Topic 2 Review

In the late 1800s, the Bessemer process was crucial in the development of

• airplanes.

• skyscrapers.

• the telegraph system.

How did organizing regions of the country into time zones make rail travel and transport easier?

• It allowed for more rail lines to connect cities.

• It increased the number of travelers between zones.

• It made train schedules easier to set and follow.

An example of a technological innovation that increased the country’s natural resource base is

• the telegraph.

• the light bulb.

• the oil drill.

How did laissez-faire policies encourage economic growth in the late 1800s?

• They allowed entrepreneurs to open businesses with little regulation.

• They gave patents to encourage innovation.

• They made rail travel easier by creating standard time zones.

What point of view about big business leaders do political cartoon artists often share during this time period? Usually representing the big business as extra large or overweight.

• Business leaders have too much power.

• Trusts have mistreated their workers.

• Laws governing trusts are too strict.

Why did the South’s dependence on a single cash crop after the Civil War hurt the region’s economy?

• The labor force in the South was growing too quickly.

• It proved risky when prices fell and pests destroyed crops.

• The price of labor was rising faster than the price of cotton.

The electric streetcar

• helped farmers to transport crops to market.

• encouraged urban workers to live outside of larger cities.

• discouraged the production of gas-powered engines.

Which of the following is an advantage of forming a corporation?

• It allows workers to organize effectively and gain higher pay.

• It limits the risk to investors, who can lose only the money they invest.

• It gives one company control over an entire industry.

One major way that horizontal integration helped businesses lower production costs was by

• limiting their production.

• merging competing firms.

• encouraging competition for products.

Why did industry develop more slowly in the South than in the North? The South lacked

• Banks and education

• Natural Resources

• Innovative people