Deck 13: Building the Central Pacific Railroad

Question 1

The strike by five thousand Chinese rail workers against the Central Pacific in the spring of 1867

A)resulted in higher pay and an 8-hour workday for the strikers.
B)ended when white workers were brought in as strike breakers.
C)forced Charles Crocker and Company to withdraw from construction of the transcontinental railroad.
D)was broken when Charles Crocker cut off the workers' food supply and threatened to discharge them.

Answer 1

was broken when Charles Crocker cut off the workers' food supply and threatened to discharge them.

Question 2

The initial investment of about $15,000 in cash by the Big Four ultimately yielded personal fortunes of

A)$200,000.
B)$2,000,000.
C)$20,000,000.
D)$200,000,000

Answer 2

$20,000,000.

Question 3

Once the Big Four solved the cash-shortage problem,the most chronic problem holding back construction was a

A)shortage of labor.
B)strike by the combined forces of Chinese and Irish workers as the rails crossed Nevada.
C)crippling dispute between Stanford and Crocker.
D)series of bloody attacks by California Indians.

Answer 3

shortage of labor.

Question 4

San Francisco's venture capitalists were unwilling to invest in Judah's railroad scheme in 1860 because

A)Congress had not yet acted to provide aid for the project.
B)it offered only a short-term investment.
C)there was no feasible route through the Sierra.
D)they had already invested heavily in the rival Suez Canal.

Question 5

Theodore Judah was unable to convince San Francisco financiers to invest in his railroad project.

Question 6

The early progress of constructing the Central Pacific was

A)seriously retarded by the death of Judah.
B)aided by early federal subsidies.
C)stimulated by heavy public investment in the venture.
D)held back by wartime prices.

Question 7

Most of the labor for construction of the Central Pacific was provided by

A)miners from Virginia City.
B)white workers from San Francisco.
C)Irish Americans.
D)Chinese laborers.

Question 8

The first major arteries of inland trade and transportation in American California were

A)railroad lines.
B)water routes.
C)stagecoach lines.
D)pack mule trails.

Question 9

Before the railroad came,the California Steam Navigation Company enjoyed a virtual monopoly on bay and river traffic.

Question 10

The first president of the Central Pacific Railroad was

A)Leland Stanford.
B)Charles Crocker.
C)Collis P.Huntington.
D)Mark Hopkins.

Question 11

The Big Four,to whom Judah appealed for financial support,

A)were prosperous Los Angeles merchants.
B)had made fortunes as gold-miners in the previous decade.
C)came from middle or lower-middle-class families.
D)were also known as the "Silver Kings" during the Comstock boom.

Question 12

Each of the four "associates" had come from middle- or lower-middle-class families.

Question 13

Throughout the 1850s southerners were flatly opposed to the idea of building a transcontinental railroad.

Question 14

According to the textbook,the main motive of Huntington,Hopkins,Stanford,and Crocker in joining Judah to form the Central Pacific Railroad was

A)public spirit.
B)long-range vision.
C)financial gain.
D)support of the Union in the Civil War.

Question 15

The pony express

A)produced a substantial profit throughout its long history.
B)received a lucrative mail contract from congress.
C)depended on subsidies from state and local governments.
D)lasted only 18 months.

Question 16

The textbook suggests that the death of Judah in 1863

A)was insignificant.
B)nearly destroyed the plan to build the transcontinental railroad.
C)was a major tragedy,since it kept the Big Four in the leadership of the Central Pacific Railroad.
D)ensured that the transcontinental railroad finally would be built.

Question 17

Construction of the Central Pacific Railroad east from Sacramento was overseen by

A)Leland Stanford.
B)Mark Hopkins.
C)Charles Crocker.
D)Collis P.Huntington.

Question 18

Throughout the 1850s the major obstacle blocking adoption of a plan for building a transcontinental railroad was the

A)concern over the prohibitive cost of such a venture.
B)intensification of sectional bitterness between the North and the South.
C)opposition by Asa Whitney,a wealthy New York merchant.
D)lack of a feasible route.

Question 19

The greatest physical challenge in the construction of the Central Pacific was building

A)snow sheds along the tracks of the Sierra.
B)the Summit Tunnel.
C)wooden trestles across deep ravines.
D)depots and switching yards in congested cities.

Question 20

Under terms of the Pacific Railroad Act,the federal government retained title to alternate sections to

A)allow the public treasury to share in benefits from increased land values.
B)free the railroad from any check on prices it might charge for its land.
C)insure railroad monopoly along the route.
D)provide housing for crews building the railroad.

Question 21

Describe the nature of transportation in American California before the arrival of the railroad.

Question 22

Describe the critical role played by Chinese laborers in the building of the Central Pacific.

Question 23

When Leland Stanford was elected governor of California in 1861,he was forced by state law to resign as president of the Central Pacific Railroad.

Question 24

What was the contribution of Theodore D.Judah to the transcontinental railroad? Do you think the history of California would have been different if Judah had fulfilled his goal of taking over leadership of the Central Pacific Railroad?

Question 25

As railroad construction advanced into the Sierra Nevada,Chinese workers replaced white workers as the chief source of labor on the project.

Question 26

Theodore Judah opposed federal government aid to his railroad project.

Question 27

According to the textbook,the Civil War had little effect on federal government decisions to subsidize the building of the transcontinental railroad.

Question 28

What were the major financial and physical obstacles encountered in constructing the Central Pacific Railroad?

Question 29

Explain the federal and state aid given to the Central Pacific Railroad.What was the nature of this support? How was it justified?

Question 30

The Pacific Railroad Act designated the Central Pacific as the exclusive builder of the line from Sacramento to Omaha.

Question 31

The development of the transcontinental railroad was encouraged by the granting of U.S.public lands to the railroad companies.