Deck 18: Big Business and Organized Labor

Question 1

American labor unions, unlike their European counterparts, seldom allied themselves with socialists.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

By the 1880s, most states had outlawed child labor.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The Foran Act made it illegal for federal or state government workers to join labor unions.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The term "robber baron" was used to describe railroad executives known for their shady financial practices.

Question 5

Power sources (such as water, coal, wood, electricity, and oil) were more expensive in the United States than in other nations around the world.

Question 6

The Haymarket affair was a peaceful protest against the use of child labor.

Question 7

The first transcontinental railroad was completed at Promontory, Utah.

Question 8

Anarchists oppose all forms of government.

Question 9

All of the following factors helped accelerate economic growth after the Civil War EXCEPT:

A) the abundance of natural resources in the United States
B) the development of labor saving machinery
C) federal and state policies aimed at limiting foreign competition
D) the use of prison labor by railroad companies
E) innovative, bold leadership from energetic entrepreneurs

Question 10

Interconnected transportation and communications networks were essential to the origins of the Second Industrial Revolution in the United States because:

A) there would have been no immigration to the United States without them
B) they allowed Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell to travel abroad to study
C) they facilitated the emergence of a national and even international markets for American goods and services
D) the South would have won the Civil War without them
E) they provided Andrew Carnegie the opportunity to earn his fortune

Question 11

The number of inventions registered at the U.S. Patent Office remained fairly constant through the nineteenth century.

Question 12

Most Americans experienced a rising standard of living in the late nineteenth century.

Question 13

Like the AFL, the IWW admitted only skilled workers.

Question 14

From the end of the Civil War to the turn of the century:

A) the value of manufactures increased sixfold
B) farm production declined
C) average wages and earnings declined
D) fewer women and children worked
E) innovation in business remained stagnant

Question 15

Andrew Carnegie invented the process that enabled a dramatic increase in steel production.

Question 16

The sand-lot incident in San Francisco in 1877 led to attacks against Chinese immigrants.

Question 17

Andrew Carnegie was an outspoken opponent of the idea of "survival of the fittest."

Question 18

The first transcontinental railroad:

A) was completed in 1844
B) was built by the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroads
C) followed a southern route through Texas and the Arizona and New Mexico territories
D) led to the bankruptcy of "Commodore" Vanderbilt
E) was John D. Rockefeller's first business initiative

Question 19

A transcontinental railroad was not built before the Civil War because:

A) the Appalachian Mountains presented great engineering problems
B) Congress refused to consider federal subsidies for a private railroad
C) the technologies for building long tunnels through the Rockies did not exist
D) many southern states used the states' rights argument to reject federal aid for railroads
E) North-South sectional differences prevented Congress from selecting a route

Question 20

Cornelius Vanderbilt made most of his money in railroads.

Question 21

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877:

A) was led by Samuel Gompers
B) won higher wages for railroad workers
C) did not have the support of the public at first, but as the strike (and its violence) spread, so did public sympathy for the strikers
D) ended when the workers, who lacked organized bargaining power, returned to work
E) began when Irish workers refused to work alongside Chinese

Question 22

When it came to steel, Andrew Carnegie did all the following EXCEPT:

A) promote it
B) have technical expertise in it
C) sell it
D) know how to organize a steel company
E) hire men of expert ability to help him run his business

Question 23

Which of the following best accounts for the success of Standard Oil?

A) Its scientists found new technical processes for refining oil more efficiently.
B) It bought out the Erie Railroad in order to keep transportation charges low.
C) It was one of the first companies to invest heavily in advertising.
D) Rockefeller was lucky to find the highest quality oil on his Ohio farm.
E) Its corporate structure-known as vertical integration-allowed the company to grow tremendously.

Question 24

The invention of electric motors did all of the following EXCEPT:

A) made it possible for factories to locate wherever they wished
B) led to the development of streetcars
C) led to the bankruptcy of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company
D) led to the development of elevators
E) contributed to the development of suburbs

Question 25

What was one main reason electric motors were significant to the industrialization of the late nineteenth century?

A) They were used in the first automobiles.
B) They powered the first light bulbs.
C) They freed factories to locate wherever they wished and not just by waterfalls and coal deposits.
D) They forced railroads to abandon the use of steam power.
E) They eliminated the need for oil during the Industrial Revolution.

