City Assessment

Concept Bank

DirectionsUse your notebook and textbook to define how each of the concepts below links to the rise of urbanization and industrialization. Be sure that you fully understand the concepts, as they will provide the foundation of the final assessment.

Bessemer Process

The Bessemer Process was an innovation that allowed steel to be created from iron ore with fewer impurities (stronger), faster, and for less total production cost. This allowed for rapid construction of cities, railroads, and bridges and fueled the Industrial Revolution.

Capital

The wealth, whether in money or property, owned or employed in business by an individual, firm, corporation, etc.

Capitalism

An economic system in which there is private ownership of natural resources and capital. This system gave an incentive for entrepreneurs to take risks.

Child Labor

The use of children in industry supplied a cheaper labor source than adults and the size of the children allowed them to be more effective in certain industries.

Conspicuous consumption

The act in which the rich showed off their wealth through building huge houses, employing large serving staffs, throwing elaborate parties, to name a few activities.

Corporation

A state government gives a group of people the right to sell shares of stock in order to raise capital. This helps corporations raise money to run or expand their businesses.

Economy of scale

The more units of a product a company makes, the less it costs to make each unit. This helps large companies grow even bigger.

Electricity

This allowed manufacturing to move away from water sources for power. It also provided safer equipment because many machines were no longer driven by belts.

Gilded Age

A term coined by Mark Twain to describe the age of conspicuous consumption that developed during the industrial revolution.

Gospel of Wealth

A theory that the rich had a duty to the less fortunate. They should donate money to help the needy.

Horizontal integration

The merging of companies that make a similar product allowed one monopoly control an industry and eliminate competition.

Immigration

The influx of immigrants gave the industrial revolution a steady supply of skilled and unskilled labor in the factories and provided a market for the goods that were produced.

Labor Unions

The organization in the workforce into unions allowed the workers to put a check on the power of the employer and helped them bargain for more rights.

Laissez faire

“Hand off” policy of government that allowed businesses to grow without government restrictions.

Limited liability

This is legal protection for stockholders. If a corporation goes into debt, each stockholder can lose only as much money as he or she invested in it. It encouraged people to invest in corporations.

Mass transit

Transportation system designed to move large numbers of people along fixed routes. It allowed wealthy people to move to less sparsely populated areas and allowed workers to live further away from their jobs.

Monopoly

One business controlling an entire industry. This allowed single businesses to grow into national entities while eliminating the competition.

City ServicesAs industrialization in the USA and instability in Europe and Asia drew millions of immigrants to American cities, city infrastructures were overtaxed. Problems with crime, overcrowding, sanitation, fire, disease, natural disasters, and political corruption forced cities to institute professional police and fire departments and reform city services and government.

Natural resources

Natural resources (coal, iron ore, copper, wood, etc.) were discovered in large quantities as settlers moved westward. The easy availability of these resources coupled with the expansion of the railroad and rapid immigration caused factories in urban areas to boom.

Philanthropy

Concern for human welfare and advancement, usually made by giving donations of money, property, or work to needy persons, by donating to institutions of learning and hospitals, and by generosity to other socially useful purposes.

Social Darwinism

An economic and social philosophy holding that a system of unrestricted competition will ensure the survival of the fittest. It allowed the rich to justify the large discrepancy among the different classes.

Social Gospel

A 19th century reform movement based on the belief that Christians have a responsibility to help improve working conditions and alleviate poverty. It helped fuel the reform movement.

Vertical integration

A company’s taking over its suppliers, distributors, and transportation systems to gain control over the quality and costs of its product. It allowed businesses to grow into large monopolies.

Middle Class

A class of people between the upper class (very wealthy) and lower class (very poor). The middle class has many of the comforts of the upper class but are required to continue to work to keep this lifestyle.