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Worksheets

Midterm Game

Total questions: 70

Worksheet time: 35mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness.”

— The Declaration of Independence


How are these words fundamental to the meaning of the Declaration of Independence?

a)

They state that the power to govern comes from the will of the governed, and the governed have the right to change the government.

b)

They state that the government is required to assure that all citizens are safe and happy, and if it fails at this, the people can overthrow it.

c)

They state that all men are equal to the king of England, so the British government cannot impose its political will on North American colonists

d)

They state that since Britain has imposed taxes that prohibited English colonists from pursuing happiness, the colonies are breaking away from British rule.

2.

Why is the Bill of Rights an important part of the U.S. Constitution?

a)

It defines the role of the courts.

b)

It protects Americans’ personal freedoms.

c)

It explains how congressional seats are to be allocated.

d)

It discusses the role the new country will have in international affairs.

3.

Why did Booker T. Washington not devote his energies to overturning Jim Crow laws?

a)

He advocated an aggressive plan with professional careers, college educations, and a demand for political and social rights.

b)

He agreed with W.E.B. Dubois that African Americans needed to pursue a strong education and push for integration at all levels of society.

c)

Washington advised African Americans to develop vocational skills that would eventually lead to economic equality.

d)

Washington suggested gaining skills and then emigrating back to Africa.

4.

Why was the Fifteenth Amendment unable to protect African Americans’ voting rights?

a)

The Fifteenth Amendment applied only to some districts.

b)

States were still able to impose voting restrictions based on literacy or property qualifications.

c)

Some states refused to recognize constitutional amendments.

d)

The Fifteenth Amendment dealt with citizenship, not voting rights.

5.

How did the decision in Plessy v. Ferguson affect both the North and the South?

a)

It supported the Reconstruction amendments.

b)

Segregation on public transportation was ended.

c)

The basis for separate but equal legislation was established.

d)

It dismantled Jim Crow laws.

6.

The old South rested everything on slavery and agriculture, unconscious that these could neither give nor maintain healthy growth. The new South presents a perfect democracy... and a diversified industry that meets the complex needs of this complex age.”

—Henry Grady, 1866

The author of this quotation would most likely support which of these economic approaches?

a)

Building more textile mills in the South

b)

Planting more cash crops for overseas export

c)

Developing more farm cartels for economies of scale

d)

Shipping more raw materials to the North for processing

7.

The transcontinental railroad helped close the frontier in the late 1900s by —

a)

spurring industrial development

b)

raising the standard of living on the frontier

c)

making it easier for settlers to migrate westward

d)

making it faster and cheaper to ship goods across the country

8.

Under the terms of the Pendleton Civil Service Act, individuals who wanted to work for the government —

a)

had to take an exam to qualify

b)

could not be part of the spoils system

c)

had to cut off ties with political machines

d)

could only hold their jobs for a limited time

9.

"In compliance with your request, I have come to give my views of the present condition of the rebel States—of the proper mode of reorganizing the Government, and the future prospects of the Republic. During the whole progress of the war, I never for a moment felt doubt or despondency. I knew that the loyal North would conquer the rebel despots who sought to destroy freedom. But since that traitorous confederation has been subdued, and we have entered upon the work of "reconstruction" or "restoration,” I cannot deny that my heart has become sad at the gloomy prospects before us.…We especially insist that the property of the chief rebels should be seized and appropriated to the payment of the National debt, caused by the unjust and wicked war which they instigated."

—Representative Thaddeus Stevens, Speech, 1865

In this speech excerpt, which Reconstruction issue does Stevens address?

a)

equal protection under the law

b)

confiscation of Southern land

c)

loyalty oaths for Southern leaders

d)

process of state readmission

10.

"The Freedmen’s Bureau helped reunite families that had been separated by slavery and war. It negotiated fair labor contracts between former slaves and white landowners. By representing African Americans in the courts, the Bureau also established a precedent that black citizens had legal rights. The Freedmen’s Bureau continued its efforts until 1872."


