Invented the telephone (1876), which allowed people to communicate instantly over long distances. This helped businesses expand and connect markets nationwide.
Alexander Graham Bell / Telephone
Developed the Bessemer Process, which made steel cheaper and faster to produce. Steel became essential for railroads, bridges, and skyscrapers, fueling industrial growth.
Henry Bessemer / Steel
Invented practical electric lighting and power systems. Electricity transformed factories, cities, and daily life by allowing longer work hours and safer lighting.
Thomas Edison / Electricity
Invented the safety elevator, making tall buildings practical. This led to the rise of skyscrapers and modern urban cities.
Otis Elevator
Built a massive railroad empire by consolidating lines. Railroads linked regions, lowered shipping costs, and helped create a national market.
Cornelius Vanderbilt / Railways
Sears catalogs allowed rural Americans to order goods by mail. This connected farmers to the national economy and increased consumer culture.
Mail-Order Catalogs / Sears
A discount railroads gave to big corporations for shipping large amounts. This helped large businesses and hurt small competitors.
Rebate
Agreements between companies to fix prices and divide markets. reduced competition but often collapsed because companies cheated.
Pools
Powerful banker who created large corporations by merging companies. Helped stabilize the economy but increased monopoly power.
J. Pierpont Morgan / Banking
When the same people sat on the boards of multiple companies. This reduced competition and gave elites control over many industries.
Interlocking Directorates
Built a huge steel empire using vertical integration. Believed in the Gospel of Wealth—the rich should give back to society.
Andrew Carnegie / Steel
Built the largest oil monopoly by using horizontal integration and trusts. Controlled prices and crushed competition.
John D. Rockefeller / Standard Oil
A legal arrangement where one company controlled others. created monopolies and limited competition.
Trust
Buying out or destroying competitors in the same industry (Rockefeller did this in oil).
Horizontal Integration
Idea that government should not interfere in business. Popular during the Gilded Age and favored big corporations.
Laissez-Faire
Controlling every step of production, from raw materials to distribution (Carnegie used this in steel).
Vertical Integration
Belief that the strongest businesses and people succeed naturally. Used to justify wealth inequality and oppose government help.
Social Darwinism
Early labor union that welcomed skilled and unskilled workers, women, and African Americans. Wanted better wages and working conditions.
Knights of Labor / Terence Powderly
Union for skilled workers only. Focused on higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions.
American Federation of Labor (AFL) / Samuel Gompers
Labor protest in Chicago turned violent after a bomb exploded. Hurt public support for unions.
Haymarket Strike (1886)
Steelworkers struck against Carnegie’s company. Strike failed after violence with Pinkertons.
Homestead Strike (1892)
Railroad strike over wage cuts. Federal troops broke it up, showing government support for business.
Pullman Strike (1894)
From Northern and Western Europe. Mostly Protestant and more easily accepted.
Old Immigrants
From Southern and Eastern Europe. Faced discrimination and lived in crowded cities.
New Immigrants
