White Plains Public Schools / Overview



A Time to Review – Robber Barons, Workers, and Muckrakers

US History/Napp Name: _________________

|In the late 1800s, the term robber baron was used to describe some |5. During the late 1800s, which development led to the other three? |

|owners of big businesses primarily because they |(1) formation of labor unions |

|(1) favored free trade |(2) increased demand for natural resources |

|(2) eliminated competition using ruthless methods |(3) federal regulation of business trusts |

|(3) opposed the formation of corporations |(4) growth of industry |

|(4) provided workers with high wages | |

| |6. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a major goal of the |

|The theory of laissez-faire economics was used during the late 1800s |American Federation of Labor (AFL) was to |

|to |(1) end restrictions on child labor |

|(1) justify unregulated business growth |(2) admit women to the industrial workforce |

|(2) call for more consumer protection |(3) improve wages and working conditions |

|(3) support Progressive programs |(4) join all workers into a single union |

|(4) achieve equal distribution of income | |

| |7. The Jungle, The Octopus, and The Shame of the Cities are all books |

|In the second half of the 1800s, which development led to the other |that were written to |

|three? |(1) support the formation of a new political party |

|(1) expansion of political machines |(2) promote environmental conservation |

|(2) growth of American cities |(3) encourage reform in business and government |

|(3) development of tenement housing |(4) express opinions concerning imperialism |

|(4) increase in crime | |

| |8. During the late 1800s, the idea of Social |

|In the early 20th century, muckrakers were able to influence American |Darwinism was used to explain the |

|society mainly by |(1) development of the Granger movement |

|(1) organizing demonstrations in large cities |(2) need for settlement homes |

|(2) contributing to presidential election campaigns |(3) creation of a national parks system |

|(3) lobbying members of Congress |(4) success or failure of businesses |

|(4) exposing corruption in business and government | |

| |9. One reason the American Federation of Labor (AFL) was successful |

| |was that this organization |

| |(1) focused on the needs of skilled workers |

| |(2) rejected the use of strikes and boycotts |

| |(3) ended the use of blacklists by employers |

|10. The term muckraker was used in the early 1900s to describe writers|(4) called for government ownership of industry |

|who | |

|(1) supported limits on government regulation | |

|(2) exposed abuses in American society | |

|(3) wanted the United States to ban all immigration |15. The actions of muckrakers in the late 19th century and early 20th |

|(4) promoted racial integration efforts |century resulted in |

| |(1) Supreme Court decisions that expanded the right to vote |

|11. Lincoln Steffens’s The Shame of the Cities and Ida Tarbell’s The |(2) government regulation of unfair business |

|History of the Standard Oil Company are examples of the use of |practices |

|(1) the Gospel of Wealth |(3) increases in the power of monopolies |

|(2) the melting pot theory |(4) reduction of the president’s power to manage the economy |

|(3) Social Darwinism | |

|(4) muckraking |16. Many of the business trusts created in the late 1800s were |

| |eventually declared illegal primarily because they |

|12. The Meat Inspection Act (1906) and the Pure Food and Drug Act |(1) eliminated competition by forming monopolies |

|(1906) were efforts by the federal government to |(2) combined companies that manufactured different products |

|(1) protect public health and safety |(3) donated large sums of money to political |

|(2) support business monopolies |candidates |

|(3) restrict foreign competition |(4) allowed children to work under unsafe |

|(4) regulate child labor |Conditions |

| | |

|13. The formation of national labor unions in the late 1800s was |17. In the late 1800s, rapid industrial development resulted in |

|mainly a response to |(1) a decrease in tariff rates |

|(1) passage of federal laws that favored workers |(2) a decrease in population growth |

|(2) laws restricting immigration and naturalization |(3) an increase in the rate of urbanization |

|(3) poor working conditions and low wages in many industries |(4) an increase in the price of farm products |

|(4) economic depressions that had led to high unemployment | |

| |18. Upton Sinclair, Frank Norris, and Ida Tarbell made their greatest |

|14. In the late 1800s, which factor directly contributed to the growth|contributions to the Progressive movement by |

|of the steel industry? |(1) working to end political corruption in cities |

|(1) government regulation of the industry |(2) speaking out for the equal rights of Hispanic Americans |

|(2) employee ownership of the industry |(3) supporting legislation to improve tenement housing |

|(3) new production techniques that increased efficiency |(4) publishing books and articles to expose the problems of society |