Question 26

Holding companies:

A) are firms that control the stock of other companies
B) were outlawed in New Jersey in 1888
C) allowed J. Pierpont Morgan to build a monopoly in the oil shipping business
D) were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1868
E) were firms where union membership was required

Question 27

J. Pierpont Morgan is distinguished from business leaders Andrew Carnegie and John

A) had a "rags to riches" story
B) was foreign-born
C) came from an elite, privileged background
D) made millions with his investments
E) supported unions

Question 28

"Trusts" like Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust were vulnerable because they:

A) were often too large to earn a profit
B) were forced to spend too much of their money on philanthropic endeavors
C) were appealing targets for prosecution on the grounds of monopoly or restraint of trade
D) controlled companies that had nothing to do with one another
E) paid its various subsidiaries enormous and unjustified profits

Question 29

Sears, Roebuck and Company was a pioneer in:

A) selling goods by mail
B) retail, opening a chain of grocery stores across the United States
C) manufacturing cheap, practical clothing
D) providing electric power for New York City
E) retail, opening a chain of tool stores across the United States

Question 30

The Molly Maguires:

A) were named for the daughter of George Maguire, the owner of a Pennsylvania coal field
B) accomplished their goals of better wages and working conditions for miners through peaceful arbitration
C) offered the first large-scale strike of domestic workers (cooks and maids) in New York City
D) were the first major labor organization for western miners
E) aimed to right the perceived wrongs against Irish coal workers

Question 31

The Pennsylvania oil rush:

A) outweighed, in economic importance, the California gold rush of a decade before
B) gave J. Pierpont Morgan his start in business
C) ended the monopoly in petroleum production that Oklahoma had enjoyed for a quarter of a century
D) began in 1889
E) illustrated to many Americans that a dependence on oil might prove problematic in the future

Question 32

Who developed the first alternating current electric system?

A) George Westinghouse
B) John D. Rockefeller
C) Andrew Carnegie
D) Thomas Edison
E) Alexander Graham Bell

Question 33

Why was the development of the alternating current electric system significant?

A) It was essential for Edison to invent the light bulb.
B) It powered the transcontinental railroad.
C) It enabled electricity to be transmitted across long distances.
D) It was safer than direct current electrical transmission.
E) It was J. Pierpont Morgan's first successful investment.

Question 34

For industrial workers in Gilded Age America:

A) real wages fell due to rising prices
B) a forty-hour work week was the standard
C) government regulations provided a safe work environment
D) working and living conditions remained precarious
E) forging a work permit for children was seen as taboo

Question 35

During the Gilded Age, the rich were getting richer and:

A) the poor were getting poorer
B) everyone was getting rich
C) many other people were at least better off
D) there were no disparities in the distribution of wealth
E) rags-to-riches stories abounded

Question 36

Crédit Mobilier is indicative of the type of shady big business financial practices that occurred during the Gilded Age because it:

A) controlled the president as if he were its puppet
B) ran both the steel and oil industries
C) was dedicated to busting unions
D) opposed the use of Chinese labor on railroad projects
E) bribed officials and grossly overcharged for its services

Question 37

The work of Cornelius Vanderbilt helps emphasize that:

A) the robber barons helped build the South's great universities
B) Jay Gould might actually be seen as a good guy
C) the Commodore's prowess as a naval officer in the Civil War opened doors to the business world following conflict
D) business consolidation put the control of railroads in few hands
E) the connections between railroads and early canals built fortunes

Question 38

All of the following statements are reasons why child labor was problematic EXCEPT:

A) child laborers took well-paying jobs from legal immigrants
B) child laborers often received no education
C) children suffered three times as many accidents as adults
D) a child working in a textile mill was only half as likely to reach the age of twenty as a child outside a mill
E) the few child labor laws that existed were rarely enforced and often ignored

Question 39

Thomas Alva Edison invented the:

A) first light bulb
B) air brake for trains
C) (heavier-than-air) airplane
D) telephone
E) mechanized cotton textile weaver

Question 40

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 was provoked by:

A) wage cuts that followed a depression
B) the railroad's refusal to hire blacks and women
C) concerns over workplace safety
D) worker demands for paid vacations
E) the deaths of four children in an explosion at Pullman's factory

Question 41

The greatest growth of the Knights of Labor took place:

A) in 1875, when the federal government outlawed the use of violence against union members
B) in the mid-1880s, when the union had several strikes against the railroads
C) under the leadership of Uriah S. Stephens
D) as a result of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877
E) after the Wobblies spit the NLU

Question 42

The Knights of Labor:

A) formed a successful political party
B) admitted only skilled workers, like printers or cigar makers
C) called for men and women to have equal pay for equal work
D) advocated the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism
E) allowed doctors, lawyers, and bankers to join their ranks

Question 43

How did the AFL differ from the Knights of Labor?

