Deck 22: The Progressive Era, 1895-1917

Question 1

The focus of Lincoln Steffens's research and writing was________ .

A) corruption in city government
B) filth in meatpacking plants
C) monopolies
D) conservation
E) unhealthy working conditions

Answer 1

corruption in city government

Question 2

Who wrote The Jungle?

A) Booker T. Washington
B) Upton Sinclair
C) W. E. B. Du Bois
D) Samuel Gompers
E) John Dos Passos

Answer 2

Upton Sinclair

Question 3

A________ set new standards for mass production in the early twentieth century.

A) Colt .45 revolver
B) McCormick reaper
C) Ford Model T
D) General Electric oscillating fan
E) Philco radio

Answer 3

Ford Model T

Question 4

Henry Ford showed that enormous revenues could be derived from________ .

A) cheap, low-quality goods
B) an emphasis on craft methods of production
C) low-volume, high-quality production
D) small unit profit on a large volume of sales
E) high-priced, luxury goods

Question 5

Between 1898 and 1903, the American economy saw________ .

A) an increase in the number of smaller businesses
B) greater competition among all businesses
C) a wave of mergers and consolidations
D) the outlawing of trusts
E) meager overall business growth

Question 6

Who was the leading financier in the United States in the early 1900s?

A) Lincoln Steffens
B) Upton Sinclair
C) J. P. Morgan
D) John Theodoric
E) George Vanderbilt

Question 7

What company founded the first industrial research laboratory in 1900?

A) Du Pont
B) General Electric
C) Standard Oil
D) Eastman Kodak
E) Westinghouse

Question 8

In the new industrial system, workers________ .

A) found a safer working environment
B) took greater pride in their workmanship
C) found many choices of jobs available
D) noticed little change in their work environment
E) frequently faced repetitive and boring work tasks

Question 9

The________ forced state and national attention on working conditions in factories and stores.

A) Homestead mining strike
B) Farmington fire
C) Ludlow disaster
D) Triangle Shirtwaist fire
E) Hormel stampede

Question 10

Between 1900 and 1920, women________ .

A) increasingly found medical careers open to them
B) increasingly found professional careers closed to them
C) received considerable support in their quest for careers
D) found opportunities for careers equal to those of men
E) taught in colleges and universities in increasing numbers

Question 11

At the beginning of the twentieth century, many African Americans________ .

A) found their situation improved substantially
B) received equal opportunities for quality education
C) worked in the South under conditions of peonage
D) had little reason to protest
E) often banded together to start businesses

Question 12

What was the main focus of the Niagara Movement?

A) conservation of natural resources
B) African American rights
C) the achievement of lower tariffs
D) Mexican American civil rights
E) women's rights

Question 13

Which organization led the fight for equal rights and education for blacks?

A) WCTCU
B) SNCC
C) Wobblies
D) ACTUP
E) NAACP

Question 14

As a "bird of passage", an immigrant________ .

A) stayed in the United States
B) quickly became an American citizen
C) quickly moved west to farm
D) was detained, or "caged," indefinitely
E) did not stay permanently in the United States

Question 15

In the first decades of the twentieth century, Mexican immigration to the United States________ .

A) increased dramatically
B) occurred at a steady rate
C) had little impact on the United States
D) was banned by the U.S. government
E) rarely occurred

Question 16

Which of the following was true of immigrants to the United States in the early 1900s?

A) They were generally received with open arms.
B) They were easily assimilated into American society.
C) They encountered considerable hostility from American nativists.
D) They faced few problems adapting to their new environment.
E) They prospered financially and socially.

Question 17

In the first decade of the twentieth century, the American Federation of Labor________ .

A) became increasingly radical
B) remained devoted to the interests of skilled craftsmen
C) included more and more unskilled workers
D) lost its place as the largest American union
E) aligned itself with management of America's largest corporations

Question 18

The Industrial Workers of the World________ .

A) was the most radical American labor union
B) sought to parallel the American Federation of Labor
C) had little impact on immigrant workers
D) was readily accepted by the American business establishment
E) greatly restricted its membership

Question 19

What did business leaders who were concerned about labor unrest do?

A) placed armed guards in the factories
B) encouraged union activism
C) turned to applied psychology for answers
D) felt they could do little to solve the problem
E) adopted a policy of limited force and coercion

Question 20

In terms of worker relations, Henry Ford________ .

A) was generally behind the times
B) showed little concern for his workers
C) used trickery and brute force to achieve his aims
D) developed a poor image that limited his choice of workers
E) tried many innovations

Question 21

By 1920,________ .