|(4) court decisions that allowed collective | |

|bargaining | |

|19. The American Federation of Labor’s support for “bread and butter”| |

|unionism was intended to | |

|(1) gain control of state and federal legislatures | |

|(2) change the economic system to socialism |22. Jacob Riis, Ida Tarbell, and Margaret Sanger are best known for |

|(3) combine all skilled and unskilled workers into one large |their efforts to |

|organization |(1) create awareness about social problems |

|(4) improve wages, hours, and working conditions |(2) gain support for the women’s movement |

| |(3) expand the rights of Native American Indians |

|20. Books such as The Octopus by Frank Norris, How the Other Half |(4) win equal treatment for African Americans |

|Lives by Jacob Riis, and The Jungle by Upton Sinclair exposed problems| |

|associated with |23. A high protective tariff passed by Congress is intended to affect |

|(1) naturalization of immigrants |the United States economy by |

|(2) westward expansion |(1) promoting free trade |

|(3) rapid industrialization |(2) limiting industrial jobs |

|(4) environmental conservation |(3) encouraging American manufacturing |

| |(4) expanding global interdependence |

|21. “I will build a motor car for the great multitude. It will be | |

|large enough for the family but small enough for the individual to run|24. In passing the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890), Congress intended to |

|and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the |(1) prevent large corporations from eliminating their competition |

|best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern |(2) distinguish good trusts from bad trusts |

|engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man |(3) regulate rates charged by railroads |

|making a good salary will be unable to own one – and enjoy with his |(4) force large trusts to bargain with labor unions |

|family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God’s great open spaces.” | |

|~ Henry Ford, 1909 |25. During the late 1800s, what was a major effect of |

| |industrialization on workers in the United States? |

|Which action is most closely associated with |(1) Membership in labor unions declined. |

|Henry Ford’s attempt to realize this vision? |(2) Workers migrated to rural regions. |

|(1) providing cars in a variety of models |(3) Most factory jobs became service industry jobs. |

|(2) creating a business monopoly |(4) Skilled craftsmen were replaced by semiskilled machine operators. |

|(3) downsizing the labor force | |

|(4) using the assembly line | |

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|26. During the late 1800s, presidents and governors most often used | |

|military force during labor-management conflicts as a way to | |

|(1) support industrialists and end strikes |29. |

|(2) make employers sign collective bargaining agreements |We mean to make things over, |

|(3) protect workers from the private armies of employers |we are tired of toil for naught, |

|(4) replace striking factory workers with soldiers |With but bare enough to live upon, |

| |and never an hour for thought; |

|27. Speaker A: Feeding and clothing the poor is a mistake. Just as |We want to feel the sunshine, |

|nature weeds out unfit members, a capitalist society should be allowed|and we want to smell the flowers, |

|to do the same. |We are sure that God has will’d it, |

|Speaker B: To provide for the common good and protect the people, the |and we mean to have eight hours. |

|government should pass laws to prevent the sale of alcohol. |We’re summoning our forces |

|Speaker C: To promote economic growth, the government should expand |from the shipyard, shop and mill, |

|United | |

|States markets overseas. |Chorus. |

|Speaker D: Since transportation is a public necessity, the government |Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, |

|should own and operate the railroads in the public interest. |Eight hours for what we will! |

| |Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, |

|Which speaker would most likely support the theory of Social |Eight hours for what we will! |

|Darwinism? |— I.G. Blanchard, “Eight Hours,” 1878 |

|(1) A (3) C | |

|(2) B (4) D |During the late 1800s, the ideas expressed in |

| |these lyrics were the goals of |

| |(1) organizers of labor unions |

|28. Muckrakers Ida Tarbell and Upton Sinclair influenced the federal |(2) sharecroppers following the Civil War |

|government to |(3) Grangers demanding railroad regulation |

|(1) grant citizenship to people who had entered the country illegally |(4) owners of big businesses |

|(2) pass legislation to correct harmful business practices | |

|(3) force individual states to regulate monopolies |30. Society advances when its fittest members are allowed to assert |

|(4) end racial discrimination in the workplace |themselves with the least hindrance. |

| | |

| |The idea expressed in this statement is most |

|32. In the late 19th century, critics of big business claimed that |consistent with the |

|monopolies most harmed the economy by |(1) principles of Social Darwinism |

|(1) limiting competition |(2) concept of assimilation |

|(2) decreasing the urban growth rate |(3) goals of the Progressive movement |

|(3) preventing technological innovation |(4) melting pot theory of American culture |

