Industrialization and the Gilded Age

Based on this passage, what did Gompers see as the benefit of joining a union?

• Workers had gained better working conditions.

• Workers now worked longer hours in coal mines.

• Workers were able to work for a dollar and twenty five cents.

• Workers were able to have their children work in mines.

In the late 1800s, which factor directly contributed to the growth of the American steel industry?

• government regulation

• employee ownership

• new production techniques

• the formation of labor unions

The Interstate Commerce Act (1887) and the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) were efforts by the federal government to —

• regulate aspects of business

• expand the positive features of the trusts

• favor big businesses over small companies

• move toward government ownership of key industries

In the late nineteenth century, critics of big business claimed that monopolies in the United States harmed the economy by —

• unfairly limiting competition

• decreasing the urban growth rate

• preventing technological innovation

• failing to keep pace with European industries

During the late 1800s, what was a major effect of industrialization on American workers?

• Membership in labor unions declined.

• Workers migrated to rural regions.

• Most factory jobs became service industry jobs.

• Skilled craftsmen were often replaced by unskilled machine operators.

What conclusion can be drawn from the information provided in the table?

• Union membership increased every decade from 1870 to 1920.

• In every Decade there were more agricultural workers than members in unions.

• In the first two decades of the twentieth century, union membership was on a sharp decline.

• In the first 20 years of the 20th Century (1900s), union membership increased each decade.

What social issue was raised by the philanthropic activities of many American business leaders during the Gilded Age?

• Should private industries be taken over by worker organizations?

• Were American businesses charging too much for their products?

• Should state governments limit the philanthropic activities of private citizens?

• Was it right for business owners to pay low wages to their workers to finance philanthropic activities?

Which best describes a positive contribution of Andrew Carnegie?

• Carnegie helped workers obtain better conditions in his factories.

• Carnegie showed how to organize large-scale production as well as how to use profits in philanthropic activities.

• Carnegie obtained secret rebates from railroad companies shipping his products.

• Carnegie obtained near monopoly control of one part of a national industry, rather than engaging in several related activities.

What conclusion can be drawn from this excerpt?

• Most workers in Illinois were members of a labor union.

• Illinois was not interested in improving factory working conditions.

• Illinois sought to address some of the problems caused by industrialization.

• Union membership in factories and workshops was prohibited in Illinois.

Which was an important benefit of the laissez-faire policies of the federal government in the late nineteenth century?

• American entrepreneurs were able to invest in their businesses with little government interference.

• American businesses were able to avoid the ups and downs of the business cycle.

• American workers found it easy to organize into labor unions.

• American workers felt secure about the safety of conditions in factories.