Industrial expansion and modernization

Applied English for History: Help with the reading assignment from Professor Jopp for Tuesday

para.
1	industrial expansion	increase in use of machines, factories, and manufacturing industries
1	transformed	changed
1	harmful effects	bad results
1	modernization	become industrialized; become "modern"
1	self-sufficient	independent; surviving without help
2	enormous	very big
2	were taking over	were beginning to control
2	gigantic corporations	huge businesses
2	people were losing control over their social and economic destinies	people began to have no control over their future
3	urbanization	an increase in the number and size of cities
3	the rise* of monopolies*	increase in the number of big companies who "controlled" the production of a product ( a monopoly produces most of something: for example, 80% of all shoes)
3	a helpless new* dependence*	a feeling of having no power and no independence
3	consumers	people who buy things or services
3	at the mercy of	controlled by others
3	legal protection	protection by laws and the government
3	defective products	goods that are of poor quality and break or don't work well
3	impure drugs	medicines that are dangerous or don't contain what they should
3	contaminated foods	foods that make people sick or have dirt, hair, etc. in them
3	"out west"	west of Chicago
3	unending supply of labor	lots and lots of workers
3	people could easily be replaced	if a worker was "let go", there were many more workers available; because there were more workers than jobs, employers would also find new workers
3	appalling exploitation	horrible treatment of workers; unfair and unkind owners and bosses
4	widespread reform	many positive changes in many places

In your own words (do not copy words and sentences from the book that you don't understand):

1. Before the end of the 19th century, how were Americans secure?

a. Nearby shops made products people needed (shoes, tools, etc.)
b. They grew their own food
c. Pioneers felt hope because of chances for a better economic future

2. What were the harmful effects of "rapid modernization" that people worried about:

a. There began to be large cities instead of so many farms
b. Big factories became common and small shops went out of business
c. People didn't have power over their own lives any more

3. How had people become helpless?

a. There were industries that cheated people
b. There were not laws to protect consumers against bad drugs, bad products, or dangerous food
c. Prices to send farm products were unfair
d. Large companies bought small business or made them go out of business
e. There were so many workers that companies did not treat workers well and did not protect them
f. The pay for work was low because there were so many workers.

4. At the end of the 19th century, many people were suffering because of growing industries. Why were these feeling dangerous?

Farmers, workers, and small business owners had suffered so much from the increase in enormous factories and big industrial companies that they were angry. When people become angry, there is a danger that there would be large protests or violence.