G u i d e
t o
R e a d i n g
N o t e s
Section 2
1. Federal, state, and local governments helped business through favorable laws and subsidies and by
passing higher tariffs.
2. Possible answers:
Benefits: Cities grew. Entrepreneurs amassed enormous wealth. Technological inventions improved
life. Businesses boomed. A wide range of affordable consumer goods were produced.
Costs: Many workers lived in poverty. Immigrants faced prejudice and
discrimination. Workers often lost their jobs. Politicians became corrupt.
Section 3
Symbols will vary. Possible answers:
Invention
Inventor
Impact of the Invention
Bessemer process
Henry Bessemer
Steel replaced iron in rails, trains, and
bridges. Steel nails, needles, and knives
became common household items.
Electrical power
station
Thomas Edison
Brought electricity to homes, stores, and
factories.
Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell
Allowed Americans to communicate with
one another and made industry more
efficient and competitive.
Mass production
Several people contributed
to this invention.
Enabled workers to produce more goods
per day at a lower cost.
Airplane
Orville and Wilbur Wright
Sparked worldwide interest in flying.
Started the air travel industry, air mail
delivery, the use of planes by the military,
and commercial flights.
Section 4
1. Rockefeller and Carnegie grew their businesses by setting up corporations and trusts. They also
took control of every step of their businesses. For example, Rockefeller bought oil fields along with
railroads, pipelines, ships, warehouses, and oil barrels.
2. The newspaper was referring to the influence of trusts on the political process and warning that
wealthy entrepreneurs could use their wealth to buy elections and corrupt officials.
Section 5
Possible flowcharts:
demand for cheap housing
construction of tenements
1. urbanization
deaths of children
conditions and quick-spreading disease
dangerous
2. urbanization
increase in cost of land
building of skyscrapers
businesspeople rent
by early 1900s, more than half of New York City’s workers labored above
space in skyscrapers
the seventh floor
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
The Rise of Industry 1
G u i d e
t o
R e a d i n g
N o t e s
Section 6
Journal entries will vary.
Section 7
1. Labor unions organized workers to fight for better wages and working conditions. Sometimes they
negotiated with business owners to achieve their goals. Other times, they used strikers.
2. Labor unions were only somewhat successful at improving working conditions. For instance,
although a strike by the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union resulted in a shorter
workweek and better pay, workers’ demands for safety improvements were not met.
Sections 2 to 7
Classroom Experience
Historical Connection
Students created individual shirts.
Craftspeople worked from their homes to
produce textiles as part of the cottage industry.
When students worked on the assembly line,
they were more productive.
Mass-production techniques, like assembly
lines, enabled workers to produce more goods
per day at less cost.
Students were more productive when they
used pencils and full sheets of paper as
opposed to crayons and half-sheets of paper.
Technological advances of the Industrial Revolution
made factories more productive.
The Tri and Angle companies merged to form the
Triangle Company.
Many businesses merged during the Industrial
Revolution to be more productive.
Students worked closer together.
Many companies moved to big cities, where
factory space was limited.
Immigrants were willing to replace workers
for fewer points.
Immigrants were often willing to work for less.
Students listened to loud noise and worked
without light.
Working conditions in factories were usually
poor.
Students’ bodies and hands hurt from
drawing the same part over and over.
Many workers experienced strain and injuries from
repetitive work.
Students were resentful of the supervisor’s
reprimands.
Assembly workers became alienated from their
supervisors.
Some students complained and threatened
to strike.
Employees formed labor unions and led strikes.
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
The Rise of Industry 2