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33 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
1. Cornelius Vanderbilt
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An American entrepreneur who became wealthy through shipping and railroads. He spent the money he made from a steamboat buisness on merging a variety of local railroads into the New York Central Railroad in 1867
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2.New York Central Railroad
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Ran from New York City to Chicago and operated more than 4,500 miles of track.
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3. Federal land Grants 1865-1900
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Federal government provided railroad companies with large subsidies in the forms of loans and grants.
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4. Transcontinental Railroad
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The railroad that connected California to the rest of the Union
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5. Jay Gould
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Speculator, who went into railroad business for quick profits and made millions by selling of assets and watering stock
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6. Panic of 1893
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1/4 of banks go bankrupt
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7. J.P. Morgan
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American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric. After financing the creation of the Federal Steel Company he merged in 1901 the Carnegie Steel Company and several other steel and iron businesses, including Consolidates Steel and Wire Company owned by William Edenborn, to form the United States Steel Corporation.
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8. Bessemer Process
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The first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of steel from molten pig iron. The key principle is removal of impurities from the iron by oxidation with air being blown through the molten iron. The oxidation also raises the temperature of the iron mass and keeps it molten.
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9. Andrew Carnegie
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Shrewd business genius, who was leader of fast-growing steel industry. Employed a business strategy known as vertical integration
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10. Vertical Integration
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A company would control every stage of the industrial process, from mining raw materials to transporting the finished product.
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11. U.S. Steel
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Corporation headed by J.P. Morgan. First billion dollar company and largest enterprise in the world
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12. John D. Rockefeller
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Owned the Standard Oil Trust. Took charge of the chaotic oil refinery business.
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13. Standard Oil Trust
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Consisted of various companies that he had acquired. In 1881 company controlled 90% of the oil refinery business. Former competitors were brought under one single corporate umbrella.
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14. Horizontal Integration
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It is a strategy used by a business or corporation that seeks to sell a type of product in numerous markets.
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15. Anti Trust Movement
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Middle class citizens feared the trusts' unchecked power and urban elites (old wealth) resented the increasing influence of the new rich.
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16. Sherman Antitrust Act 1890
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Prohibited any "contract, combination, in form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce."
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17. United States v. E.C. Knight
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Court ruled that the Sherman Antitrust Act could be applied only to commerce, not to manufacturing.
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18. Laissez – Faire Capitalism
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Business should be regulated, not by government, but by the impersonal economic (invisible hand) forces of the law of supply and demand
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19. Adam Smith
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Economist, who argued in "The Wealth of the Nation" for laissez-faire. Believed that if the government kept their hands off, then business would be motivated by their own self-interest to offer improved goods and services at low prices. Capitalistic.
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20. Gospel of Wealth
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1889: Carnegie wrote this essay to inspire and encourage philanthropy from the rich to the poor.
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Transatlantic Cable
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Made it possible to send messages across the sea in an instant.
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Alexander Graham Bell
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Invented the telephone in 1876.
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Sear Roebuck
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Large mail-order companies used improved rail system to ship everything from hats to houses ordered from their thick catalogs known as the "wish book."
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Horatio Alger
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Wrote popular novels that sold over a million copies. Every novel portrayed a young man who became rich and successful through honesty, hard work, and a little luck.
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Railroad Strike of 1877
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Outbreak of labor violence in 1877, during economic depression, when railroad companies cut wages in order to reduce costs. It shut down 2/3 of country's rail track. Strike quickly becoming national in scale. For the first time since 1830s federal troops used to end labor violence. More than 100 people were killed.
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National Labor union
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First attempt to organize all workers in all states. Founded in 1866. Goals of higher wages and 8 hour work day. Also equal rights for women and blacks, monetary reform and worker cooperatives. Chief victory was winning 8 hour work day for workers employed by federal government. Lost support after depression and unsuccessful strikes.
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Knights of Labor
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Second national labor union, which began in 1896 as a secret society in order to avoid detection by employers. Went public in 1881, opening member ship to all workers, women and blacks included. Grew rapidly and declined just as rapidly after violent Haymarket riot.
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Terence V.
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Powderly Leader of Knights of Labor. Advocated variety of reforms: worker coorperatives "to make each man his own employer," Abolition of child labor, and abolition of trusts and monopolies. Favored settling labor disputes by arbitration rather than strikes.
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Haymarket Bombing
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On May 4, workers held a public meeting in Haymarket Square. Police attempted to break up meeting. Someone threw a bomb and killed 7 police. Bomb thrower never found, but 8 anarchist leaders tried for crime and 7 sentenced for death.
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American Federation of Labor
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Concentrated on attaining practical economic goals. Founded in 1886 association of 27 craft unions. Did not advocate reform programs to remake American society. By 1901 by far the nation's largest union.
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Samuel Gompers
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Led the American Federation of Labor from 1886 to 1924. Went after basics of higher wages and improved working conditions.
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Homestead Strike 1894
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Henry Clay Frick precipitated a strike in 1892 by cutting wages by nearly 20%. Frick used lockout, private guards, and strikebreakers to defeat steelworkers' walkout. Failure of strike set back union movement in steel industry.
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Eugene V. Debs
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Leader of American Railroad Union. He directed railroad workers not to handle any trains with Pullman cars. He was arrested and jailed for failing to respond to injunction.
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