UNIT 5:
SECTION 1:
KEY VOCABULARY
● Corporation: A business owned by investors (shareholders). Benefits include the ability
to raise large amounts of money, limit personal liability, and continue beyond the
founders' lives.
● Trust: A group of corporations managed by a single board of trustees, often to reduce
competition and increase profits.
● Gilded Age: Late 19th-century period marked by rapid economic growth, industrial
expansion, political corruption, and deep social inequality.
● Union: An organized group of workers who unite to negotiate with employers for better
wages, hours, and working conditions.
KEY QUESTIONS & CONCEPTS
● What is Industrialization?
○ The transformation from an agrarian society to one based on industry and
manufacturing.
○ Key features include factories, mechanization, mass production, urbanization,
and technological innovation (like the Bessemer process).
● Rockefeller and Carnegie’s Business Strategies:
○ John D. Rockefeller (Standard Oil): Used horizontal integration to buy out
competitors and create a monopoly.
○ Andrew Carnegie (U.S. Steel): Used vertical integration to control every step
of the production process from raw materials to distribution.
● Horizontal vs. Vertical Integration:
○ Horizontal Integration: One company dominates a single level of the supply
chain (e.g., refining oil).
○ Vertical Integration: One company controls multiple levels (e.g., mining,
transport, production).
● Government Regulation:
○ Sherman Antitrust Act (1890): Banned monopolistic practices and sought to
preserve competition.
○ Interstate Commerce Act (1887): Regulated railroad prices to protect
consumers and small businesses.
● Labor Movement and Unions:
○ Knights of Labor: Inclusive of all workers (skilled and unskilled); advocated for
social reforms like equal pay and 8-hour workdays.
○ American Federation of Labor (AFL): Focused on skilled workers and practical
workplace improvements.
SECTION 1:
KEY VOCABULARY
● Corporation: A business owned by investors (shareholders). Benefits include the ability
to raise large amounts of money, limit personal liability, and continue beyond the
founders' lives.
● Trust: A group of corporations managed by a single board of trustees, often to reduce
competition and increase profits.
● Gilded Age: Late 19th-century period marked by rapid economic growth, industrial
expansion, political corruption, and deep social inequality.
● Union: An organized group of workers who unite to negotiate with employers for better
wages, hours, and working conditions.
KEY QUESTIONS & CONCEPTS
● What is Industrialization?
○ The transformation from an agrarian society to one based on industry and
manufacturing.
○ Key features include factories, mechanization, mass production, urbanization,
and technological innovation (like the Bessemer process).
● Rockefeller and Carnegie’s Business Strategies:
○ John D. Rockefeller (Standard Oil): Used horizontal integration to buy out
competitors and create a monopoly.
○ Andrew Carnegie (U.S. Steel): Used vertical integration to control every step
of the production process from raw materials to distribution.
● Horizontal vs. Vertical Integration:
○ Horizontal Integration: One company dominates a single level of the supply
chain (e.g., refining oil).
○ Vertical Integration: One company controls multiple levels (e.g., mining,
transport, production).
● Government Regulation:
○ Sherman Antitrust Act (1890): Banned monopolistic practices and sought to
preserve competition.
○ Interstate Commerce Act (1887): Regulated railroad prices to protect
consumers and small businesses.
● Labor Movement and Unions:
○ Knights of Labor: Inclusive of all workers (skilled and unskilled); advocated for
social reforms like equal pay and 8-hour workdays.
○ American Federation of Labor (AFL): Focused on skilled workers and practical
workplace improvements.
