1. Horizontal integration- a corporate expansion strategy that involves joining together as many firms from the same industry as possible.
2. Vertical integration- a corporate expansion strategy that involves controlling each step in the production and distribution of a product, from acquiring raw materials to manufacturing, packing, and shipping.
3. Laissez faire- the idea that the free market, through supply and demand, will regulate itself if government does not interfere.
4. Social Darwinism- an idea, based on Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, that the best-run businesses led by the most capable people will survive and prosper. This concept discouraged many small business owners to continue. Essentially, business owners did not want government interference and that the most capable people should run the businesses. In some cases, however, businesses bribed legislators to pass laws favoring their companies.
5. Sherman Anti-Trust Act- an 1890 federal law that outlawed trusts, monopolies, other forms of business that restricted trade. As Americans saw an alarming growth and increase of big businesses, small business owners wanted their companies to prosper too. This Act, however, was quite vague. Lawyers who favored laissez-faire mainly wrote it. This Act did not last very long.
6. Division of labor- a method in which factory production is divided into separate tasks, with one task assigned to each worker.
7. Labor Union- a group of workers organized to protect the interests of its members. They focused on three major points: higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions. They worked together to achieve their goals. During and economic depression, business owners forced workers to sign “yellow-dog contracts,” pledges that their workers would not join a labor union.
8. American Federation of Labor (AFL)- a national labor organization, founded in 1886 that consisted mainly of skilled workers and focused on higher wages and shorter workdays.
9. Collective Bargaining- negotiations between employers and employees concerning wages, working conditions, and other terms of employment.
10. Anarchist- a person who rejects all forms of government.
11. Haymarket Affair- a violent crash in 1886 between union supporters and Chicago police that divided and weakened the labor movement.
12. Homestead Strike- an 1862 federal law that granted tracts of land called homesteads to western settlers who agreed to work the land live on it for live years.
13. Pullman Strike- an 1894 railway workers’ strike that was broken by federal troops, weakening the labor movement.