Period Six: 1865 thru 1898

The following multiple-choice questions are academically synonymous to those which appeared on the College Board Advanced Placement National Examination in United States History prior to 2015. They have been adapted from past National Exams, various College Board matter offering sample questions, and assorted APUSH review manuals widely available through common retail outlets. No item is an exact copy of any material previously published. The questions address political, social, economic, intellectual, and diplomatic history. While the multiple-choice format currently used by the College Board deviates from the conventional style, the items included here can nevertheless serve as effective learning support. This review set is intended for private use and educational purpose only and may not be sold or marketed in any manner.



DIRECTIONS: Using knowledge obtained through class lecture and assigned reading, coupled with the ability to reason logically, select the best response from among the four suggested completions for each statement.


  1. The American Federation of Labor, under the leadership of Samuel Gompers, organized

    1. skilled workers in craft unions in order to achieve economic gains.
    2. all industries and agricultural workers into one giant union.
    3. unskilled laborers along industrial lines.
    4. workers and intellectuals into a labor party for political action.


  2. In his "Acres of Diamonds" sermon, Russell Conwell expressed that

    1. poor people may attain happiness by living virtuous lives.
    2. Christians should embrace the serene and simple life of rural America.
    3. opportunity for wealth exists in every American's immediate pool of resources.
    4. the love of money is the root of all evil.


  3. The Sherman Act of 1890 was used primarily to

    1. break up business monopolies.
    2. regulate interstate railroads.
    3. promote economic expansion.
    4. curb labor unions.


  4. All of the following were reasons for failure of the Populist Party EXCEPT

    1. racism strained the coalition of poor white and black farmers.
    2. the radical nature of its program alienated non-farming interests.
    3. western and southern farmers favored different political strategies.
    4. the prosperity of the early 1890s undermined public support for Populist economic reforms.


  5. President Grover Cleveland's response to the Pullman strike in 1894 was to

    1. intervene on the side of management under the pretense of unimpeded mail delivery.
    2. offer to serve as an arbitrator.
    3. decide on behalf of labor by ordering management to meet most of the workers' demands.
    4. follow a laissez-faire policy thereby allowing the crisis to resolve itself.


  6. Frederick Jackson Turner's interpretation of the historical development of the United States focused on the importance of

    1. existence of cheap unsettled land.
    2. conflict between capitalists and workers.
    3. government support for westward expansion.
    4. large-scale reform movements.


  7. In the late nineteenth-century controversy over the social and religious implications of Darwinian theory, all of the following popular beliefs were felt to be threatened by Darwin EXCEPT the

    1. concept of the deserving poor.
    2. accuracy of the Old Testament.
    3. uniqueness of humankind in nature.
    4. reality of change in the world.


  8. "A no-nonsense attitude toward public administration was reflected in his courage, integrity, and diligence. He valued principle more than adulation of the multitude. When once urged by party leaders to equivocate his stand on a particular issue while campaigning for re-election, he replied, 'What is the use of being elected or re-elected, unless you stand for something?' Of the several undistinguished politicians who occupied the White House during the Gilded Age, his first term was probably the best." The President described is

    1. Chester Arthur.
    2. Grover Cleveland.
    3. Benjamin Harrison.
    4. William McKinley.


  9. Which is the most accurate statement regarding the clothing industry of the late 1800s?

    1. "Due to emphasis on domesticity, clothing manufacture became primarily a home industry."
    2. "The United States began to import increasing quantities of clothing, thus numerous American industries experienced economic hardship."
    3. "Discovery of new fabrics such as nylon and polyester led to more comfortable, functional, and affordable clothing."
    4. "Clothing became more affordable because the sewing machine enabled mass manufacture."


  10. The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 was intended foremost to

    1. encourage factory and railroad construction near Indian reservations in order to stimulate stagnant economies among several tribes.
    2. suppress traditional Indian culture enforced by close governmental monitoring of sacred tribal ceremonies such as the Ghost Dance religion.
    3. eliminate tribal land ownership by granting plots to Indians as individual proprietors.
    4. provide a vast program of Christianization, education, and United States citizenship for western Indian tribes.


  11. The labor organization that endorsed the philosophy of "bread and butter" unionism by focusing on demands for higher wages, shorter hours, and improved working conditions was the

    1. Knights of Labor.
    2. American Federation of Labor.
    3. Industrial Workers of the World.
    4. National Labor Union.


  12. The formation of ethnic neighborhoods by immigrants in American cities

    1. prevented their advancement in the workplace.
    2. resulted from discriminatory restrictions.
    3. intensified a sense of incoherence with American values.
    4. tended to reinforce the cultural values of their previous societies.



        

  13. The late nineteenth-century political cartoon above is critical of

    1. government regulation of industry.
    2. labor union violence.
    3. unlimited immigration.
    4. corrupt big-city politicians.


