Challenges in the Late 1800s

The white tenant lives adjoining the colored tenant. . . . They are equally burdened with heavy taxes. They pay the same high rent. . . . They pay the same enormous prices for farm supplies. . . . Now the People’s Party says to these two men, ‘You are kept apart that you may be separately fleeced of your earnings. . . . You are deceived and blinded that you may not see how this race antagonism perpetuates a monetary system which beggars both. ’”

In this quote, Thomas Watson uses the example of the People’s Party as evidence to support his argument that

• racial equality would have a negative impact on the South.

• conflict between the races has made it more difficult to achieve economic justice for the poor.

• in legal terms, blacks and poor whites in the South are treated equally.

• the People’s Party supports segregation while assisting people of both races.

Which of the following can be determined by looking at the two charts?

• McKinley carried northern states, while Bryan carried southern states.

• McKinley carried larger states, while Bryan carried smaller ones.

• None of these statements can be substantiated using the above charts.

• McKinley carried states with large numbers of electoral votes.

Based on the congressional elections of 1894, in which region of the country did Populism seem to have the most support?

• The midwest

• The northeast

• The southeast

• The far west

What does this political cartoon suggest about William Jennings Bryan?

• He is trying to destroy the Populist Party.

• He is a former Democrat who has betrayed the Democratic Party.

• He is a Populist who is trying to overwhelm and absorb the Democratic Party.

• He is trying to destroy the Democratic Party so that the Republican Party can advance.

Which of the following conclusions can be drawn from the information in the map?

• The Populist Party had no effect on the major parties in 1892.

• William Jennings Bryan was a popular candidate with working people.

• The electoral vote can win an election for a candidate who loses the popular vote.

• The northern states have more electoral votes than the southern and western states.

In the year 1890, approximately what percentage of the total U.S. population lived in the West?

• 40%

• 10%

• 5%

• 25%

What conclusion can be drawn from this illustration?

• The farming industry is in danger of collapse.

• Bankers and other professionals are not kind to farmers.

• Many professions are related to others.

• Farmers have an important job in American society.

“…We see him as he is, and, so far as all knowledge goes, as he ever has been, a savage in every sense of the word; not worse, perhaps, than his white brother would be similarly born and bred, but whose cruel and ferocious nature far exceeds that of any wild beast of the desert.” -Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer

Based on this passage, what reasons might Lt. Colonel Custer have had for his desire to remove the Natives from the American west?

• their desire to leave

• their consumption of land and goods

• their nature

• their disagreements with the US government

What problem that plagued settlers on the Great Plains did the technology pictured work to solve?

• lack of electricity

• little wind

• little water

• prairie fires

Partly as a result of machines like the McCormick Reaper pictured above, what happened to wheat prices?

• prices stagnated

• prices increased

• prices fluctuated

• prices decreased