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Period 6: 1865–1898

127 questions

Question 121Question →

Section 244. On and after the first day of January, A. D. 1892, every elector shall, in addition to the foregoing qualifications, be able to read any section of the constitution of this State; or he shall be able to understand the same when read to him, or give a reasonable interpretation thereof.

— Mississippi State Constitution, 1890

Which of the following was the most direct historical consequence of state constitutional provisions such as the one excerpted above?

Show answer & explanation

Answer: A sharp decline in voter registration among African Americans and the consolidation of Democratic Party control in the South.

Answer

A sharp decline in voter registration among African Americans and the consolidation of Democratic Party control in the South.
The correct answer is correct because state constitutional amendments, such as the Mississippi Constitution of 1890, utilized literacy tests, understanding clauses, and poll taxes to circumvent the Fifteenth Amendment. This successfully disenfranchised the vast majority of African American voters and cemented the political dominance of the Democratic Party in the South (creating the 'Solid South').

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus document to identify the policy described.
The excerpt outlines the 'understanding clause' from the Mississippi Constitution of 1890, which required voters to read or interpret the state constitution to the satisfaction of local officials.
Understanding the function of this literacy test mechanism is necessary to trace its political effects.
2
Determine the historical context and objective of this policy.
Following the end of Reconstruction, white Southern Democrats sought to disenfranchise Black voters without violating the Fifteenth Amendment's prohibition on racial discrimination in voting.
Placing the source within the late 19th-century transition to the Jim Crow era explains why the policy was enacted.
3
Evaluate the political consequences of the policy.
This clause, along with poll taxes and grandfather clauses, successfully disenfranchised the vast majority of Black voters, resulting in a single-party Democratic political monopoly in the South.
This matches the historical reality of the Gilded Age South and identifies the correct choice.

Key Concept

The New South and Jim Crow
Estimated Time:1m 0s
Question 122Question →

Source: Henry Demarest Lloyd, Wealth Against Commonwealth, 1894

"Nature is rich; but everywhere man, the heir of nature, is poor. . . . The world, modern and free, has been subdued and is being partitioned by the few. . . . Monopolies are the parallelisms of modern history. They are the repeaters of the ancient conquest of the soil, but this time it is the conquest of the trade, the industry, the manufacture of the world."

Which of the following developments during the late nineteenth century most directly contributed to the conditions described in the excerpt?

Show answer & explanation

Answer: The utilization of horizontal and vertical integration strategies by corporate executives to eliminate competition

Answer

The utilization of horizontal and vertical integration strategies by corporate executives to eliminate competition
The correct answer is correct because corporate leaders in the late nineteenth century consolidated control over entire industries using horizontal integration (acquiring rival businesses) and vertical integration (controlling every step of the manufacturing process from raw materials to final distribution). These consolidation strategies allowed firms to establish monopolies and trusts that eliminated market competition, which directly aligns with the author's critique of the 'conquest of the trade, the industry, the manufacture of the world' by a few powerful entities.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the historical context and main argument of the primary source excerpt.
The author, writing in 1894, is criticizing the rise of monopolies and the concentration of industrial control ('conquest of the trade, the industry, the manufacture of the world') in the hands of 'the few.'
Identifying the author's subject of critique is essential to matching it with the correct historical business development.
2
Recall the business methods that allowed late nineteenth-century corporations to consolidate and form monopolies.
Corporate leaders like John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie used vertical integration (controlling all stages of production) and horizontal integration (merging or buying out competitors in the same market) to consolidate control and form massive trusts.
These specific corporate consolidation strategies directly produced the monopolistic market structures criticized in the excerpt.

Key Concept

Business consolidation and the rise of corporate trusts through vertical and horizontal integration.
Estimated Time:1m 30s
Question 123Question →

"The railroad corporations have control of the legislatures, of the congress, and of the courts... They dictate the price of every bushel of wheat we raise and every pound of beef we produce. We are no longer free men; we are vassals of a corporate empire."
— Minnesota farmer, letter to *The Farmers' Union*, 1874

Which of the following developments in the late nineteenth century most directly contributed to the conditions described in the excerpt?

