Industrial Innovations
What invention allowed factories to produce steel faster and cheaper?
Bessemer Process
What is a monopoly?
A business that controls most or all of an industry
What railroad connected the eastern and western parts of the United States?
Transcontinental Railroad
What is a labor union?
An organized group of workers who fight for better working conditions
What name was given to wealthy industrial leaders such as Andrew Carnegie?
What manufacturing system did Henry Ford use to build cars more quickly?
Assembly line
What business strategy involves controlling every step of production?
Vertical integration
What invention allowed people to communicate using electrical signals over long distances?
Telegraph
Name one thing labor unions wanted to improve for workers
Wages, working hours, or working conditions.
What is Mass Production?
What four natural resources helped fuel American industrial growth?
Coal, Iron, Timber and Oil
What is the term for combining businesses that sell the same product?
Horizontal integration
What two inventions greatly improved communication during the Gilded Age?
The telegraph and telephone
What was one major problem factory workers faced during the Gilded Age?
Low wages, long hours, unsafe conditions, or child labor.
How did mass production change life for American consumers?
It made products cheaper and more widely available.
How did the assembly line make products more affordable?
It increased production speed and lowered manufacturing costs
What was the purpose of trusts and holding companies during the Gilded Age?
To centralize control of businesses and limit competition.
How did the transcontinental railroad help American businesses?
It allowed businesses to move goods and resources across the country more quickly.
What famous strike involved workers at a railroad car company in 1894?
The Pullman Strike
Why was there such a large difference between wealthy business owners and factory workers?
Business owners accumulated large profits while many workers earned low wages and lived in poverty.
How did the Bessemer process help the United States expand its railroads and cities?
It make steel cheaper and easier to produce, allowing more railroads, bridges and buildings to be constructed.
What major economic problem grew during the Gilded Age as industrialists became extremely wealthy?
Wealth inequality, or a large gap between the rich and the poor.
How did mail-order catalogs help Americans living in rural areas?
They allowed people to order products from companies without traveling to large cities or stores.
What did the government's response to the Pullman Strike reveal about its relationship with workers?
The government often supported businesses and used its power against striking workers.
Industrialization created both opportunities and problems. Identify one positive and one negative effect
Positive: More jobs, cheaper goods, economic growth, or improved transportation. Negative: Poor working conditions, wealth inequality, pollution, or exploitation of workers