Deck 18: Politics in the Era of Railroad Domination

Question 1

The Huntington-Stanford feud intensified in the early 1900s.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The "Dear Pard" letters

A)were intended to injure the reputation of Huntingon.
B)were filled with charges of wholesale corruption.
C)contributed to a growing mass of public evidence of railroad misdeeds.
D)all of the above

Answer 2

all of the above

Question 3

California's Southern Pacific Railroad was the

A)largest landowner in the state.
B)state's largest employer.
C)owner of the nation's longest rail system.
D)all of the above

Answer 3

all of the above

Question 4

In the late 19^th century,railroad influence and corruption in California pervaded the

A)state legislature.
B)state bank commission.
C)state judicial system.
D)all of the above

Question 5

The case of In re Neagle was important because it

A)offered one of the broadest interpretations yet of the implied powers of the national government.
B)strictly limited the role of federal officials.
C)expanded the "states rights" doctrine of reserved powers.
D)banned firearms on transcontinental railroads.

Question 6

The Populist movement

A)was based almost exclusively on the discontent of urban workers in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
B)formed an effective coalition with the Nationalist and Socialist parties.
C)favored strengthening the role of political parties.
D)advocated the initiative,referendum,and recall.

Question 7

Which of the following WAS NOT corrupted by the political influence of the Southern Pacific?

A)the Populist party
B)the state bank commission
C)the Democratic party
D)the Republican party

Question 8

Despite efforts by Collis P.Huntington to the contrary,the Los Angeles harbor was finally built at San Pedro.

Question 9

The outcome of the Los Angeles fight for a free harbor was

A)a victory for Collis P.Huntington.
B)a lessening of the Huntington-Stanford feud.
C)a victory for Los Angeles in its battle against the railroad.
D)all of the above.

Question 10

By the 1890s the head of the Southern Pacific's political department was a much more important official than the governor of California.

Question 11

The "Dear Pard" letters contributed significantly to the growing negative image of the railroad in California.

Question 12

After many years of controversy the railroad debt to the federal government was never repaid.

Question 13

The Southern Pacific in the 1870s responded to the state's attempt at railroad regulation by

A)forming the Union Pacific.
B)intensifying its control of state government.
C)moving its corporate headquarters to Reno,Nevada.
D)underwriting a "revisionist school" of pro-railroad historians.

Question 14

Huntington's plan to delay payment of the railroad's debt to the federal government was

A)supported by most Californians.
B)supported by the San Francisco Examiner.
C)approved by the U.S.Congress in 1896.
D)defeated by the U.S.Congress in 1897.

Question 15

According to the textbook,the "free pass" was an expensive gambit soon abandoned by William F.Herrin as ineffective.

Question 16

Of all the agencies of state government,the railroad was most careful to control the

A)California Coastal Commission.
B)banking commission.
C)Franchise Tax Board.
D)"ways and means" committee of the state legislature.

Question 17

Adolph Sutro

A)was employed by the Southern Pacific's legal department.
B)was elected mayor of San Francisco in 1894.
C)criticized the San Francisco Examiner for its stand on the railroad funding bill.
D)all of the above.

Question 18

According to the textbook,railroad domination over late 19^th-century California politics is a mere legend.

Question 19

According to the textbook,the subservience of politics to big business in California was

A)worse than in any other state of the nation.
B)not as severe as in many eastern states.
C)exaggerated by historians William Deverell and Richard Orsi.
D)impossible to prove because of secret railroad business practices.

Question 20

In the case brought by David D.Colton's widow against the Big Four,the state supreme court awarded Mrs.Colton a judgment of $4 million.

Question 21

What was the impact of the Colton letters,the Los Angeles free harbor fight,the Huntington-Stanford feud,and "Dear Pard" letters on the image of the Southern Pacific in California?

Question 22

William F.Herrin proved to be a man of great ability as the head of the Southern Pacific's legal and political departments.

Question 23

Explain the Southern Pacific's web of control and influence in late 19^th and early 20^th century California politics.

Question 24

Why did 19^th-century political reform movements fail in California? What impact,if any,did these movements have on subsequent efforts to reform state politics and government?

Question 25

The career of Newton Booth demonstrated the success of the Taxpayers' party in reforming California politics.