Download American Federation of Labor A union established

Name: ____________________________________
American Federation of Labor
A union established by Samuel Gompers, it was a “federation” of national trade unions, each independently run, yet associated with the larger
union. They supported better working conditions and the eight-hour work day.
Big Business
Term used to describe the corporations and monopolies since the industrial revolution of the late 1800s.
Capital
The total worth of a company in money, stocks, goods, or machinery; the total assets of a company.
Capitalism
Economic system characterized by private ownership of the means of production and by private initiative, competition, and profit.
Andrew Carnegie
He lived from 1835 to 1919. He was a Scottish immigrant who dominated the steel industry by 1890. In 1901, he sold his business to J.P. Morgan
and gave his wealth to establish libraries and public buildings, as well as buying organs for many churches.
City
A municipality with boundaries and powers determined by a charter granted by the state.
Communism
Economic and political system based on the ownership of property by the community. Under communism, the people lost their individual rights.
Competition
The opportunity for businesses to provide the best product or service at the lowest price; usually associated with capitalism and the free
enterprise system.
Corporation
A firm operating under a government charter which legally allows it to act as a single person with all the rights of a person under the law. It is,
however, made up of two or more people who share ownership.
Cultural diversity
Many cultures existing in one society.
Economic system
The process of providing goods and services to the consumer, based upon some form of exchange, and the resulting demand for the goods or
services that provide a need to continue the process of supply.
Economist
A person who studies the production of goods and the circulation of money, and the ways people organize to make and exchange the things they
need to survive.
Factory
Building or buildings in which goods are manufactured.
Farmers
Thomas Jefferson described them as: “The bone and sinew of America.” Throughout the 1800s, they were part of the westward expansion, suffered
high prices, and reacted with the Grange Movement and the Populist Party by the late 1800s. Their golden era was between 1900 and 1914. They
have suffered since the 1920s with high production costs and decreasing incomes. U.S. government support since the 1930s and consolidation
have helped.
Free Market Economy
The economic system of supply and demand based on the characteristics of competition.
Immigration
The process of entering and settling in a country or region other than a person's native land.
Industrial Revolution
The general period of time in the late 18th century and early 19th century England, and later in the mid-to late 19th century United States, in which
goods that were usually made in the home or small shop, were produced in factories through the use of new inventions and machines.
Industrialist
A person who controls the commercial production and sale of goods and services.
Industrialization
The change from man-made to machine-made production, usually at a larger scale for consumption by a home market and for foreign markets.
Knights of Labor
A union formed by Uriah Stephens and later led by Terence Powderly, it had almost 700,000 members by 1886, composed of both skilled and
unskilled workers, professionals, women, and factory workers. It disappeared by the early 1890s after several unsuccessful strikes.
Labor union
An organization that represents workers in a factory or whole industry with respect to hours, wages, and conditions of work.
Laissez-faire
A term that may be defined as noninterference and has been used in government and economics during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to
mean a minimum amount of government regulation of business.
Mercantilism
The economic theory that believed a nation's strength came from building up its gold supplies and expanding its trade.
Monopoly
The domination or control of the supply of goods or services in the market place by one company or several companies.
J. Pierpont Morgan
Investment banker who reorganized the railroad and steel industries. In 1901 he bought Carnegie Steel Company and merged it with competing
firms to form the U.S. Steel Corporation. In 1907, he helped construct a pool of assets of several New York banks to prop up a shaky financial
institutions. He lived from 1837 to 1913.
Profit
The difference between the cost of making something and the price at which it is sold.
Robber barons
Industrial or financial magnates of the late 19th century who became wealthy by unethical means.
John D. Rockefeller
An industrialist who made his fortune in the oil industry. He combined companies into a single corporation, called the Standard Oil Company.
Rural
An area outside of the urban or city centers where parcels of land were used to farm crops or raise animals. The population of these areas were
generally very small.
Socialism
An economic philosophy or political system in which the community, not private individuals, own and operate the means of production and
distribution. All will share in the work and the profits.
Suburbs
The area of population beyond the urban or city areas.
Supply and demand
Economic terms referring to the amount of goods available for sale and the interest of the consumer in purchasing them.
Technology
The use of science in developing methods and materials for industrial and commercial purposes.
Transportation
The means of moving people or goods from one place to another; a major factor in the economy, since manufacturers need ready access to both
raw materials to make their products, and markets to sell their products.
Trust
A practice by a group of corporations during the late 1800s to place their businesses under the directorship of a single board of directors.
Union
An organization representing workers in negotiations with employers for wages, hours, conditions, and job security.
Urban
Pertaining to a city.
Urbanization
The migration of people into the city from rural areas and through immigration, combined with the growth of industry and housing, followed by the
potential for problems that must be dealt with in order to cope with a rapidly changing environment.
Wages
Payments for labor.