The Rise of Mass Consumption
Did incomes rise during the Gilded Age?
Yes, it was uneven, but wages all rose throughout the period.
Was leisure prevalent in America before the Gilded Age?
No, Americans saw it as wasteful when they did have it, equating it with unemployment and laziness.
What did art and literature widely switch to portray in the 1900s?
They were both used to show stark, social reality, like poverty, dreariness, and violence.
What was the largest spectator sport of the era?
Baseball, a modification of rounders, which was derived from cricket.
Vaudeville was adapted from French models.
True, it was a popular form of theatre composed of a number of smaller acts that was originally cheap to produce.
Where was Marshall Field, one of the first great department stores, established?
It was made in Chicago, with the goal of producing excitement and wonder.
What was Coney Island known for?
The two amusemant parks, Luna Park and Dreamland. The average daily attendance at Luna Park in 1904 was 90,000 people, almost double the number I found for Disneyland.
Why was there such a large increase in the number of universities, primarily state universities, in the Gilded Age?
The Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 saw the federal government donating public land to states to establish public universities. (69 total)
Note: land grants is an acceptable answer
Who was credited for inventing the telephone?
His name was Alexander Graham Bell, and it was first demonstrated in 1876.
Leisure was generally separated between races and gender.
False, with some exception, leisure was shared regardless of race, gender, and even class.
What did the National Consumer League do to products?
A white label was placed on items deemed to be produced under fair conditions.
How much did the circulation of daily newspapers increase from 1870 to 1910?
Almost ninefold, from less than 3 million to more than 24 million. This was primarily due to internal wire services allowing information to be quickly spread, and improved printing allowed photos, color, and variation as well.
How many states had school attendance laws in 1900?
31 states and territories had laws, but it was still far from universally available.
What is a clever response to this question: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
If you read this without messing up, you get the points: A woodchuck would chuck all the wood a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
Chains were able to make more profit due to having essential and desired goods at higher prices.
False, the stores did have a wider array of goods, but they could undersell the competition.
How did the new consumer economy affect the roles of women and what they did?
Women were encouraged to buy clothing more frequently, to buy the family's food, and were provided opportunities for new jobs.
What does the acronym AT&T mean?
It was short for American Telephone and Telegraph but later renamed to the Bell System.
Why did rich industrialists pay for many universities?
The money came from philanthropists that believed their money should be given to the benefit of society, but the universities would also give the titans a positive view from society and could be used to develop new technologies for them.
Which groups and/or industries saw the least increase to wages?
Industries in the South or with large female workforces saw less increase, and both African Americans and immigrants saw less growth.
Mrs. Crawford, please stare at the contestant as they answer this one.
APUSH is your favorite class. (take your time and make the right choice).
Interesting...
What was the first major step towards consumerism?
(hint: Civil War)
The need for uniforms in the Civil War led to new industries making manufactured clothing, leading to people buying what they once made.
What is the best known early silent film, famous for bringing a plot to the industry?
The Birth of a Nation (1915) by D. W. Griffith, and it was notoriously racist. But, it was a contrast to the videos of trains and waterfalls that came before it.
What was the goal of trying to get native Americans to attend school, and why did these attempts fail?
The goal was a continuation of the attempt to "civilize" and encourage the assimilation of the natives, but the tribes generally did not want to attend the schools.
What are our first names (kudos if you can get the last ones too)?
Evan Singer, Franklin "Alex" Wiley, Joseph Sweeny, and Jude Hansen.
At the end of the civil war, only three colleges were open for women, and black women were almost entirely denied.
True, the three colleges were still primarily male, so the emergence of women's colleges was really revolutionary.