SDC WORLD HISTORY CHALLENGE EXAM
PREP QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2026 STUDY
GUIDE
◉ Economic Change 1877. Answer: the U.S. economy rose at the
fastest rate in its history, with real wages, wealth, GDP, and capital
formation all increasing rapidly.
◉ Taylorism, Mass Production, and Economies of Scale. Answer:
Taylorism increased the scale and scope of manufacturing and allowed
for the flowering of mass production.
◉ The Corporation. Answer: A business that is owned by many
investors.
◉ . The Great Merger Movement. Answer: *1898-1902* --> melted
away competition--> 20% of American companies were made into rival
firms
◉ "Robber Barons". Answer: JP Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D.
Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie. JP Morgan crooks who made
industries thrive
, ◉ . Social Darwinism. Answer: survival of the fittest
◉ Unionization. Answer: the formation of labor unions for workers
rights
◉ The Knights of Labor. Answer: Led by Terence V. Powderly; open-
membership policy goal was to create a cooperative society between in
which labors owned the industries in which they worked
◉ The Haymarket Affair. Answer: a violent clash in 1886 between union
supporters and Chicago police that divided and weakened the labor
movement
◉ The Pullman Strike. Answer: 1894 - nonviolent strike (brought down
the railway system in most of the West) at the Pullman Palace Car Co.
over wages - Prez. Cleveland shut it down because it was interfering
with mail delivery
◉ . The Farmers' Alliance. Answer: an American agrarian movement
during the 1870s and '80s that sought to improve the economic
conditions for farmers through the creation of cooperatives and political
advocacy.
PREP QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2026 STUDY
GUIDE
◉ Economic Change 1877. Answer: the U.S. economy rose at the
fastest rate in its history, with real wages, wealth, GDP, and capital
formation all increasing rapidly.
◉ Taylorism, Mass Production, and Economies of Scale. Answer:
Taylorism increased the scale and scope of manufacturing and allowed
for the flowering of mass production.
◉ The Corporation. Answer: A business that is owned by many
investors.
◉ . The Great Merger Movement. Answer: *1898-1902* --> melted
away competition--> 20% of American companies were made into rival
firms
◉ "Robber Barons". Answer: JP Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D.
Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie. JP Morgan crooks who made
industries thrive
, ◉ . Social Darwinism. Answer: survival of the fittest
◉ Unionization. Answer: the formation of labor unions for workers
rights
◉ The Knights of Labor. Answer: Led by Terence V. Powderly; open-
membership policy goal was to create a cooperative society between in
which labors owned the industries in which they worked
◉ The Haymarket Affair. Answer: a violent clash in 1886 between union
supporters and Chicago police that divided and weakened the labor
movement
◉ The Pullman Strike. Answer: 1894 - nonviolent strike (brought down
the railway system in most of the West) at the Pullman Palace Car Co.
over wages - Prez. Cleveland shut it down because it was interfering
with mail delivery
◉ . The Farmers' Alliance. Answer: an American agrarian movement
during the 1870s and '80s that sought to improve the economic
conditions for farmers through the creation of cooperatives and political
advocacy.