|(4) failing to keep pace with European industries | |

| |31. The mechanization of agriculture in the United States led directly|

|33. In the late 19th century, the ideas of Social Darwinism were used |to |

|primarily to |(1) an increase in production |

|(1) encourage the passage of compulsory |(2) less dependence on railroads by farmers |

|education laws |(3) fewer agricultural exports |

|(2) explain the differences in income between the rich and the poor |(4) the decreasing size of the average farm |

|(3) urge Congress to end immigration | |

|(4) support the growth of new political parties | |

| | |

|34. The principal reason Congress raised tariff rates in the late |37. |

|1800s and early 1900s was to |The Uprising of the Twenty Thousands |

|(1) increase personal income taxes |(Dedicated to the Waistmakers [shirt makers] of 1909) |

|(2) lower prices for American consumers | |

|(3) guarantee high wages to American workers |In the black of the winter of nineteen nine, |

|(4) protect United States businesses from foreign competition |When we froze and bled on the picket line, |

| |We showed the world that women could fight |

|35. During the late 1800s, pools and trusts were used by big business |And we rose and won with women’s might. |

|in an effort to | |

|(1) increase imports |Chorus: |

|(2) limit competition |Hail the waistmakers of nineteen nine, |

|(3) improve working conditions |Making their stand on the picket line, |

|(4) reduce corporate income taxes |Breaking the power of those who reign, |

| |Pointing the way, smashing the chain. |

|36. The Interstate Commerce Act (1887) and the Sherman Antitrust Act |And we gave new courage to the men |

|(1890) were efforts by the federal government to |Who carried on in nineteen ten |

|(1) regulate some aspects of business |And shoulder to shoulder we’ll win through, |

|(2) expand the positive features of the trusts |Led by the I.L.G.W.U. |

|(3) favor big business over small companies |~ Let’s Sing!, Educational Department, International Ladies’ Garment |

|(4) move toward government ownership of key industries |Workers’ Union, New York City |

| | |

| |Which type of labor-related action is best described in this song? |

|39. In the early 1900s, the muckrakers provided a service to the |(1) a strike (3) a boycott |

|American public by |(2) an open shop (4) an injunction |

|(1) calling for a strong military buildup | |

|(2) lobbying for less government regulation of business |38. “You are our employers, but you are not our masters. Under the |

|(3) exposing abuses in government and industry |system of government we have in the United States we are your equals, |

|(4) encouraging states to resist federal government authority |and we contribute as much, if not more, to the success of industry |

| |than do the employers.” |

|40. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the term robber baron best |~ testimony, United States Congress, April 29, 1911 |

|defined a person who |The point of view expressed in the quotation was most likely that of a|

|(1) controlled large tracts of western lands |(1) recent immigrant responding to discrimination |

|(2) used ruthless business tactics |(2) government official campaigning for reelection |

|(3) stole from the rich to give to the poor |(3) woman demanding the right of suffrage |

|(4) encouraged the conservation of raw materials |(4) labor leader speaking about the rights of |

| |Workers |

|41. In the late 1800s, the principles of Social |44. The theory of Social Darwinism was often used to justify the |

|Darwinism were most consistent with the ideas of |(1) creation of the Ku Klux Klan |

|(1) Populism |(2) formation of business monopolies |

|(2) laissez-faire economics |(3) use of strikes by labor unions |

|(3) trustbusting |(4) passage of antitrust laws |

|(4) utopian socialism | |

| |45. In the late 1800s, the creation of the Standard Oil Trust by John |

|42. In his book, How the Other Half Lives, |D. Rockefeller was intended to |

|muckraker Jacob Riis exposed the |(1) protect small, independent oil firms |

|(1) ruthlessness of the Standard Oil Company |(2) control prices and practices in the oil refining business |

|(2) social ills of life in New York City’s tenements |(3) increase competition among oil refining |

|(3) unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry |companies |

|(4) abuses of the railroad industry |(4) distribute donations to charitable causes |

| | |

|43. In the second half of the 1800s, the federal government encouraged|46. After 1880, a major new source of labor for American factories was|

|the building of transcontinental railroads by |(1) western farmers who moved back to eastern cities |

|(1) giving land to the railroad companies |(2) young women who worked until they married |

|(2) purchasing large amounts of railroad stock |(3) formerly enslaved persons fleeing from the South |

