Unit 2: Chapter 6

Between 1790 and 1860, the Patent and Trademark Office of the federal government issued just 36,000 patents—licenses that give an inventor the exclusive right to make, use, or sell an invention for a set period of time.

By 1900, Americans' standard of living was among the highest in the world. This achievement was a result of the nation's growing industrial productivity—the amount of goods and services created in a given period of time.

Because private investors did not see any likelihood of profit in building railroads beyond the line of settlement, the federal government stepped in to fund the completion of the transcontinental railroad. Members of Congress believed that the completion of a coast-to-coast railway would strengthen the country's economic infrastructure.

The Bessemer process made possible the mass production, or production in great amounts, of steel.

However, the start-up costs of creating certain types of businesses were high and, as a result, only a few companies could compete in those industries. A market structure such as this, which is dominated by only a few large, profitable firms, is called an oligopoly.

Some companies set out to gain a monopoly, or complete control of a product or service.

Sometimes industrialists prospered by taking steps to limit competition with other firms. One way was to form a cartel—a loose association of businesses that make the same product. Members of the cartels agreed to limit the supply of their product and thus keep prices high.

Gaining control of the many different businesses that make up all phases of a product's development is known as vertical consolidation.

Gaining control of the many different businesses that make up all phases of a product's development is known as vertical consolidation.

He could charge less because of a phenomenon known as economies of scale. That is, as production increases, the cost of each item produced is lower.

The board of trustees, which Rockefeller controlled, managed the companies as a single unit called a trust.

The Sherman Antitrust Act outlawed any combination of companies that restrained interstate trade or commerce.

This system of piecework meant that those who worked the fastest and produced the most pieces earned the most money.

Most piecework was performed in what came to be known as a sweatshop—a shop where employees worked long hours at low wages and under poor working conditions.

Socialism is an economic and political philosophy that favors public instead of private control of property and income.

Unlike the Knights of Labor, the AFL was a craft union. Rather than organizing all workers, the AFL sought to organize only skilled workers in a network of smaller unions, each devoted to a specific craft.

The AFL relied on economic pressure, such as strikes and boycotts, against employers. By using these tactics, the AFL tried to force employers to participate in collective bargaining, a process in which workers negotiate as a group with employers.

Industrial unions organized workers from all crafts in a given industry.

A scab is a negative term for a worker called in by an employer to replace striking laborers. Using scabs allows a company to continue operating and to avoid having to bargain with the union.

A group of anarchists, radicals who oppose all government, joined the strikers.

Frick had a plan for defeating the union. On July 1, he called in the Pinkertons, a private police force known for their ability to break strikes.