A) The AFL was socialist while the Knights were capitalists.
B) The AFL was a federation of national organizations, each of which retained a large degree of its autonomy, while the Knights organization was more centralized.
C) The AFL was controlled by anarchists, while the Knights were statists.
D) The AFL had no national leader, while the Knights looked to Terrence Powderly.
E) The AFL was affiliated with Republicans, while the Knights supported Democrats.

Question 44

President Grover Cleveland's response to the Pullman strike was to:

A) declare his sympathy for the strikers
B) order George Pullman to restore his workers' wages
C) appoint Eugene Debs to his cabinet
D) send federal troops to keep the trains running
E) socialize the industry by allowing the government to manage the company

Question 45

The Haymarket affair:

A) was started by the Knights of Labor
B) led to the passage of the Foran Act of 1885
C) marked the beginning of the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions
D) was blamed on seven anarchist leaders despite a lack of evidence
E) took place in San Francisco

Question 46

The Knights of Labor declined for all the following reasons EXCEPT:

A) popular fears that the organization was too radical
B) its leader Terrance Powderly died
C) the Haymarket affair discredited the union
D) its leadership was devoted more to reform than to the nuts and bolts of organization
E) their preoccupation with local politics

Question 47

Why were mail cars connected to the Pullman cars during the Pullman strike?

A) The strikers wanted to create as big a disruption as possible.
B) So President Grover Cleveland could express his support for the union.
C) To justify federal intervention to end the strike by allowing railroad executives to claim the strike interfered with the mail.
D) To allow union leaders throughout the country to exchange correspondence during the strike.
E) To prevent anarchists from communicating with the strikers.

Question 48

Violence erupted at the Homestead Works in 1892 when:

A) Andrew Carnegie announced the plant's sale to J. P. Morgan
B) Henry Frick tried to break a strike by bringing in Pinkertons
C) police attempted to break up a protest meeting
D) Andrew Carnegie tried to replace one union with another one
E) Andrew Carnegie fired Frick

Question 49

The American Federation of Labor:

A) was primarily concerned with securing concrete economic gains
B) was formed in 1869 but experienced most of its growth in the early years of the twentieth century
C) was a federation of industrial unions; craft unions could not join until 1948
D) could claim as members almost half of all industrial workers in 1900
E) believed that unions with large numbers of immigrants hurt labor's cause

Question 50

Which of the following statements about the Socialist Party of America is NOT true?

A) Its support was confined to industrial workers in the Northeast.
B) In 1912, the party's presidential candidate received almost 900,000 votes.
C) It was plagued by disagreements over America's participation in World War I.
D) It elected mayors in more than thirty American cities.
E) The party experienced great success in Oklahoma.

Question 51

Membership in the American Federation of Labor at first:

A) reflected the growing membership of agricultural workers
B) grew rapidly
C) was primarily African American
D) reflected the growing membership of the unskilled worker
E) grew slowly

Question 52

All of the following statements are true of the Pinkertons EXCEPT:

A) they were a "detective agency"
B) they relied on Chinese labor to fill their ranks
C) they busted unions
D) they were hired to end the Homestead Strike
E) they worked against and infiltrated the Molly Maguires

Question 53

The Homestead strike:

A) involved workers at the Homestead Tobacco Company
B) was waged against a Carnegie company
C) was a victory for the union
D) took place in Montana, but involved other farmers on the Great Plains
E) reflected Henry Clay Frick's compassion

Question 54

The National Labor Union:

A) opposed the eight-hour day for employees of the federal government
B) opposed reforms such as cooperatives and equal rights for women and blacks in favor of simply bargaining with employers to get the best working conditions and wages possible
C) was led by Alfred Chandler
D) was influential in getting Congress to enact an eight-hour workday for federal employees
E) was less concerned with political and social problems than in bargaining with employers

Question 55

Marxism, one strain of socialism, was imported to the United States mainly by:

A) Germans
B) Irish
C) Russians
D) Polish
E) English

Question 56

Why was there a growth of craft unions during the Civil War?

A) The end of slavery flooded the labor market with workers.
B) The war sparked an increased demand for skilled labor.
C) Unskilled laborers were constitutionally prohibited from unionizing.
D) Craft unions would not have to admit the freedmen.
E) The American education system expanded dramatically during that period.