|(3) forcing convicts to work as laborers |(4) immigrants from southern and eastern |

|(4) taking control of the railroad trust |Europe |

|48. During the late 1800s, the principles of Social Darwinism were | |

|used to justify |47. During the 19th century, the completion of the Erie Canal and the |

|(1) support for unlimited immigration |transcontinental railroads contributed to the industrial growth of the|

|(2) desegregation of public facilities |United States by |

|(3) the use of strikes by organized labor |(1) making the movement of goods easier and cheaper |

|(4) the accumulation of great wealth by |(2) protecting the United States from low-priced foreign imports |

|Industrialists |(3) encouraging subsistence farming |

| |(4) connecting the United States to markets in Mexico and Canada |

|49. “The growth of a large business is merely survival of the fittest.| |

|The American beauty rose can be produced in the splendor and fragrance| |

|which bring cheer to its beholder only by sacrificing the early buds | |

|which grow up around it. This is not an evil tendency in business. It | |

|is merely the working out of a law of nature and a law of God…” | |

|~ John D. Rockefeller, Jr. | |

|Which concept is described by this passage? | |

|(1) communism |52. In 1906, the publication of The Jungle, written by Upton Sinclair,|

|(2) Populism |led Congress to |

|(3) utopian socialism |(1) enact stronger prohibition laws |

|(4) Social Darwinism |(2) support the national conservation movement |

| |(3) establish a system for meat inspection |

|50. The growth of big business in the late 1800s resulted in |(4) legalize strikes and boycotts by labor unions |

|(1) a reduction in child labor | |

|(2) the elimination of the middle class |53. Which major population shift in the late 1800s occurred as a |

|(3) the widening of the economic gap between rich and poor |result of industrialization? |

|(4) a shift in transportation investment from |(1) northerners to the Sun Belt |

|railroads to canals |(2) rural residents to urban areas |

| |(3) working class people from the cities to the suburbs |

|51. In the late 19th century, Congress tried to limit the power of |(4) African Americans from the North to the |

|monopolies by |South |

|(1) creating the Federal Trade Commission | |

|(2) strengthening the Supreme Court |54. The tragedy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire of 1911 drew |

|(3) adopting Granger laws |national attention to the need to |

|(4) passing the Sherman Antitrust Act |(1) restrict immigration from southern Europe |

| |(2) establish full-time fire departments |

| |(3) protect the safety of workers |

| |(4) improve conditions for tenement dwellers |

| | |

| |55. Which group’s numbers increased the most as a result of the |

| |Industrial Revolution? |

| |(1) skilled craftsmen |

|56. Business leaders John D. Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan, and Cornelius |(2) landed aristocracy |

|Vanderbilt were referred to as robber barons primarily because they |(3) urban middle class |

|(1) bought titles of nobility from foreign |(4) owners of small farms |

|governments | |

|(2) were ruthless in dealing with competitors | |

|(3) stole money from state and local governments | |

|(4) gained all of their wealth by illegal means | |

| | |

|57. During the late 1800s, what was the main reason labor unions had | |

|difficulty achieving gains for workers? | |

|(1) Communists had taken control of the major unions. | |

|(2) The government supported business efforts to limit the powers of | |

|unions. | |

|(3) Most unions had been organized by big business. |Base your answers to questions 60 and 61 on the passage below and on |

|(4) Most workers were satisfied with working conditions. |your knowledge of social studies. |

| | |

|58. During the late 1800s, the defenders of Social Darwinism would |“…This, then, is held to be the duty of the man of Wealth: First, to |

|most likely have supported |set an example of modest, unostentatious living, shunning display or |

|(1) labor unions |extravagance; to provide moderately for the legitimate wants of those |

|(2) progressive income taxes |dependent upon him; and after doing so to consider all surplus |

|(3) laissez-faire capitalism |revenues which come to him simply as trust funds, which he is called |

|(4) environmental conservation |upon to administer, and strictly bound as |

| |a matter of duty to administer in the manner which, in his judgment, |

|59. The Interstate Commerce Act and the Sherman Antitrust Act were |is best calculated to produce the most beneficial results for the |

|attempts by Congress to |community – …” |

|(1) regulate the activities of big business |~ Andrew Carnegie, “Wealth,” North American Review, June 1889 |

|(2) protect consumers against unsafe products | |

|(3) impose government regulations on agricultural production |60. According to this passage, the responsibility of the wealthy is to|

