05.01 The Gilded Age

How does the Gilded Age compare to Reconstruction as a historical period? (5 points)

Both periods relate best to a specific region of the nation and are generally perceived as having negative outcomes.

Which of the following is an example of horizontal consolidation? (5 points)

Cornelius Vanderbilt bought several smaller railroad companies to combine into one corporation.

Question refers to the excerpt below. "It is hard to gauge the effect of a book upon readers, but The Gilded Age must have intensified perceptions of political corruption that its readers gained from the press and magazines. Just how and why the authors chose the book's title, and what they intended it to convey, remains unclear. They presumably meant that the period's gilt of prosperity and activity covered political corruption. The term originally applied only to the first Grant administration, but later scholars extended it to include the century's entire last generation ... It seems to have been in general use in academic writing by the time of Charles Beard and Vernon Parrington in the 1920s, who by and large used it to describe the bad taste of the rich."—H. Wayne Morgan, historian (1934−2014) Which of the following conclusions does the excerpt draw about the meaning of the term "Gilded Age" based on the novel of the same name? (5 points)

Its meaning is assumed to have been negative.

Which of the following was the greatest single factor in urbanization of the Gilded Age? (5 points)

Mechanization reduced the need for farmers.

Question refers to the map below. Numerous cities grew in the late 1800s. The top five cities with the greatest populations by 1900 were New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Boston.© 2012 The Exploration Company The Gilded Age was a historical period experienced primarily in which region of the United States? (5 points)

North

Which of the following was a strategy the U.S. government used to encourage industrial development? (5 points)

Offering land grants

How did railroads influence industrial development? (5 points)

Railroads opened more markets, places to ship and sell products.

Question refers to the image below. Public Domain Which of the following developments is reflected in the image? (5 points)

The creation of a long-distance telegraph line made the operation of the Pony Express unnecessary.

Which of the following was decreasing during the Gilded Age and the early 20th century? (5 points)

Agricultural workers as percentage of total workforce

What was the effect of business practices such as consolidation, creating trusts, and forming pools? (5 points)

They reduced the significance of competitors so a company had more control over pricing and product.