Q&A Hero

Q: In the 1880s and 1890s, the common-law doctrine of femme couverte ________. A) was revised to adapt to the changes of the period B) provided women with freedom in their marriages C) brought women new political rights D) was strongly supported by women E) was central to the idea of the new woman

Q: In the late nineteenth century, ________. A) few women entered the work force B) most women took advantage of economic changes C) few women challenged the system D) the role of women in the society was changing E) womanly "innocence" was never questioned

Q: The "new woman" of the 1880s and 1890s________. A) won respect from the American society B) developed from the economic changes of the times C) quickly won political and civil rights D) was usually married, working out of choice E) still could not get a divorce

Q: The middle-class wives and children of the late nineteenth century ________. A) found their status had remained unchanged B) became more isolated from the working world C) had a greater economic function D) tended to deteriorate under the impact of industrialization E) had more children

Q: After the Civil War, ________. A) there was little need for reform movements B) women were excluded from reform movements C) reform movements remained active in American life D) the national government was the major agent for change E) reformers focused exclusively on temperance

Q: Most American churchgoers in the 1880s _________. A) stopped attending services by 1900 B) believed the school was the center of life C) were church-attending Protestants D) had few private moral standards E) were Roman Catholic parishioners

Q: If an American became ill in the 1870s, ________. A) hospital insurance would cover the cost of the illness B) home care would be the common form of treatment C) there was little help from the medical profession D) recent medical discoveries would guarantee recovery E) he or she would probably die

Q: In the Victorian code of morality, ________. A) children were active participants in family life B) wives were to be acknowledged as equal partners to their husbands C) moral values were less important than economic values D) strict standards of behavior should be followed E) young women could go out without a chaperone

Q: Tenements were ________. A) saloons where working-class men gathered to socialize B) urban apartment buildings that tended to be overcrowded C) neighborhood ghettos of unassimilated East European immigrants D) heavily developed industrial districts notorious for air and water pollution E) pool halls frequented by members of violent street gangs

Q: The most famous political machine of the late nineteenth century was ________. A) the Fifth Street Gang B) Tammany Hall C) the Irish Mafia D) the Lamar Circle E) the Coughlin Gang

Q: As the "new immigrants" entered the American society, they ________. A) were well prepared to make the adjustment B) clung to the customs of their native countries C) quickly assimilated into the society D) never were able to adjust to new living conditions E) gave up their native languages

Q: In 1894, the Immigration Restriction League demanded a literacy test for immigrants from ________. A) China B) Ireland C) southern and eastern Europe D) Mexico E) northern Europe

Q: Building the new skyscrapers depended on ________. A) concrete reinforced pilings B) electrical elevators C) automatic window cleaners D) indoor plumbing E) steel and glass

Q: The rise of cities and industry ________. A) had little effect on American life B) provided opportunities for all Americans C) sustained the foundations of the pre-Civil War society D) caused changes in all segments of the American society E) was steady throughout the nineteenth century

Q: What was one negative effect of industrialization in the United States in the late nineteenth century? A) People did not want to live in cities any longer. B) Most immigrants were not allowed to work at the new industrial jobs. C) Labor disputes led to the first labor unions. D) There was a greater need for consumer goods than ever before. E) There was now a growing disparity in income between the rich and poor.

Q: Historian Herbert G. Gutman noted that industrialization transformed the "culture of work." Which of the following best explains this? A) Industrialization dramatically increased leisure time. B) Workers eagerly adopted new technology because it made their work easier. C) The new technology required difficult and even demeaning changes to work patterns. D) Low pay led to frequent worker resistance, especially "sit-down" strikes. E) Many workers were able to rise from the bottom to the top of the social classes.

Q: What does it mean to say that Americans spoke a "common language of consumption" by the late nineteenth century? A) People found that the only way they could become truly American was to buy goods made in America. B) Americans were united in a common consumer culture, in which they all could buy the same kinds of goods. C) English became the universal and official language of commerce. D) Because of the new types of work in the United States, most Americans were becoming very wealthy and could afford consumer goods. E) Only native-born Americans bought the new consumer goods, which broadened the gap between immigrants and nonimmigrants in the United States.

Q: What was the result of the Homestead Strike? A) It forced management to meet the workers' demands. B) It was resolved through negotiation and bargaining. C) It had little interference from the government. D) It brought national attention to the costs of industrialization. E) It was peaceful compared to Haymarket.

