The Gilded Age Inventions Quiz

In the latter half of the 1800s, a large labor supply, an abundance of natural resources, and the construction of new railroads contributed most directly to the:

• growth of American industry and new technologies

• dependence on imported goods

• demand for limits on immigration

• rejection of high taxes by the United States

This new technology of the Gilded Age was first invented by an Italian inventor named Antonio Meucci, but it was officially patented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876:

• Telephone

• Phonograph

• Light Bulb

• Automobile

The new inventions of the phonograph, light bulb, and the first electric power grid can all be attributed to this famous inventor of the Gilded Age:

• Alexander Graham Bell

• George Eastman

• Orville Wright

• Thomas Edison

Based on this political cartoon, featuring the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911, what was the effect of new technologies and industry on workers?

• Factory work was one of the safest occupations because officials paid close attention to labor regulations and laws.

• Factory work and machinery was very dangerous and often resulted in laborers dying on the job due to unsafe conditions and managers being careless.

• Workers only benefited from working in factories versus staying on the farms.

• The textile industry had zero factory accidents, which is why women were largely employed there.

How did U.S. society respond to the development described above?

• People stopped purchasing as many automobiles.

• Businesses adopted these faster production methods and grew exponentially.

• The American economy shrank due to an abundance of consumer goods.

• American laborers enjoyed a more relaxed pace of work.

How did vertical integration benefit companies such as Carnegie Steel?

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

• Controlling production and distribution processes increased efficiencies and profits.

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

• Buying out other competing companies led to higher profits and less competition.

How did horizontal integration benefit companies such as Rockefeller's Standard Oil?

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

• Controlling production and distribution processes increased efficiencies and profits.

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

• Buying out other competing companies led to higher profits and less competition.

In this political cartoon, "The Protectors of our Industries," the men on top of the boat are being depicted as

• Factory workers

• Politicians

• Robber Barons

• Socialists

How did some late nineteenth-century industrialists such as John D. Rockefeller control prices and manage competition?

• By involving workers in business decisions

• By forming trusts to secure the power of their business

• By involving labor union leaders in workplace decisions

• By creating new political parties and personally running for political offices

In the early 1900s, overcrowding, high crime rate, and poor sanitation were most directly a result of:

• journalists' influence

• conservation programs

• westward migration

• rapid urbanization