West and Gilded Age-Part 1

A chief characteristic of the Gilded Age includes —

• an artistic revival in literature and art
• expansion of rights for women and minorities
• growth of big business and westward expansion
• reform efforts to address the effects of urbanization

The purpose of the Dawes Severalty Act of 1877 was to —

• return lands to American Indian tribes
• move American Indian tribes to reservations
• assimilate American Indian tribes into U.S. society
• draft members of American Indian tribes into the U.S. military

One way political machines gained power during the Gilded Age was by —

• receiving financial support from big business
• providing services to immigrants and the poor
• obtaining authority by state legislative policies
• operating without most of the public’s knowledge

Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller both started businesses with their own investment of money and eventually gained immense wealth. Many men were successful like this during the Gilded Age and were considered —

• entrepreneurs
• nativists
• philanthropists
• populists

The steel industry in the United States expanded largely because —

• large deposits of steel were discovered in western states
• the Bessemer process made steel production more affordable
• European immigrants introduced new steel production techniques
• telephone and telegraph lines required large amount of steel to build

While big businesses grew with industrialization of the late 1800's, the agricultural sector of the time was characterized by —

• high unemployment for farmers who were replaced by mechanization
• too many farmers competing against each other resulting in low prices
• overproduction resulting in low prices for products and debt for farmers
• a boom in demand, high prices for products, and low costs for transportation

In the late nineteenth century, reformers called for solutions to problems created by industrialization and urbanization. Protestant leaders of the Social Gospel movement supported this idea by claiming —

• Christians had a duty to help the poor
• the poor needed to convert to Christianity
• poor social conditions were a sign of God’s will
• Catholic political bosses were not helping the poor

Why were many immigrants motivated to migrate to the United States in the late 1800s?

• To live in a warmer climate
• To seek out new technologies
• To pursue the American Dream
• To have access to cheaper goods

Based on the information in the above excerpt what impact did the physical geography of the Great Plains have on settlement patterns in the area?

• Farmers were drawn to the area by the promise of fertile soil.
• The area attracted many who were seeking to get rich finding gold.
• Mountain barriers forced American Indian tribes to settle in the region.
• Cattle ranchers came to the region hoping to push the bison off the land.

How did both the Klondike Gold Rush and the passage of the Homestead Act result in demographic changes to U.S. society?

• Women outnumbered men living on the plains of the American West.
• American Indians were displaced by descendants of European immigrants.
• Chinese migration increased at a faster rate than that of other immigrant groups.
• Most of the population of the United States shifted from the east coast to the west coast.