A) the quality of life had improved for many Americans
B) the number of available jobs had decreased
C) the quality of life had improved only for the upper class
D) few Americans received the benefits of the new industrial technology
E) most aspects of life had remained unchanged for a couple of generations

Question 22

The violence of which sport led to the establishment of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)?

A) hockey
B) football
C) lacrosse
D) basketball
E) baseball

Question 23

What popular form of entertainment drew from the immigrant experience?

A) the band concert
B) ragtime
C) vaudeville
D) jazz
E) the minstrel show

Question 24

Popular music in the Progressive Era________ .

A) was strongly influenced by the African American experience
B) experienced little change
C) became more classical in its orientation
D) originated in the northern urban environment
E) traced its roots to western Europe

Question 25

The Ashcan school of artists________ .

A) turned against realistic portrayals of life
B) shared the reformers' feel for the environment
C) were abstract artists
D) were influenced by European artists
E) believed that "less is more"

Question 26

What factors contributed to magazine popularity and success in the early 1900s?

A) appealing pictures, fiction, low costs, and revealing journalism
B) labor union support, sensationalism, and new poetry
C) wealthy oligarchy support, new artwork in color, and international focus
D) use of cutting-edge words like "new" and "mass" and yellow journalism
E) improvements in railroads and roads and the institution of a national postal system

Question 27

Why did Teddy Roosevelt call some journalists during the early twentieth century "muckrakers"?

A) The journalists exposed corruption and questionable practices of public figures and corporations.
B) The journalists were focusing on gossip and rumors about leading citizens and entertainers.
C) The journalists were promoting economic changes in favor of farmers.
D) The journalists used yellow journalism practices.
E) The journalists reported on questionable practices in sports.

Question 28

Henry Ford is often described as the inventor of the assembly line. In what way is this an inaccurate description?

A) The assembly line was invented and used in the mill clothing industry of the early nineteenth century.
B) Ford did not invent the assembly line; he improved the meatpacking industry's use of it.
C) Because human workers were part of each aspect of the production of a car, it was not really an assembly line.
D) Because machines were part of each aspect of the production of a car, it was not really an assembly line.
E) Although Ford increased automation of production, the assembly line was not really invented until after his death.

Question 29

How did Henry Ford "democratize" the automobile?

A) Ford sold fewer cars at higher prices so he could pay workers a fair wage.
B) During the first year, Model T's were available in several colors to appeal to more consumers.
C) Cars were built over several weeks to ensure quality construction.
D) Ford lowered the price of the automobile so that a larger number of people could afford to purchase one.
E) By the early 1920s, Ford had set up an automobile factory in every state.

Question 30

What is the difference between a monopoly and an oligopoly?

A) An oligopoly is one firm controlling all of the market of a product, whereas a monopoly is several firms controlling much of the market of a product.
B) A monopoly is one firm producing many different products and controlling much of the business market, whereas an oligopoly is one firm producing one product and controlling most of the business market.
C) A monopoly is one firm controlling all of the market of a product, whereas an oligopoly is several firms controlling much of the market of a product.
D) An oligopoly is one firm producing many different products and controlling much of the business market, whereas a monopoly is one firm producing one product and controlling most of the business market.
E) A monopoly is when one business controls at least 50 percent of an industry, whereas an oligopoly is when several businesses control at least 50 percent.

Question 31

How did new methods of production affect workers in the first years of the twentieth century?

A) They were large-scale and mechanized, which made workers almost part of the machinery, endangered, and bored.
B) They relied heavily on keeping workers satisfied, which led to safety, wage, and workweek reforms.
C) They depended on the workers' willingness to work, which led to incentives, benefits, and human resource departments.
D) They depended almost totally on automation, eliminating low-skilled jobs and creating high unemployment in this sector.
E) They emphasized a unique product that would be better than the one before, increasing pressure on workers and materialism in consumers.

Question 32

What was the focus in Frederick W. Taylor's management methods?

A) keeping the employee happy and improving working conditions, wages, and hours
B) creating a comfortable working environment, which would make workers' satisfaction, loyalty, and production increase
C) trusting the employee's willingness to work and giving workers the power to influence production positively
D) enforcement of work standards and cooperation to make processes more efficient
E) allowing the worker to develop the best solutions to problems, giving workers power that even the unions did not provide

Question 33

How did the masses of unskilled workers affect the Progressive movement?

