APUSH ~ 6.2 ~ Westward Expansion Economic Development (Heimler)

What was the impact of the mechanization of agriculture on small farmers?

• They were able to negotiate better prices for their crops

• They were able to increase their crop production

• They became obsolete as they couldn't afford the new equipment

• They were able to compete with bigger farms

What was the purpose of the National Grange Movement?

• To advocate for industrial trusts

• To promote westward migration

• To provide education and socialization for farmers then turned into a political movement advocating to pass laws to benefit farmers.

• To support the construction of transcontinental railroads

What did the Interstate Commerce Act of 1886 require of railroad rates?

• To be set by the federal government

• To be reasonable and just

• To be controlled by the industrial trusts

• To be unregulated and free market driven

What was the purpose of the Pacific Railroads Acts?

• To establish the Interstate Commerce Commission

• To grant land to railroad companies for building transcontinental railroads

• To regulate railroad rates

• To advocate for farmer resistance

What was the impact of gold and silver discoveries on westward migration?

• It led to the rapid development of boomtowns

• It led to the decline of the transcontinental railroads

• It caused a decrease in the population of the West

• It had no impact on migration

What was the purpose of the Homestead Act of 1862?

• To regulate the prices of crops

• To support the construction of transcontinental railroads

• To provide financial aid to small farmers

• To grant free land to people willing to settle in the West

What was the impact of the surplus of crops on small farmers?

• It led to an increase in crop prices

• It made it easier for small farmers to compete with bigger farms

• It led to a decrease in crop prices

• It had no impact on small farmers

What was the purpose of the Industrial Granger Laws?

• To promote westward migration

• To regulate railroad rates and outlaw corporate practices that hurt farmers

• To provide education and socialization for farmers

• To advocate for industrial trusts

What was the impact of railroad expansion on westward migration?

• It facilitated easier westward migration

• It led to the decline of the transcontinental railroads

• It made it more difficult for settlers to move West

• It had no impact on migration

“The Work Accomplished — Ceremonies at Promontory Summit.

“Special Dispatch to the New York Times.

“Promontory, Utah, Monday, May 10.

“The long-looked for moment has arrived. . . . The inhabitants of the Atlantic seaboard and dwellers of the Pacific slopes are henceforth emphatically one people. Your correspondent is writing on Promontory Summit amid the deafening shouts of the multitude, with the tick, tick, of the telegraph close to his ear. The proceedings of the day are: . . .

“Laying of the two rails, one opposite the other—one for the Union Pacific Railroad, and one for the Central Pacific Railroad. . . .

“Driving of the last spikes by the two Companies; [the] telegraph [is] to be attached to the spike of the Central Pacific Company, and the last blow to announce to the world by telegraph the completion of the Pacific Railroad.

“Telegram to the President of the United States.

“Telegram to the Associated Press. . . .”

The New York Times, news report, 1869

Question

The development of the railroads as described in the excerpt had which of the following effects on westward expansion in the late 1800s?

• New immigrants mostly settled on western farms along rail lines.

• Governments exerted increased control over transportation industries.

• New commercial centers and communities emerged along rail lines.

• Merchants mobilized politically to resist transportation expansion.

Answer explanation

The excerpt shows the connection of the American coasts by the building of the railroads and of telegraph lines. This led to the creation of new communities and centers of economic activity facilitated by the new infrastructure.