Gilded Age Review

This excerpt describes some activities of political machines. At the turn of the 20th century, many U.S. cities were run by collections of self-serving political machines. These organizations controlled access to political power by rigging votes, buying people's loyalty—and their ballots. What was one additional way that urban political machines "controlled access to political power"?

• By requiring candidates to pass civil service exams

• By introducing referendum and recall elections

• By securing jobs and contracts for supporters

• By lobbying to introduce literacy tests

Which factor contributed MOST to these changes?

• The rising costs of national defense

• Threats posed by immigrant radicals

• Abuses of the spoils system by political machines

• The inefficiency of large corporations

Rise of factory production in the late 1800s led to long hours and low wages, dangerous working conditions, and little bargaining power for workers. Which result completes this diagram?

• Ratification of a suffrage amendment

• Building of the transcontinental railroad

• Passage of prohibition legislation

• Expansion of labor unions

Wild cattle multiplied for centuries in the Southwest. Growing cities created more demand for beef. Cowboys rounded up cattle and drove them to shipping centers on railroad lines. The introduction of barbed wire and windmills led to large fenced ranches. Which statement best completes this list?

• Congress passed legislation imposing tariffs on imported beef.

• Most of the cowboys on cattle drives were European immigrants.

• The cattle industry was nationalized under the Department of Agriculture.

• The need to process large amounts of cattle made meatpacking a major industry.

When Jacob Riis published How the Other Half Lives in 1890, the U.S. Census Bureau ranked New York as the most densely populated city in the United States. Disease, sanitation, garbage, and hygiene issues were constant concerns in crowded impoverished districts, where vital statistics were alarming. Jacob Riis wrote frequently to urge measures to protect public health and to alert wealthy residents of the city to slum conditions that put everyone at risk.

• Discrimination against African Americans in U.S. cities

• Harsh conditions of tenement housing in U.S. cities

• Growing conflict between rural regions and U.S. cities

• Increasing efforts to reduce Chinese immigration to U.S. cities

In 1895, the Department of Street Cleaning in New York City created a permanent group of sanitation workers known as the White Wings. This image shows the White Wings at work in 1896. Which issue contributed most to the need for this permanent sanitation group?

• Increased urban population

• The passage of labor laws

• Decreased regulation of urban rail systems

• The establishment of immigration quotas

What was the main reason given for the creation of these restrictions?

• Preventing the depletion of natural resources

• Discouraging anti-American activism

• Reducing competition for U.S. jobs

• Addressing a lack of urban housing

Which factor facilitated statehood for the darker-shaded areas?

• The introduction of barbed wire throughout the Great Plains

• The expansion of railway lines throughout the West

• The acceptance of Mormons by other religious sects in the East

• The peaceful integration of settlers with American Indian populations

In the last half of the nineteenth century, the United States experienced vast industrial growth. A new class of wealthy entrepreneurs and a prosperous middle class emerged. Factory jobs also increased to meet production demands. Which demographic change in the United States is most associated with this transformation?

• Increased property values in rural areas

• Increased life expectancies in urban areas

• Increased birth rates in rural areas

• Increased migration to urban areas

In the opinion of the Government of the United States, the coming of Chinese laborers to this country endangers the good order of certain localities. Therefore, Be it enacted that the coming of Chinese laborers to the United States be suspended. —Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882. Which factor prompted the passage of this legislation?

• Denial of labor union membership for unskilled workers

• Increased nativism and anti-immigrant attitudes

• Wage increases for workers in manufacturing positions

• Increased U.S. involvement in foreign wars and conflicts