Unit Test: The Gilded Age

In this political cartoon from 1904, the octopus represents the Standard Oil corporation. Why was an octopus a good symbol of that company?

• Most of their oil wells were in the Gulf of Mexico, so a sea creature represented their geographical location.

• Octopuses are gentle creatures, much like Standard Oil’s business practices.

• The octopus has always been the traditional symbol of the oil industry.

• An octopus has many arms that can grab lots of things all at once and Standard Oil had its “hands” controlling political figures in Washington, D.C. as well as other oil companies.

What was the primary purpose of the Sherman Antitrust Act?

• To regulate the banking industry.

• To establish a national minimum wage.

• To prevent anti-competitive practices and promote fair competition.

• To promote the growth of monopolies.

Which innovation is Thomas Edison most famous for?

• The creation of the phonograph and the practical electric light bulb.

• The development of the assembly line.

• The invention of the airplane.

• The invention of the telephone.

Urbanization is the —

• Development of suburbs outside cities.

• Growth of cities.

• Return of population numbers to rural areas.

• Growth of immigrant populations, specifically, in cities.

What is the meaning of the term “Gilded Age?”

• Many craftsmen’s “gilds” were established in the US, similar to those in the Middle Ages.

• Mark Twain used this term to describe the time period in American history when many social problems masked by a thin layer of gold that made things look better than they actually were.

• A “gild” is a form of government similar to a democracy, and Mark Twain was making a comparison between the two.

• None of the above.

The Wright brothers invented the first—

• Functional airplane.

• Rapid-fire machine gun.

• Hot air balloon.

• Version of pavement, which they called “tarmac.”

John D. Rockefeller was most closely associated with—

• Standard Oil

• The Union-Pacific Railroad

• U.S. Steel

• General Electric

What was the “Iron Horse?”

• Steamships traveling north and south on the Mississippi River.

• The Transcontinental Railroad.

• U.S. Navy vessels, built of iron, patrolling the Great Salt Lake.

• The automobile, which was invented in 1849.

What would be the BEST caption for the above photographs?

• “Students at America’s First Public School.”

• “Irish Immigrant Children Arrive Unaccompanied at Ellis Island.”

• “Child Laborers After a Day Working in a Coal Mine.”

• “Orphaned Child Claims Land Under the Homestead Act.”

Many male Chinese immigrants came to the United States to work on/at—

• The railroad.

• The Hoover Dam.

• Fruit and vegetable farms in California.

• Silver mines in Colorado.