This study guide covers topics related to immigration, urbanization, and the rise of industry in the late 1800s. It includes questions about key events, people, and trends during this period of rapid industrialization and social change in the United States, such as the push and pull factors that drove immigration, living and working conditions faced by immigrants in cities, important inventions and their impacts, the growth of big businesses and monopolies, and the rise of labor unions fighting for workers' rights.

1. _________________________________ __________
Name Period
UNIT 2 STUDY GUIDE
Immigration and Urbanization
Section 1 – Immigration
1. How was the “new immigration” of the late 1800s different from “old immigration” during colonial days? ______
________________________________________________________________________________________
2. The U.S. city that was the most common destination for European immigrants during the 1800s was
______________________________.
3. The first site greeted that most European immigrants in NY harbor was the ____________________________,
which became a symbol of freedom and hope for immigrants.
4. Immigrants coming into New York City had to first stop at ________________________, where they were
inspected by doctors checking for diseases or other illnesses.
5. Give THREE things that PUSHED European immigrants to America (what drove them from their homeland):
a. __________________________________________________________________________
b. __________________________________________________________________________
c. __________________________________________________________________________
6. Give THREE things that PULLED European immigrants to America (what drew them to the United States):
a. __________________________________________________________________________
b. __________________________________________________________________________
c. __________________________________________________________________________
7. Give TWO things that an immigrant needed to do to adjust to American society:
a. __________________________________________________________________________
b. __________________________________________________________________________
8. Immigration led to a massive increase in the number of ________________ in U.S. cities.
9. Businesses with harsh working conditions that took advantage of immigrants who were desperate for work
were often referred to as _________________________.
10. Why did factories want to hire children? ________________________________________________________

2. 11. The disaster in New York City when over 150 people died when they were locked into their factory and could
not get out when a fire broke out in the building was the ____________________________________ disaster.
12. An extreme dislike for foreigners by native-born people and a desire to limit immigration is a feeling known as
_____________________.
13. One group that opposed immigration were the _____________________________, who argued that immigrant
workers would work for low wages, thus undermining American-born workers.
14. In the late 1800s, California saw a boom of immigrants coming from __________________.
15. The check point in San Francisco where Asian immigrants were checked before being allowed into the United
States was _______________________________.
16. Give THREE reasons why Chinese immigrants came to America:
a. _____________________________________________________________________________________
b. _____________________________________________________________________________________
c. _____________________________________________________________________________________
17. The law passed by Congress that barred Chinese immigration for 10 years and prevented the Chinese from
becoming U.S. citizens was the __________________________________________.
18. Following the Civil War, many Americans went from being _____________ in rural areas to working in
_______________ in the cities.
19. Because the demand for land increased in cities, people began building up rather than outward, which led to
the building of _________________________.
20. Name THREE new types of transportation that was developed in the late 1800s to get people around cities:
a. _________________________ b. __________________________ c. ____________________________
21. The invention of the ______________________ made skyscrapers more practical in the early 1900s.
22. American industrialization helped to create a large _______________________ of society – people who were
not rich, but had good paying jobs such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, managers and teachers.
23. What types of urban problems arose in cities in the late 1800s because of population growth?
a. ___________________ b. ___________________ c. _____________________ d. __________________
24. Who did native-born Americans blame for many urban problems? __________________________________

3. Section 2 – The Rise of Industry
25. The United States began to become an industrial power following the ________________________________
as millions left the farm and moved to cities to work in factories and mines.
26. Give FOUR major reasons that contributed to the U.S. becoming an industrial power:
a. _____________________________________________________________________________________
b. _____________________________________________________________________________________
c. _____________________________________________________________________________________
d. _____________________________________________________________________________________
27. One major reason the U.S. became an industrial power was due to its abundance of _____________________
such as wheat, corn, cotton and copper.
28. The construction of the _________________________ also was a factor in the rise of the Industrial Revolution.
29. The economic system where people can own businesses without government interference and are free to run
their business (or enterprise) as they want is known as the ____________________________ system.
30. The belief that if the government did not interfere with people’s private businesses – if they left them alone –
then they would be free to run efficiently is known as the __________________________ theory.
31. Under the laissez-faire theory, when is the only time the government should get involved in the affairs of a
business? ________________________________________________________________________________
32. How did new inventions help the U.S. become an industrial power? __________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
33. Name TWO inventions that dramatically changed business in the late 1800s AND name the inventor:
Invention Inventor
a. ____________________________ _____________________________
b. ____________________________ _____________________________
34. How did the invention of the telephone and telegraph revolutionize business and industry? ________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
35. How did the invention of the light bulb lead to an increase in industrial growth? __________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________

