Gilded Age - Growth of U.S. Industries

Which development most directly enabled the construction of taller buildings and longer bridges in the late 1800s?

• Transcontinental Railroad boosting western towns

• Political machines trading city favors

• Bessemer steel process lowering steel cost

• Homestead Act offering free western land

During the Gilded Age, what did the term monopoly most accurately describe?

• Total control of an industry by one company

• Cooperative ownership among many small firms

• Government ownership of major railroads

• Temporary price fixing to raise wages

Labor unions in the late 19th century primarily organized to demand which change?

• Fewer immigrants allowed into cities

• More land for western homesteaders

• Safer conditions and better pay for workers

• Faster settlement of the Great Plains

What was a key consequence of urbanization during the Gilded Age?

• End of political machines’ influence

• Reduced migration from rural areas

• Sanitation problems from rapid city growth

• Decline of industrial jobs in cities

Political machines maintained power in many cities mainly by

• supporting prohibition and temperance

• enforcing strict antitrust regulations

• trading jobs and favors for voter support

• organizing national labor strikes

Nativists during the Gilded Age primarily argued that immigrants

• were best suited for western homesteads

• competed for jobs and should face restrictions

• brought needed skills and should vote early

• should form new political parties

The Chinese Exclusion Act was designed chiefly to

• prevent Chinese laborers from taking jobs in the West

• fund Chinese-owned factories and mines

• grant citizenship to Chinese railroad workers

• encourage Chinese settlement on homesteads

Which federal action most encouraged the settlement of the Great Plains?

• Pendleton Act reforming civil service

• Chinese Exclusion Act restricting immigration

• Sherman Antitrust Act breaking monopolies

• Homestead Act granting land to settlers

The Transcontinental Railroad most benefited farmers and ranchers by

• ending conflicts with American Indians

• reducing the need for mechanized farming

• eliminating the use of cattle trails

• providing access to distant markets for goods

Electric lighting in factories contributed to industrial growth mainly by

• lowering the cost of rail transportation

• eliminating the need for skilled labor

• extending workdays and increasing production

• reducing union membership and strikes