Based on the text, which piece of legislation would eventually extend the legal goals of the Freedmen’s Bureau?

a)

Ten Percent Plan

b)

the black codes

c)

Thirteenth Amendment

d)

Fourteenth Amendment

11.

"Beginning with the state conventions required by Johnson, southern leaders proceeded to rebuild their prewar world. Many states specifically limited the vote to white men. Some states sent their Confederate officials to the U.S. Congress. All of the states instituted black codes—laws that sought to limit the rights of African Americans and keep them as landless workers. The codes required African Americans to work in only a limited number of occupations, most often as servants or farm laborers. Some states prohibited African Americans from owning land, and all set up vagrancy laws. These laws stipulated that any black person who did not have a job could be arrested and sent to work as prison labor."


According to the passage, when African Americans faced vagrancy laws they struggled to earn money because of both limited employment opportunities and

a)

denial of voting rights.

b)

punishment for being out of work.

c)

the renewed threat of slavery.

d)

collapse of the agricultural economy.

12.

“I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I have never voluntarily borne arms against the United States since I have been a citizen thereof; that I have voluntarily given no aid, countenance, counsel, or encouragement, to persons engaged in armed hostility thereto; that I have neither sought nor accepted, nor attempted to exercise the functions of any office whatever, under any authority or pretended authority in hostility to the United States; that I have not yielded a voluntary support to any pretended government, authority, power, or constitution, within the United States, hostile or inimical thereto.”

—“Ironclad Test Oath,” 1864

This oath, used by the United States Congress, was primarily intended to eliminate which group from elected office?

a)

northern carpetbaggers

b)

Confederate sympathizers

c)

southern scalawags

d)

Union deserters

13.

As long as the shadow of the great house falls across you, you ain’t going to feel like no free man and no free woman.”

—African American Minister

This quotation reflects the desire of many newly freed slaves to

a)

punish former slaveholders.

b)

pursue a fresh start in a new place.

c)

turn plantation houses into churches.

d)

invest in educational opportunities.

14.

During Reconstruction, which of the following was a way African American churches worked to develop new leaders in the community?

a)

training women to be nurses

b)

giving jobs to unemployed carpetbaggers

c)

establishing the first public vocational schools

d)

providing a platform for organizing and group planning

15.

“Meanwhile they live in a place of infernal dins. The crash and thunder of the machinery is like the roar of an immense cataract. The room shrieks and blares and bellows. Down in the midst of it sit these tiny urchins, where they earn fifty-five cents a day each. They breathe this atmosphere until their lungs grow heavy and sick with it. But they are uncowed; they continue to swagger. And at the top of the 'breaker' laborers can always be seen dumping the roaring coal down the wide, voracious maw of the creature.”—Stephen Crane, “In the Depths of a Coal Mine,” 1894


Crane describes young coal miners as mistreated but nonetheless

a)

happy

b)

healthy

c)

proud

d)

satisfied

16.

“This, then, is held to be the duty of the man of Wealth: First, to set an example of modest, unostentatious living, shunning display or extravagance; to provide moderately for the legitimate wants of those dependent upon him; and after doing so to consider all surplus revenues which come to him simply as trust funds, which he is called upon to administer, and strictly bound as a matter of duty to administer in the manner which, in his judgment, is best calculated to produce the most beneficial result for the community—the man of wealth thus becoming the sole agent and trustee for his poorer brethren, bringing to their service his superior wisdom, experience, and ability to administer—doing for them better than they would or could do for themselves.”

—Andrew Carnegie, “Wealth,” 1889


What is Carnegie’s message in the text above?

a)

People who are wealthy deserve the money that they have.

b)

It is the responsibility of wealthy people to give back to society.

c)

Regardless of social class, everyone should accept their place in society.

d)

America is a land of opportunity, where anyone can work to make a fortune.

