United States History Chapter 14

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United States HistoryChapter 14

• Higher Order Thinking Skills
• Homework

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1. Explain how the abundance of natural
resources, new recovery and refining methods ,
and new uses for them led to intensive
industrialization.

• What led to the nations oil boom?
• Edwin L. Drakes invention of a steam-powered Oil
  Drill that made possible the extraction of oil
  from beneath the earths surface.
• What was the Bessemer Process and how did it fuel
  steel production?
• Created a faster and cheaper method for producing
  steel, making steel the primary building material
  of the Second Industrial Revolution.
• What were some of the new uses in the United
  States for steel?
• Railroads, Bridge Construction (The Brooklyn
  Bridge), and innovative Skyscrapers (The Home
  Insurance Building in Chicago).

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2. Identify inventions that changed the way
people lived and worked.

• How did the harnessing of electricity transform
  American business?
• Factories could be constructed away from Rivers
  and closer to the labor force.
• The incandescent light bulb allowed factories to
  operate 24 hours a day.
• Electricity was cheap and convenient, which
  increased profit.
• How did new inventions and products affect people
  at home and at work?
• Elias Howe invents the Sewing Machine
• Alexander Graham Bell invents the Telephone
• Christopher Sholes invents the Typewriter

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3. Identify the role of the railroads in unifying
the country

• How did the government facilitate the expansion
  of the railroads?
• The Government made huge land grants and loans to
  Railroad Companies to encourage their expansion.
• What were the positive and negative aspects of
  railroad expansion?
• Positives encouraged western expansion, gave
  the downtrodden a new lease on life, helped
  unify the North, South, and West economically.
• Negatives abuse of the farmer, abuse of the
  immigrant (Irish and Chinese) labor force that
  built the railroads, and government corruption.
• How did Railroad time work?
• The world was divided into 24 time zones (one for
  each hour of the day), then clocks were
  synchronized so that noon in New York City wasnt
  somehow different than noon in San Francisco.
  This helped make the Railroads more efficient.

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4. List positive and negative effects of
railroads on the nations economy

• How did the growth of Railroad lines promote the
  growth of cities and trade?
• Increased travel created more cities, which
  created more markets for the sale of goods, which
  stimulated economic growth.
• What was the Credit Mobilier scandal?
• The Union Pacific Railroad created a Construction
  company to build its own tracks, paid the company
  (itself) two to three times what the work was
  worth by charging the government two to three
  times what the project should have cost then
  pocketed the profits. To protect its scheme the
  Union Pacific bribed 20 Representatives of
  Congress.
• Destroyed the reputation of the Republican Party

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5. Summarize reasons for, and outcomes of, the
demand for railroad reform.

• For what reasons were farmers angry at railroad
  companies?
• Corruption
• Misuse of land grants
• Unfair rate practices
• Charging different customers different rates
• Charging more for short hauls, where their was no
  competition between lines
• Agreements between Railroad Companies to fix
  prices.
• How did the Granger laws help farmers?
• They established the governments right to
  regulate industries that serve the public
  interest.
• What was the Interstate Commerce Act?
• Allowed the Federal Government to supervise
  Railroad Activities, however it took until 1906
  under the Roosevelt (Theodore) administration to
  become truly effective.

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6. Identify management and business strategies
that contributed to the success of business
tycoons such as Andrew Carnegie.

• What industry did Andrew Carnigie dominate?
• Steel (he own U.S. Steel)
• What was the difference between vertical
  integration and horizontal integration?
• Horizontal integration happens when a company
  buys other companies that produce a similar
  product (owns the market, creation of
  monopolies).
• Vertical integration happens when a company buys
  other companies that produce the materials it
  needs to make and distribute their product (owns
  the process).

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7. Explain Social Darwinism and its effects on
society.

• What does the theory of Social Darwinism
  advocate?
• The application of the law of Natural Selection
  to the Business World and society.
• That when a business fails it does so because a
  stronger business is successful and that is would
  helps the economy grow.
• What methods did ruthless business operators use
  to eliminate their competition?
• They formed Holding Companies and bought out the
  stock of rival companies.
• They formed Trust Agreements where they ran
  multiple companies as one giant Corporation.
• This eliminated competition and resulted in the
  abuse of the consumer and worker by Big Business.
• Why did the nations business boom bypass the
  south?
• The South lack industrial resources and Capital.
• The South was still very much recovering from the
  Civil War and not suited for Industrial growth.

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8. Summarize the emergence and growth of unions

• What conditions did many factory workers face in
  the late 19th Century?
• Long hours, low wages, and dangerous working
  conditions
• What did labor unions advocate?
• Eight-hour Workday
• Equal Pay for Equal Work
• Collective Bargaining
• What different types of unions emerged during the
  nations industrial boom?
• National Labor Union (William Sylvis)
• Knights of Labor (Uriah Stephens)
• American Federation of Labor (Samuel Gompers)
• American Railway Union (Eugene V. Debs)
• Industrial Workers of the World (William Big
  Bill Haywood)

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9. Explain the violent reactions of industry and
government to union strikes

• What were the reasons for the various strikes
  during the late 19th Century?
• Wage cuts (Great Strike of 1877)
• Dangerous Working Conditions (Homestead Strike)
• Equal Pay (Sugar Beet and Farm Laborers Strike)
• What role did women play in the labor movement?
• Mary Harris Jones was a key player in the Labor
  Movement
• Women worked for Equal Pay, better working
  conditions, and an end to child labor
• How did management and the government react to
  union activity?
• Injunctions were issued forcing workers back to
  the job.
• In some cases the police were called in to break
  up strikes and protests, oftentimes violently.
• Best example is the Haymarket Square Riot, which
  (ironically) turned the public against labor
  unions.