American Federation of Labor (AFL) | The leading labor organization in America, founded in 1881 by Samuel Gompers and composed of craft unions rather than a single national union | American Socialist Party | Political party formed in 1901 and led by Eugene V. Debs that advocated replacing the nation’s capitalist system | anarcho-syndicalism | A radical form of political protest that advocates the use of labor activism to overthrow the capitalist system | blacklist | A compilation of known union activists in a particular area; employers refused to hire anyone whose name appeared on one | Contract Labor Law | Passed in 1885, this prohibited employers from forcing immigrants to work to pay off the costs of their passage to America | Crédit Mobilier Company | A construction company set up by the directors of the Union Pacific in 1867 in order to build part of their transcontinental railroadin essence, they were their own subcontractors and awarded themselves generous contracts | craft union | Union of skilled laborers, the type of union assembled under the American Federation of Labor | horizontal integration | The system by which a business takes over its competitors in order to limit competition, lower costs, and maximize profits | Industrial Revolution | Transformation in the way goods were made and sold, as American businessmen between 1865 and 1915 used continuing technological breakthroughs and creative financing to bring greater efficiency to their businesses | International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) | Major New York City union that often conducted its union meetings in five different languages simultaneously | International Workers of the World (IWW) | A collection of militant mining unions founded in 1905 in Colorado and Idaho; sought to use labor activism to overthrow the capitalist system | mugwumps | The machine’s mischievous nickname for Republicans who supported Democrat Grover Cleveland in the 1884 election only because Republican candidate James Blaine was considered a product of machine politics | Social Darwinism | The theory that “survival of the fittest” extended to the business realm: tycoons believed they were justified in their overbearing behavior because they had shown themselves to be the most successful competitors in an open market | strikebreakers | Workers who agreed to work while union workers were on strike | sweatshop | Crowded factory in an urban setting, often one where workers are exploited | Tammany Hall | A political organization known as a “machine,” whose members regarded politics as an opportunity to get rich while providing favors to the urban underclass | Triangle Shirtwaist Company | New York City garment factory; scene of a horrific fire in 1911 | Tweed Ring | Friends and cronies of New York’s corrupt “Boss” William M. Tweed | vertical integration | The system by which a business controls all aspects of its industry, from raw materials to finished product, and is able to avoid working or sharing profits with any other companies | yellow dog contract | Contract stipulating that an employee would not join a union |