17.

How did business leaders in the late nineteenth century utilize vertical integration?

a)

They maintained control of production and distribution of their products.

b)

They maintained control of the raw materials necessary for their products.

c)

They allowed market forces to dictate how their products were distributed.

d)

They delegated responsibility for production and distribution to subsidiaries.

18.

“All charges made for any service rendered or to be rendered in the transportation of passengers or property as aforesaid, or in connection therewith, or for the receiving, delivering, storage, or handling of such property, shall be reasonable and just; and every unjust and unreasonable charge for such service is prohibited and declared to be unlawful.”

—Interstate Commerce Act, 1887


What did the Interstate Commerce Act do?

a)

It controlled the railroads’ transactions.

b)

It broke up all remaining railroad trusts.

c)

It monitored the rates charged by railroads.

d)

It regulated all railroads in the United States.

19.

“Ten dollars a week was to him a fortune. . . . Indeed, he would have been glad, only the day before, to get a place at three dollars a week. . . . Then he was to be advanced if he deserved it. It was indeed a bright prospect for a boy who, only a year before, could neither read nor write. . . . Dick’s great ambition to “grow up ‘spectable” seemed likely to be accomplished after all.”

—Horatio Alger, 1868


The works of Horatio Alger promoted the idea that--

a)

life in the cities was preferable to rural life

b)

workers were being exploited by industrialists

c)

anyone could become successful with hard work

d)

children in the workforce deserved better treatment

20.

“[Rockefeller’s company] killed its rivals, in brief, by getting the great trunk lines to refuse to give them transportation. Vanderbilt is reported to have said that there was but one man—Rockefeller—who could dictate to him.”

—H. D. Lloyd, The Atlantic, 1881


In this text, Lloyd describes how John D. Rockefeller built an oil--

a)

cartel

b)

corporation

c)

monopoly

d)

trust

21.

“Go into any of the ‘respectable’ tenement neighborhoods . . . you shall come away agreeing [that] . . . life there does not seem worth living. . . . [T]he airshaft. . . . seems always so busy letting out foul stenches . . . that it has no time to earn its name by bringing down fresh air. . . .”

—Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives


In this paragraph, Riis drew attention to the

a)

political conditions in large cities.

b)

economic conditions in large cities.

c)

living conditions of the urban poor.

d)

working conditions of urban workers.

22.

“When Rockefeller founded Standard Oil, kerosene was 30 cents a gallon. Twenty years later, Rockefeller had almost a 90 percent market share and kerosene was only eight cents a gallon. Customers were the real winners here, because Rockefeller’s size allowed him to cut costs. . . .”

—Historian Burton W. Folsom, Jr.


Folsom would be most likely to call John D. Rockefeller a

a)

carpetbagger.

b)

robber baron.

c)

philanthropist.

d)

captain of industry.

23.

One major reason for the growth in urbanization between 1860 and 1900 was that

a)

politicians in major cities demanded fair working conditions for all laborers.

b)

the upper-middle class was prosperous and able to afford city dwellings.

c)

many new immigrants were unable to find work on Midwestern farms.

d)

many factory jobs were located in cities near transportation routes.

24.

What was the main reason for the drop in cotton prices between 1865 and 1890?

a)

Other crops became more popular in the textile industry.

b)

The boll weevil decimated the southern states’ cotton supply.

c)

The southern states could not export as much cotton to the North.

d)

Mills in Europe found cheaper sources for cotton.

25.

What did Alexander Graham Bell's most famous invention contribute to life in the late 1800s?

a)

His invention opened up a new entertainment industry.

b)

His invention were among the first products advertised in catalogs.

c)

His invention created a better way to communicate with transatlantic ocean liners.

d)

His invention helped make communication between households and businesses more efficient.

26.

