PRESENTATION OUTLINE
American Industrial Revolution:
When American industry expanded and people left rural areas to urban areas to work in factories and mines. This caused for overcrowding in the city and unsanitary conditions.
Laissez Faire:
The government is not allowed to interfere with business. This allowed businessmen to treat their workers unfairly by lowering their wages to hardly nothing.
Trust:
A group of corporations run by a board of directors. This allowed for monopolies to happen without violating laws.
Robber Baron:
A businessman who uses tactics such as stealing from the public and abusing the law to gain more money. Robber Barons often drained natural resources but also created jobs.
Vertical Integration:
One company owns all aspects of production and delivery which means that they don't have to depend on other businesses. This ultimately resulted in monopolies to occur.
Horizontal Integration:
When a company is able to take control of a competitor so that they may gain market share. This resulted in the occurrence of monopolies to be present due to one single company gaining complete control of a market.
Political Machine:
Informal political groups who were made to ensure the continuation of power in ones hands. They gave immigrants the essential supplies they needed which ensured that they would be voted for.
Ellis Island:
A small island in New York in which immigrants had to pass through in order to get to America. It was a processing center that checked many immigrants from Europe.
Tenements:
Multi-family apartments which were usually only one small room shared with people you didn't know. This resulted in and increase in death due to disease and unsanitary conditions.
Ethnic Enclaves:
Neighborhoods that are split into ethnic groups. When immigrants came to America most wanted to stick with what they know so they created ethnic enclaves to have a sense of comfort in America.
Nativism:
The belief that only native-born people should exist in America therefore prohibiting immigration. This caused a divide to happen in some cities because nativists resented immigrants and would often battle with them.
Gilded Age:
The time period of the Industrial Revolution. This term showed what the Industrial Revolution truly brought about which was many new innovations but also death and destruction.
Social Darwinism:
A theory that applies Darwin's natural selection principles to society. This caused the justification of power imbalance and poverty.
Americanization:
The attempts to make immigrants more American by teaching them our culture.This caused some immigrants to lose their traditions but also taught them English.
Populist Party:
The political party that was dedicated to easing farmers' and workers' debt and giving them more power in politics. This became the gateway for the Democratic Party.
Gospel of Wealth:
The belief that the wealthy should donate their money to further society. This was heavily practiced by Andrew Carnegie and was also known as philanthropy.
Social Gospel Movement:
The religious reform of improving conditions in the city by reconstructing urban society. This created the first YMCA and helped the urban poor.
Progressivism:
The responses to the economic and social problems that industrialization caused. This made the government take action and Laissez Faire was no longer in effect.
Muckraker:
A journalist who publishes writings about corruption and crime. They exposed the unsanitary conditions in meat factories which caused the Meat Inspection Act to be passed.
John D. Rockefeller:
An entrepreneur who took over the oil industry and established Standard Oil. He caused the some railroads to go bankrupt due to his ruthless tactics and did a monopoly of the oil industry.
Andrew Carnegie:
An entrepreneur who took over the steel business and built the first bridge across the Mississippi River using steel. His steel was used to build many of the buildings in the cities and skyscrapers.
JP Morgan:
A powerful banker who financed the railroads and helped get U.S. Steel and General Electric organized. He stabilized the American financial markets during crisis and during the panic of 1907.
Cornelius Vanderbilt:
A self-made millionaire who took over the railroad industry. He was one of the largest steamboat operators but saw the potential of the railroad and invested all he had in it.
Thomas Edison:
The founder of General Electric. He was the first person to perfect the light bulb and brought safer lighting into houses.
Henry Ford:
He was the creator of the assembly line. He allowed for work in factories to be done efficiently and rapidly and also allowed for the Model T's price to be cut.
Samuel Gompers:
He was the first leader of the American Federation of Labor. He helped unions to become accepted.
William "Boss" Tweed:
The leader of the corrupt political organization Tammany Hall. It was a political machine which relied on immigrants to stay in power.
Upton Sinclair:
The person who wrote The Jungle which exposed the horrible conditions in the meat packing industry. This exploitation caused the creation of the FDA.
Jacob Riis:
A muckraker who used photography to exploit the living conditions in New York. His photographs caused health and sanitation laws to be passed which made living conditions better.
Theodore Roosevelt:
He was the 26th president and was also the youngest to be elected. He took whatever action necessary for the public's good and put many reforms into effect.
William Taft:
He was the Chief Justice of the supreme court in 1921. He handled the case of Bailey v. Drexel Furniture Co. which caused the Child Labor Tax Law to be declared unconstitutional, it was an attempt to stop child labor from being used.
Meat Inspection Act:
A congress act that works to prevent misbranded meat and meat products to be sold to the public. This ensurers that meat is packaged in sanitary conditions and that working conditions in these factories are sanitary.
Interstate Commerce Commission:
They regulated railroad rates. This ensured that rates were not too high and this was also an adopted reform of the Populist Party.
Children's Bureau 1912:
A federal government organization who's job was to investigate and report children's welfare. They passed an act that discouraged the use of child labor.
Sherman Anti-Trust Act:
It prohibited monopolies from being carried out by using trusts. This effected many entrepreneurs because they used monopolies to become rich.
16th Amendment:
This made a persons income to be taxed rather than their land to be taxed. This made farmers gain more money because they were only being taxed on what they made rather than all of the land they owned.
17th Amendment:
This allowed the direct election of senators rather than the appointment of them. This ended the corruption in the system because senators could no longer bribe the people who appointed them so that they could stay in power.
18th Amendment:
This banned alcohol in the U.S. This has been the only amendment to have ever been repealed due to its great failure.
19th Amendment:
This amendment made women have equal voting rights to men. This made women a step closer to being equal to men and also gave them a voice in politics.
