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CHAPTER 20: POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT, 1877–1900
Multiple Choice
1. Between 1876 and 1900, voter turnout in presidential elections averaged __________
percent of eligible voters.
A) 25
B) 50
C) 75
D) 80
2. Which statement best describes presidential elections in the period between 1876 and
1900?
A) Men participated actively and regularly in elections and campaigns.
B) Many men began to call for women’s suffrage so that political activism would
increase.
C) New immigrants rarely voted because they felt alienated from the process.
D) Elections received little interest in small towns of the Midwest.
3. Why were New York, New Jersey, Ohio, and Indiana key states in national elections?
A) Those states possessed 75 percent of the nation’s electoral votes.
B) The Republican Party garnered 80 percent of the votes in those states.
C) Those states were evenly contested between the Democrats and Republicans.
D) All members of the Supreme Court came from one of those four states.
4. Which of the following best describes the Greenback Party of the 1870s?
A) It was a party that fought for labor reform and greater economic equality.
B) It was a political party that represented the laissez-faire philosophy of conservative
industrialists.
C) It was a political party that exploited people’s dissatisfaction with the Populist Party.
D) It was a political party that attracted supporters only in the Midwest.
5. In the late-1800s, Republicans were strongest in the __________ and __________.
A) South; Midwest
B) South; West
C) North; Southwest
D) North; Midwest
6. The Democrats of the late-1800s portrayed themselves as the party of __________.
A) the industrial Northeast
B) aggressive national unity
C) protective tariffs and advocacy of Indian rights
D) limited government and personal liberties
7. The Greenback Party of the 1870s __________.
A) called for labor reform and democratization of the economy
B) represented the laissez-faire philosophy of conservative industrialists
C) played upon people’s dissatisfaction with the Populist Party
D) failed to attract supporters across regional lines
8. In the late nineteenth century, which of the following was most likely to determine the
party affiliation of a voter?
A) occupation
B) ethnic identity
C) religious background
D) cultural identity
9. Suffrage refers to the right to __________.
A) strike
B) vote
C) free expression
D) survive
10. By the mid-1890s, female reformers had succeeded in __________.
A) getting the federal government to outlaw child labor
B) electing several women to the U.S. Senate
C) gaining the right to vote for women in some western states
D) convincing the American Federation of Labor to accept women as members
11. Which political party expressed ideas that were close to the goals of the Grange?
A) the Populists
B) the Union Labor Party
C) the Republican Party
D) the Mugwumps
12. The leader of the Women’s Christian Temperance union argued that __________.
A) school prayer should be a vital aspect of public education
B) alcohol abuse was a result of poverty and social disorder
C) violent crime against women was not a serious social problem
D) the government should control the production of alcohol and tobacco
13. The federal bureaucracy in the nineteenth century was __________ and __________.
A) large; efficient
B) small; inefficient
C) small; efficient
D) large; inefficient
14. Between 1868–1896, the presidency was a(n) __________ institution.
A) weak
B) corrupt
C) strong
D) effective
15. The presidents in the era 1868–1897 were known for __________.
A) their weak use of presidential powers
B) their liberal views regarding social reform
C) their assertive support of labor
D) sponsoring many legislative actions
16. In the late nineteenth century, congressional power was centralized in the
__________.
A) Senate President
B) Speaker of the House
C) Majority Whip
D) President Pro Tempore
17. The actions of Congress in the late-1800s were characterized by __________.
A) a quiet, deferential atmosphere that stifled debate
B) a return to a simple and honest interpretation of congressional protocol
C) the aggressive presence of the president in controlling legislative proposals
D) repeated shifts in party control that impeded effective action
18. By 1871, three-fourths of all federal government employees were __________.
A) law enforcement agents
B) local postmasters
C) tax collectors
D) active military personnel
19. The most accurate description of the spoils system is __________.
A) using the powers of state government to bypass federal laws
B) the promotion of third party candidates as voices of reform
C) creating voting blocs based on ethnic and religious ties
D) awarding government jobs based on party activism and loyalty
20. In the late nineteenth century, state governments __________.
A) did relatively little
B) began actively regulating industry
C) did not collect taxes
D) were more active than they are today
21. Which of the following caused an expansion in state governments in the late
nineteenth century?
A) the need to regulate industry
B) the need to create government jobs for the unemployed
C) the need to regulate commerce
D) the need to provide social services to disadvantaged groups
22. How did Rutherford B. Hayes demonstrate his sympathy for civil service reform?
A) He created the Civil Service Commission.
B) He fired Chester A. Arthur after charges of corruption.
C) He embraced the platform of the Mugwumps.
D) He refused to appoint people who had aided his campaign.
23. A member of the __________ party would most likely support selection of
government employees on the basis of a written examination.
A) Populist
B) Mugwump
C) Greenback
D) Republican
24. The Pendleton Civil Service Act began the move toward __________.
A) attaining the right to a secret ballot
B) separating partisan politics from attaining government jobs
C) regulating government jobs under the jurisdiction of congressional leaders
D) deemphasizing skill as a qualification for government jobs
25. Why did many elections in the late nineteenth century focus on the scandalous
conduct of the candidates?
A) Most voters were poorly informed about the major issues of the time.
B) The two major parties largely agreed on most of the major issues of the time.
C) The disagreement between the two parties was so sharp and bitter that personal attacks
became common.
D) Voters typically did not have strong opinions about governmental policy.
26. Which of the following ideas was advanced by advocates of low tariffs?
A) Lower tariffs would protect domestic manufacturers.
B) Lower tariffs would raise the wages of American laborers.
C) Lower tariffs would increase the treasury surplus.
D) Lower tariffs would encourage foreign trade.