|(4) bring transportation activities under government ownership |(1) invest in future industry to increase wealth |

| |(2) share their excess wealth with the community |

| |(3) maintain a lifestyle consistent with their |

| |wealth |

| |(4) influence government to assist all people |

|62. In an outline, which main topic would include the other three? | |

|(1) Erie Canal |61. Andrew Carnegie carried out the ideas expressed in this statement |

|(2) 19th-Century Internal Improvements |by |

|(3) Transcontinental Railroad |(1) funding numerous libraries and educational institutions |

|(4) National Road |(2) serving many years in the federal government |

| |(3) investing his fortune in several new industries |

|63. In the last half of the 1800s, which development led to the other |(4) promoting programs to benefit the wealthy |

|three? | |

|(1) expansion of the middle class | |

|(2) growth of industrialization | |

|(3) formation of trusts | |

|(4) creation of labor unions | |

| | |

|65. The “new immigrants” to the United States between 1890 and 1915 |68. During the late 19th century, which practices were used by |

|came primarily from |employers against workers? |

|(1) southern and eastern Europe |(1) boycotts and lockouts |

|(2) northern and western Europe |(2) picketing and walkouts |

|(3) East Asia |(3) blacklists and yellow-dog contracts |

|(4) Latin America |(4) mass rallies and sit-down strikes |

| | |

|66. Both the Interstate Commerce Act and the Sherman Antitrust Act |69. The term robber baron was used to criticize the |

|were |(1) tactics of big-business leaders |

|(1) inspired by the effectiveness of earlier state laws |(2) corruption of government officials |

|(2) designed to protect business from foreign |(3) dishonesty of carpetbaggers |

|competition |(4) unskilled labor of illegal immigrants |

|(3) declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the late 1800s | |

|(4) passed by the federal government to regulate big business |70. What major trend related to population occurred during the |

| |industrialization boom of the late 1800s? |

|67. During the 19th century, New York was one of the most powerful |(1) Immigration decreased. |

|states in the nation because it |(2) Suburbanization decreased. |

|(1) became the financial and industrial center of the nation |(3) Urbanization increased. |

|(2) led the nation in achieving political reforms |(4) Migration to rural areas increased. |

|(3) produced more presidents than any other state | |

|(4) offered more civil liberties than any other state |71. In the late 1800s, supporters of laissez-faire capitalism claimed |

| |that government regulation of business would be |

| |(1) essential to protect the rights of consumers |

| |(2) necessary to provide jobs for the unemployed |

| |(3) useful in competing with foreign nations |

| |(4) harmful to economic growth |

| | |

| |72. Why did the United States follow a policy of open immigration |

| |during much of the 1800s? |

| |(1) Many United States citizens wanted to live abroad. |

| |(2) The United States had a shortage of labor. |

| |(3) Prosperous conditions in Europe resulted in fewer immigrants |

| |coming to the United States. |

| |(4) Immigrants provided United States industry with investment |

| |capital. |

[pic]

73. The principal message of the cartoon is that the Standard Oil Company

(1) Used its size to lower the prices of its products

(2) Protected the nation from foreign competition

(3) Used its economic power to influence government decisions

(4) Employed violence to gain an unfair advantage for its workers

74. Mark Twain labeled the late 1800s in the United States the “Gilded Age” to describe the

(1) End of the practice of slavery

(2) Absence of international conflicts

(3) Extremes of wealth and poverty

(4) Achievements of the labor movement

75. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, where did most of the immigrants to the United States settle?

(1) Urban centers of the Northeast

(2) Plantations of the New South

(3) Mining areas of the Far West

(4) Farming regions of the Great Plains

76. Jane Addams and Jacob Riis were most notable for their efforts to

(1) Treat the wounded in World War I

(2) Stop the spread of diseases in Latin America

(3) Legalize birth control for women

(4) Aid the urban poor

[pic]

77. Which idea of the late 1800s is most closely associated with this cartoon?

(1) Regulated capitalism

(2) Graduated income tax

(3) Social Darwinism

(4) The Gospel of Wealth

78. During the early 1890s, the federal government dealt with situations like the one shown in the cartoon by

(1) Raising tariff rates on imported oil

(2) Providing economic aid for small businesses

(3) Prosecuting businessmen for graft and corruption

(4) Passing the Sherman Antitrust Act

79. The Sherman Antitrust Act and the Clayton Antitrust Act were passed in an effort to

(1) Promote the formation of new trusts

(2) Maintain competition in business

(3) Increase business investment

(4) Limit the activities of foreign corporations

[pic]

80. This cartoonist is expressing

(1) Support for new tariffs

(2) Encouragement for increased immigration

(3) Concern for environmental pollution

(4) Dissatisfaction with the power of big business

81. Which statement describes a result of the Industrial Revolution in the United States?

(1) Farm production decreased.

