Question 1

Why did the Homestead Act fail in its purpose of peopling the west with small family farms?

Accepted Answer

The ideal answer should include:
$\bullet$Terms of the Homestead Act: any household head who could live on the land for at least five years and improve it received 160 acres of public domain at no cost or could buy the land for $1.25 an acre after six months' residence
$\bullet$Limitations to a growing population: few Easterners had the financial resources or experience to go west and become farmers; only 10 percent of all farmers got their start under the Homestead Act, and nearly half lost their claims
$\bullet$Climate and geography of the West: advertisements were usually deceptive; homesteaders instead found themselves in a struggle between the harsh climate and the soil; soil would not yield a livelihood, and farmers went into debt; some farmers lost their land and became tenants; foreclosures resulted after dips in commodity prices or natural disasters wiped out small landowners
$\bullet$Government land policy and corporate interests: state governments and land companies usually held the most valuable lands near transportation and markets, setting high prices for their sale; speculators got best choices at bargain prices and sold high; railroads received federal land grants and sold off holdings near their routes at high rates

Question 2

The reformers' intention in the reservation policy and the Dawes Act was to __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  protect Indian culture 
B)  curtail white settlement 
C)  restore Indian-governed tribal lands 
D)  assimilate individual Indians into white culture 
A)  protect Indian culture 
B)  curtail white settlement 
C)  restore Indian-governed tribal lands 
D)  assimilate individual Indians into white culture D

Question 3

Why did young, single women often become prostitutes in cattle towns and mining settlements?

Accepted Answer

A)  Faced with high living costs and few work options, many young, unmarried women entered prostitution. 
B)  Prostitution was a well-regulated profession that offered women a stable place to live and superior health care. 
C)  Young women saw prostitution as a path to wealth due to its high profitability, particularly in cattle towns and mining settlements. 
D)  Due to their low numbers, young women were able to achieve the wage rates needed to meet the high cost of living in the new western towns. 
A)  Faced with high living costs and few work options, many young, unmarried women entered prostitution. 
B)  Prostitution was a well-regulated profession that offered women a stable place to live and superior health care. 
C)  Young women saw prostitution as a path to wealth due to its high profitability, particularly in cattle towns and mining settlements. 
D)  Due to their low numbers, young women were able to achieve the wage rates needed to meet the high cost of living in the new western towns. A

Question 4

What factor most encouraged cowboys to engage in reckless spending at the end of a drive?

Accepted Answer

A)  the pay system, which gave each cowboy his lump-sum wage at each drive's conclusion 
B)  frequent opportunities to challenge rivals in gunfights 
C)  purchasing new horses for the return home 
D)  investing in new agricultural developments, such as barbed wire fencing 
A)  the pay system, which gave each cowboy his lump-sum wage at each drive's conclusion 
B)  frequent opportunities to challenge rivals in gunfights 
C)  purchasing new horses for the return home 
D)  investing in new agricultural developments, such as barbed wire fencing

Question 5

What were the root causes of the Indian Wars? Were these wars inevitable? Why or why not?

Accepted Answer

The ideal answer should include:
@#LAT-DLM&White m

Question 6

The Santa Fe Ring was a group of land speculators, lawyers, and politicians who __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  extorted money from the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
B)  benefited from the Timber Culture Act 
C)  cheated Mexicanos out of their landholdings 
D)  negotiated the Gadsden Purchase for their railroad route 
A)  extorted money from the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
B)  benefited from the Timber Culture Act 
C)  cheated Mexicanos out of their landholdings 
D)  negotiated the Gadsden Purchase for their railroad route

Question 7

John Deere is famous for inventing a __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  reaper 
B)  singing plow 
C)  cultivator 
D)  disease-proof strain of wheat 
A)  reaper 
B)  singing plow 
C)  cultivator 
D)  disease-proof strain of wheat

Question 8

The Cherokee responded to pressure from whites by __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  retreating as far into the deserts as possible 
B)  learning English, becoming Christians, and adopting farming 
C)  launching repeated raids on white settlements 
D)  fleeing to Canada 
A)  retreating as far into the deserts as possible 
B)  learning English, becoming Christians, and adopting farming 
C)  launching repeated raids on white settlements 
D)  fleeing to Canada

Question 9

Treaties with the Sioux and Nez Perces were broken when whites __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  wanted to build railroads through their lands 
B)  found gold on their lands 
C)  were massacred by Indian war bands 
D)  began the Oklahoma Land Rush 
A)  wanted to build railroads through their lands 
B)  found gold on their lands 
C)  were massacred by Indian war bands 
D)  began the Oklahoma Land Rush

Question 10

Which western industry's union efforts led to legislation mandating an eight-hour workday in Idaho, Arizona, and New Mexico by the early twentieth century?

Accepted Answer

A)  mining 
B)  ranching 
C)  timber 
D)  smelting 
A)  mining 
B)  ranching 
C)  timber 
D)  smelting

Question 11

What was the purpose of the Caminetti Act?

Accepted Answer

A)  to give states the power to regulate mining 
B)  to give the federal government the power to regulate mining 
C)  to allow local towns and cities to regulate mining 
D)  to allow voters a say in the establishment of new mines 
A)  to give states the power to regulate mining 
B)  to give the federal government the power to regulate mining 
C)  to allow local towns and cities to regulate mining 
D)  to allow voters a say in the establishment of new mines

Question 12

Under the Homestead Act of 1862, how many acres of land were offered free to settlers who lived on the land for at least five years and improved it?

