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WorksheetsThe American Yawp Chapter 15 – 17 Exam
Total questions: 46
Worksheet time: 1hrs 5mins
Taylorism attempted to use scientific principles to better handle which aspect of business?
Marketing
Management
Accounting
Industrial production
What most directly explains the boost in production of McCormick reapers?
The turn to skilled labor
Increased international demand
The adoption of interchangeable parts
Government loans
A wave of mergers peaked between 1897 and 1904. The largest of these mergers created the first billion dollar American corporation. What was that corporation?
United States Steel
Standard Oil
General Electric
American Tobacco
By 1900, the richest ten percent controlled perhaps percent of the nation’s wealth.
50%
75%
66%
Which of the following most accurately describes the arguments of Social Darwinism?
State welfare and private charity would lead to degeneration by perpetuating the survival of the weak
Religion was a force of weakness that modern society will inevitably eradicate
Scientific ideas the only source of true knowledge, therefore theories are just as valuable as facts
Inequalities in wealth would lead to social unrest and eventual revolution
The event that most seriously damaged the Knights of Labor was:
The Haymarket Square Riot
The Pullman Strike
The Homestead Strike
The Great Railroad Strike
Which of the following groups was the most radical?
Knights of Labor
American Federation of Labor
Congress of Industrial Organizations
United Auto Workers Union
The final two decades of the nineteenth century saw over strikes and lockouts
500
1,200
8,000
Which group founded the People’s Party (also known as the Populists)?
Small farmers in the South, Midwest, and Great Plains
Northeastern union laborers
Asian immigrants
African Americans in northern cities
What did the Populists propose in the Omaha Platform?
Nationalizing the country’s railroad and telegraph systems to ensure that essential services would be run in the best interests of the people
Establishment of a network of federally-managed warehouses—called subtreasuries—which would extend government loans to farmers
Promoted an inflationary monetary policy by monetizing silver
All of the above
Why were southerners unable to maintain unity in the People’s Party?
Lack of coordination
Racial conflict
Economic depression
Ideological conflict between leaders of the party
Why did William Jennings Bryan attack the Gold Standard?
He owned a controlling interest in a silver mining firm
He wanted to decrease inflation to stabilize the economy
He wanted to increase inflation to lower the burden of farmers debts
He believed that the Gold Standard was inhibiting American exports
The Socialist Party of America achieved which of the following gains in the early twentieth century?
Elected over 1,000 candidates to American political offices
Gained over 150,000 registered members
Garnered nearly one million votes for Socialist Party presidential candidate Eugene Debs in 1912
All of the above
When did Reconstruction begin?
Before the war ended
With Lee’s surrender at Appomattox
After the assassination of Abraham Lincoln
When the radical Republicans seized control of Congress
Black codes, including vagrancy laws had which of the following effects?
Criminalized black leisure
Limited black mobility
Locked many into exploitative farming contracts
All of the above
How did the Fourteenth Amendment change American governance?
Made slavery illegal in all American states
Asserted the federal government’s power to enforce the Bill of Rights over the authority of the states
Abolished vagrancy laws in the South
Divided the U.S. South into five military zones to ensure the creation of fair state governments
Black delegates actively participated in revising the state constitutions of southern states. In addition to election reform, what other major accomplishment did these delegates achieve?
Established public school systems
Forming racially integrated mental asylums
Reinstated an important tariff on Egyptian cotton
Created hundreds of new racially integrated churches
General William T. Sherman’s Special Field Order No. 15 was intended to do which of the following?
Destroy railroads in Georgia to weaken the Confederate war effort
Create voting rights for African Americans in temporary Union southern legislatures
Set aside land in Georgia and South Carolina as homesteads for freed people
None of the above
Which of the following goal of freedpeople was the least successful?
Reuniting families
Attending schools
Gaining access to land
Establishing independent churches
Black churches helped to develop political organization in black communities by:
providing a space for community meetings and leadership development
discouraging political involvement among members
focusing only on religious activities and avoiding social issues
limiting communication between community members
Why did women’s rights leaders oppose the Fourteenth Amendment?
It introduced the word “male” into the Constitution for the first time
Had no mention of gender
Women’s rights leaders tended to oppose anything that enhanced the power of the federal government over the power of the states
Most women’s right leaders opposed granting equal rights to African Americans, and the Fourteenth Amendment promised to do that
What was the term for the African American ladies memorial association that arranged the mourning for Union soldiers buried in Charleston?
Daughters of Liberty
Lights of Union
Patriotic Association
United Daughters of the Union
What terrorist tactics did white southerners use to enforce racial hierarchies?
Attacking black candidates and office holders and frightening voters with threats of violence
Targeting freedpeople who tried to purchase land or otherwise become too independent from the white masters they used to rely on
White men beat or shot black men with relative impunity, and did so over minor squabbles, labor disputes, longstanding grudges, and crimes of passion
All of the above
Why did the Ku Klux Klan attack Allen Huggins?
He was a former slave who tried to buy his master’s land at auction
He was accused of trying to rape a white girl
He was a white sheriff and tax collector who supported freedpeople’s civil rights
He was a black minister who had organized a voting campaign in Mississippi
What was the most common labor pattern in postbellum cotton agriculture?
Sharecropping
Wage labor
Apprenticeships
Chattel slavery
What was the most significant change in the American economy as a result of the Civil War?
Increased presence of the federal government in the economy
Temporary abolition of the income tax
Massive boosts in agricultural production
Reduction of tariffs and a rise in free trade
The Depression of 1873 began when a prominent business declared bankruptcy. What was the name of that company?