What was one advantage of urbanization for poor workers who migrated to cities in the late nineteenth century?

a)

They had access to sufficient healthcare.

b)

They had access to electricity and other technologies.

c)

They were better able to provide their children with educational opportunities.

d)

They earned wages that enabled them to have a higher standard of living.

27.

The Knights of Labor was formed with the goal of

a)

broad social reform for laborers.

b)

helping immigrant workers find jobs.

c)

raising money to overthrow large factories.

d)

promoting capitalism among skilled workers.

28.

How did the Haymarket Riot hurt the labor movement?

a)

Key labor leaders were injured in the riot.

b)

Many Americans came to believe that union members were violent anarchists.

c)

Union members became afraid to strike following the violence.

d)

The fires started in the riot destroyed much of Chicago's industrial base.

29.

Naturalist novels

a)

defended the efficiency of big business.

b)

argued for the establishment of national parks and forests.

c)

portrayed human misery and the struggles of common people.

d)

encouraged social reform based on the teachings of the Bible.

30.

Progressives that promoted Americanization efforts

a)

helped immigrants establish ethnic communities.

b)

believed that the temperance movement unfairly targeted immigrants.

c)

believed that assimilating immigrants would make them less loyal.

d)

encouraged immigrants to follow white, middle-class ways of life.

31.

The Urban League

a)

focused on helping poor African American workers.

b)

worked for women’s suffrage.

c)

formed in response to race riots in 1908.

d)

helped middle-class African Americans fight unfair laws.

32.

During the 1902 coal miners’ strike in Pennsylvania, President Roosevelt

a)

remained neutral.

b)

prohibited the miners from forming a union.

c)

ordered the National Guard to stop the strike.

d)

threatened to send federal troops to take control of the mines.

33.

Which of the following describes Thomas Nast?

a)

corrupt politician

b)

political cartoonist

c)

big business owner

d)

writer and social commentator

34.

“Poverty and ignorance have affected the black man just as they affect the white man. They have made him untruthful, intemperate, selfish, caused him to steal, to be cheated, and made the outcast of society, and he has aspired to positions which he was not mentally and morally capable of filling. But the day is breaking, and education will bring the complete light. The scales of prejudice are beginning to drop from the eyes of the dominant classes South, and through their clearer and more intelligent vision they are beginning to see and recognize the mighty truth that wealth, happiness, and permanent prosperity will only come in proportion as the hand, head, and heart of both races are educated and Christianized.”

—Booker T. Washington, “The Educational Outlook in the South,” July 16, 1884


What opinion does Washington express about the equal rights movement for African Americans?

a)

African Americans must demand to receive equal treatment under the law.

b)

African Americans will receive equal treatment when they have earned it.

c)

The equal rights movement for African Americans is vital for everyone’s well being.

d)

The equal rights movement for African Americans has made little hope for progress.

35.

Which problem was the muckraker Upton Sinclair most concerned to expose?

a)

child labor in the oil industry

b)

the personal struggles of African Americans in urban environments

c)

poor and unsanitary working conditions in American factories

d)

political corruption in Congress and the judiciary

36.

What is the name of the political reform that allows voters to reject laws even if they had already been passed by the legislature?

a)

direct primary

b)

initiative

c)

recall

d)

referendum

37.

What was the primary effect of the Supreme Court ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson?

a)

It led to greater opportunities for minorities.

b)

It legalized segregation in many parts of the country.

c)

It permanently divided the Progressive Party.

d)

It made the sale of alcohol illegal in the United States.

38.

Which of the following did the National Reclamation Act of 1902 led to?

a)

the coal miners’ strike of 1902

b)

the construction of the Hoover Dam

c)

the preservation of Yellowstone National Park

d)

the use of water-sharing systems in the western states

39.

What did W.E.B. Du Bois believe about African Americans and racial relations in the United States?

a)

African Americans should use violence in their fight for civil rights.

b)

African Americans would eventually be granted rights if they waited patiently.

c)

Prejudice against African Americans was equally severe throughout the nation.

d)

African Americans should immediately demand equal treatment under the law.