Show answer & explanation

Answer: The growing integration of western agriculture into national markets and the subsequent reliance on monopolistic transportation networks.

Answer

The correct answer is the option describing the growing integration of western agriculture into national markets and the subsequent reliance on monopolistic transportation networks.
The correct option is correct because the expansion of railroad networks in the late nineteenth century integrated western agriculture into a national market. While this allowed farmers to ship their goods to distant buyers, it also made them entirely dependent on railroad monopolies. These corporations used their power to charge high, discriminatory freight rates, which severely reduced farmers' profits and led to widespread economic distress.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the primary source excerpt to identify the main grievance of the author.
The author, a Minnesota farmer in 1874, is complaining about railroad corporations dictating agricultural prices and possessing undue influence over the government.
This establishes the historical context of Gilded Age agricultural discontent, specifically targeting the power of railroad monopolies over farmers.
2
Evaluate the choices to find the historical development that explains this grievance.
The expansion of transcontinental railroads linked western farmers to national and international markets, making them dependent on railroad companies that frequently engaged in price fixing and discriminatory shipping rates.
This shows how economic integration created a direct dependency on corporate monopolies, driving farmer protests and movements like the Grange.

Key Concept

Westward Expansion: Economic and Social Development
Question 124Question →

Read the excerpt and answer the question that follows:

"The government, having demolished the bastille of slavery, must now face the more complex task of protecting the citizen against the encroachments of concentrated capital... The state is a collective corporation, of which each citizen is a member, and the true purpose of its organization is to promote the welfare of all... It is the business of the government to make it possible for every man to find employment, and to make it impossible for any man to amass a colossal fortune at the expense of his fellows."
— Lorenzo D. Lewelling, Governor of Kansas, Inaugural Address, 1893

Which of the following dominant Gilded Age ideologies is most directly challenged by the political philosophy expressed in this excerpt?

Show answer & explanation

Answer: The application of Social Darwinist principles to argue that concentrated wealth was a marker of evolutionary progress and natural selection.

Answer

The application of Social Darwinist principles to argue that concentrated wealth was a marker of evolutionary progress and natural selection.
The correct answer is correct because Governor Lewelling's Populist address asserts that the government's role is to promote the welfare of all citizens and actively prevent the concentration of colossal wealth. This directly conflicts with the Gilded Age ideology of Social Darwinism, which held that wealth inequality was a natural, evolutionary outcome of human society and that government intervention to redistribute wealth or aid the poor was counterproductive.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the primary source excerpt for key arguments.
The speaker argues that the state's true purpose is to protect citizens from 'concentrated capital' and to make it 'impossible for any man to amass a colossal fortune at the expense of his fellows.'
This establishes that the political philosophy of the speaker (a Populist governor) favors government intervention to limit wealth concentration and promote the general welfare of the working classes.
2
Recall dominant Gilded Age ideologies regarding wealth and state power.
Identify Social Darwinism (the belief that wealth concentration is a natural result of survival of the fittest) and laissez-faire capitalism as the prevailing justifications for inequality during this era.
This provides the historical context needed to contrast the source's arguments with contemporary beliefs.
3
Evaluate which option represents the belief most directly challenged by the speaker's thesis.
The speaker's call for government action to limit fortunes directly challenges the Social Darwinist view that inequality is natural and that government interference is harmful.
This matches the core pedagogical objective of demonstrating how the Populist movement opposed the ideological structures justifying Gilded Age consolidation.

Key Concept

Populist opposition to Gilded Age economic inequality and Social Darwinism
Question 125Question →

Merrill E. Gates, President of the Board of Indian Commissioners, stated the following in 1896:

"We must make the Indian more intelligent. We must make him feel the pressure of his own individual responsibility... To get him out of the collective mass, out of the tribal relation, into individual relations with his fellow-men, is the problem... The system of land-in-severalty, which is now the law of the land, is a powerful instrument for this work. It breaks up the tribal mass. It makes the Indian a citizen, with individual rights and duties."

Which of the following was a primary goal of the federal policy discussed in the excerpt?

