Unit 8 Gilded Age Practice 01. In the late 19th century, those politicians who campaigned by “waving the bloody shirt” were reminding voters (A) of the treason of Southern Democrats during the Civil War (B) that the Civil War had been caused by the election of a Republican president (C) of the graft-filled carpetbagger governments of the Reconstruction South (D) of the catering to freed slaves by Radical Republicans during Reconstruction. 02. “Spoilsmen” was the label attached to those who (A) expected government jobs from the party’s elected officeholders (B) ravaged the pristine environment of the “golden West” for their own profit (C) manipulated railroad stocks to their private advantage (D) supported civil service reform. 03. Labor unrest in the 1870s and 80s led Congress to pass laws prohibiting laborers from (A) immigrating from Ireland (B) forming unions (C) immigrating from China (D) going out on strike. 04. The Pendleton Act required appointees to public office to (A) take a competitive examination (B) present a written recommendation from a congressman or senator (C) agree to make financial contributions to their political party (D) pledge independence from either major political party. 05. The federal government helped subsidize transcontinental railroad construction in the late 19th century by providing the corporations with (A) cash grants from new taxes (B) land grants (C) cash grants from higher tariffs (D) reduced prices on iron and steel. 06. The first federal regulatory agency designed to protect the public interest from business combinations was the (A) Federal Trade Commission (B) Consumer Affairs Commission (C) Interstate Commerce Commission (D) Federal Anti-Trust Commission. 07. Generally, the Supreme Court in the late 19th century interpreted the Constitution in such a way as to favor (A) labor unions (B) corporations (C) state regulatory agencies (D) governmental power over the economy. 08. By 1900 organized labor in America (A) had temporarily ceased to exist (B) had enrolled nearly half the labor force (C) was accepted by the majority of employers as a permanent part of the new industrial economy (D) had begun to develop a positive image with the public. 09. The Knights of Labor were weakened by (A) its refusal to endorse social reform and the eight hour day (B) stiff competition from the National Labor Union (C) its association in the public mind with the Haymarket Riot (D) the increase in immigration. 10. The Comstock Law was intended to advance the cause of (A) racial equality (B) sexual purity (C) temperance (D) women’s suffrage. 11. During Benjamin Harrison's term, all the following legislation was passed by Congress except the (A) McKinley Tariff (B) Sherman Silver Purchase Act (C) Dingley Tariff (D) Sherman Anti-Trust Act. 12. The problems of American agriculture and its farmers during the last half of the nineteenth century included all except (A) steadily dropping farm prices (B) a shrinking world market (C) spreading debts and mortgages (D) increasingly expensive machinery. 13. The first farmers' organization devoted to economic self-help and political agitation for farmers' goals was the (A) National Farmers Alliance and Industrial Union (B) Populist party (C) Colored Farmers' National Alliance and Cooperative Union (D) Grange. 14. The immediate effect of passage of the Civil Service Act (1883) was to (A) end the power of the boss-dominated machines (B) subject all federal jobs to civil-service merit qualifications (C) make merit the basis of appointment for only one out of every ten government jobs (D) extend presidential power by allowing the Chief Executive to appoint personnel to classified posts. 15. Grover Cleveland, the only Democrat elected President between 1860 and 1912, achieved office in 1884 when (A) defection by the Mugwumps divided the Republican party (B) reform groups finally managed to unite behind a single candidate (C) the country blamed its economic woes on Republican hard-money policies (D) the Populist candidate drew enough votes away from the Republican party to ensure a Democratic victory. 16. The major effect of the Morrill Act of 1862 on education was to (A) pay for the building and staffing of high quality graduate schools (B) help establish public elementary and secondary schools in the Middle West (C) encourage the rise of land-grant colleges, which emphasized teaching of agriculture and mechanical arts (D) stimulate the opening of several Eastern women's colleges. 17. Trusts were a legal device by which (A) bankers gained control over industry (B) independent corporations conspired to fix prices (C) industries centralized their management (D) a firm gained enough stock in competing companies to control their policies. 18. City bosses of the nineteenth century received support from (A) immigrants in need of social services that the bosses could provide (B) loyal party members who placed winning above "good government" (C) business people who wanted to secure favors and exemptions (D) all of the above. 19. The results of the Presidential Election (1876) were determined (A) when Congress barred the votes of all ex-Confederates (B) by the Supreme Court, which barred the Tilden electors after a lengthy hearing (C) by an electoral commission, which favored the Hayes electors (D) none of these. 20. Which of the following was not a valid criticism of the great trusts and holding companies of late 19th Century America? (A) they were terribly inefficient (B) they corrupted law enforcement agencies (C) they ruthlessly eliminated competition (D) they treated human labor as a commodity. 21. The Presidential elections of the Gilded Age (A) were all won by Republicans (B) aroused great interest among voters (C) were rarely close (D) usually involved sharp partisan differences over issues like currency policy and civil service reform. 22. The railroads played a direct role in the development of the (A) telegraph and telephone networks (B) interstate highway system (C) oil industry (D) steel industry. 23. Frederick Remington won fame for his paintings, illustrations, and sculptures of (A) the Civil War (B) urban realism at the turn of the century (C) landscapes east of the Mississippi River (D) life in the “Wild West.” 24. What was the chief reason for the growth of monopolies in the latter part of the 19th century? To (A) improve the quality of products (B) end price cutting competition (C) reduce manufacturing costs (D) opposed strong labor unions. 