Big Business Study Guide

Name ______My test is on ______

Big Business Test Study Guide (USII.2b; 4b,d)

Big Business and Industrialization (use of machines to do work)

Life in Industrialized America

 United States is moving from being an agricultural nation to an industrial nation

 a large variety of products available to buy (because of national markets)

 more people leaving farms, moving to city to work in factories

 machines doing more of the work on farms and in the city, improving efficiency

 more job opportunities for unskilled labor in factories

 access to more consumer goods

Growth and Prosperity Factors (concentrated in cities) – made industries more efficient

 businesses started with raw materials (natural resources) such as coal, iron, wood, or cattle

 natural resources were shipped to factories on the railroad

 in factories or mills, raw materials became finished products to be sold

 more labor was available, so businesses could pay workers less

 assembly lines and cheap labor helped to lower production costs

 lots of capital (financial resources) was needed to start or expand a business

 railroads allowed products to be shipped out to national markets

 advertising tried to get consumers’ interest and expand the market

Inventions

 Bessemer process – make stronger steel more cheaply than before

 Thomas Edison – improved light bulb, figured out how to use electricity in factories

 Henry Ford – used assembly line to lower production costs for automobiles

 Alexander Graham Bell – developed the telephone to improve communication

Major Industrial Centers  finished products: meatpacking in Chicago, steel in Pittsburgh, automobiles in Detroit, textiles in New England

 raw materials: cotton from Southeast, beef cattle from Texas, iron ore to steel mills

“Captains of Industry”

 Rockefeller = oil (Standard Oil), Carnegie = steel (US Steel), Vanderbilt = railroads, J. P. Morgan = banking, Henry Ford = automobiles

 some used vertical integration (Carnegie)– bought other companies so that they would control all the steps in making their products (including natural resources, transportation, factories, and markets)

 some created monopolies (Rockefeller) – companies that controlled most or all of a certain kind of business) by driving competitors out of business and buying other companies; this was unfair to the consumer

Rise of Big Business: Essential Facts Check

Part One – Growth Factors (Use the answer bank to fill in each blank.)

Answer Bank:

labor capital lower production costs railroads national markets natural resources

advertising factories

1. Businesses started with ______such as coal, iron, wood, or cattle.

2. Natural resources were shipped to factories on the ______.

3. In ______raw materials became finished products to be sold.

4. More ______was available, so businesses could pay workers less.

5. Assembly lines and cheap labor helped to ______.

6. Lots of ______was needed to start or expand a business.

7. Railroads allowed products to be shipped out to ______.

8. ______tried to get consumers’ interest and expand the business’s market.

Part Two – Captains of Industry (Match each “captain of industry” with his industry.) _____ 9. Andrew Carnegie A. banking or finance

_____ 10. Henry Ford B. oil

_____ 11. J.P. Morgan C. steel

_____ 12. John D. Rockefeller D. automobiles (cars)

_____ 13. Cornelius Vanderbilt E. railroads

Part Three – Industrial Centers (Match each city or region with the associated industry.)

_____ 14. Chicago F. automobiles (cars)

_____ 15. Detroit G. steel

_____ 16. New England H. textiles (cloth)

_____ 17. Pittsburgh I. meat-packing