Question

When an industry was monopolized by one company or trust during the Gilded Age, what happened to workers’ wages?

Workers often earned less because fewer businesses were competing for their services.
Workers often earned less because more businesses were competing for their services.
Workers often earned more because fewer businesses were competing for their services.
Workers often earned more because more businesses were competing for their services.

Answer 1

During the Gilded Age, when an industry was monopolized by one company or trust, workers often earned less because fewer businesses were competing for their services.

Step-by-step explanation:

When an industry was monopolized by one company or trust during the Gilded Age, workers often earned less because fewer businesses were competing for their services. Owners of monopolies had greater control over setting wages, and without competition, they had less incentive to pay workers higher wages. This exploitation of workers with lower wages and poor working conditions was a common characteristic of monopolies during the Gilded Age.

Answer 2

The correct answer is "Workers often earned less because fewer businesses were competing for their services."

A monopoly is when one company or individual has almost complete control of a specific market. For example, Andrew Carneige had almost a complete monopoly on the steel industry in the United States during the late 1800's and early 1900's. There were very few other successful steel companies that were independent of his control.

With this in mind, workers could not threaten to leave their job to go work elsewhere for better pay. This is because these types of companies simply did not exist. Many laborers were forced to take unsafe jobs to ensure they had money to pay for their homes/families.