Deck 21: The Political System Under Strain at Home and Abroad 1877-1900

Question 1

The chapter introduction relates the story of the "World's Columbian Exposition"to make the point that

A) the 1890s marked a return to a more stable political and social order after the upheavals of the previous two decades.
B) a political revolution in the 1890s undermined the longstanding power of the Republican party.
C) American society and the world had been transformed by the industrial revolution.
D) by the 1890s, politicians from the South and the West were winning national office more regularly than easterners.

Answer 1

American society and the world had been transformed by the industrial revolution.

Question 2

The world created at the Columbian Exposition was indeed illusory; in fact, events in America at that time revealed which of the following to be true?

A) The political system in America was ill-equipped to cope with the economic and social revolutions that were reshaping the country.
B) Leadership of the country was in the best hands.
C) England and Germany were, economically, far ahead of the U.S.
D) American society had become increasingly egalitarian as a result of industrialization.

Answer 2

The political system in America was ill-equipped to cope with the economic and social revolutions that were reshaping the country.

Question 3

Evidence justifying the use of the label "politics of paralysis"to describe the American political system during the late nineteenth century includes all of the following EXCEPT that

A) the period was marked by relatively low voter turnout.
B) much energy in Congress was expended on political patronage.
C) parties used such devices as ethnic and religious appeals and entertaining campaign rallies to try to get voters to the polls.
D) a majority of presidential candidates came from Ohio or New York.

Answer 3

the period was marked by relatively low voter turnout.

Question 4

What was the "bloody shirt"?

A) a rhetorical symbol used by Republicans and Democrats to blame each other for the Civil War
B) a rhetorical symbol of Democrats that linked the Republicans to exploitative big business
C) a rhetorical symbol of Populists that linked the two major parties to the "crown of thorns" and "cross of gold"
D) a rhetorical symbol of civil service reformers that linked patronage-mongering politicians to the assassination of James Garfield

Question 5

On the tariff issue, ________ supported high protective tariffs; on the money question, ________ sought the inflationary consequences of printing greenbacks.

A) Democrats; Republicans
B) Republicans; farmers and other debtors
C) southerners; Populists
D) large corporations and consumers; Democrats

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT true of Chester A.Arthur?

A) won the presidency by a razor-thin margin
B) endorsed the new Civil Service
C) sought to lower the tariff
D) known as the "spoilsman's spoilsman"

Question 7

Starting in 1869, Massachusetts established commissions to investigate and regulate industry. The focus of many of these commissions was which industry?

A) textiles
B) steel
C) railroads
D) consumer goods

Question 8

Farmer frustrations that fueled the rise of the People's Party included all of the following EXCEPT

A) inflation.
B) debt.
C) a credit crunch.
D) resentment against railroads and eastern banking interests.

Question 9

As a result of a theory championed by Alfred Thayer Mahan, the U.S. Navy

A) was mothballed out of existence.
B) was transformed into a modern, steam-driven institution.
C) engaged in several wars with European rivals.
D) shrank in size to its lowest numbers since the days of Andrew Jackson.

Question 10

The most innovative proposal of the Ocala Demands came from Charles Macune. His "subtreasury system"would have

A) called for federal regulation of railroad rates.
B) demanded lower tariffs to promote competition.
C) asked the federal government to buy up surpluses for distribution to the unemployed.
D) required a system of government warehouses for crop storage until prices rose.

Question 11

What is the best explanation of "free silver"?

A) The U.S. government would promote prosperity by inflating the money supply through minting all the silver offered to it.
B) The U.S. government would promote prosperity by distributing cash subsidies to the unemployed, paid for by recent mining bonanzas on public lands.
C) The U.S. government would support farmers by buying up surplus crops with silver coin ("lard money").
D) The U.S. government would support investors by allowing the purchase of silver on the open market.

Question 12

All of the following statements about the election of 1896 are true EXCEPT that

A) Republican William McKinley decisively defeated William Jennings Bryan, who ran on both the Democratic and Populist ticket.
B) both candidates employed new techniques in their campaigns.
C) a major political realignment occurred, as Republicans forged a dominating new coalition of voters.
D) progressives used the free silver issue to achieve their first success in national politics.

Question 13

The "little green ballot"referred to by Booker T. Washington, founder of the Tuskegee Institute, was

A) a degree.
B) the Populist ballot.
C) earnings.
D) a railroad pass.

Question 14

Many Americans were able to justify joining the race for empire for all the following reasons EXCEPT that they believed themselves responsible for

A) extending the benefits of free enterprise.
B) spreading Christianity.
C) defending other people against European imperialism.
D) promoting democracy abroad.

Question 15

Which of the following was NOT a concern of President Cleveland regarding the Cuban revolt?

A) a refugee crisis
B) local population not capable of self rule
C) social chaos
D) destruction of American-owned property

Question 16

The navel battle for the Philippines took place

A) on the open sea.
B) in and around Manila Bay.
C) under the cover of darkness.
D) in Santiago harbor.

Question 17

In the 1890s, the U.S. acquired all of the following EXCEPT

A) the Philippine Islands.
B) the Hawaiian Islands.
C) the Virgin Islands.
D) Puerto Rico.

Question 18

First elected in 1896, William ________ became the first president since Ulysses Grant to win a majority of the popular vote.

Question 19

A(n) ________ of influence is a geographic region beyond its border over which a nation exerts political or economic control.

Question 20

Compare and contrast the Democratic and Republican Parties in the last third of the nineteenth century.

Question 21

What were the major issues that consumed congressional politics?

Question 22

What was "free silver"? Discuss the two most important ways it would benefit indebted farmers and other debtor classes.

Question 23

What were "Granger laws,"and how did they work?

Question 24

What was the "Alliance Movement"? Populism? The People's Party?

Question 25

What was the "battle of the standards"and why was it important?

Question 26

List and defend three ways in which the election of 1896 foreshadowed modern presidential campaigns.

Question 27

Explain two ways William McKinley affected the presidency.

Question 28

Discuss the major motives Americans had for expanding overseas. Describe the methods they had available for expanding.

Question 29

Explain several reasons anti-imperialists opposed the acquisition of the Philippines.

Question 30

Why was politics grinding into a dangerous paralysis in the last third of the nineteenth century?

Question 31

Explain the absence of strong presidential leadership in the late nineteenth century.

Question 32

Discuss the three most important reasons for the rise and fall of Populism. What role did the election of 1896 play in its demise?

Question 33

Why did the Republicans emerge as the dominant political party in 1896?

Question 34

Explain the rise of "Jim Crow"politics.

Question 35

Discuss the role of popular opinion in America's emergence as a great power.

Question 36

Explain and defend the position you would have taken in the debate over annexation of the Philippines.

Question 37

Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of John Hay's policy toward China.