Q: What was a result of the Haymarket Square riot? A) It brought public sympathy to the plight of the workers. B) It strengthened the national labor movement. C) It weakened the national labor movement. D) It forced government regulation of unions. E) It ended labor strife in Chicago.

Q: Why did Samuel Gompers oppose women in the American Federation of Labor? A) He felt that women workers needed to be organized separately. B) He believed that women should not work out of the home. C) He feared that women would attempt to take leadership roles in the union. D) He knew they could not afford the high initiation fees. E) He said that women workers would lower the pay scales for men.

Q: Which of the following best describes the Knights of Labor? A) a union of workers aimed at uplifting, utopian reform B) a union of producers aimed only at improving wages and working conditions C) a federation of industrial unions aimed at making each man his own employer D) a federation of craft unions aimed only at improving wages and working conditions E) a union of producers determined to make each man his own employer

Q: Which of the following best describes the early American Federation of Labor? A) an alliance of industrial unions that tried to change the economic system B) an alliance of industrial unions that tried to improve wages and working conditions C) an alliance of craft unions that tried to change the economic system D) an alliance of craft unions that tried to improve wages and working conditions E) an alliance of craft unions that gave its workers a political voice

Q: According to historian Stephan Thernstrom, what was the extent of American social mobility in the early industrial era? A) almost none B) some, but not much C) substantial, but limited D) a great deal E) almost 100%

Q: What does it mean to say that some professions became "feminized" in the late 1800s? A) Women were much better at certain jobs, such as nursing, and began to dominate those fields. B) Men were no longer capable of doing certain jobs, since they were needed in industrial jobs, so women took their places. C) Only married women were allowed to work at certain jobs since unmarried women would be leaving their jobs eventually to get married. D) As more women took jobs in certain fields, men left them, and this lowered the status of these professions. E) Many women began to get work as lawyers, doctors, and ministers, and Americans began to accept women in these kinds of work.

Q: Which was NOT a consequence of the advent of advertising and large-scale retailing? A) Chain stores spread across the country. B) The demand for goods increased. C) A new type of consumption united much of the country in a homogenous culture. D) Most consumers felt threatened by new industrial goods. E) Americans became aware of needs they didn"t realize they had.

Q: What was the significance of Thomas Edison's laboratory at Menlo Park? A) It was where Edison first invented the telegraph. B) It was the first modern research laboratory. C) It was where the telephone was finally perfected. D) It was the site of the first power station in New York. E) It was where Edison first sent a message over telephone wires.

Q: What was the significance of American Telephone and Telegraph? A) It was the first telephone company in the United States. B) It was formed in order to boost competition between local phone companies. C) For many years, AT&T was the only phone company in the United States. D) It combined various telegraph and telephone companies into a single monopoly. E) It was an example of a holding company.

Q: What was one result of the proliferation of patents in the late nineteenth century? A) The country got most of its technology from Europe. B) The marketplace was oversaturated with goods. C) Americans no longer imported most of their technology. D) Few Americans participated in the economic changes. E) Americans began to fear technology.

Q: What was the consequence of the formation of the Standard Oil Trust? A) The federal government passed legislation to stop further trusts from forming. B) Other industries followed its lead and trusts became common in America. C) John D. Rockefeller lost control of his company. D) Other oil companies began to compete with Standard Oil over prices. E) It became famous as the only trust ever formed in the United States.

Q: Why did John D. Rockefeller reject competition among oil companies? A) He believed that consolidation, not competition, created stronger companies. B) He did not want to be forced to lower his prices to consumers. C) He felt that other oil companies were inferior to his company. D) He believed that competition would only weaken his own company. E) He felt that his company needed to develop before it could compete with others.

Q: What was the result of Andrew Carnegie's sale of Carnegie Steel? A) J. P. Morgan combined it with other steel companies into the U.S. Steel Corporation. B) It led to the formation of the first American trust. C) It inspired John D. Rockefeller to sell his Standard Oil Company. D) It led to the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, the largest steel structure in the world. E) Charles Schwab bought it and combined it with National Steel to form the largest steel company in the United States.

Q: What was the reason for Andrew Carnegie's success? A) He inherited a large family fortune. B) He understood how to organize steel industry management. C) He shared profits with his workers. D) He had no competition from other producers. E) He had worked in the steel industry since childhood.