(2) Slavery in the South increased.

(3) The population of the cities decreased.

(4) Immigration to the United States increased.

[pic]

82. What is the main idea of the cartoon?

(1) Government policies have created a recession.

(2) Americans support the activities of trusts.

(3) Good government has saved the country from trusts.

(4) Trusts are a threat to the nation.

83. Which group would most likely have favored government action to address the issue shown in the cartoon?

(1) Bankers (3) industrialists

(2) Unions (4) railroad owners

84. In the late 19th century, the federal government aided the growth of transcontinental railroads by

(1) Legalizing rate rebates for large shippers

(2) Providing free land for laying railroad tracks

(3) Requiring standard-gauge tracks on all interstate lines

(4) Forcing small lines to consolidate into large systems

[pic]

85. Which economic concept is best illustrated by the cartoon?

(1) Supply and demand (3) monopoly

(2) Mercantilism (4) trade

86. What was the main benefit that labor unions of the late 19th century gained for their members?

(1) Job security

(2) Improved wages and hours

(3) Paid vacations

(4) Health insurance

87. During the late 1800s, business leaders formed trusts mainly to

(1) Reduce prices

(2) Eliminate competition

(3) Improve worker productivity

(4) Establish overseas factories

Base your answers to questions 88 and 89 on the speakers’ statements below and on your knowledge of social studies.

Speaker A: “When demand ran high, and markets were scarce, he showed little mercy, broke his contracts for delivery and raised prices.”

Speaker B: “The man of wealth must hold his fortune ‘in trust’ for the community and use it for philanthropic and charitable purposes.”

Speaker C: “It is cruel to slander the rich because they have been successful. They have gone into great enterprises that have enriched the nation and the nation has enriched them.”

Speaker D: “The fruits of the toil of millions are boldly stolen to build up colossal fortunes for the few, unprecedented in the history of mankind.”

88. Which two speakers would most likely label late 19th-century industrialists as robber barons?

(1) A and B

(2) A and D

(3) B and C

(4) C and D

89. The most valid conclusion that can be drawn from the different viewpoints of these speakers is that industrialists of the late 19th century

(1) Benefited and harmed society

(2) Treated their workers fairly

(3) Used illegal means to gain wealth

(4) Generally opposed the free-enterprise economic system

90. One reason John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and J. Pierpont Morgan were sometimes called robber barons was because they

(1) Robbed from the rich to give to the poor

(2) Made unnecessarily risky investments

(3) Used ruthless business tactics against their competitors

(4) Stole money from the federal government

91. In the 19th century, protective tariffs, subsidies for railroads, and open immigration showed that the federal government followed a policy of

(1) Support for economic development

(2) Noninterference in the free-market system

(3) Regulation of unfair business practices

(4) Support for organized labor

92. The Interstate Commerce Act and Sherman Antitrust Act were passed by Congress to

(1) Increase safety in the workplace

(2) Promote fair hiring practices

(3) Improve working conditions

(4) Protect the interests of small businesses

Base your answers to questions 93 and 94 on the cartoon below and on your knowledge of social studies.

[pic]

93. What is the main idea of this cartoon from the 1800s?

(1) Labor is gaining power over big business.

(2) Most Americans support the labor movement.

(3) Business has advantages over labor.

(4) Government should support the expansion of railroads.

94. The American Federation of Labor responded to the situation shown in the cartoon by

(1) Organizing skilled workers into unions

(2) Encouraging open immigration

(3) Forming worker-owned businesses

(4) Creating a single union of workers and farmers

95. Dorothea Dix, Jane Addams, and Jacob Riis were all known as

(1) Muckrakers (3) political leaders

(2) Suffragettes (4) social reformers

96. What was an effect of the Agricultural Revolution in the U.S. during the late 1800s?

(1) Unemployed factory workers could find jobs in agriculture.

(2) Food supplies were increased to feed urban dwellers.

(3) The size of farms decreased.

