alien - an immigrant living in the US who has not yet acquired citizenship

illegal alien - a foreigner who has entered the country without

authorization of the US gov.

assimilation - to take on the customs and culture of another country (to

blend in with native born citizens)

cultural pluralism - minority groups participate in American society while maintaining elements of their native culture

discrimination - unfair treatment of a group or individual on the basis of race, class, religion, or gender

emigrant - a person who leaves their native country

ghetto - a settlement made up of individuals from one distinct religious or ethnic group

immigrant - a person who moves to a foreign country

melting pot - belief that US is a country in which all cultures blend together in order to form a distinct American character

nativism - policy of protecting the interests of native born citizens against the effects of immigration

naturalization - the act of giving an immigrant the rights and privileges of a native born citizen

pogroms - acts of violence that targeted the Jewish population of Eastern Europe

political machine - an individual or small group that controls the activities of the local gov.

social gospel movement - organized by urban churches in the late 19th century. Participants believed that the teachings of Jesus (charity and justice) should be extended to the poor

tenement - low cost, rundown, overcrowded apartment buildings

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pool - an agreement between competing business concerns to establish controls over production, market, and prices for common profit

“stock watering” (railroads) - a common technique people used in which railroads would artificially talk up a company so that its stock would go up

rebate - given to large companies that shipped large quantities of goods. Big companies got cheap rates and small companies got expensive rates

free enterprise - the notion that the government should stay out of private business; anyone could rise from rags to riches

regulatory commissions - governmental agents who regulated business in public interest

Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 - act that set up the ICC and it stated that the federal government has the ability to regulate all aspects of interstate commerce

Trust - corporations in the same market or related markets would form a trust that put control of business under a single group of trustees. Shareholders still received dividends, but had no say in the business. Trusts were later outlawed.

horizontal integration - merging one firm with another in the same industry and stage of production, used by Rockefeller to buy up competitors

vertical integration - bought out businesses that were used in the production process; used by Carnegie to grow his business and used by Rockefeller who forced or brought out competitors

syndicate - an association of enterprises or individuals organized to undertake a joint project requiring a large amount of money

socialism - a political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole; there is no private property

The Gospel of Wealth - the term for a notion promoted by many successful businessmen that their massive wealth was a social benefit for all; Carnegie’s idea

Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 - Congress passed this act which prohibited monopolies, trusts, forbade pools, interlocking directorates, or any business that prevented fair competition; it was not very effective because it lacked enforcement

lockout - the exclusion of employees by their employer from their place of work until certain terms are agreed to

blacklist - to ban a troublesome worker so that no one would hire that person

yellow dog contract - when workers pledge to not join a union; big-businesses could mandate them

cooperative - a farm, business, or other organization that is owned and run jointly by its members, who share the profits or benefits

National Labor Union - their goals were to set up an arbitration (settlement by a mediator) of worker complaints and establish an 8 hour workday (which was granted to government workers); lasted 6 years and had 600,000 members, Chinese immigrants excluded

Knights of Labor - started in secrecy, welcomed everyone but non producers; workers pool resources, better working conditions, 8 hour work day; led by Terence vs Powderly with some success

Haymarket Square Riot - occurred in Chicago in 1886, strikers were intermingled with a handful of anarchists calling for overthrow of the government

anarchists - people who rebel against any authority

American Federation of Labor - started by Samuel Gompers in 1886; made up of small, independent unions; Gompers wanted "trade agreements" to allow the "closed shop"

“closed shop” - businesses closed to non-union members; people must join the union to work there