  14. "This, then, is held to be the duty of the man of wealth: to consider all surplus revenues which come to him simply as trust funds, which he is called upon to administer and strictly bound as a matter of duty to administer in the manner which, in his judgment, is best calculated to produce the most beneficial results for the community—the man of wealth thus becoming the mere agent and trustee for his poorer brethren." The thoughts expressed in this passage are most characteristic of

    1. the Gospel of Wealth.
    2. founding principles of the Grange movement.
    3. the concept of Social Darwinism.
    4. individuals who favored free coinage of silver.


  15. During the closing decades of the 1800s, farmers expressed all of the following complaints EXCEPT

    1. high freight charges.
    2. unrealistic interest rates.
    3. rising commodity prices.
    4. excessive storage costs.


  16. The principle involvement of Jacob Riis in the reform movements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was his effort to

    1. establish special homes for juvenile delinquents.
    2. bar obscene materials from the United States postal system.
    3. publicize poor housing and sanitation in urban tenements.
    4. encourage legislation to end prostitution.


  17. Between 1890 and 1914, the greatest number of immigrants to the United States came from

    1. Northern and Western Europe.
    2. Southern and Eastern Europe.
    3. Latin America.
    4. Southeast Asia.


  18. The election campaign tactic known as "waving the bloody shirt" attempted to reap political gain from lingering animosities of the

    1. disastrous Triangle shirtwaist factory fire.
    2. violent Haymarket Square demonstration.
    3. death and destruction of the Civil War.
    4. Crédit Mobilier affair and other improprieties of the Ulysses S. Grant administration.


  19. The most persistent problem facing municipalities in the United States throughout the last quarter of the nineteenth century was

    1. deteriorating public transportation.
    2. inadequate water and sewer systems.
    3. decreasing municipal tax bases.
    4. reduction in the number of manufacturing jobs.


  20. The 1880s book that aroused the American conscience and spurred congressional action regarding treatment of American Indians was entitled

    1. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.
    2. A Century of Dishonor.
    3. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
    4. The Last of the Mohicans.


  21. All of the following factors led to a rather abrupt end for the cattle drive bonanza EXCEPT

    1. collapse of eastern beef prices due to overproduction.
    2. steady disappearance of grassland necessary to sustain long drives.
    3. the searing 1886 summer sandwiched between two bitter winters.
    4. poorly-conceived legislation which placed excessive restrictions on long-haul railroads.


  22. Demands for "free and unlimited coinage of silver" and "graduated income tax" are historically associated most with

    1. laissez-faire government.
    2. the Populist Party.
    3. Social Darwinism.
    4. the formation of labor unions.


  23. In the late nineteenth century, the American labor movement was

    1. involved in a number of violent strikes.
    2. confined to factory workers.
    3. protected from employer harassment by federal law and policy.
    4. controlled by immigrant socialists and anarchists.


  24. Lester Frank Ward believed the best means to socio-economic unity and happiness was through

    1. active governmental planning.
    2. belief in Christian principles.
    3. free market competition.
    4. powerful labor unions.


  25. One consequence caused by the shift to sharecropping and the crop lien system in the late nineteenth-century South was

    1. major redistribution of land ownership.
    2. cyclical debt and depression for southern tenant farmers.
    3. greater diversification of crops.
    4. rise in cotton yields per acre from antebellum production levels.


  26. All of the following are true of railroad expansion in the latter 1800s EXCEPT that it

    1. opened new territories to commercial agriculture.
    2. accelerated the growth of some older cities and created new ones.
    3. was financed by private corporations without government assistance.
    4. led to new managerial forms and techniques.


  27. Slavic immigrants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries settled primarily in midwestern cities like Chicago, Detroit, and Pittsburgh because

    1. housing was better and food cheaper in the newer cities of the Midwest.
    2. immigration authorities subsidized rail fares for westward immigrants.
    3. ethnic and religious prejudice was less widespread in the Midwest than in eastern cities.
    4. midwestern steel, meatpacking, and other mass production industries offered many unskilled jobs.


  28. America's political cartoonist extraordinaire of the late 1800s was

    1. John Trumbull.
    2. Frederic Remington.
    3. Thomas Nast.
    4. Mathew Brady.


  29. The rise of organized sports during the late 1800s occurred largely because

    1. more and more employers realized the importance of physical activity in maximizing productive spirit among workers.
    2. numerous labor-saving devices created substantial increase in leisure time.
    3. the new wave of European immigrants brought certain recreational activities with them from their native lands that soon became popular in America.
    4. city reformers sought to relieve working-class boredom and reduce urban crime.


  30. City bosses and urban political machines in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries

    1. promoted prohibition of alcohol and abolition of prostitution.
    2. favored reforms enabling the urban middle class to participate more effectively in politics.
    3. encouraged racial integration of residential neighborhoods.
    4. provided some welfare for poor immigrants in exchange for political support.


  31. Many settlement house workers of the late 1800s engaged in all of the following activities EXCEPT

    1. publishing reports on deplorable inner-city housing conditions.
    2. organizing women workers into labor unions.
    3. teaching classes on cooking and dressmaking.
    4. offering literacy and language classes for immigrants.



