<span>American people benefited from industrial growth while also experiencing its adverse effects. Cheap labor and assembly-line manufacturing made mass production possible. Railroad networks carried the mass-produced goods, of new technologies, around the country. retailers expanded their operations and laid the foundation for the consumer-driven society that evolved later in the century. Materially, city dwellers' standards of living improved steadily, not only in food, shelter, housing, and other material goods, but also in health care and education. Inexpensive books, magazines, newspapers, and improved public libraries, funded in part through the benevolence of Andrew Carnegie, contributed to their intellectual lives. Sexual fulfillment in marital relationships continued to gain importance, and family life increasingly reflected the ideals of companionship. Silent films and amateur and professional sports helped fill leisure time. The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, founded in 1908 and 1910, provided recreational and educational opportunities for children.</span>
The admission of California into the United States was a divisive national issue because California's entry would upset the nation's numerical balance of free and slave states.
C. Both the GNP and the percentage of high school graduates rose.