4. 36. What was the impact of the technological innovations of the late 1800s and early 1900s on people in the United
States and other industrialized nations? ________________________________________________________
37. The railroad – inspired by Abraham Lincoln – that joined the east and west Coasts of the United States was
known as the ____________________________________.
38. The federal law that provided the funding to build the transcontinental railroad was known as the ___________
______________________________.
39. Many of the workers who built the transcontinental railroad were immigrants from _______________________.
40. How did the expansion of the railroad industry impact U.S. citizens? __________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
41. Name THREE men who played a large part in the building of the railroad industry in the United States:
a. _________________________ b. __________________________ c. ____________________________
42. The person who consolidated three New York railroads to form the New York Central, the biggest railroad
company on the East Coast and later built New York’s Grand Central Station was _______________________.
43. Having a standard time for railroad service led to the creation of four ____________ ____________ in the U.S.
Section 3 – Robber Barons
44. What were “robber barons”? _______________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
45. One of the most famous scandals involving robber barons when the part-owners of a railroad company cheated
American taxpayers out of millions of dollars was the _______________________________ Scandal.
46. Big business would not have been possible without the ___________________, which is an organization
owned by many people, but treated by law as though it were a single person.
47. The people who own the corporations are known as _______________________. The more shares of stock
someone has in a company the more power they have within that company.
48. One of the most famous entrepreneurs in the United States was ________________________, who went on to
become a pioneer in the U.S. steel industry and one of the richest men in the world.

5. 49. Carnegie pioneered a new technique for making steel known as the ________________________________,
which was the process of making high quality steel both efficiently and cheaply.
50. When a company achieves control of an entire market, it becomes a ________________________, which is
when there is no competition and that company has the power to charge whatever it wants for its product.
51. Big businesses disliked competition because it reduced their ____________________________.
52. To get around laws against monopolies, some corporations formed ____________________, which was a new
way of merging businesses in a way that did not violate the laws against owning other companies.
53. Many people called for government action to stop these trust companies from having a monopoly. In 1890, the
government did take action to try to stop trusts when the _________________________________ was passed.
54. The U.S. president who, in the early 1900s, would break up numerous trusts was _______________________.
Section 4 – Workers Unions
55. What led to the formations of unions? _________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
56. Name THREE things that labor unions fought for:
a. _________________________ b. __________________________ c. ____________________________
57. There were two kinds of unions: _________________ unions, which were made up of people who had special
skills and training; and ___________________ unions, which largely represented common laborers in factories.
58. What is a workers strike? ____________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
59. Give THREE ways that industrial corporations tried to stop unions from forming:
a. _____________________________________________________________________________________
b. _____________________________________________________________________________________
c. _____________________________________________________________________________________
60. Once a worker was ___________________________, that person found it almost impossible to get hired.
61. The person who believed that workers would eventually revolt, take control of factories, and overthrow the
government was ______________________________.

6. 62. Why did people fear immigrants during the late 1800s? ____________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
63. Give TWO reasons why early unions weren’t successful?
a. _____________________________________________________________________________________
b. _____________________________________________________________________________________
64. The first nationwide labor strike when railroad workers across the nation walked off their job was known as the
__________________________________________.
65. The first nationwide industrial union was the _______________________________________.
66. The incident in Chicago in 1886 when workers and police clashed when 11 people were killed during a workers
demonstration became known as the ________________________________________.
67. What effect did the Haymarket Riot have on unions? ______________________________________________
68. The leader of American Railway Union (ARU) was ________________________, who organized a nation-wide
strike against the railroads.
69. The American Federation of Labor’s first leader who believed that unions should stay out of politics and that
unions should fight for things such as higher wages and better working conditions was ___________________.
70. What were the THREE goals of the AFL:
a. _____________________________________________________________________________________
b. _____________________________________________________________________________________
c. _____________________________________________________________________________________
71. Give TWO ways that women in industrial jobs were discriminated against:
a. _____________________________________________________________________________________
b. _____________________________________________________________________________________
72. Following the Civil War, one third of women worked as ________________________, one third worked as
_________________________________________ and one third were in _________________________ jobs.
73. The first union organized to address women’s labor issues that was organized in 1903 was the _____________
_________________________.