The Gilded Age/ Big Business Practice

Open Ended

How did the rise of big business and the formation of trusts and monopolies during the Gilded Age impact workers and the economy?

Multiple Choice

What was the significance of the Gilded Age in shaping modern American society?

• It marked the end of industrialization in America.

• It was a period of economic growth, technological innovation, and social change.

• It was a time when America became a monarchy.

• It was a period of complete political stability.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following was a major impact of the railroad industry on the United States economy?

• It connected vast regions and allowed efficient transport of goods.

• It limited the movement of goods to local areas only.

• It reduced the need for coal production.

• It discouraged the creation of a national market.

Multiple Select

Which of the following statements about Cornelius Vanderbilt are correct?

• He began by ferrying people across New York Harbor.

• He amassed his fortune in the railroad industry.

• He built the Grand Central Depot in New York City.

• He was known for avoiding business competition.

Fill in the Blank

The Bessemer Process created cheap, efficient methods for mass producing ___.

Open Ended

Explain how Andrew Carnegie used vertical integration to build his business empire.

Multiple Choice

How did the railroad industry contribute to the growth of the oil industry in the United States?

• It made it possible to transport oil from remote areas to markets.

• It replaced the need for oil as a fuel supply.

• It limited oil production to the eastern United States.

• It discouraged the use of pipelines.

Multiple Choice

Oil tycoon who made deals with the Railroads to increase his profits. 

• Andrew Carnegie 
• John Rockefeller 
• Eugene Debs
• Thomas Edison

Open Ended

Discuss how John D. Rockefeller’s beliefs about competition and profit influenced his business practices.

Multiple Choice

How did Standard Oil Company achieve its monopoly in the oil industry?

• By gaining control of competing companies and forming a trust

• By lowering oil prices for consumers

• By focusing only on oil production

• By refusing to distribute oil

Multiple Choice

Why does this image depict Rockefeller so large?

• He was a political boss who tried to win governmental favors

• He was a government inspector looking for corruption

• He was a robber baron who used his money and power to influence government

• He was looking to correct all of pollution cause by industrialization

Open Ended

Compare and contrast vertical and horizontal integration as described in the images.

Multiple Choice

At the end of the nineteenth century, the desire of American business to control supplies and processes of raw materials led to

• automation of industry
• horizontal integration
• vertical integration
• development of the "putting-out system"

Multiple Choice

Which idea summarizes the Gilded Age?

• Many Americans moved west to farm

• Native Americans were placed on Reservations

• The discovery of Gold increased western migration

• Industrialists used their wealth to influence politics

Multiple Choice

Which of the following are effects of technological advances on U.S. infrastructure, as shown in the images?

• Changed how people lived and worked

• Slowed down communication

• Reduced the need for inventions

• Limited business growth

Fill in the Blank

The telegraph allowed coded messages to be sent across electric wires connecting ___ distances.

Multiple Choice

What impact did the invention of the telephone have on communication?

• It made conversations more efficient and allowed discussion over distant locations

• It replaced the telegraph completely

• It slowed down business operations

• It was only used for local communication

Multiple Choice

_____ opened the way for worldwide communications with the invention of the telephone.

• John D. Rockefeller

• Alexander Graham Bell

• Jacob Riis

• Andrew Carnegie

Open Ended

Explain how the electric light bulb changed factory operations and urban life in the United States.

Multiple Choice

How did the invention shown in this patent illustration affect industry?

• Machines needed to be repaired less frequently.

• Products could be manufactured on an assembly line.

• Businesses needed to hire skilled workers.

• Factories could extend working hours.

Multiple Choice

Which inventor created lighting and new uses of electricity?

• Samuel Morse
• Thomas Edison
• Cyrus McCormick
• Robert Fulton

Open Ended

How did the formation of trusts and monopolies during the Gilded Age impact workers and the economy?

Multiple Choice

What were some of the major characteristics of the Gilded Age in the United States?

• Big business, rise of labor unions, and technological innovation

• Decline of industry and agriculture

• Decrease in factory production and demand for workers

• Absence of trusts and monopolies