Halfway Covenant A Puritan compromise that allowed the unconverted children of the “visible saints” to become “halfway” members of the church and to baptize their own children even though they were not full members of the church themselves because they had not experienced full conversion. Massachusetts ministers accepted this compromise in 1662, but the compromise remained controversial throughout the seventeenth century. (p. 105)

hard currency (hard money) Money coined directly from, or backed in full by, precious metals (particularly gold). (p. 266)

hawks Advocates of aggressive military action or all-out war, particularly during the Vietnam War. (p. 985) See also War Hawks.

holding company A system of business organization whereby competing companies are combined under one central administration in order to curb competition and ensure profit. Pioneered in the late 1880s by John D. Rockefeller, holding companies, such as Standard Oil, exercised monopoly control even as the government threatened to outlaw trusts as a violation of free trade. (p. 577) See also monopoly; trust.

horizontal integration A system in which a single person or corporation creates several subsidiary businesses to sell a product in different markets. John D. Rockefeller pioneered the use of horizontal integration in the 1880s to control the refining process, giving him a virtual monopoly on the oil-refining business. (p. 577) See also vertical integration; monopoly.