A) They joined together by the millions in unions and established a Progressive agenda that they realized through collective bargaining.
B) They successfully lobbied local, state, and even federal governments to pass laws protecting their rights.
C) By sheer number, the masses influenced industry and society through their struggles to find work and to survive urban poverty.
D) Most of them worked hard during the day at their jobs and took classes at night so they could progress to skilled labor or even to professional status.
E) Most of the masses believed in the American dream, if not for themselves, then for their children, and they worked for Progressive financial stability.

Question 34

Why did people flee farms in the early 1900s?

A) Pests destroyed most crops across the South, and farmers fled debt.
B) People were attracted to the more modern, cosmopolitan life of the city and suburbs.
C) Drought destroyed most crops across the Midwest, and farmers fled debt.
D) Whites came to associate farming with Mexicans and African Americans.
E) New technology made tenant farming unnecessary and obsolete.

Question 35

How did irrigation affect the class system in the West?

A) Native Americans owned water rights, so they became a wealthy, powerful class over white farmers.
B) Companies that diverted water to the arid West grew wealthy, while landowners and farmers became poor, second-class citizens.
C) Irrigation created fertile land, drawing migrant workers, who became second-class citizens, generally from southern and eastern Europe.
D) Irrigation made once undesirable Indian reservations desirable, so Native Americans were displaced and made to live as a class of nomads without land.
E) Because land was suddenly productive, landowners became wealthy, whereas non-landowners became workers.

Question 36

Why was it mostly women who advocated for child laborers in the early 1900s?

A) Women are naturally more caring and attentive to children than men.
B) Men made more money than women, so they did not have to worry about working conditions for themselves or others.
C) Many women suffered the same hardships as child workers, so they empathized and wanted to change conditions for all workers.
D) All of the women advocates were mothers and laborers themselves, so they stood to gain from reforms for themselves and their families.
E) Most women stayed at home, so they had time to advocate for the needs of others; whereas men were busy working and could not focus on others.

Question 37

How did the ideas promoted by Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois contradict each other?

A) Washington believed in the good of an industrial society, whereas Du Bois saw the dehumanizing nature of industrialism.
B) Washington believed in African Americans gradually gaining rights, whereas Du Bois believed in all rights being demanded by all people immediately.
C) Washington believed that unions decreased the efficiency of production, whereas Du Bois believed in the power of unions to support workers.
D) Washington believed the woman's place was in the home, whereas Du Bois believed in women's rights to vote, work, and contraception.
E) Washington believed in an expansion of U.S. influence in the world, whereas Du Bois believed in the country isolating itself from everyone.

Question 38

What was true about the founding and leadership of the NAACP?

A) The group grew out of the Niagara Movement, but was inspired by other contemporary reform movements.
B) The men on the board were avid football fans, so they did not make disinterested decisions with regard to collegiate football.
C) The men on the board could not work together, as they often supported different college football teams; their loyalties created impasses on issues.
D) Although the NAACP was founded to promote the advancement of colored people, the leadership mainly promoted themselves to become powerful politicians.
E) Although the organization was called a "National Association," it was a northern organization because racist politicians banned it in the South.

Question 39

Why did labor productivity drop between 1915 and 1918 in the United States?

A) The United States was involved in WWI and was not focused on industrial production.
B) The main markets were in Europe, which was embroiled in war and not buying products in significant amounts.
C) The male labor force were all fighting in WWI, so production virtually ceased in most industries.
D) Race riots were so violent that they affected and, in some cities, halted factory production.
E) Laborers were so unhappy with working conditions, wages, and hours that they could not be as productive as they were in the past.

Question 40

How did the goals of Samuel Gompers and "Big Bill" Heywood differ?

A) Gompers believed in socialist reforms, whereas Heywood believed in capitalist Darwinism.
B) Heywood believed in socialist reforms, whereas Gompers believed in capitalist Darwinism.
C) Gompers believed in communism, whereas Heywood believed in a free market society.
D) Gompers represented craftsmen and tried to work with business owners, whereas Heywood represented unskilled workers and opposed owners.
E) Heywood represented craftsmen and tried to work with business owners, whereas Gompers represented unskilled workers and opposed owners.

Question 41

How were the goals of Samuel Gompers and "Big Bill" Heywood similar?

A) Both men believed in opposing business owners to gain workers' rights.
B) Both men believed in limiting entry into skilled crafts fields, so as to increase competition and quality.
C) Both men believed in the workers' rights to better wages and safer working conditions.
D) Both men believed in socialist reforms that would give the laborers full ownership of the means of production.
E) Both men believed in immigrant and unskilled workers' rights to join unions and advocate for equal wages, hours, and housing.