(4) United States farm exports decreased.

Word Bank: Standard Oil Company, Muckrakers, Laissez-faire, “The Gospel of Wealth”, Social Darwinism, Closed Shops, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, Gilded Age, Unions, Trusts, Robber Barons, Northern Europe

1- Because of the lavish lifestyles of those who became rich from industry, the period from 1856 to 1900 became known as the _________. Gilded means covered in gold.

2- Through the efficiencies of large-scale production, these industrialists lowered the prices of goods, making them more affordable. But some called these entrepreneurs __________ because of the ruthless tactics they used to destroy competition and to keep down worker’s wages.

3- Two of the most famous entrepreneurs in the Gilded Age were Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919). Carnegie worked his way up from a penniless Scottish immigrant to become one of America’s richest men. His steel mills ruthlessly undercut all competition. His workers put in 12-hour shifts at low wages. Carnegie hired thugs to crush any worker attempts to unionize. John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) formed the ____________ in 1870. Rockefeller forced railroad companies to give him special, secret rates for shipping his oil, while they charged his competitors higher prices.

4- Beginning with the Depression of 1873, many large producers like Carnegie and Rockefeller began driving smaller companies out of business or acquiring them. In other cases, rival companies reached agreements to consolidate (join together), often in _______. Many producers hoped to eliminate competition by establishing a monopoly (a single seller dominating a market). Monopolistic power allowed them to dictate their own price to consumers.

5- Many business leaders in the late 19th and early 20th centuries followed the tenets of ____________. This philosophy loosely applied Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution to economics. Taking Darwin’s suggestions of the survival of the fittest as the determinant in evolution, proponents of this philosophy believed that the state should not interfere in economic life. They believed those on top in the business world were there because they were the fittest. They had survived the battle of the marketplace because they were the best.

6- Social Darwinists believed that any interference in the free market operation would wreck the economy and upset its natural evolution. This view of economics is referred to as __________. Social Darwinists believed any person with ability could rise to the top, and laborers were where they were because of natural selection.

7- By the end of the century one millionaire, Andrew Carnegie, added a new twist to Social Darwinism in a speech “____________.” In 1889, Carnegie argued that wealth was essential for civilization and by the natural law of competition only a few could achieve it. However, what these few did with their wealth was crucial for society. Carnegie argued that the rich should administer their wealth through their lifetime to benefit society.

8- With the rise of big business, individual workers lost all bargaining power with their employers. Many workers realized that some form of labor organization was needed to protect their interests. They formed _________ so that they could act as a group. Together workers organized strikes and other forms of protest to obtain better working conditions. Industrialists like Carnegie used immigrant workers or closed down factories rather than negotiate with these labor associations.

9- The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was formed in 1881 by Samuel Gompers. Gompers hoped to create a powerful union by uniting workers with similar economic interests. Unlike the Knights of Labor, the AFL consisted of separate unions of skilled workers joined together into a federation. Gompers limited his goals to winning improved wages and working conditions for workers, higher pay, and an 8-hour work day. Gompers fought hard to improve members’ job security by seeking __________ (places where only union members were hired). The AFL quickly emerged as the principal voice of organized labor.

10- In the early 20th century, the attitude of the government and public towards unions began to change. One event that caused this change was a fire at the ____________ in 1911. The fire occurred on the evening of March 25, 1911, in a New York City sweatshop. A sweatshop is a shop or factory in which employees work for long hours at low wages and under unhealthy conditions. The fire touched off a national movement for safer working conditions.

11- Late 19th-century America experienced a sudden flood of immigrants. Up until 1880, most immigrants had come from ____________. In general, these “Old Immigrants” were Protestant, except for Irish Catholics, and most spoke English. Immigration patterns changed in the 1880s. Railroads and steamships made the voyage to America more affordable. Most “New Immigrants” came from Southern and Eastern Europe, especially Poland, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Greece, and Russia. They were Catholics and Jewish, spoke no English, were poor, and dressed differently from Northern Europeans. Asian immigrants also arrived.

12- Among the most influential Progressives were investigative reporters, writers, and social scientists that exposed government corruption and the abuses of industry. These writers became known as _________. They examined the rise of industry and the abuses that often led to the accumulation of large fortunes. They also examined business practices affecting consumers and the lives of the poor. They provided detailed, accurate journalistic accounts of the political and economic corruption and social hardships caused by the power of big business in a rapidly industrializing United States.

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