Page 80 - Copshaholm Curriculum Book_2015

The Industrial Revolution: The Growth of America’s Production System 6

Suggested Test/Essay Questions

1. Why was this period in history called the Industrial Revolution? Include at least
five inventions. (Start with a topic sentence that tells what the paragraph is
about. Finish with a conclusion sentence that concludes your thoughts)

2. According to the movie “Newsies,” there were three main standards of living in
New York City at the turn of the century. Explain their differences. How did the
Sears catalog begin to change that?

3. Describe Henry Ford’s new factory and how it worked. Why was the assembly
line a new idea?

4. Describe the philosophy the capitalists used for their reasons not to have a
welfare program at the turn of the century. Where did they get that idea? What’s
your opinion of it?

5. Why was Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency such a radical switch from that of his
predecessors?

6. The workers of the late 1800s and early 1900s organized themselves into various
groups to benefit their causes. Describe unions and strikes, anarchists, socialists
and tell why someone would join those groups.

7. Currently there are around 400 million children working in the world. Describe
some of the child labor situations that are happening today. In your opinion,
should the United Nations step in and stop companies from exploiting children?

8. Who was Upton Sinclair? What book did he write? What did it describe? Why
did he name it that?

9. Compare and contrast the three big capitalists of the Industrial Revolution:
Morgan, Rockefeller and Carnegie. How did their businesses compare/contrast
with the business of James Oliver and the Oliver Chilled Plow Works?