• 1. 
    How was the mining boom of the late 1800s different from the mid-century California Gold Rush?

  • During the mining boom there was more interest in other metals besides gold and silver
  • By the late 1800s large mining operations dominated the industry
  • The mining boom occurred in many states
  • All of the above
  • 2. 
    How did railroad companies obtain the majority of the land rights that were needed to build the first transcontinental railroad?

  • The railroad companies purchased the land
  • The land rights were donated by wealthy land owners
  • The land rights were provided with land grants from the federal government
  • The railroad companies took the land from Native Americans without compensating them
  • 3. 
    What led to the boom in “cow towns” in the 1860s?

  • Improvements in agriculture created southern “cow towns” where the number of cattle outnumbered the human population.
  • Rodeo sports became more popular as entertainment resulting in “cow towns” where businessmen and families would flock to witness the ranching feats.
  • The railroad led to an increase in demand for dairy products which resulted in “cow towns” springing up to create the nation’s first dairy factories.
  • An increased demand for beef in the North and East meant southern cattle ranchers needed to drive their cattle to railroad-connected “cow towns” to make the most profit.
  • 4. 
    What was the purpose of the Homestead Act of 1862?

  • To prevent the growth of plantation-style agriculture in the South
  • To promote the settlement of the Great Plains by offering free land to those willing to farm it for five years
  • To relocate Native Americans from the Great Plains to the Southwest
  • To prevent boomtowns from falling into ruin
  • 5. 
    Which of the following best describes the farming conditions for Great Plains farmers in the 1860s?

  • Profitable farming required more land and equipment than most homestead farmers had access to.
  • The Great Plains became one of the most successful agricultural centers of the United States thanks to renewed soil and excellent weather conditions.
  • The Great Plains farmers faired about the same as farmers in the South and East.
  • none of the above
  • 6. 
    Which of the following was a primary objective of the Dawes Act of 1887?

  • To return large portions of Native American land to the tribes that had once controlled it
  • To assimilate Native Americans into American society
  • To prevent Native Americans from gaining US citizenship
  • To bring more Native American representation into the US government
  • 7. 
    What was the result of American farmers’ efforts to organize in the 1870s and 1880s?

  • Prices of agricultural goods increased substantially and most farmers became profitable, many for the first time in their lives.
  • A lack of unity and economic strength prevented the farmers’ organization efforts from challenging the railroad and banking industries effectively.
  • Groups like the Grange and Farmers’ Alliances still remain massively influential labor unions to this day.
  • Despite initial stumbles, the cooperative model gave farmers much needed bargaining strength and allowed them to overpower the economic strength of American banks and railroads.
  • 8. 
    Which of the following could be considered a major impact brought about by William Jennings Bryan’s 1896 campaign for president.

  • Bryan’s campaign for president was the first in history to be funded entirely by public donations; it demonstrated that such an approach could be viable.
  • Bryan’s campaign forced the federal government to reevaluate whether voter suppression laws like the poll tax were constitutional.
  • Bryan’s campaign brought numerous populist ideas into the American mainstream; several of these ideas would eventually become law within the next ten years.
  • all of the above
  • 9. 
    Despite using questionable business tactics to do so, in what way did the railroad barons’ consolidation of the United States’ railway system benefit the American people?

  • railroad travel for both goods and people became more direct and efficient
  • the costs to ship goods fell to all-time lows
  • transportation for passengers on Pullman sleeping cars became affordable for even the poorest Americans
  • all of the above
  • 10. 
    How was John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company able to dominate the United States’ oil industry?

  • Rockefeller brought competing oil companies under the control of Standard Oil and was able to use the resulting wealth to control the entire production and distribution process of his products.
  • Rockefeller sold off the majority of Standard Oil’s stock interest to the federal government in exchange for tax breaks.
  • Rockefeller chose to import and resell cheaper oil from foreign countries rather than producing his own in America.
  • Standard Oil developed a secret corporate militia to sabotage and destroy competitors’ refineries.
  • 11. 
    How was Andrew Carnegie’s Carnegie Steel Company able to dominate the United States’ steel industry?

  • Carnegie took advantage of a new steelmaking process that was both cheaper and more efficient.
  • Carnegie carried out a strategy of vertical integration that gave him control over the companies he needed to produce and distribute his company’s steel.
  • Carnegie secured lucrative contracts with the nation’s largest railroads.
  • all of the above
  • 12. 
    What was the aim of the Sherman Antitrust Act?

  • to protect large corporations from being harassed and penalized by the federal government
  • to protect American consumers from anti-competitive business activities carried out by large corporations
  • to limit the liability of consumers should they be injured by the actions of a large corporation
  • to encourage the formation of large corporations in an effort to bolster efficiency in the American economy
  • 13. 
    What made the Knights of Labor different from the labor unions that had predated it?