Show answer & explanation

Answer: To encourage cultural assimilation by breaking up communally held tribal lands

Answer

To encourage cultural assimilation by breaking up communally held tribal lands
The correct option is correct because the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 (the policy of 'land-in-severalty' mentioned in the excerpt) aimed to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream American society. It did this by ending tribal ownership of land and allotting plots to individual Native American family heads, thereby weakening tribal cohesion and cultural traditions.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the policy referred to in the excerpt.
The text references the 'system of land-in-severalty,' which corresponds to the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887.
Understanding the specific historical policy is necessary to determine its primary goals.
2
Analyze the speaker's arguments in the excerpt.
The speaker argues that individual landownership will break up the 'tribal mass' and integrate individuals into mainstream American citizenship.
This reveals the underlying pedagogical and political intentions of the policy creators.
3
Evaluate the options against the policy's historical goals.
The federal government's policy aimed to assimilate Native Americans into white American agrarian society by ending communal tribal landholdings and enforcing private ownership.
This confirms that the primary goal was cultural assimilation through land division.

Key Concept

Federal Indian Policy and Assimilation (Dawes Severalty Act of 1887)
Question 126Question →

During the late nineteenth century, major labor actions such as the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and the Pullman Strike of 1894 ended primarily because of which of the following developments?

Show answer & explanation

Answer: The federal government deployed military troops to end the strikes and protect corporate property.

Answer

The federal government deployed military troops to end the strikes and protect corporate property.
The correct answer is correct because during the Gilded Age, the federal government consistently supported employers over striking workers. In both the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and the Pullman Strike of 1894, the president deployed federal troops to restore order, protect private property, and break the strikes, representing direct government intervention on behalf of businesses.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the historical events mentioned.
The events are the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and the Pullman Strike of 1894, which were two of the largest labor conflicts of the Gilded Age.
Understanding the timeline and specific conflicts is necessary to determine their outcomes.
2
Analyze how these strikes were resolved.
In 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes sent federal troops to restore order. In 1894, President Grover Cleveland sent federal troops to ensure the delivery of the mail and end the Pullman Strike.
This identifies the direct cause of the strikes' termination.
3
Select the option that matches this historical resolution.
The option stating that the federal government deployed military troops to end the strikes is correct.
This choice accurately reflects the historical role of the federal government in siding with business owners over labor during these conflicts.

Key Concept

Federal intervention in Gilded Age labor conflicts
Estimated Time:45s
Question 127Question →

"By the proposed distribution of our lands in severalty, we see the certain and speedy destruction of our tribal governments and the absorption of our people by the white race. Our system of holding land in common has been the shield of our existence. To destroy it is to open the door to speculation and to leave our people landless and homeless."

— Creek Nation delegation, petition to the United States government, 1885

Which of the following federal policies of the late nineteenth century was the Creek delegation responding to in the excerpt?

Show answer & explanation

Answer: The passage of legislation to divide tribal lands into individual family farms

Answer

The passage of legislation to divide tribal lands into individual family farms
The correct option is correct because the Creek delegation's petition directly opposes the 'distribution of our lands in severalty' and the end of 'holding land in common.' This directly refers to the federal policy of allotment, which was codified in the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887. This act sought to break up tribal reservation lands into individual family plots to force assimilation and open remaining lands to white settlement.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus to identify the central concern of the Creek Nation delegation.
The Creek delegation is protesting the 'distribution of our lands in severalty' and the loss of 'holding land in common.'
Understanding the primary source's focus on land ownership structure is essential to identifying the relevant policy.
2
Recall late nineteenth-century federal Indian policies dealing with land division.
The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 was the primary federal policy designed to end communal reservation land ownership and distribute it to individual households.
This policy matches the delegation's description of dividing land in severalty, which was actively being debated in Congress in the mid-1880s.
3
Evaluate the answer choices to identify the one that describes the Dawes Act allotment policy.
The correct option describes the division of tribal lands into individual family farms.
This option directly corresponds to the historical intent and mechanism of the Dawes Act.

Key Concept

The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 and the policy of assimilation
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Period 6: 1865–1898 — AP United States History — Page 7 | Examkin