Gilded Age to WW1 Review Flashcards
How did the growth of railroads impact other industries?
Made it easier to transport goods over long distances
Explain the significance of railroads on the development of the west.
The railroads coming to the west helped bring settlers and ruin the lifestyle of the Native Americans. Railroad companies hired people to do nothing but kill buffalo, which the Native Americans relied on for survival.
How did the railroad industry affect farmers during the gilded age? Be specific.
- easier for farmers to ship their crops to markets
- railroads were not regulated and could charge whatever price they wanted for shipping.
- railroads also controlled most of the grain silos and charged farmers very high prices for grain storage.
- Farmers needed the railroads, but they hated them.
How were immigrants on the West coast different than those on the east coast?
Most immigrants on the West coast were from China, while most immigrants on the East coast were from Southern and Eastern Europe.
What were some of the reasons for these west coast immigrants coming to America?
Many Chinese came to the United States to mine for gold and work on the construction of the transcontinental railroad.
What is a monopoly (trust)? Make an argument in support of monopolies:
A monopoly will dominate a single industry. In order to dominate an industry, they must make an excellent product or provide excellent service.
What is a monopoly (trust)? Make an argument against monopolies:
Monopolies can charge whatever they want for their product or service and people have no choice but to pay if they want it. They also limit competition in the market which is not good for consumers.
Name the most influential monopolists of the gilded age (steel and oil industries) and what companies did they oversee:
Andrew Carnegie – Carnegie Steel
John D. Rockefeller – Standard Oil.
Describe the following types of integration of business and give an example of Horizontal.
Horizontal:
Horizontal integration is businesses in the same industry merging or buying each other. An example would be cell phone service providers like T-Mobile buying Metro PCS.
Describe the following types of integration of business and give an example of Vertical.
Vertical:
Vertical integration is when a business buys other companies to control the manufacturing process from raw materials to finished product. An example would be Louisville Slugger buying a tree farm which gives them wood to produce baseball bats (finished product).
What was the impact of the invention of the telephone?
Allows people to talk with each other despite being in different locations.
What was the impact of the invention of the light bulb?
Allows people to continue their lives (including work) after the sun goes down each day.
Describe life in the cities during the gilded age:
Most cities were filled with immigrants who lived together in ethnic neighborhoods. They lived in small, crowded apartments called tenements. Diseases were spread easily in tenement buildings and a fire could destroy the entire building in minutes before spreading to neighboring buildings. There was no running water or electricity.
What were the primary goals of the progressives?
The progressives wanted to clean up the problems from the Gilded Age. They wanted to regulate business (railroads) and end monopolies. They wanted to end child labor. Progressives wanted to end corruption in government.
- Who were the “muckrakers?”
Investigative journalists.
Who was Ida Tarbell?
Wrote The History of Standard Oil to expose the ruthless business practices of John D. Rockefeller.
Who was Upton Sinclair?
Wrote The Jungle which exposed unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry.
Who was Jacob Riis?
Took photographs of the poor in New York City and published them in a book How The Other Half Lives.
Explain the significance of the 16th amendment.
Income tax on everyone.
Explain the significance of the 17th amendment.
Direct election of senators.