25. Bimetallism is a system under which (A) an alloy of silver and another metal is used for coins (B) an alloy of gold and another metal is used for coins (C) gold and silver are both used as security for the national currency (D) none of these. 26. New owner worker relations in factories came about during the latter half of the 1800s because (A) owners hired managers to run the plants (B) factories became much larger (C) workers had little influence over working conditions (D) all of these. 27. A court order requiring someone to perform an act or refrain from performing an act is called (A) writ of certiori (B) injunction (C) contempt of court (D) judgment. 28. Similarities between the political parties during the period after the Civil War included all of the following except: (A) use of slogans (B) name-calling (C) failure to address issues (D) ability to use the Civil War as an issue. 29. In the Presidential campaign (1884), James G. Blaine lost New York, and therefore the election, because (A) Tammany Hall abandoned him (B) he failed to disavow a slur against Irish Catholics made in his presence (C) his party’s attack on Grover Cleveland as the father of an illegitimate child backfired (D) he made a speech in which he referred to the Democratic Party as the party of “Rum, Romanism and Rebellion.” 30. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution (A) was opposed by the religious Modernists (B) cast serious doubt on a literal interpretation of the Bible (C) was attacked most bitterly by orator Colonel Robert Ingersoll (D) helped unite college teachers of biology in support of “survival of the fittest.” 31. After the Civil War, the plentiful supply of unskilled labor in the United States: (A) helped build the nation into an industrial giant (B) was not a significant force, since industrialization required skilled workers © came almost exclusively from rural America (D) increasingly found work in agriculture 32. The steel industry owed much to the inventive genius of: (A) Jay Gould (B) Henry Bessemer (C) John P. Altgeld (D) Thomas Edison 33. The “Gospel of Wealth,” which associated godliness with wealth,: (A) discouraged efforts to help the poor (B) moved the wealthy to try to help the poor (C) stimulated efforts to help minorities (D) was opposed by most clergymen 34. The most effective and longest lasting of the labor unions of the post-Civil War period was the (A) National Labor Union (B) Knights of Labor (C) American Federation of Labor (D) Knights of Columbus 35. To help corporations, the courts ingeniously interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment, which was designed to protect the rights of ex-slaves, so as to: (A) help the freedmen to work in factories (B) incorporate big businesses (C) allow the captains of industry to avoid paying taxes (D) avoid corporate regulation by the states 36. Some people who found fault with the “Captains of Industry” argued that these men (A) were basically socialists (B) diminished the workers’ quality of life (C) tried to take the United States back to its old values (D) failed to develop the industrial system quickly 37. According to the “Social Gospel,”: (A) workers should be content with their station in life (B) the church should not concern itself in the social affairs of the world (C) the lessons of Christianity should be applied to solve the problems manifest in the slums and factories (D) Christianity would replace socialism 38. The Republican majority in the 1890 “Billion Dollar” Congress saw its most serious problem as the: (A) Treasury surplus (B) Populist Movement (C) Currency question (D) frequency and violence of labor disputes 39. One result of Republican “hard money” policies was: (A) the formation of the Greenback Labor Party (B) damage to the country’s credit rating (C) the return to the “Dollar of Our Daddies,” silver dollars, as the dominant coin in circulation (D) the defeat of a Democratic House of Representatives in 1874 40. The Populist experience showed us that: (A) significant political change occurs often (B) serious structural change is almost impossible (C) reform proposals usually help the poor gain power (D) third party movements are unimportant in American politics (E) All of these Harper’s Weekly, 1875 41. The cartoon above indicates (A) Grants civil service program was spurned by Congress (B) Grant opposed civil service reform (C) Congress originated civil service reform (D) there were scandals in the Grant Administration (E) Grant was a poor president. 42. Which of the following statements best summarizes the American political system during the Gilded Age? (A) The Republican dominated the Presidential elections, but the Democrats controlled Congress. (B) The Democrats dominated the Presidential elections, but the Republicans controlled Congress. (C) There was a virtual stalemate between the two parties in both Presidential elections and control of Congress. (D) The Republicans dominated both the Presidential elections and the control of Congress. (E) The Democrats dominated both the Presidential elections and the control of Congress. 43. During the late nineteenth century Republicans defended a high tariff policy partly on the grounds that it (A) guaranteed high wages and individual advancement for American workers (B) gave American manufactured goods access to European markets (C) gave American agricultural goods access to European markets (D) protected native born workers from competition from immigrants to the United States (E) brought additional revenue into the United States treasury. 44. Which of the following best summarizes the federal government’s financial policies during the late 1800s? (A) an increasing use of greenback dollars not backed by specie (B) the substitution of silver for gold to back the currency (C) a substantial increase in the federal debt and currency convertible into specie (D) the retirement of the federal debt and currency convertible into specie (E) a national regulation of currency through the Federal Reserve Act. 45. The “Mugwumps” played a crucial role in deciding the outcome of the Election of 1884 through their (A) criticism of the Republican candidate and defection from the party (B) opposition to Radical Republican Reconstruction policies (C) criticism of the Democratic candidate and defection from the party (D) opposition to the policy of forcing Indians onto reservations (E) opposition to the annexation of the Philippines.