40.

What was one strategy used by the National Women's Party to secure passage of the Nineteenth Amendment?

a)

passage of the 1917 referendum in New York

b)

recruiting wealthy women to gain more publicity

c)

hunger strikes and picketing

d)

newspaper campaigns and letters to the President

41.

During Reconstruction, southern agriculture

a)

thrived.

b)

became diverse.

c)

focused on cotton and tobacco.

d)

expanded dramatically.

42.

Why was the Farmers’ Alliance formed in the 1870s?

a)

to fight foreign competition

b)

to improve agricultural equipment

c)

to negotiate lower prices for supplies

d)

to eradicate the boll weevil

43.

When we cease to teach the Indian that he is less than a man; when we recognize fully that he is capable in all respects as we are, and that he only needs the opportunities and privileges which we possess to enable him to assert his humanity and manhood; when we act consistently towards him in accordance with that recognition; when we cease to fetter him to conditions which keep him in bondage, surrounded by retrogressive influences; when we allow him the freedom of association and the developing influences of social contact—then the Indian will quickly demonstrate that he can be truly civilized, and he himself will solve the question of what to do with the Indian.”

—Captain Richard H. Pratt, 1892


In this statement, Captain Pratt is most likely advocating which of the following for the Native Americans?

a)

an allotment program for land

b)

a treaty ending violent conflict

c)

involuntary relocation to reservations

d)

assimilation into mainstream culture

44.

What did the gridlock between parties in Congress and the White House in the late 1800s lead to?

a)

Corruption became widespread.

b)

Native Americans were restricted to reservations.

c)

Reconstruction went on for too long.

d)

Little meaningful legislation was passed.

45.

What was the primary effect of Native Americans being confined to reservations?

a)

The conflict between Native Americans and settlers decreased.

b)

Their nomadic way of life was increasingly restricted.

c)

They received education and religious teaching from settlers.

d)

They were given access to improved healthcare facilities and schools.

46.

The 1908 riots in Springfield, Illinois,

a)

led reformers to organize the NAACP.

b)

undermined the influence of civil rights reformers.

c)

caused the disintegration of the Niagara Movement.

d)

occurred in response to the Plessy v. Ferguson decision.

47.

The National Consumers League

a)

regulated the interstate food trade.

b)

distributed information about women's health and birth control.

c)

gave special labels to "goods produced under fair, safe, and healthy working conditions."

d)

created the first workers' strike fund to help support families who refused to work in unsafe or unfair conditions.

48.

The Nineteenth Amendment, which Congress approved in June 1919,

a)

made it illegal for employers to discriminate against women.

b)

put an end to prohibition.

c)

gave women the right to vote.

d)

forced schools to look at racial background when accepting students.

49.

W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington

a)

differed in their opinions on the rights of African Americans.

b)

differed in the ways in which they thought African Americans should work for recognition of their rights.

c)

both urged African Americans to demand immediately all the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

d)

both believed vocational education was more important for African Americans than a liberal arts education.

50.

Why did President Theodore Roosevelt push Congress to pass the National Reclamation Act?

a)

to support private claims to natural resources

b)

to protect forestland from the lumber industry

c)

to manage water distribution in western lands

d)

to preserve wilderness lands in untouched condition

51.

The Pendleton Civil Service Act made government hiring dependent on

a)

merit.

b)

party loyalty.

c)

party affiliation.

d)

wealth.

52.

Which of the following started a lifelong crusade against lynching?

a)

Susan B. Anthony

b)

W.E.B. Du Bois

c)

Booker T. Washington

d)

Ida B. Wells

53.

Jim Crow laws were enacted in order to

a)

keep British goods out of American ports.

b)

undermine the rights of Chinese immigrant workers.

c)

limit the amount of money plaintiffs could be awarded in punitive damages.

d)

keep African Americans and whites segregated.