Question 42

Why did the middle class have the strongest effect on production in the early 1900s?

A) In general, laborers responsible for production came from the middle class.
B) As the middle class grew in size and prosperity, it demanded more products, increasing production.
C) As the working class grew in size, it decreased in prosperity, making the middle class the most powerful group in society.
D) In the early 1900s, the lower and upper classes virtually disappeared; only a consuming middle class remained, increasing demand for production.
E) As the middle class grew, its need for jobs also grew, so production had to increase to stave off unemployment.

Question 43

What kind of clothing did "off-the-rack" clothes replace?

A) homemade clothes
B) imports from Europe
C) WWI uniforms
D) "ready-to-wear" clothes
E) mail-order catalog clothes

Question 44

Why was life expectancy lower for blacks and other racial minorities in the early 1900s?

A) Race riots targeted blacks and other racial minorities, violently affecting their life expectancy.
B) They made up the bulk of factory laborers whose jobs were dangerous and therefore life-threatening.
C) They suffered more the dehumanizing effects of assembly-line production.
D) They were excluded from the census, so the statistics are inaccurate.
E) In general, they were poorer, endured worse living conditions, and had less access to health care.

Question 45

What is significant about D. W. Griffith's beliefs about race and his legacy as a filmmaker?

A) He believed in racial equality, so as America's first real filmmaker, his legacy is one of racial equality.
B) In the technology race, Griffith's legacy is as America's (and therefore the world's) first significant filmmaker.
C) Griffith believed that life was a technological race, and he used technology to become America's first real filmmaker.
D) He was racist, so as America's first real filmmaker, his legacy is one of racially biased films.
E) Griffith's legacy is one of innovation; film students still study his films for their innovations in close- ups, fade-outs, and artistic camera angles.

Question 46

In the early 1900s, dance, music, art, and poetry were related because many dancers, artists, musicians, and poets were________ .

A) experimenting with forms of realism
B) experimenting with unconventional new art forms
C) returning to classic forms from ancient Greece and Rome
D) returning to the instruments and methods of the Renaissance era
E) experimenting with technology to influence their art form

Question 47

How were art and labor movements related in the early 1900s?

A) Both were influenced by the dehumanizing effects of industrialization.
B) Authorities such as government and big business abolished both.
C) Both were progressive and eager to represent the spirit of the masses.
D) Both promoted socialist revolt; the labor movements led the artists.
E) The labor movements used modern artists' work to further their causes.

Question 48

How did industrialism change from the nineteenth to the twentieth century?

A) Technology replaced workers, making skilled craftsmanship and unskilled laborers at once obsolete.
B) Mass production meant mass wealth and prosperity for most Americans, affecting the global economy.
C) Factories became cleaner, safer, and more effective, improving and increasing production.
D) The invention of plastic revolutionized the production industry, making household and industrial products affordable.
E) Businesses grew even larger and more automated, affecting production, workers, owners, and society as a whole.

Question 49

In 1904, a Boston newspaper stated, "In the United States of today, everyone is middle class. The resort to force, the wild talk of the nineties are over. Everyone is busily, happily getting ahead." What was the focus of the "wild talk of the nineties"?

A) futuristic technological advances
B) advances in industrialization
C) war and conquest
D) morality and religion
E) social, economic, and racial reforms

Question 50

Given the history of U.S. Southwest, what is significant about Mexican immigration to that area in the early 1900s?

A) Historically the Southwest had been intolerant of Mexican influence, so the new wave of immigration was a sign that times were changing.
B) The Southwest was originally a part of Mexico, so when 10 percent of the Mexican population immigrated there in the 1900s, their influence on the region was significant.
C) Historically the Southwest had belonged to Native Americans, so the new wave of Mexican immigrants displaced Native Americans from their ancestral lands.
D) The Southwest was originally a part of Mexico, so when 10 percent of the Mexican population immigrated there in the 1900s, their presence was not welcomed by Americans.
E) Historically the Southwest had been an economically depressed part of the U.S., so when poor Mexicans immigrated there in large numbers, they depressed the region even further.

Question 51

How did industrialization change after 1900? How did this change affect consumers? How did it affect industrial laborers?

Question 52

Analyze the rise of labor radicalism. Why did labor radicalism fail?

Question 53

Describe the new urban culture that emerged after 1900. What does its existence tell us about how the lives of urban Americans were changing?