Industrial Leaders

Which term BEST describes the U.S. government's policies towards Big Business during the Gilded Age?

• Mercantilist

• Protectionist

• Regulatory

• Laissez-faire

Since the Gilded Age, why have critics of "Big Business" claimed that monopolies are harmful to the American economy? Select TWO correct answers.

• Monopolies eliminate competition, allowing large corporations to artificially inflate prices for consumers while reducing product quality and innovation, thereby concentrating wealth among a small number of business owners

• Monopolies increase the overall productivity of the American economy by consolidating resources under single companies that can operate more efficiently than competing firms

• Monopolies reduce opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs to enter markets and compete fairly, which limits economic mobility and prevents the emergence of new industries that could create jobs and drive technological advancement

• Monopolies guarantee stable employment for workers because large corporations can provide consistent wages and benefits that smaller competitors cannot afford to offer

• Monopolies exploit their market power to manipulate supply, control pricing, and prevent consumer choice, which critics argue distorts free-market principles and creates unfair barriers to entry for potential competitors

Which of the following BEST describes horizontal integration?

• a company acquires similar competing businesses and merges them into a single entity

• he economic development of flatlands in the American west

• when the government lets businesses operate without restrictions

• a company owns all the businesses that supply it with raw goods and necessary services

What is Social Darwinism and how did big business owners use it to justify their actions?

• the idea that Native Americans should return to traditional values

• The idea that that laborers will overthrow the wealthy and take over society

• Survival of the fittest in society- used to justify laissez faire- idea of survival, success of the most capable appears to be wealthy

• The idea of the American Dream of going from rags to riches

Which person fits the following description: Used Vertical Integration, Captain of Industry, and Used a innovative version of the Bessemer Process?

• John D. Rockefeller

• Andrew Carnegie

• J.P. Morgan

• Cornelius Vanderbilt