MCQ Questions
Q.1.
How was the mining boom of the late 1800s different from the mid-century California Gold Rush?
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    During the mining boom there was more interest in other metals besides gold and silver
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    By the late 1800s large mining operations dominated the industry
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    The mining boom occurred in many states
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    All of the above

The California gold rush began in 1848 when gold was found by James W. Marshall in Coloma, California. Approximately 300,000 people from the rest of the country flocked to California with the hope of finding gold. By the late 1800s large companies dominated the mining industry, and many previously-independent miners had to take jobs as wage laborers. Silver, gold, copper, lead, zinc, and iron were mined in many states including Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Q.2.
How did railroad companies obtain the majority of the land rights that were needed to build the first transcontinental railroad?
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    The railroad companies purchased the land
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    The land rights were donated by wealthy land owners
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    The land rights were provided with land grants from the federal government
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    The railroad companies took the land from Native Americans without compensating them

The First Transcontinental Railroad was a 1,912-mile railroad line that was built between 1863 and 1869. It connected the eastern railroad network to San Francisco. It was built by 3 private companies over public lands provided by large government land grants. The companies were also granted tracts of land that ran alongside the railway which which were developed and sold to help finance the construction of the railroad.

Q.3.
What led to the boom in “cow towns” in the 1860s?
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    Improvements in agriculture created southern “cow towns” where the number of cattle outnumbered the human population.
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    Rodeo sports became more popular as entertainment resulting in “cow towns” where businessmen and families would flock to witness the ranching feats.
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    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.
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    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.

The expansion of the American railroad networks made it possible for southern cattle ranchers to get their herds to the most profitable markets. “Cow towns” sprung up as places where ranchers could drive their cattle in order to get them onto trains bound for the North and East. As a result, there were over five million cattle transported by train in the two decades following the Civil War.

Q.4.
What was the purpose of the Homestead Act of 1862?
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    To prevent the growth of plantation-style agriculture in the South
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    To promote the settlement of the Great Plains by offering free land to those willing to farm it for five years
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    To relocate Native Americans from the Great Plains to the Southwest
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    To prevent boomtowns from falling into ruin

The Homestead Act gave many Americans, especially immigrants, their first opportunity to own land. One progressive component of the act was that it allowed widowed or unmarried women to file for property the same way men could. Freed slaves were also eligible after the passage of the 14th Amendment.

Q.5.
Which of the following best describes the farming conditions for Great Plains farmers in the 1860s?
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    Profitable farming required more land and equipment than most homestead farmers had access to.
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    The Great Plains became one of the most successful agricultural centers of the United States thanks to renewed soil and excellent weather conditions.
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    The Great Plains farmers faired about the same as farmers in the South and East.
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    none of the above

While there were ways to make farming work on the Great Plains with new technologies and techniques, most homestead farmers did not have the means to be able to take advantage of them. As a result, many of the homesteaders lost their farms due to a lack of production and unpaid debt.

Q.6.
Which of the following was a primary objective of the Dawes Act of 1887?
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    To return large portions of Native American land to the tribes that had once controlled it
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    To assimilate Native Americans into American society
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    To prevent Native Americans from gaining US citizenship
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    To bring more Native American representation into the US government

The Dawes Act was an effort to assimilate Native Americans by dividing their reservation lands into privately owned parcels, with the hope of breaking up tribes and making households the primary social structure. It also opened up millions of acres of “excess” reservation land for purchase and settlement by white settlers.

Q.7.
What was the result of American farmers’ efforts to organize in the 1870s and 1880s?
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    Prices of agricultural goods increased substantially and most farmers became profitable, many for the first time in their lives.
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    A lack of unity and economic strength prevented the farmers’ organization efforts from challenging the railroad and banking industries effectively.
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    Groups like the Grange and Farmers’ Alliances still remain massively influential labor unions to this day.
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    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.

While the idea of strength in numbers certainly had its merits, farmers were too divided on key organizational and economic issues to successfully mount a stand against the much stronger banks and railroads. Efforts like The Grange and the Farmers’ Alliances quickly crumbled, leaving thousands of farmers in the same dire straits as before.

Q.8.
Which of the following could be considered a major impact brought about by William Jennings Bryan’s 1896 campaign for president.
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    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.
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    Bryan’s campaign forced the federal government to reevaluate whether voter suppression laws like the poll tax were constitutional.
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    Bryan’s campaign brought numerous populist ideas into the American mainstream; several of these ideas would eventually become law within the next ten years.
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    all of the above

Bryan, a Democrat, advocated for populist reforms like the direct election of senators, limits on the length of the work day, and a federal income tax. Despite losing to Republican William McKinley, these particular populist reforms would go on to become law largely due to Bryan’s ability to stir up public interest for them during his campaign.