54.

Which of the following took advantage of the fact that African Americans were denied the vote before 1866?

a)

literacy tests

b)

understanding tests

c)

grandfather clauses

d)

poll taxes

55.

The Dawes General Allotment Act of 1887

a)

granted 160-acre farmsteads to Indian families.

b)

forced Indians to live on reservations.

c)

encouraged Indians to live on reservations.

d)

voided all previous treaties between Indians and the U.S. government.

56.

The "Exodusters" were

a)

immigrants from Scandinavia who settled in the dry areas of Texas and Oklahoma.

b)

farmers who used new equipment designed to increase production in the Dust Bowl.

c)

a group of African Americans who founded all-black towns in Kansas and Oklahoma.

d)

a small group of men and women who established churches throughout the southwest.

57.

The transcontinental railroad was completed

a)

using mostly Indian labor.

b)

under harsh conditions for many Chinese and Irish laborers.

c)

before the end of the Civil War.

d)

despite the protests of the U.S. government.

58.

What was a key component of the South becoming more industrialized after the Civil War?

a)

better educated workers than the North

b)

expansion of railroads and transportation

c)

smaller, more diversified farms

d)

the rising price of cotton

59.

Which of the following factors contributed to the decline of open-range cattle ranching?

a)

railroads

b)

barbed wire

c)

branding

d)

Mining

60.

A mining town that did not diversify and grow became a

a)

rough, lawless place.

b)

county seat.

c)

boomtown.

d)

ghost town.

61.

A series of major and minor events in Texas over the course of one year that led to the defeat of the southern Plains Indians was known as the

a)

Sand Creek Massacre.

b)

Battle of Wounded Knee.

c)

Battle of Little Big Horn.

d)

Red River War.

62.

The Sand Creek Massacre occurred when

a)

members of a Colorado militia killed many peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians.

b)

federal troops mistakenly killed members of a Colorado militia.

c)

Cheyenne Indians slaughtered unarmed Colorado settlers.

d)

Arapaho Indians attacked a dozen stagecoaches near Sand Creek.

63.

Which Native American group lived on land in Idaho and included many individuals who were successful horse and cattle breeders?

a)

Kiowas

b)

Nez Percé

c)

Comanches

d)

Blackfeet

64.

After the Civil War, the southern economy

a)

lagged behind the northern economy.

b)

kept pace with the northern economy.

c)

exceeded the northern economy.

d)

completely collapsed.

65.

The ultimate goal of the Dawes General Allotment Act was the

a)

strengthening of the reservations system.

b)

assimilation of Indians into white culture.

c)

relocation of Indians to the Rocky Mountains.

d)

celebration of traditional Native American cultures.

66.

How did industrialization benefit the food industry?

a)

Protective tariffs encouraged international trade.

b)

New communications technology encouraged more people to farm.

c)

Patent laws discouraged innovation.

d)

Refrigerated train cars made it possible to keep goods fresh over long distances.

67.

Which of the following was a downside of industrialization?

a)

higher wages

b)

more housing

c)

more pollution and waste

d)

fewer jobs

68.

Which of the following is one result of the Lincoln-Douglas debates during the 1858 Senate race in Illinois?

a)

Douglas renounced his support of popular sovereignty.

b)

Lincoln gained national attention.

c)

Illinois citizens voted to ban slavery.

d)

Many northerners abandoned the cause of abolition.

69.

What was one way in which the goals of Radical Reconstruction failed?

a)

Former Confederate leaders failed to regain power.

b)

Segregation became the law in all southern states.

c)

The nation was permanently reunited.

d)

Ulysses S. Grant became President of the United States.

70.

What was the key goal of the Union's Anaconda Plan?

a)

to outlast the Confederate armies

b)

to seize the Confederate capital and other important cities

c)

to cut off the South from resources and starving it into submission

d)

to divide and conquering the two halves of the Confederacy