trust

• In 1882 Standard Oil formed the first trust, which merged businesses without violating laws against owning other companies

4. robber baron

• A businessmen who uses ruthless business tactics; stole from the public, abused the law, mistreated their workers, and bribed government officials

5. vertical integration

• When a company owns all of the different businesses on which it depends for its operation; own all aspect of production and delivery

6. horizontal integration

• When a company takes over or buys out a competitor in an effort to gain market share; achieving control of an entire market is called a monopoly

7. political machine

• An informal political group designed to keep power; provided essential services for immigrants; created significant voting strength

8. ellis island

• A small island in New York Harbor; served as a processing center for most immigrants arriving on the East Coast after 1892

9. tenements

• A dark and crowded multi-family apartment; majority of urban dwellers who were part of the working class lived in tenements

10. ethnic enclaves

• Neighborhoods that were separated into ethnic groups; duplicated many of the comforts of their homelands, including language and religion

11. nativism

• A preference for native-born people and the desire to limit immigration

12. gilded age

• When the outside looks nice, but there are problems hidden underneath; termed by Mark Twain, meaning a layer of glitter over a cheap base

13. social darwinism

• A social theory that attempts to adapt Charles Darwin's natural selection principles and apply it to society

14. americanization

15. populist party

• A movement by farmers to increase their political power; prior to this movement, farmers had little to no voice in politics

16. gospel of wealth

• An essay written by Andrew Carnegie; believed wealthy Americans had the responsibility to donate money for further social progress and believed the wealthy should have a higher tax burden

17. social gospel movement

• From 1870 to 1920, religious reformers strove to improve conditions in the cities according to biblical ideals of charity and justice

18. progressivism

• A reform movement that occurred in the early 1900s as a response to the problems created from urbanization and industrialization

19. muckraker

• Writers who exposed filth and corruption in society; wrote about other social injustices: slums, child labor, industrial accidents, lack of regulations concerning food and medicine

20. john d rockefeller

• In 1870, established Standard Oil, which by the early 1900s controlled some 90 percent of the U.S. refineries and pipelines

21. andrew carnegie

• Scottish immigrant who amassed a fortune in the steel industry; he sold the Carnegie Steel Company to banker JP Morgan for $480 million

22. jp morgan

• One of the most powerful bankers of his era; he financed railroads and helped organize U.S. Steel, General Electric, and other corporations; he was accused of manipulating the nation's financial system for his own gain

23. cornelius vanderbilt

• Shipping and railroad industry tycoon; self-made multi-millionaire; shifted his focus to the railroad industry

24. thomas edison

• Inventor of the phonograph, light bulb, and kinetoscope; General Electric; 1093 patents for inventions

25. henry ford

• Learned that the less people had to move, the faster they would work; produced the assembly line which lowered the cost of the Model T

26. samuel gompers

• The American Federation of Labor's first leader; his plain and simple approach to labor relations helped unions become accepted

27. william "boss" tweed

• Leader of New York City's corrupt Tammany Hall political organization during the 1860s and early 1870s; provided essential services to create significant voting strength

28. upton sinclair

• Acquired fame from his muckraking novel, The Jungle, which exposed conditions to the U.S. Meat Packing Industry

29. jacob riis

• Described the poverty, disease, and crime that afflicted many immigrant neighborhoods in the book How the Other Half Lives

30. theodore roosevelt

• He created the Bureau of Corporations to investigate monopolies and trusts; enforced the Sherman anti-trust act

31. william taft

• Busted standard oil in 1911; created the Children's Bureau; continued conservation policies

32. meat inspection act

• Works to prevent altered or meat and meat products are slaughtered and processed under sanitary conditions

33. interstate commerce commission (Icc)

• Federal law that was designed to regulate the railroad industry; required that railroads be "reasonable and just"

34. children's bureau 1912

• President Taft created the Children's Bureau to "investigate and report the welfare of children"

35. sherman anti-trust act

• A landmark federal statute in the history of the United States antitrust law passed by Congress in 1890

36. 16th amendment

• Allows congress to charge an income tax

37. 17th amendment

• Direct election of senators; wanted to decrease corruption

38. 18th amendment

• Prohibiting the sale of alcohol

39. 19th amendment

• Women's suffrage or gave women the right to vote