Q.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?
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    railroad travel for both goods and people became more direct and efficient
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    the costs to ship goods fell to all-time lows
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    transportation for passengers on Pullman sleeping cars became affordable for even the poorest Americans
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    all of the above

The railroad barons successfully linked and standardized the American railways providing direct lines between most major destinations. Combined with other technological advancements like refrigeration, safety improvements, and simplified methods of linking train cars, railroad travel became highly efficient and reliable.

Q.10.
How was John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company able to dominate the United States’ oil industry?
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    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.
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    Rockefeller sold off the majority of Standard Oil’s stock interest to the federal government in exchange for tax breaks.
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    Rockefeller chose to import and resell cheaper oil from foreign countries rather than producing his own in America.
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    Standard Oil developed a secret corporate militia to sabotage and destroy competitors’ refineries.

Rockefeller used a strategy known as horizontal integration to bring the majority of America’s oil industry under the control of Standard Oil. He then funneled profits into controlling the entire infrastructure necessary for extracting, containing, and distributing oil. These successful moves generated such high profits for Standard Oil that prices could be lowered to levels no other oil company could match.

Q.11.
How was Andrew Carnegie’s Carnegie Steel Company able to dominate the United States’ steel industry?
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    Carnegie took advantage of a new steelmaking process that was both cheaper and more efficient.
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    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.
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    Carnegie secured lucrative contracts with the nation’s largest railroads.
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    all of the above

Carnegie’s business savvy made it possible to revolutionize the American steel market while, at the same time, become one of the wealthiest and most powerful Americans of his day. Andrew Carnegie’s Carnegie Steel Company would be the first billion-dollar corporation in America.

Q.12.
What was the aim of the Sherman Antitrust Act?
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    to protect large corporations from being harassed and penalized by the federal government
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    to protect American consumers from anti-competitive business activities carried out by large corporations
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    to limit the liability of consumers should they be injured by the actions of a large corporation
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    to encourage the formation of large corporations in an effort to bolster efficiency in the American economy

Congress was concerned that monopolies — single corporate entities that controlled a particular industry or service — were becoming the new normal in American business. These monopolies, Congress felt, could potentially lead to unfair practices, like price gouging, that would harm the average American consumer.

Q.13.
What made the Knights of Labor different from the labor unions that had predated it?
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    The Knights of Labor actively sought to include marginalized groups like African Americans, immigrants, and women.
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    The Knights of Labor had an active paramilitary organization that organized violent attacks on anti-union corporations.
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    The Knights of Labor was celebrated by leaders of industry and business as a positive force in improving the American economy.
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    The Knights of Labor never actually had any members; the fictitious organization was purely a product of the press.

At its height in the mid-1880s, the Knights of Labor had nearly three-quarters of a million members including women, minorities, and unskilled laborers. Ultimately, public opinion soured on the Knights of Labor after the group carried out a series of strikes in the 1890s.

Q.14.
Which of the following best describes the effectiveness of labor unions in the 1880s and 1890s:
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    Labor unions were able to use well-planned strikes to secure better wages and working conditions across most major United States industries.
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    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.
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    Labor unions struggled to gain enough membership to gain any meaningful attention.
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    Labor unions grew to the point that they represented the majority of American industrial and agricultural workers.

In the late 1800s, the nation’s companies and corporations had more support from the federal government than the labor unions did. As a result, strikes against unfair pay cuts and unsafe working conditions seldom resulted in any impactful changes for workers.

Q.15.
How did American immigration patterns change in the latter half of the 19
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    Immigration largely dried up due to a boom in European industrial jobs in the 1870s.
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    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.
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    More so than in previous eras, immigrants arrived with a fluency in the American dialect and a familiarity with American cultural traditions.
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    There were drastically fewer regulations imposed on immigrants seeking entry into the United States.

Because new immigrants were arriving from locales in eastern and southern Europe that were unfamiliar to many Americans, new immigrants stood out in society more so than the immigrants arriving from Western Europe. These differences made it much harder for the new wave of American immigrants to assimilate into the American culture. Rising feelings of racism and nativism amongst American-born citizens made life difficult for immigrants in the late 1800s.

Q.16.
How did the federal government respond to the growing tide of nativism and racism targeting immigrants in the late 1800s and early 1900s?
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    The federal government passed a series of laws protecting immigrants from unfair treatment and exclusion.
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    The federal government made it easier for immigrants to enter the country and access public services.
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    The federal government passed laws and created agreements with foreign nations limiting immigration.
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    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.

Laws like the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Immigration Act of 1917 made it much more difficult for immigrants to enter the United States. By restricting immigrants based on their nationalities and abilities to perform tasks like reading and writing in English, the federal government was aiming to cultivate an immigrant population that was more palatable to the growing nativist population of voters.

