Industry and Immigration

Lesson 2 Big Business Rises

Key Terms
corporation
cartel
John D. Rockefeller
horizontal integration
monopoly
trust
Andrew Carnegie
vertical integration
Social Darwinism
Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)
Sherman Antitrust Act

Academic Vocabulary
investment: a sum of money spent in order to gain a profit later
market: an area of economic activity in which buyers and sellers come together
and the forces of supply and demand affect prices
consolidate: to join together into a whole
profit: the gain after all expenses are subtracted
restraint: holding back or checking of action

Lesson Objectives
1. Analyze different management innovations that businesses used to
increase their profits.
2. Describe the public debate over the pros and cons of big business.
3. Explain how the government took steps to block abuses of corporate
power.

Corporations Find New Ways of Doing Business: Text

1. Draw Conclusions The text states that “after 1870, the number of
corporations in America rose dramatically.” How can you account for the
rise of corporations during this period? Support your answer with details
from the text.

Interactive Reading Notepad • Lesson 2

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2. Compare and Contrast In what ways are horizontal integration and
vertical integration similar? In what ways are they different? For each type
of integration, give an example from the text of a corporation that used the
strategy, and explain how the corporation used it.

The Pros and Cons of Big Business: Text

3. Assess an Argument Were big business tycoons like John D. Rockefeller

“robber barons” who were bad for the nation as a whole or “captains of
industry” who served the nation well? The text presents arguments for
both viewpoints. State which arguments you find more convincing and
why. Support your answer with evidence from the text.

4. Vocabulary: Determine Meaning Read the first two paragraphs of

“Causes and Effects of Social Darwinism.” What do you think Social
Darwinism is? How was Social Darwinism used to justify prejudice against
minorities? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

Interactive Reading Notepad • Lesson 2

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The Changing Relationship Between Government and Business: Text
5. Cite Evidence The United States has a history of tension between
business and government. Give at least two examples of this conflict from
the text and explain them.

6. Determine Central Ideas What central points does the text make about
the ongoing relationship among business, government, and consumers?

Interactive Reading Notepad • Lesson 2

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