The Expansion of American Industry America chapter 13 Test Study Guide

Extended Response #1 Were the leaders of business and industry “Robber Barons” or “Captains of Industry”? Explain your answer w/ specific arguments. Robber Barons: Got rich by stealing from the American public Depleted the country’s natural resources Persuaded gov’t officials and judges to pass laws and make rulings in their favor Drove competition to failure with unfair business practices Mistreated their employees: wages, hours, conditions

Extended Response #1 (cont) Captains of Industry They are responsible for Americans having the highest standard of living in the world Created new jobs Increased industrial productivity Building factories Investing in new products Used their fortunes to give back to the community Built libraries, museums, schools, etc.

Extended Response #2 Discuss 4 of the 5 ways business in the era of Big Business differed from earlier business practices in the U.S.. Larger pools of capital Broader range of operations Wider geographical span New methods of management Revised role of ownership

Extended Response #3 Discuss 4 of the 5 ways the railroads aided and impacted other industries in the U.S.. Faster & more practical way to tranpsort goods Low production costs Creation of a national market Serves as a model for other big businesses Stimulates the growth of other industries

Extended Response #4 What major U.S. company practiced vertical consolidation? Who owned it? What company practiced horizontal consolidation? Who owned it? U.S. Steel Andrew Carnegie Standard Oil John D. Rockefeller

Short Answer #1 What were two of the three main issues early labor unions fought for? Better wages Shorter hours Safer/better conditions

Short Answer #2 Name one of the two inventions that revolutionized communication. Who developed the technology for it? Telegraph: Samuel Morse Telephone: Alexander Graham Bell

#7 In what ways did the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor differ? Knights of Labor wanted to represent all workers in the country, skilled & unskilled KoL included women & African Americans AFL was a craft union, only representing skilled workers DID NOT include women & African Americans

#8 How did business leaders try to eliminate competition in the late 1800’s? Forming monopolies or trusts

#9 What services did the growing immigrant population provide American industry? They provided a steady stream of labor and allowed ownership to keep wages low

#10 How did Congress try to limit the power of monopolies and trusts in the late 1800’s? By passing the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, 1890

#11 In what ways was communication in America revolutionized in the 1800’s? Development of the telegraph & Morse Code Invention of the telephone & construction of long distance phone lines by AT&T

#12 What sparked the growth of American industry in the second half of the 19th century? Investment in invention and innovation Funding research and development

#13 How was Rockefeller able to gain control of much of the oil industry? Used horizontal consolidation to buy the controlling share of 40 companies in the oil industry forming the Standard Oil trust

#14 Why did children continue to work in factories in the late 1800’s and into the early 1900’s? Families needed their income to survive

#15 What is the Bessemer Process? What industry did it revolutionize? It is a process that enabled steel to be mass produced.

#16 Why would business leaders be considered “Captains of Industry”? See extended response #1

#17 What were the benefits of expanding the railroads, including the Transcontinental Railroad? Created a national market Enabled people to move freely around the entire country Easier & cheaper to transport goods

#18 What were the two tenets of Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth? People are free to make as much money as they can Once it is made they should give all that they can back to the community

#19 What is Social Darwinism? The application of the theory of evolution to economics and society The government should not get involved in economic matters because those who are most able will rise to the top Don’t tax profits Don’t interfere with the relationship b/t ownership and workers

#20 Who did the government and courts support in early labor disputes? Big Business – the ownership, not employees!

#21 What methods did early labor unions use to try and achieve their goals? Strikes, riots, boycotts

#22 What were some common features of early labor disputes? Violence Use of the Federal Gov’t to end strikes

#23 What effect did mass production have on the price consumers had to pay for goods? It lowered the price for consumers

#24 Why were unions an inevitable side effect of industrialization in the U.S.? Workers, or any group of people, can only be mistreated and oppressed for so long before they speak up and fight back

#25 What was the world’s leading industrial nation in the late 1800’s? The United States!

#26 Why would a business want to form a trust? To eliminate competition, dominate an industry, and maximize profits.

#27 What were the three main areas early labor unions sought to make gains in? Wages Hours Working conditions

#28 How did the government contribute to the early struggles of the labor movement? Passing laws and making rulings that favored big business over the workers Staying out of the relationship between ownership and its labor force

#29 Alexander Graham Bell founded a company in 1865 to build what? AT&T – long distance telephone lines

#30 According to the philosophy of Social Darwinism, what role should the government have in the economy? None! Gov’t should not tax a company’s profits Should not intervene in the relationship between management and the labor force

#31 What effect did the Pullman Strike have on government recognition of labor unions? It set the precedent for the Sherman Act to be interpreted in a way that labeled unions as illegal business combinations that restricted trade. Was the main reason unions struggled to gain any concessions for their members well into the 1930’s