Question 57

Daniel De Leon:

A) was the attorney general of Illinois who obtained an injunction against the striking Pullman employees
B) was convicted of throwing a bomb at strikers outside the Pullman plant
C) published an anti-socialist paper in the 1890s
D) was the leading figure in the Socialist Labor party
E) wrote that blue-collar violence and anarchy were the only paths to success

Question 58

Why did Chinese refer to the Geary Act of 1892 as the "Dog Tag Law"?

A) It mandated that when imprisoned, Chinese had to be sent to dog shelters.
B) It was based on a "dangerous animal" ordinance passed the previous year.
C) It required Chinese to carry their residential permit with them at all times or risk imprisonment and deportation.
D) Chinese could not own any pets that were not registered with the federal government.
E) It mandated that imprisoned Chinese be sent to hard labor camps where they manufactured dog tags.

Question 59

Mary "Mother Jones" Harris promoted all of the following causes EXCEPT:

A) higher wages
B) shorter hours
C) restrictions on child labor
D) temperance
E) social justice

Question 60

The Workingmen's Party of California:

A) was the political wing of the National Labor Union
B) was based on anti-Chinese sentiment
C) campaigned (unsuccessfully) for restrictions on Mexican immigration
D) ended when the 1877 railroad strike ushered in better working conditions
E) folded when Grant sent the military to occupy the mines

Question 62

Describe Andrew Carnegie's philosophy concerning big business growth and how this reflected the wisdom of some Americans. Why are the views of this single individual so significant to understanding late nineteenth-century American economic history?

Question 63

Joe Hill, the labor organizer, was NOT:

A) Swedish
B) a singer
C) shot by a firing squad
D) a Wobbly
E) convicted of treason

Question 64

Compare the aims and achievements of the Knights of Labor, the American Federation of Labor, and the Industrial Workers of the World. What common ground do they share? What factors help explain their differences?

Question 65

The state that gave the highest percentage vote to the Socialist presidential candidate in 1912 was:

A) New York
B) Wisconsin
C) Oklahoma
D) California
E) Massachusetts

Question 66

William D. "Big Bill" Haywood:

A) led a private army against striking miners in Colorado
B) was elected mayor of Milwaukee in 1910
C) served as editor of the People, the organ of the Socialist Labor party
D) was the leader of the Industrial Workers of the World
E) loved the AFL and saw Gompers as a natural ally

Question 67

Trace the development and completion of the first transcontinental railroad. Identify the factors that delayed its development, what obstacles had to be removed before it could proceed, and why its completion was significant to the United States.

Question 68

The IWW was effectively destroyed when it:

A) lost a major strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts
B) kicked out Daniel De Leon and Eugene Debs
C) tried to merge with the American Federation of Labor
D) opposed American involvement in World War I
E) allowed the AFL to hire "Big Bill" Haywood

Question 69

Write an essay that explains why labor unions developed as they did in the United States? What factors shaped the growth of labor unions during this period? What factors delayed or weakened their growth? What were their limitations and what achievements can they claim?

Question 70

The Industrial Workers of the World:

A) had its origin in the mining and lumber camps of the West
B) was less radical than the American Federation of Labor
C) ended suddenly when its 1912 textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, failed to win any concessions for the workers
D) ended in 1903 when the organization's officers were convicted of embezzling most of its funds
E) were known as the Know-Nothings

Question 71

Describe the growth of radicalism in America's unions after the Civil War. What were the driving forces pulling the unions to the left, and how successful were they? What forces limited radicalism's success in the American political context?

Question 72

Discuss the various major strikes that occurred after the Civil War. Include the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, the Homestead strike, and the Pullman strike. What were the similarities and differences with each?

Question 73

What factors account for the dramatic growth in business after the Civil War? Write an essay that explains why each factor you identify was significant.

Question 74

Compare and contrast the major industrial leaders of the late nineteenth century. How did each rise to power, and what did they do to ensure they would stay at the top of their respective industries? What do they have in common, and what differences distinguish them from each other? What makes each of them important to understanding the late nineteenth century?

Question 75

Write an essay that explains the significance of railroad expansion in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Discuss how these railroads were financed, who were the people behind the expansion, and how they affected the economic development of the country in the late nineteenth century?

Question 76

What were the major technological advancements of the post-Civil War era? How did these advancements contribute to the expansion of America's industrial revolution?

Question 77

MATCHING
Match each description with the item below.