Q: Which of the following individuals is INCORRECTLY associated with the industry he helped to found? A) Andrew Carnegie: steel B) J. P. Morgan: finance C) Henry Bessemer: railroads D) John Rockefeller: oil E) William Kelly: steel

Q: Which of the following lists industrial developments in proper chronological order? A) the completion of the first transcontinental railroad, formation of the first trust, formation of U.S. Steel Corporation B) the formation of U.S. Steel Corporation, formation of the first trust, completion of the first transcontinental railroad C) the formation of the first trust, completion of the first transcontinental railroad, formation of U.S. Steel Corporation D) the formation of the first trust, formation of U.S. Steel Corporation, completion of the first transcontinental railroad E) the formation of U.S. Steel Corporation, completion of the first transcontinental railroad, the formation of the first trust

Q: What is the significance of the adoption of a standard gauge for all railroads? A) It allowed all rails to be built of steel instead of inferior quality metal. B) It allowed trains to travel on all tracks, thus integrating the entire system. C) It kept all trains running to coordinate their schedules. D) It allowed tracks to be built on both government and private lands. E) It kept the trains from derailing so often and so disastrously.

Q: Why didn"t early American railroads actually link different regions to each other? A) They did not have enough steel to make the tracks very long. B) They were only built to bring goods from one city to another. C) They had different schedules and incompatible gauges. D) They were only affordable to the richest passengers. E) They were built with inferior equipment and were constantly breaking down.

Q: How were American railroads different from European railroads? A) American railroads connected only major cities, whereas older European railroads connected small towns as well. B) European railroads employed workers from the upper class, whereas American railroad workers were from the lowest class in society. C) European railroads brought goods to places that could not be reached any other way, whereas American railroads could reach only metropolitan areas. D) Trains on American railroads were not able to travel as far or as fast as European trains because the land on which they traveled was undeveloped. E) European railroads were built between already existing towns, but American railroads often created the towns that they served.

Q: Which of the following was NOT a factor in American industrial development? A) an abundance of natural resources B) a heavy influx of immigrants C) new technological innovations D) industrialization of the South after the Civil War E) an abundance of labor

Q: What effect did the American government have on industrial growth? A) It followed a policy of laissez-faire. B) It closely regulated the pace of growth. C) It provided incentives for growth. D) It balanced agrarian and industrial demands. E) It increased taxes on industry.

Q: What was the most important impact of the Haymarket Riot? A) The eight-hour day became widely accepted. B) The AFL folded. C) Labor organizations became linked with anarchism. D) The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed unanimously. E) The labor movement ended.

Q: The principle of the "iron law of wages" stated that ________. A) the welfare of the workers dictated wages B) supply and demand regulated wages C) all workers should be treated the same D) the quality of work should be determined by managers E) wages should remain unchanged as long as possible

Q: Concerning women workers, the American Federation of Labor ________. A) enthusiastically supported their needs B) either ignored or opposed them as members C) brought important changes in the work place D) allowed them into leadership positions E) encouraged all producing women to join

Q: Unlike the Knights of Labor, the American Federation of Labor ________. A) believed workers would rise in stature B) organized skilled and unskilled workers C) emphasized economic goals for workers D) organized a majority of the workers E) hoped all workers could eventually become self-employed

Q: Why did the Knights of Labor fail? A) A major defeat weakened the group. B) It was unable to organize the workers. C) It had no successful strikes. D) It was unable to develop a set of objectives. E) Terence Powderly was imprisoned.

Q: Which of the following groups received the greatest rewards from industrialization? A) white, native-born females B) foreign-born males C) African-American males D) white, native-born males E) skilled workers in all categories

Q: In comparison to male workers, female workers in the late 1800s ________. A) received equal pay for equal work B) moved into white collar jobs formerly monopolized by men C) reaped the rewards of the industrial system D) were respected as important income earners E) generally had female managers

Q: Most working women ________. A) were young and single B) were married with children C) were African American D) had many professional opportunities E) were widows or single mothers

Q: The development of brand names, chain stores, and mail order houses ________. A) drove the prices of goods upward B) confused consumers C) had little effect on the buying public D) created a gulf between consumer and producer E) provided convenience and standardization

Q: Which of the following individuals was NOT an innovator in retailing in the late nineteenth century? A) R. H. Macy B) Cyrus Field C) John Wanamaker D) Richard W. Sears E) Alvah C. Roebuck

Q: The greatest inventor of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century America was ________. A) Cyrus Field B) Thomas A. Edison C) Henry Bessemer D) J. P. Morgan E) Eli Whitney