Jay Cooke and Company
Wells Fargo
Bank of the United States
B & O Railroad
The Compromise of 1877 did which of the following?
Gave the presidency to Samuel J. Tilden
Promised the removal of federal troops from the South
Lost the White House for the Republican Party
Solved problems of voter fraud in Virginia and Texas
The Homestead Act granted official title to 160 acre plots of land after how many years of settlement?
One year
Two years
Five years
Seven years
What economic opportunity drew the most migrants to the West?
Railroad work
Gold mining
Military work as Indian fighters
Access to land for agriculture
The Dakota Uprising of 1862 began with what event?
Civil War Era reforms to western Indian policy
The death of five white settlers at the hands of four young Santee men
A Sioux ambush at Redwood Ferry
Governor Alexander Ramsay’s new use of the militia to disarm Sioux hunters
How did President Lincoln respond to the Sioux Uprising?
Attempted to commute the sentences of captured Indians in order to maintain peace
Ordered the execution of 303 by hanging
Demanded the surrender of Sioux territory in Minnesota
Create a new alliance with Taoyateduta (known to Americans as Little Crow) in order to eliminate future conflicts
What did the United States demand from the Comanche leading to the Red River War?
They had no demands. The official policy of the U.S. government was to call for the extinction of the Comanche
The Comanche were instructed to worship the Christian God and renounce their traditional spiritual practices
The United States demanded that the Comanche settle on government reservations
The Red River War did not involve the Comanche
How was the transcontinental railroad funded?
Wealthy private business owners
Public stock offerings
Grants and loans from the federal government
Bonds sold to foreign investors
The purpose of Western cattle drives was to:
move cattle to railheads for shipment to markets
provide entertainment for settlers
train horses for rodeos
explore new territories in the West
Most practices and objects associated with American cowboys were modified from ______ ranchers.
Mexican
Native American
African
British-Canadian
Which city served as the most important railroad hub, connecting the East and the West?
St. Louis
Chicago
Cincinnati
Memphis
Which group received more land from the government?
Homesteading families
Railroad companies
Both received nearly equal an equal amount
Neither group received land from the government
What was the purpose of the Dawes General Allotment Act?
Splintered vast Native American reservations into individual family homesteads
Determined the amount of land that would be given to each major railroad company
Modified the original Homestead Act to increase land available to private settlers
All of the above
The Paiute prophet Wovoka promised that which of the following would occur if Indians obeyed his instructions and participated in the ceremony that came to be called the Ghost Dance
Dead relatives would return to Earth
Drought would end and the buffalo would return
Anglo settlers would disappear in an apocalyptic disaster
All of the above
Approximately what percent of early rodeo contestants were women?
There are no indications of women participating in rodeos prior to 1928
1%
5%
10%
What was Frederick Jackson Turner’s “Frontier Thesis?”
An argument that European socialism had created an opportunity for the United States to create an international empire
American culture was forged by the struggle between civilized settlers and savage frontier life, giving it a democratic and hardworking spirit
The belief that Manifest Destiny was an immoral reading of scripture
All of the above
An organization of workers established to serve and advance its members' interests in terms of wages, benefits, and working hours and conditions
closed shop
labor union
blacklist
lockout
In 5-7 sentences answer the question below. Be sure to use the rubric as your guide to a perfect score of a "10".
Dawes Act Essay Rubric (10 points total)
1. Government’s Stated Purpose (0–3 points)
3 points: Clearly explains that the Act was meant to divide tribal land into individual family allotments to promote farming, private property ownership, and assimilation into American society.
2 points: Mentions the government wanted Native Americans to become more like white settlers but lacks detail.
1 point: Vague reference to purpose with little explanation.
0 points: No mention of government purpose.
2. Actual Impact on Land & Culture (0–3 points)
3 points: Accurately describes that Native Americans lost millions of acres of land to white settlers/railroads and that tribal culture, traditions, and sovereignty were weakened or destroyed.
2 points: Mentions land loss or cultural harm but not both.
1 point: Vague statement about negative effects.
0 points: No mention of impacts.
3. Example of Forced Assimilation (0–3 points)
3 points: Strong explanation of how the Act forced Native Americans to abandon communal traditions and accept American values, linking it to the larger theme of assimilation policies.
2 points: Mentions assimilation but without clear connection to culture.
1 point: Very general or incomplete reference to assimilation.
0 points: No mention of assimilation.
4. Writing Quality (0–1 point)
1 point: Clear, organized, and mostly free of errors.
0 points: Disorganized or too many errors to follow.
In 1887, the U.S. Congress passed the Dawes Act. The government claimed this law was meant to “help” Native Americans by giving each family a small piece of land, called an allotment, to farm. Leaders said it would teach Native people the American way of life, especially the idea of private land ownership.
However, the results were very harmful. Native Americans lost over 90 million acres of land because the government sold “extra” land to white settlers and railroads. The land Native families did receive was often poor for farming. Tribal culture suffered because land that had always been shared by the whole tribe was broken apart into individual plots. Traditions, ceremonies, and community life were weakened.
The Dawes Act became one of the clearest examples of forced assimilation. Instead of respecting Native culture, the government tried to erase it and replace it with white American customs.
How did the Dawes Act of 1887 affect Native Americans? In your response, explain what the government said the purpose of the Act was, what actually happened to Native land and culture, and why this law is an important example of forced assimilation.