        

  32. The most appropriate title suggested by the cartoon above in its portrayal of John Davison Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie is

    1. "Industrial Gardeners."
    2. "Captains of Industry."
    3. "Business Tycoons."
    4. "Caretakers of Society."


  33. The late-1800s Ghost Dance movement among western Indian tribes included all of the following components EXCEPT

    1. use of magic to shield Indians from bullets fired from whites' weapons.
    2. belief that the end of the world was imminent.
    3. rejection of alcohol and other trappings of white culture.
    4. non-violent subjugation of white Americans.


  34. The major contributing factor to the declining death rate in American cities near the end of the nineteenth century was

    1. many municipalities began to provide free limited medical care.
    2. fewer immigrants and poor people were moving to the cities at that time.
    3. better recreation facilities allowed for an overall healthier American public.
    4. construction of sewers and availability of purified water.


  35. "Everybody is talkin' these days about . . . growin' rich on graft, but nobody thinks of drawin' the distinction between honest graft and dishonest graft. There's an honest graft, and I'm an example of how it works. I might sum up the whole thing by sayin': 'I seen my opportunities and I took 'em.' " This statement best reflects the historical legacy of all of the following politicians EXCEPT

    1. William Marcy Tweed.
    2. Abe Ruef.
    3. Samuel Tilden.
    4. George W. Plunkitt.


  36. The Open Door policy in Asia

    1. rid China of European spheres of influence.
    2. guaranteed military support for China's territorial integrity.
    3. opened China to Western trade for the first time.
    4. bolstered American commercial interests in China.


  37. American presence in Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico

    1. produced a balanced economy.
    2. caused a rise in standard of living.
    3. led to practically exclusive economic dependence on the United States.
    4. brought about unparalleled industrialization and modernization.


  38. The position of the Supreme Court regarding civil rights during the period from the end of Reconstruction through the turn of the century is best characterized as

    1. markedly less enthusiasm to suppress segregation in the North than in the South.
    2. vigorous enforcement of the provisions set forth by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.
    3. steady establishment of the constitutionality of segregation.
    4. unwavering support of integration of blacks into American mainstream society.


  39. In the late nineteenth century, all of the following fostered American jingoism EXCEPT

    1. so-called "yellow journalism."
    2. acts of imperialism by several European nations.
    3. the concept of Social Darwinism.
    4. flooding of American markets by foreign producers.


  40. One direct result of American foreign policy in the 1890s was

    1. rejection of the concepts expressed in the Monroe Doctrine.
    2. decrease in American trade and investment abroad.
    3. abandonment of the traditional policy of avoiding permanent peacetime alliances.
    4. recognition of the need for an isthmusian canal in Latin America.


  41. In response to the various changes brought on by industrialization and urbanization in the late 1800s, most Americans

    1. blamed such "progress" for the increasing rates of divorce, heart disease, and mental instability.
    2. expressed continued optimism and admiration for American civilization.
    3. feared that materialism and idleness were overtaking the traditional American work ethic.
    4. were disgusted at the rampant lawlessness and enormous power wielded by modern corporations.


  42. In the last half of the nineteenth century, the New South advocates supported

    1. high tariffs and unlimited immigration.
    2. cooperation between North and South to integrate the freed blacks into society.
    3. development and expansion of southern industry.
    4. elimination of Jim Crowism and segregation.


  43. The fundamental distinction between Democratic Party and Republican Party membership during the late nineteenth century arose from differences

    1. over currency reform, internal improvements, and protective tariffs.
    2. in geographical location, religious affiliation, and ethnic background.
    3. on civil service reform, social-welfare legislation, and foreign policy.
    4. concerning racial equality for blacks, Indian policy, and women's rights.


  44. The major impetus for Hawaiian annexation to the United States came from

    1. native Hawaiians who sought protection from threatening nations of East Asia and Europe.
    2. military commanders and government officials who valued the Islands for strategic reasons.
    3. sugar planters and other businessmen who desired exemption from United States tariffs.
    4. missionaries who wanted to convert the local population to Christianity.


  45. "We have pacified some thousands of the islanders and buried them; destroyed their fields; burned their villages, and turned their widows and orphans out-of-doors; subjugated the remaining ten millions by Benevolent assimilation . . . . And so, by these Providences of God—and the phrase is the government's, not mine—we are a World Power." This statement was most likely made in reference to United States policy with regard to the

    1. occupation of the Philippines.
    2. acquisition of Cuba and Puerto Rico.
    3. opening of Japan.
    4. annexation of the Hawaiian Islands.


  46. All of the following conditions existed as America emerged from the Gilded Age EXCEPT

    1. government was unresponsive to needed self-reform.
    2. cities were growing at a rapid pace and offering countless new amenities.
    3. immigrants were pouring into the United States.
    4. union membership was high and labor practices were well-regulated.



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