History Ch. 13 – Industrialization – Flashcards
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Industries that helped the US become a world power...
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electric, communications, steel, and transportation (railroads, streetcars, and later automobiles)
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Positive changes for American workers...
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*easier to find work in factories or industries *could commute to work from out-of-town *could access clothes and supplies that they used to have to create on their own
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Negative changes for American workers...
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*worked in sweatshops *families, including children, worked side-by-side *ended up living in company towns, where the rent and cost of goods were dictated by the company they worked for
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Minority groups that faced the toughest discrimination...
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*African Americans *immigrants
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sweatshop
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*small, hot, dark, and dirty workhouse *thousands of people in one building *terrible working conditions
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Why were people willing to work in sweatshops?
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Many were immigrants who knew very little English, were very poor, and would take almost any job.
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Families in the workforce?
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1 in 5 children between ages 10-16 worked rather than attended school
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Why did employers oppose the growing labor movement?
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They saw it as a threat to their businesses and profits.
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collective bargaining
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Negotiating, as a group, for higher wages or better working conditions.
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strike
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When workers agree to cease work until certain demands are met.
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When was the first national union formed? What happened?
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1834 - Known as the National Trades Union *It only last a few years because no new unions formed during the late 1830s.
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How long was the typical work day during this time?
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10 hours
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socialism
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An economic and political philosophy that favors public control of property and income. Socialists believe that society at large should be in control of the nation's wealth, NOT private individuals. The wealthy opposed socialism because it threatened their fortunes.
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Why did most Americans reject Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto?
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They believed that it threatened the American ideals of free enterprise, private property, and individual liberty.
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Who was Uriah Smith Stephens?
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In 1869, he organized the Knights of Labor (a labor union).
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Who was recruited by the Nights of Labor?
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They recruited workers of any trade, skilled or unskilled, including African Americans. This union disappeared after several failed strikes took their toll.
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Pullman Place Car Company
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This company manufactured luxury railroad cars. During The Strike, railroad traffic was halted and mail delivery was at a standstill. Federal troops were brought in to end the strike, citing the Sherman Antitrust Act (claimed the union was illegally disrupting free trade). Now employers appeal frequently for court orders against unions, citing a variety of legislation, including the Sherman Antitrust Act.
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George Pullman
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Owned the Pullman Place Car Company - controlled his workers by requiring they live in the company town, where he could dictate the prices of rent and goods. He laid-off workers and decreased their salaries by 25%, so workers tried to negotiate, ending up with 3 workers getting fired and the factory being shut down.
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Normal for American industries...
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*contract negotiations *strikes *legislation
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entrepreneur
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people who invest money in a product or enterprise in order to make a profit
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protective tariff
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taxes that would make imported goods cost more than those made locally
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laissez faire
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a policy which allowed businesses to operate under minimal government regulation
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patent
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a grant by the federal government giving an inventor the exclusive right to develop, use, and sell an invention for a set period of time
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Thomas Edison
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an inventor and creative genius who received more than 1,000 patents for new inventions *invented the light bulb, the phonograph, and the motion picture camera, among hundreds of other products
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Bessemer process
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a process for purifying iron resulting in strong, but lightweight, steel
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suspension bridge
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bridges in which the roadway is suspended by steel cables
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time zone
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twenty-four zones around the world, one for each hour of the day *created from the need to coordinate train arrival/departure times across the country
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mass production
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systems that depended on machinery to turn out large numbers of products quickly and inexpensively
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How did industrialization and new technology affect the economy and society?
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*America began a major transformation after the end of the Civil War marked by expanding business and industrialization. *This "second industrial revolution," led by scientists and inventors, improved people's daily lives.
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What factors led to increased industrial growth during the Civil War?
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*Factories used new tools and methods to produce supplies in big numbers. *Railroads expanded across the nation. *The government encouraged immigration.
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A great many immigrants to the United States were pushed from their homelands by...
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*political upheaval at home *religious discrimination *crop failures
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In the American system of capitalism, who owns most businesses?
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Individuals
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Why did entrepreneurs invest money in products in order to make profits?
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*political upheaval at home *religious discrimination *crop failures
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Why did entrepreneurs fuel industrialization in the late 1800s?
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They benefited from laissez-faire policies, which allowed businesses to work under minimal government regulation.
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Samuel Morse
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invented the telegraph ("Morse" code)
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Elias Howe
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invented the sewing machine
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Elisha Otis
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invented safety elevator
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Granville Woods
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invented the steam boiler
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Yellowstone Park
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the first protected land created by Congress as a result of industrialization environmental concerns
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corporation
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a form of group ownership in which a number of people share the ownership of a business
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monopoly
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complete control of a product or service
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cartel
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an arrangement in which businesses making the same product agree to limit production to keep prices high
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John D. Rockefeller
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an oil tycoon who made deals with railroads to increase his profits
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horizontal integration
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a system of consolidating many firms in the same business to lower production costs
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trust
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a situation in which companies assign their stock to a board of trustees, who combine them into a new organization
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Andrew Carnegie
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a steel tycoon who used vertical integration to increase his power
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vertical integration
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the practice of gaining control of many different businesses that make up all phases of a product's development
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Social Darwinism
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an application of Charles Darwin's work which held that wealth was a measure of one's inherent value and those who had it were the most "fit"
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ICC (the Interstate Commerce Commission)
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a government body set up to oversee railroad operations
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Sherman Antitrust Act
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a bill passed in 1890 which outlawed any trust that operated "in restraint of trade or commerce among the several states"
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How did big business shape the American economy in the late 1800s and early 1900s?
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*The growth of big business in the late 1800s changed American society. *The rise of business empires turned the United States into an economically powerful nation.
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Corporations worked to maximize profits by...
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*paying workers low wages *paying lower prices for raw materials *supporting research labs
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What two Big Business strategies did corporations use to eliminate competition?
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*monopolies *cartels
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What two business strategies did corporations use to decrease costs?
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*horizontal integration *vertical integration
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Cornelius Vanderbilt
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railroad tycoon