Q: Which two were the most important developments of the late nineteenth century? A) the typewriter and calculating machine B) the telephone and the light bulb C) factories and the sewing machine D) the telegraph and processed meat E) automobiles and the assembly line

Q: The most important development in the communications system in late nineteenth-century America was the ________. A) telephone B) post office C) telegraph D) radio E) transatlantic cable

Q: The first modern trust was ________. A) United States Steel B) the Northern Securities Company C) Standard Oil D) Carnegie Steel E) the Pennsylvania Railroad

Q: The company to become the first billion-dollar company was ________. A) Thomson Steel Works B) Standard Oil C) Westinghouse D) U.S. Steel E) American Telephone and Telegraph

Q: After 1870, the measure of a nation's industrial progress was determined by ________. A) the production of steel B) the production of iron C) the number of railroad lines D) agricultural output E) per capita exports

Q: The most important figure in American finance was ________. A) J. P. Morgan B) Andrew Carnegie C) Andrew Mellon D) Albert Fink E) E. F. Hutton

Q: By 1894, American railroads ________. A) had difficulty finding the capital to expand B) suffered from competition and overexpansion C) had consolidated into four major lines D) had eliminated competition E) were at the peak of their bargaining power

Q: The two transcontinental railroad lines met at ________. A) Sacramento, California B) Reno, Nevada C) Promontory, Utah D) Santa Fe, New Mexico E) Salt Lake City, Utah

Q: A major change in the railroad industry after the Civil War was the development of ________. A) major railroad trunk lines B) competition between owners for local markets C) regional marketplaces D) international rail systems E) a greater number of small rail companies

Q: Rapid rail construction after the Civil War was possible because ________. A) there was little competition between the builders B) the rail companies managed their money and land wisely C) federal and state governments provided important incentives D) the western half of the nation was uninhabitable E) the South was eager to participate

Q: The development of a national railway system ________. A) provided needed jobs for an overabundant labor supply B) had little effect on economic changes in the late nineteenth century C) led to an integrated national economic system D) had little help from the political system E) was not completed until the early twentieth century

Q: The technical innovation of the nineteenth century with the widest impact was ________. A) the Kodak camera B) the oil well C) the automobile D) the railroad E) the steam ship

Q: American industrial growth was concentrated in the ________. A) Southwest B) Northeast C) Pacific D) Southeast E) Midwest

Q: The most important advances in industrialization in the U.S. ________. A) occurred during the last third of the nineteenth century B) were developed during the Civil War C) had developed in western Europe by 1900 D) had little effect on the American economy E) began in the first years of the twentieth century

Q: How do the views of "new Western historians" contrast with Frederick Jackson Turner's thesis about the westward migration? A) Turner viewed the migration as a fluid back and forth between the East and West, but new historians point out that very few families who migrated west returned east. B) Turner viewed the migration as a mix of cultures struggling to get along with Native Americans, but new historians point out that many Native Americans were helpful to the new settlers. C) Turner saw the migration as a wave of white migrants who traveled west, but new historians look at it as a set of various groups moving in many directions and interacting with each other. D) Turner saw the migration as a long process, but new historians have pointed out that the entire wave of migration was very concentrated and took place over a relatively short period of time. E) Turner viewed the migration as a very negative experience for the travelers, but new historians point out that the experience was both positive and negative.

Q: What does the following quote from a historian mean regarding western migration? "The quest for something new would take place in the context of the very familiar." A) Families would only migrate to the West after they had sent an individual ahead who would report back to them. B) People only migrated in family groups if they already had family established out West. C) Families tended to travel back and forth between their old homes and their new homes until they felt entirely comfortable out West. D) Most families who traveled west had experience with migration before and thus, the trip was not new to them. E) People made every effort to keep their migration experience as familiar as possible, including traveling in family groups.

Q: What debate existed in the 1860s between whites in the East and West over what to do about Native Americans? A) Easterners wanted a peaceful policy of assimilation, while those in the West who feared attacks, wanted a firmer control over Native Americans. B) Easterners wanted Native Americans to be segregated on reservations, while those in the West wanted Native Americans to be assimilated into white society. C) Easterners wanted Native Americans to move further west, while Westerners believed they should be allowed to stay where they were. D) Easterners felt that until Native Americans were fully controlled, they could not have any rights, whereas Westerners wanted them to have equal rights. E) Easterners felt that Native Americans should be allowed to live their traditional nomadic lifestyles, while Westerners wanted them to be assimilated into American culture.

