ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos


Period 6: 1865-1898 Videos 11 videos

AP U.S. History 1.1 Period 6: 1865-1898
313 Views

AP U.S. History 1.1 Period 6: 1865-1898. The sentiment expressed above was primarily a response to which of the following economic trends?

AP U.S. History 1.2 Period 6: 1865-1898
225 Views

How did the wealthy justify their status and privilege? Other than the customary way of having large gold statues built in their likeness with sign...

AP U.S. History 1.3 Period 6: 1865-1898
223 Views

AP U.S. History 1.3 Period 6: 1865-1898. Which of the following groups would be most likely to agree with the goals of the Populist Party?

See All

AP U.S. History 1.1 Period 6: 1865-1898 313 Views


Share It!


Description:

AP U.S. History 1.1 Period 6: 1865-1898. The sentiment expressed above was primarily a response to which of the following economic trends?


Transcript

00:00

[ musical flourish ]

00:04

And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by Social Darwinism,

00:08

the life of the anthropological party.

00:11

Yeah. Go Darwin.

00:15

All right, give this excerpt a look-see.

00:17

[ mumbles ] All right.

00:21

The sentiment expressed above was primarily a response

00:24

to which of the following economic trends?

00:26

And here are your potential answers.

00:28

[ mumbles ]

00:32

All right, well what exactly is the sentiment expressed in our excerpt?

00:37

Well we see phrases like

00:38

"the men who have not done their duty...

00:40

can never be equal...

00:42

The difference will appear in the position

00:45

they acquire in the body of society...

00:47

and such classes always will exist."

00:51

Hmm.

00:52

Well that sounds like Social Darwinism,

00:54

the idea that the strong will increase in wealth, while the weak

00:58

will decrease.

00:59

We can also tell by the year 1883 that we're

01:01

dealing with the Gilded Age,

01:03

which featured a bunch of industrialization

01:06

and rapid economic growth.

01:08

So let's keep all those things in mind as we look to our answers.

01:11

Is the sentiment expressed in the excerpt a response to

01:13

A - stronger financial regulation?

01:16

Well, remember, this is the Gilded Age we're talking about.

01:18

Big business was everyone's boss,

01:20

so in reality financial regulation was pretty weak

01:23

if it existed at all.

01:24

And if there were no financial regulations,

01:27

well, then forget about breaking up monopolies or trusts.

01:30

So it's a no-go on A and D.

01:32

Could the sentiment be a reaction to B -

01:34

the growth of the middle class?

01:36

Well, there was certainly growth during this period, but it was

01:38

pretty much exclusively for the men who owned those

01:41

big companies. And they got rich - like filthy,

01:44

I could buy two islands kind of rich.

01:47

The middle class?

01:48

Eh, they didn't see their standard of living rise one bit.

01:51

So that eliminates B, as well.

01:53

Which means that the sentiment was a response

01:55

primarily to C - rising inequality between the rich and poor.

02:00

During the Industrial Age, products became cheaper

02:02

to produce, and expansion of the U.S. opened new markets,

02:06

which allowed companies to grow larger than they ever had before.

02:09

But this newfound wealth wasn't evenly distributed,

02:12

and industrialists like Rockefeller and Carnegie had to

02:15

justify their status, relying on scholars

02:17

like our friend William Sumner

02:19

to say that the rich were stronger

02:21

and deserved their wealth.

02:23

So the correct answer is C.

02:25

Survival of the fittest? Well, more like survival of the fattest.

02:29

[ groan ]

Related Videos

AP U.S. History Exam 2.45
703 Views

AP U.S. History Exam 2.45. The journey shown on the map was an example of...what?

AP U.S. History Exam 2.26
362 Views

AP U.S. History Exam 2.26. This speech reinforced a shift in the focus of the war that Lincoln established by...what?

AP U.S. History Exam 1.2
256 Views

What did the Spanish messengers bring with them to North America? Hint: you probably wouldn't be thrilled to get this for your next birthday. 

AP U.S. History Diagnostic 24
208 Views

AP U.S. History Diagnostic 24. How did the United States choose containment over the National Security Council Report in Latin America?

AP U.S. History Exam 2.25
212 Views

AP U.S. History Exam 2.25. In writing the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln was still working to win over Northern voters who believed that...what?