Robber Barons
A negative view on Captains of Industry (Big Business leaders).
Captains of Industry
A positive term for Big Business owners.
John D. Rockefeller
The oil tycoon who bought up or destroyed all of his competition. Proponent of Horizontal Integration.
Andrew Carnegie
The Steel tycoon controlled the iron mines, methods of shipping, steel refineries, and stores selling steel (vertical integration).
Cornelius Vanderbilt
A railroad tycoon who had a monopoly on rail travel in the United States.
J.P. Morgan
A Gilded Age banker who purchased Carnegie Steel and turned it into U.S. Steel.
He is the inspiration for the Monopoly Man character.
Monopoly
A business with an exclusive possession or control of the supply or trade in a commodity or service. Monopolies eliminate competition and can charge high prices. These are also known as trusts.
Trust
A business with an exclusive possession or control of the supply or trade in a commodity or service. Trusts eliminate competition and can charge high prices. These are also known as monopolies.
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
An 1890 law that enables the government to break apart companies that have an unfair control over part of the economy. It is not used much during the Gilded Age, but will be used often during the Progressive Era.
Telegraph
An invention that allows for quick communication across large distances. It is the precursor (what comes before) to the telephone.
Thomas Edison
A famed Gilded Age inventor. He invented the light bulb, phonograph, and motion pictures (movies).
Henry Ford
A famous entrepreneur and founder of the Ford Motor Company. His use of the assembly line allowed for quick and cheap production of cars.
Gilded Age
A time period during the late 1800s that saw an increase in immigration, rapid industrialization, and urbanization. This was also the time of Big Business, Political Machines, and Corruption.
Industrialization
The process of transition from an agriculture-based economy to one of manufacturing (production of items).
Immigration
The process of foreign people moving to a new place. The Gilded Age saw large amounts of people migrate to the United States.
Urbanization
The process of people moving from rural to urban areas. During the Gilded Age, cities such as New York, Boston, and Chicago grew rapidly as people moved into cities to find work.
Labor Unions
Groups formed to protect the rights of workers. These groups used strikes to force owners to make changes to work hours, safety, and wages.
Laissez-Faire
An economic approach where the government has little or no control over business. A hands-off policy.
Entrepreneur
Individuals or groups that create or invest in their own businesses.
Free Enterprise
An economic system in which private business operates in competition and largely free of state control. People can buy and sell what they want to whomever they wish.
Big Business
A term for the emergence of large businesses during the Gilded Age. These large corporations exert strong influence on the government.
Gospel of Wealth
The idea that the wealthy have a duty to help those in need. Andrew Carnegie is the person associated with this term.
Philanthropy
The act of giving back or helping people, usually through donating money.
Ellis Island
The first stop in the United States for immigrants from Europe and Africa. Here immigrants were given medical exams, and had their names and countries of origin recorded before gaining entrance to the United States.
Angel Island
This island, off the coast of California, is where immigrants from Asia would gain entrance into the United States.
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
A law forbidding Chinese immigrants from coming to the United States. This law was a backlash to the mass migration of Chinese to the United States during the 1860s and 1870s.
Telephone
A Gilded Age invention that made communication across the world instantaneous. Alexander Graham Bell was the inventor.
Bessemer Process
A process that allows for the creation of very cheap and very strong steel. This process allows for the rapid growth of railroads and industrialization in the United States.
Strikes
The weapon of labor unions. Workers use this tactic to force owners to change how businesses are run during the Gilded Age.
Assembly Line
Items are made in sequence by large groups of people who specialize in making one part of an item. Businesses such as the Ford Motor Company will use this process to make automobiles quickly and cheaply.