Q.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”?
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    All facets of American society were experiencing record levels of wealth and comfort.
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    America was focused on mining gold while neglecting other materials that would have had more industrial value.
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    American society had a powerfully wealthy exterior that was overshadowing a horrendously poverty-stricken lower class.
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    none of the above

The contrast between America’s highest and lowest economic classes was undeniable at the turn of the century. America was home to some of the wealthiest individuals in the nation’s history and, at the same time, some of the poorest and most economically marginalized citizens. This dichotomy was unsettling and would eventually pave the way for one of the most progressive eras in American history.

Q.18.
Which of the following could be considered a primary objective of the progressive reformers that began to rise in the early 1900s:
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    Put regulations in place to help ensure the American government and the American economy could benefit all and not just the wealthy elite.
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    The nation’s most important resources and industries should be controlled by the government rather than by wealthy businessmen.
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    The federal government should stay out of economic and business affairs.
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    The nation’s most powerful businesses should have more input into how the government should be run.

The progressive platform was focused on the notion that the income inequality between the wealthiest Americans and poorest Americans was not beneficial to the nation as a whole. Progressive politicians pushed for reforms to help vulnerable Americans, workers, women, and minorities gain access to rights and improved lives.

Q.19.
What was President Theodore Roosevelt’s attitude towards big businesses?
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    Roosevelt used the federal government to support and protect big businesses in an effort to strengthen the American economy.
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    Roosevelt used the Sherman Antitrust Act to break up over two dozen of the nation’s largest trusts.
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    Roosevelt made it a point to keep the federal government out of economic affairs as much as possible.
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    Roosevelt sought to make changes to the federal government to make it run more like the nation’s strongest industries.

President Teddy Roosevelt was known a “trust-buster” for his efforts in breaking up major monopolies including the railroad, beef, tobacco, and oil industries. Ironically, Roosevelt did identify some trusts as “good trusts” if they benefitted issues of public well-being.

Q.20.
How did President Teddy Roosevelt respond to the United Mine Workers’ strike in 1902?
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    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.
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    Roosevelt refused to get involved with the dispute.
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    Roosevelt agreed to a compromise by granting mineworkers a small ownership stake in the mines they worked.
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    Roosevelt forced the mine owners to negotiate with the workers by threatening to send federal troops to work the mines.

Roosevelt’s actions to bring the mine workers and mine owners to the negotiation table were unprecedented. No president had ever threatened the use of the military to try to promote an agreement in a labor dispute. In the end, the strike ended when an outside arbitrator ruled to give the mine workers shorter work day and higher pay.

Q.21.
What was the purpose of the Panama Canal?
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    to give America an additional source of revenue by charging a toll for the canal’s use
  • 0%
    to provide a launching point for a future invasion of Central America
  • 0%
    to provide a source of hydroelectric power for Central America
  • 0%
    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

The Panama Canal was an amazing engineering accomplishment. The canal made it easier for trade and military vessels to traverse the Western Hemisphere by eliminating nearly 7,000 miles of sea travel that had long been required without it. America would own and control the canal until the year 2000 when control was given to Panama.

Q.22.
Why is Teddy Roosevelt considered by many to be America’s first environmentalist President?
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    Roosevelt fought hard against the use of fossil fuels in an effort to reign in air pollution.
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    Roosevelt instituted conservation efforts to protect American wildlife and natural resources.
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    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.
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    all of the above

Roosevelt is responsible for the first wildlife sanctuaries in the United States. He also created organizations like the U.S. Forest Service and the National Conservation Commission to survey and protect America’s wealth of natural resources.

Q.23.
What did progressives hope would be the result of the Sixteenth Amendment which gave Congress the authority to collect an income tax?
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    The federal government could use the new source of revenue to lower tariffs making goods cheaper for American consumers.
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    The tax revenue would mean the federal government would never again need to take out loans from private banks and foreign nations.
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    The income tax would replace all other federal and state taxes currently being imposed on Americans.
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    The income tax would pay for President Roosevelt’s conservation efforts and, in turn, lay the groundwork for even more environmental regulations.

Prior to the Sixteenth Amendment, tariffs were one of the main sources of revenue for the federal government. By adding another significant revenue stream, tariffs could be lowered which would, in turn, reduce the prices paid by consumers. Progressives were hopeful that this new federal tax system would help solve issues of income inequality.

Q.24.
How was President Woodrow Wilson and the Democratic Congress able to challenge and regulate American big business?
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    The Federal Trade Commission was created as a means of investigating illegal business and trade practices.
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    The Federal Reserve Act created rigid regulations and oversight for American banks.
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    The Clayton-Antitrust Act helped bolster the federal government’s ability to break up trusts.
  • 0%
    all of the above

Wilson would prove to be a very economically progressive president. He was able to put tools in place for the government to use moving forward to try and reign in big business. Besides the new regulations, Wilson was also able to push the progressive aim of tariff reform through Congress.