Q: Why did Oliver H. Kelley first organize the Grange in 1867? A) to provide social, cultural, and educational activities for farmers B) to allow farmers to have a say in government C) to organize farmers into a union for collective bargaining D) to keep peace between farmers and cattlemen in the West E) to provide collective insurance for farmers and their land

Q: Which of these made bonanza farms possible? A) the Homestead Act B) agricultural machinery C) the National Reclamation Act D) cattle drives E) irrigation

Q: How did barbed wire change the lives of farmers on the Great Plains? A) It allowed farmers to establish the boundaries of their farms, which had not previously been possible. B) It made it possible for farmers to leave their farms for extended periods of time. C) It helped farmers get cattle to northern markets along the cattle trails. D) It kept Native Americans away from their farms so that their land was protected. E) It ended the era of vast open ranges.

Q: What was the main cause of the increase in the number of farmers in the West after 1870? A) the decline of ranching B) failed miners looking for new opportunities C) the American belief in economic opportunity in the West D) an increase in the birthrate of the western farmers E) advances in farming by irrigation

Q: Ranching was changing in each of the following ways by the late 1800s EXCEPT ________. A) ranchers were fencing off their lands and reducing the size of their herds B) ranchers were crossbreeding the longhorns with Hereford and Angus bulls C) ranches were getting larger D) some ranchers were abandoning cattle in favor of raising sheep E) ranchers were growing hay for winter fodder

Q: What stimulated the western cattle industry? A) court decisions that allowed livestock to be transported across state lines B) the discovery of precious metals that made money available for investment in ranching C) railroads and a population increase in the eastern United States D) a decline in the amount of beef imported to the United States E) dietary changes in the eastern United States

Q: What was the cause of the great decrease in the number of Chinese immigrants in the late nineteenth century? A) Chinese laborers were treated so poorly in the West that fewer immigrants wanted to come to the United States. B) China severely restricted immigration to the United States beginning in the 1880s. C) The Homestead Act did not apply to Chinese immigrants and thus there was no land available for them. D) Many Chinese laborers found better work in Europe than in the United States. E) The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 suspended immigration of Chinese laborers.

Q: What was the significance of the Big Bonanza in 1873? A) It made Henry Comstock the richest man in the world. B) It was the largest wheat farm on the Great Plains. C) It was discovered near Pike's Peak in California. D) It was the richest discovery in the history of mining. E) It indirectly led to an uprising of Sioux Indians.

Q: What caused "instant cities" to arise in the West in the late nineteenth century? A) City builders rushed to the West to take advantage of the cheap land. B) People rushed to the West for economic opportunities, and cities sprang up quickly. C) Easterners were anxious to replicate the cities they had left and built quickly. D) Building materials were so cheap that it made sense to build an entire city instantly instead of letting it develop over time. E) White settlers took over western settlements that had already been built by Native Americans.

Q: What contributed to the late nineteenth century Southwest being largely Spanish American? A) The heavy Spanish influence there was due to the original Spanish settlers. B) There were very few Anglo-Americans who wanted to settle the Southwest. C) It was originally part of Mexico and many Mexicans still had communities there. D) Mexico did not allow people from the eastern United States to settle there. E) English settlers were reluctant to learn Spanish, so they settled elsewhere.

Q: In what way did the National Reclamation Act of 1902 help settlement in the West? A) It restricted immigration from Asia and parts of Europe so that there would be more land for Easterners moving west. B) It reclaimed hundreds of acres of land from Native Americans and made it available to white settlers. C) It restricted cattle to specific areas of land, so that farmers would have more land for cultivation. D) It gave 160 acres of land to anyone who would pay a registration fee and cultivate the land for five years. E) It financed irrigation projects, such as dams and canals, which brought water to the area.

Q: Why did the Homestead Act of 1862 not work as Congress had hoped? A) It charged too much for government land. B) The land allotments were insufficient for farming arid land. C) It did not adequately convert Native Americans to farming. D) Gold was discovered on land set aside for farming. E) Too few settlers were willing to migrate to the West.

Q: Why is it not accurate to say that people moved westward to settle the American West in the 1870s and 1880s? A) because many people in the Northwest traveled southeast to the Great Plains B) because Mexicans traveled north and Asians traveled east to settle in the West C) because Mexicans traveled east from California to settle in the Great Plains D) because western Europeans traveled east in order to settle in the West E) because Asians in the West traveled east to reach the Great Plains