Apentix/AP US History/Unit 6: Period 6 (1865-1898)/Question
AP US Historyhardmcq1 pt

Which of the following best explains the relationship between technological innovation and the rise of large corporations in the Gilded Age?

A.Innovation mattered less than the absence of any business regulation anywhere in the world.
B.New machines ended competition by making all products identical.
C.The telegraph, telephone, and railroad lowered the cost of coordinating far-flung operations, making national-scale firms practical.
D.Corporations grew by avoiding all use of new technology.

Explanation

Core Concept

Before cheap long-distance communication, managers could not easily supervise plants in many cities. New technologies shrank those costs, enabling the administrative machinery behind Carnegie's, Rockefeller's, and others' national empires.

Correct Answer

CThe telegraph, telephone, and railroad lowered the cost of coordinating far-flung operations, making national-scale firms practical.

More Unit 6: Period 6 (1865-1898) practice questions

Try a random question →

Practice more AP US History questions with full explanations

Practice Unit 6: Period 6 (1865-1898) Questions →