Making Connections

1. What were some of the key technology and business innovations in the late nineteenth century? How did they aid the maturation of American industry?

2. By the 1870s, what new issues displaced slavery as the defining question of American politics, and how did they shape new regional, economic, and racial alliances and rivalries?

3. How did the activism of women denied the vote contribute to Gilded Age electoral politics? Be sure to cite specific examples of political action.

4. Citing specific policies and court decisions, discuss how government helped augment the power of big business in the late nineteenth century.