It served as a social standing, in the upper class most people could read by the 18th century, but there was also a great minority that couldn't.
They used actions to break up and implement laws against monopolies. They legalized unions. They implemented the sixteenth amendment which started income tax. They made the election of senators direct from the people. They also started the national park system
The american product was cars
All states had to agree before a law was passed. Each state's vote was not equal, so there was too much disagreement. Citizens didn't always let their states know how they wanted them to vote.