  • The Knights of Labor actively sought to include marginalized groups like African Americans, immigrants, and women.
  • The Knights of Labor had an active paramilitary organization that organized violent attacks on anti-union corporations.
  • The Knights of Labor was celebrated by leaders of industry and business as a positive force in improving the American economy.
  • The Knights of Labor never actually had any members; the fictitious organization was purely a product of the press.
  • 14. 
    Which of the following best describes the effectiveness of labor unions in the 1880s and 1890s:

  • Labor unions were able to use well-planned strikes to secure better wages and working conditions across most major United States industries.
  • Labor unions were able to recruit impressive numbers of members, but had little success in challenging the unsafe and unfair practices of the companies and corporations that employed the members.
  • Labor unions struggled to gain enough membership to gain any meaningful attention.
  • Labor unions grew to the point that they represented the majority of American industrial and agricultural workers.
  • 15. 
    How did American immigration patterns change in the latter half of the 19

  • Immigration largely dried up due to a boom in European industrial jobs in the 1870s.
  • European immigrants were coming primarily from the eastern and southern regions of the continent as opposed to the western and northern regions as they had in previous generations.
  • More so than in previous eras, immigrants arrived with a fluency in the American dialect and a familiarity with American cultural traditions.
  • There were drastically fewer regulations imposed on immigrants seeking entry into the United States.
  • 16. 
    How did the federal government respond to the growing tide of nativism and racism targeting immigrants in the late 1800s and early 1900s?

  • The federal government passed a series of laws protecting immigrants from unfair treatment and exclusion.
  • The federal government made it easier for immigrants to enter the country and access public services.
  • The federal government passed laws and created agreements with foreign nations limiting immigration.
  • The federal government turned a deaf ear to nativist complaints and refused to adjust American laws or immigration policy in response to what they deemed unsubstantiated fears.
  • 17. 
    What was the paradox in American society that led Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner to refer to late 1800s America as “The Gilded Age”?

  • All facets of American society were experiencing record levels of wealth and comfort.
  • America was focused on mining gold while neglecting other materials that would have had more industrial value.
  • American society had a powerfully wealthy exterior that was overshadowing a horrendously poverty-stricken lower class.
  • none of the above
  • 18. 
    Which of the following could be considered a primary objective of the progressive reformers that began to rise in the early 1900s:

  • Put regulations in place to help ensure the American government and the American economy could benefit all and not just the wealthy elite.
  • The nation’s most important resources and industries should be controlled by the government rather than by wealthy businessmen.
  • The federal government should stay out of economic and business affairs.
  • The nation’s most powerful businesses should have more input into how the government should be run.
  • 19. 
    What was President Theodore Roosevelt’s attitude towards big businesses?

  • Roosevelt used the federal government to support and protect big businesses in an effort to strengthen the American economy.
  • Roosevelt used the Sherman Antitrust Act to break up over two dozen of the nation’s largest trusts.
  • Roosevelt made it a point to keep the federal government out of economic affairs as much as possible.
  • Roosevelt sought to make changes to the federal government to make it run more like the nation’s strongest industries.
  • 20. 
    How did President Teddy Roosevelt respond to the United Mine Workers’ strike in 1902?

  • Roosevelt sided with the mine owners and threatened to have the mine workers arrested for interfering with the production of a much-needed national resource.
  • Roosevelt refused to get involved with the dispute.
  • Roosevelt agreed to a compromise by granting mineworkers a small ownership stake in the mines they worked.
  • Roosevelt forced the mine owners to negotiate with the workers by threatening to send federal troops to work the mines.
  • 21. 
    What was the purpose of the Panama Canal?

  • to give America an additional source of revenue by charging a toll for the canal’s use
  • to provide a launching point for a future invasion of Central America
  • to provide a source of hydroelectric power for Central America
  • to provide a sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans that avoided having to travel all the way around the southern tip of South America
  • 22. 
    Why is Teddy Roosevelt considered by many to be America’s first environmentalist President?

  • Roosevelt fought hard against the use of fossil fuels in an effort to reign in air pollution.
  • Roosevelt instituted conservation efforts to protect American wildlife and natural resources.
  • Roosevelt placed a record number of regulations on the coal and oil industries to try and force industries to look elsewhere for safer, more sustainable fuel sources.
  • all of the above
  • 23. 
    What did progressives hope would be the result of the Sixteenth Amendment which gave Congress the authority to collect an income tax?

  • The federal government could use the new source of revenue to lower tariffs making goods cheaper for American consumers.
  • The tax revenue would mean the federal government would never again need to take out loans from private banks and foreign nations.
  • The income tax would replace all other federal and state taxes currently being imposed on Americans.
  • The income tax would pay for President Roosevelt’s conservation efforts and, in turn, lay the groundwork for even more environmental regulations.
  • 24. 
    How was President Woodrow Wilson and the Democratic Congress able to challenge and regulate American big business?

  • The Federal Trade Commission was created as a means of investigating illegal business and trade practices.
  • The Federal Reserve Act created rigid regulations and oversight for American banks.
  • The Clayton-Antitrust Act helped bolster the federal government’s ability to break up trusts.
  • all of the above
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