27. How did the public respond to the McKinley Tariff Act of 1890?
A) The Act was largely ignored by the general populace.
B) The Act received broad support across the nation.
C) The Act faced a strong popular backlash.
D) The Act was supported by most Democrats and rejected by most Republicans.
28. By the 1880s, __________ generated more revenue than the federal government
needed to carry out its operations.
A) customs duties
B) income taxes
C) tariffs
D) sales taxes
29. The Interstate Commerce Commission was __________.
A) created to give more power to the states in regulating commerce
B) supported by the big business interests of the Republican Party
C) a consistent advocate of deregulating federal farming policies
D) unsuccessful in enforcing the public’s call for regulating the railroad industry
30. How many votes were cast in opposition to the Sherman Antitrust Act?
A) ten
B) five
C) three
D) one
31. What prompted Congress to pass the Interstate Commerce Act?
A) complaints about the labor practices of national corporations
B) complaints about the unfair price fixing practices among the railroad companies
C) complaints about state regulation of interstate business
D) complaints about state taxation of interstate commerce
32. What is the purpose of an antitrust law?
A) to prohibit unfair lending practices by financial institutions
B) to prohibit actions that restrict competition between companies in the market
C) to prohibit restraints on interstate commerce
D) to prohibit state regulation of commerce
33. What was the purpose of the Bland-Allison Act?
A) to increase the value of silver
B) to establish the dollar as a silver-backed currency
C) to increase the value of gold
D) to establish the dollar as a gold-backed currency
34. Bankers’ concept of a sound money policy favored __________.
A) a switch toward a silver-backed currency
B) implementation of the sub-treasury plan
C) extending the flow of currency in the South
D) limiting the money supply to maintain property values
35. The Greenback Party formed primarily in response to __________.
A) the rise of the Populist Party
B) corruption in the federal bureaucracy
C) congressional laws passed by sound money advocates
D) the success of the free silver advocates
36. Support for the free silver movement was strongest among __________.
A) industrialists of the Northeast
B) Southern Republicans
C) rural debtor groups
D) Eastern conservative Democrats
37. Which of the following made it difficult for farmers to obtain credit at fair interest
rates?
A) Farmers often defaulted on their debts.
B) Federal law prohibited national banks from making loans for farm property and real
estate.
C) Most farmers were immigrants and federal law prohibited loans to immigrants.
D) Farm loans were considered risky investments by urban bankers.
38. Railroad freight rates were the highest in the __________ and __________.
A) West; South
B) East; North
C) West; North
D) East; South
39. The Farmer’s Alliance originated in __________.
A) Kansas
B) Oklahoma
C) Illinois
D) Texas
40. Which of the following generated the political crisis of the 1890s?
A) anger about increased immigration
B) discontent among women
C) anger about the suppression of wages
D) discontent among farmers
41. The Farmers’ Alliance movement was propelled in large part by the
__________beliefs of its members.
A) religious
B) communist
C) socialist
D) populist
42. What was the first action of the Farmers’ Alliance?
A) organizing political rallies to protest credit inequities
B) pushing for government control of railroads
C) buying farmland from farmers facing foreclosure
D) organizing farmers’ cooperatives
43. Which of the following articles would most likely be published in the Kansas
Farmer?
A) an article calling for the United States to adopt the gold standard
B) an article advocating women’s suffrage
C) an article calling for banking reform
D) an article pressing the rights of labor unions
44. According to the Populists, who was most to blame for America’s problems?
A) communists and socialists who agitated workers and farmers
B) common people who did not work hard enough at improving their economic status
C) wealthy industrialists who dominated the nation’s distribution of wealth
D) politicians who were unresponsive to the needs of the working class
45. How did Populists and Coxeyites differ from earlier reform groups?
A) They directly appealed to the federal government for economic and social reforms.
B) They intentionally limited their appeal to particular regions.
C) They refused to get involved in the intricacies of electoral politics.
D) They ignored the issue of women’s suffrage.
46. Throughout the 1890s, Supreme Court decisions tended to __________.
A) isolate reform groups from their supporters
B) side with the demands of small farmers
C) side with the demands of big business
D) contradict the labor policies expressed by William McKinley
47. What nickname did the press give to the group formally known as the Commonweal
of Christ?
A) McKinley’s Army
B) Coxey’s Brigade
C) McKinley’s Brigade
D) Coxey’s Army
48. Which party essentially dissolved as a result of the 1896 election?
A) the Democratic Party
B) the Republican Party
C) the People’s Party
D) the Prohibition Party
49. The beginning of a stronger, more assertive presidency began with __________.
A) Grover Cleveland
B) Benjamin Harrison
C) Theodore Roosevelt
D) William McKinley
50. What was the consequence for the Democratic Party following the elections of 1894
and 1896?
A) The Democratic Party became much stronger through its alliance with the Populist
Movement.
B) The Democratic Party became a sectional minority party confined largely to the South.
C) The Democratic Party expanded as it came to be seen as the party of prosperity.
D) The Democratic Party weakened as it struggled to balance the interests of competing
factions within the party.
Essay Questions
51. What were the social and institutional factors that shaped the disorderly nature of
elections in the late nineteenth century?
52. Describe and evaluate the reasons for the rapid rise and fall of the Populist Party.
What strengths and weaknesses were exhibited by the party?
53. Describe the primary goals of the Farmers’ Alliance and evaluate the success of the
54. What was the Omaha Platform? Examine its appeal to people who felt that
industrialism was too dominant in the economic and social foundation of the United
States.
55. Some historians have called the presidential election of 1896 “the nation’s first
‘modern’ election.” Evaluate the validity of this statement by analyzing the issues,
conflicts, and campaign tactics of that election.
