Unit 1 - The Gilded Age

Which late nineteenth century invention had the greatest impact on literacy and the use of public libraries?

• Typewriters

• Computer

• Lightbulb

• Braille

Generally, the US Supreme Court in the late nineteenth interpreted the Constitution in such a way as to favor

• labor unions

• corporations

• state agencies

• independent workers/craftsmen

What technological development of the mid-nineteenth century most revolutionized the US steel industry?

• Bessessmer Process

• Steam Power

• Vulcanization

• Electrification

They Haymarket Square episode, Colorado Labor Wars, and the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 were results of which condition?

• Unprecedented failure of national financial institutions

• Hostility toward Chinese immigrants

• Significant increase in payroll taxes

• Conflict between labor and management interests

How did vertical integration benefit companies such as Carnegie Steel?

• Allowing labor unions to participate in decision making led to fewer strikes.

• Including local politicians on boards of directors ensured a continuation of laissez-faire policies.

• Controlling production and distribution processes increased efficiencies and profits.

• Investing in the health and education of employees increased workforce motivation.

During the Industrial Revolution, life expectancy

• changed very little

• rose for women more than men

• decreased

• increased mesaurably

A business that sells shares of itself to the public to raise money is called a

• A holding company

• A corporation

• A trust

• A partnership

Why did nativists worry about the influx of immigrants during the 1880’s?

• They feared the immigrants would gain control of city and state governments.

• They thought the country’s ports could not handle the increasing number of immigrants as well as the increasing amounts of industrial exports.

• They believed the immigrants would receive preferential treatment from the federal government and be given large tracts of land.

• They considered immigrants from southern and eastern Europe more difficult to assimilate into American culture than earlier immigrants.

Settlement houses such as Hull House engaged in all of the following except

• Instruction in socialism

• Social Reform and lobbying

• Instruction in English

• Child Care

During the Gilded Age, the belief that big businesses deserved their success because they were more efficient than the competition was known as

• Free Enterprise

• Investment

• Social Darwinism

• Consolidation