Accepted Answer

A)  160 acres 
B)  1,000 acres 
C)  40 acres 
D)  200 acres 
A)  160 acres 
B)  1,000 acres 
C)  40 acres 
D)  200 acres

Question 13

The Dawes Severalty Act incorporated many of the ideas of __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  Cyrus McCormick 
B)  Charles Russell 
C)  John Wesley Powell 
D)  Helen Hunt Jackson 
A)  Cyrus McCormick 
B)  Charles Russell 
C)  John Wesley Powell 
D)  Helen Hunt Jackson

Question 14

The widespread settlement of the farming west would not have been possible without __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  the railroad 
B)  electric well pumps 
C)  improved corn and wheat hybrids 
D)  strict immigration laws 
A)  the railroad 
B)  electric well pumps 
C)  improved corn and wheat hybrids 
D)  strict immigration laws

Question 15

Like other parts of the West, the cattle range was __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  under the direct and firm control of federal officials 
B)  settled by family groups 
C)  densely populated 
D)  ethnically diverse 
A)  under the direct and firm control of federal officials 
B)  settled by family groups 
C)  densely populated 
D)  ethnically diverse

Question 16

Under human use, the natural environment of the West __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  prospered and grew 
B)  was destroyed or significantly degraded 
C)  became more diversified 
D)  produced abundant new species of plant and animal life 
A)  prospered and grew 
B)  was destroyed or significantly degraded 
C)  became more diversified 
D)  produced abundant new species of plant and animal life

Question 17

The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  was a unique event in displacing Indians from their lands 
B)  reversed federal Indian policy that had been in place since the 1830s 
C)  brought civilization to what had been an undeveloped wasteland 
D)  occurred without the authorization of Congress 
A)  was a unique event in displacing Indians from their lands 
B)  reversed federal Indian policy that had been in place since the 1830s 
C)  brought civilization to what had been an undeveloped wasteland 
D)  occurred without the authorization of Congress

Question 18

During the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, Indian tribes in which region remained fairly isolated from white settlers and thus suffered fewer losses of independence and cultural integrity?

Accepted Answer

A)  Northwest 
B)  central West and the Rockies 
C)  western Plains 
D)  Northeast 
A)  Northwest 
B)  central West and the Rockies 
C)  western Plains 
D)  Northeast

Question 19

The Great Plains were often referred to by early explorers as __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  "the Wild West" 
B)  "the American Primitive" 
C)  "the Great American Desert" 
D)  "the Open Range" 
A)  "the Wild West" 
B)  "the American Primitive" 
C)  "the Great American Desert" 
D)  "the Open Range"

Question 20

By the end of the nineteenth century, many Americans' perception of the West was primarily shaped by __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  legend rather than reality 
B)  the peaceful coexistence of Indians and white settlers 
C)  the cultural diversity of African Americans, Chinese immigrants, and Mexican-American settlers living in that region 
D)  the limited economic opportunities available to new settlers 
A)  legend rather than reality 
B)  the peaceful coexistence of Indians and white settlers 
C)  the cultural diversity of African Americans, Chinese immigrants, and Mexican-American settlers living in that region 
D)  the limited economic opportunities available to new settlers

Exam 18: The Trans-Mississippi West

Why did the Homestead Act fail in its purpose of peopling the west with small family farms?

The reformers' intention in the reservation policy and the Dawes Act was to __________.

Why did young, single women often become prostitutes in cattle towns and mining settlements?

What factor most encouraged cowboys to engage in reckless spending at the end of a drive?

What were the root causes of the Indian Wars? Were these wars inevitable? Why or why not?

The Santa Fe Ring was a group of land speculators, lawyers, and politicians who __________.

John Deere is famous for inventing a __________.

The Cherokee responded to pressure from whites by __________.

Treaties with the Sioux and Nez Perces were broken when whites __________.

Which western industry's union efforts led to legislation mandating an eight-hour workday in Idaho, Arizona, and New Mexico by the early twentieth century?

What was the purpose of the Caminetti Act?

Under the Homestead Act of 1862, how many acres of land were offered free to settlers who lived on the land for at least five years and improved it?

The Dawes Severalty Act incorporated many of the ideas of __________.

The widespread settlement of the farming west would not have been possible without __________.

Like other parts of the West, the cattle range was __________.

Under human use, the natural environment of the West __________.

The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 __________.

During the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, Indian tribes in which region remained fairly isolated from white settlers and thus suffered fewer losses of independence and cultural integrity?

The Great Plains were often referred to by early explorers as __________.

By the end of the nineteenth century, many Americans' perception of the West was primarily shaped by __________.

A Continent of Villages

When Worlds Collide

Planting Colonies in North America

Slavery and Empire

The Cultures of Colonial North America

From Empire to Independence

The American Revolution

The New Nation

An Empire for Liberty

The South and Slavery

The Growth of Democracy

Industry and the North

Immigration

The Territorial Expansion of the United States

The Coming Crisis

The Civil War

Reconstruction

Production and Consumption in the Gilded Age

Democracy and Empire

Urban America and the Progressive Era

The United States in the Era of the Great War

The Twenties

The Great Depression and the New Deal

World War Ii

The Cold War Begins

America at Mid-Century

The Civil Rights Movement

War Abroad

The Conservative Ascendancy

Inequality in the Global Age

Filters