Deck 21: Urban America and the Progressive Era

Question 1

Big-city machines solidified their control by working with reformers in __________.

A) state legislatures
B) the Supreme Court
C) religious organizations
D) Congress

Answer 1

state legislatures

Question 2

Both prohibition and ending prostitution were efforts by the progressive reformers to control __________.

A) state politicians who obstructed progressive reform
B) city bosses and city machines
C) the growing middle class
D) big-city immigrants with alien cultures

Answer 2

big-city immigrants with alien cultures

Question 3

The most important trend in public education during the progressive era was __________.

A) making college attendance almost universal
B) expansion and bureaucratization of school systems
C) a strict concentration on basic grammar school skills
D) respecting the cultural diversity of students

Answer 3

expansion and bureaucratization of school systems

Question 4

A major reason progressive women such as Jane Addams turned to settlement work was __________.

A) dissatisfaction with the choices that society offered to women
B) their belief that women are more compassionate than men
C) because settlement work required less professional training
D) out of boredom with their loveless marriages

Question 5

John R. Commons and Richard Ely both promoted __________.

A) state supervision of labor and the workplace
B) racist Jim Crow laws
C) the settlement house movement
D) reform of city government

Question 6

As a new kind of reform community, the Henry Street settlement was essentially a community of __________.

A) bohemian radicals who worked to change the political system
B) college-educated women who helped to solve the problems of modern urban life
C) artisans gathered in a communal factory
D) machine politicians delivering essential services to immigrant communities

Question 7

Sociologist Lester Frank Ward debunked Social Darwinism, claiming __________.

A) organic and social evolution were fundamentally different
B) nurture is more important than nature
C) it denied God's power over humans
D) humanity would need thousands of years to adjust to nature

Question 8

Who coined the term "muckraker"?

A) William McKinley
B) Ida Tarbell
C) Theodore Roosevelt
D) Jane Addams

Question 9

Which of these people would most likely have been among the "new" immigrants entering the United States in 1905?

A) an Australian farmer
B) a German scientist
C) a young unskilled Asian female
D) a single unskilled Italian male

Question 10

Why did southern progressives support the disfranchisement and segregation of African Americans?

A) They argued it would lead to economic growth.
B) They were more racist than other political groups in the South.
C) They wanted protection from the Ku Klux Klan.
D) They believed it was necessary for political and social reform.

Question 11

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union's efforts at prohibition and other social reforms allowed women to __________.

A) fuse public concerns with moral guardianship
B) seek control without the vote
C) remove unwanted elements in society
D) keep wives and mothers in the home

Question 12

In general, progressives were __________.

A) optimistic about citizens being able to improve social and economic conditions
B) revolutionaries pressing for radical reforms
C) applying the ideas of social Darwinism as reforms
D) antipolitical, preferring to emphasize improvement of individual character

Question 13

When reformers investigated prostitution, they were distressed to learn that many girls __________.

A) preferred prostitution to working in a factory
B) were underage American farm women
C) were from middle-class Protestant homes
D) were married women who wanted more income

Question 14

Progressive reformers believed the primary purpose of public education was to __________.

A) assimilate new immigrants
B) create an aristocracy of the able
C) prepare immigrant children for college
D) allow the poor and the rich to mingle in a democratic manner

Question 15

Progressive academics and legal scholars argued __________.

A) that active intervention was required to improve social conditions
B) that precedents were everything to the preservation of society
C) that laws were immutable and could never be changed
D) that education was beneficial only for the elite

Question 16

Philosopher John Dewey argued that schools should __________.

A) be rigid, formal, and conservative
B) be geared to social evolution
C) promote creative intelligence
D) create an aristocracy of virtue

Question 17

The Henry Street Settlement sought to address its neighborhood's __________.

A) moral laxity
B) drunkenness
C) prostitution
D) health and welfare

Question 18

Which of these groups provided much of the financial support for the Anti-Saloon League?

A) recent immigrants
B) local businessmen
C) women's organizations
D) the Democratic Party

Question 19

Oregon progressives were particularly known for __________ through their adoption of the direct primary, initiative, and referendum.

A) public educational reform
B) civil service reforms
C) environmental policies
D) strengthening direct democracy

Question 20

The main area of agreement between the progressives and their Populist predecessors was __________.

A) confidence in the virtues of the farmer
B) a belief that change could be accomplished through the political process
C) a shared unrealistic idealism
D) a focus on urban issues

Question 21

W. E. B. Du Bois joined other members of the Niagara Movement and white progressives to organize the __________.

A) Knights of Labor
B) International Workers of the World (IWW)
C) National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
D) American Federation of Labor (AFL)

Question 22

The American Federation of Labor focused on organizing __________.

A) immigrant labor
B) female labor
C) unskilled labor
D) skilled labor

Question 23

The "white label" campaign of the National Consumers' League was designed to force manufacturers to __________.

A) hire more African American workers
B) establish pensions for injured workers
C) improve health benefits for white-collar workers
D) meet safety and sanitary standards

Question 24

During the 1910s, radicals and bohemians were attracted to and lived in an unconventional community in __________.

A) Greenwich Village, New York
B) San Francisco, California
C) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
D) Harlem, New York

Question 25

President Theodore Roosevelt's support for the Hepburn Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act reflected his beliefs in __________.

A) an economy based on a small competitive business
B) keeping government out of big business
C) the ability of big business to reform itself
D) government's duty to regulate big business

Question 26

New immigrants from 1900-1914 were usually employed in __________.

A) low-paid backbreaking work in industry
B) medicine and the professions
C) commercial agriculture
D) railroads and mining

Question 27

Wilson's "New Freedom" platform in 1912 __________.

A) had a more moderate and ambiguous view of federal government power than Roosevelt's plan
B) was an even more radical plan than Roosevelt's
C) rejected progressive reform altogether
D) focused on foreign policy issues

Question 28

Thomas L. Johnson was an example of a city leader-reformer who advocated __________.

A) improving social welfare for city residents
B) reforming immigration policy
C) cleaning up slums and ghetto buildings
D) the initiative, recall, and referendum

Question 29

Social Darwinists held the view that racism toward African Americans was acceptable because __________.

A) they believed that, without restrictions, African Americans would take jobs away from whites
B) they believed African Americans were more advanced than whites and did not need special treatment
C) they believed African Americans needed to fight their own battles for equality
D) they believed African Americans were predisposed to vice and crime

Question 30

The Uprising of the 20,000 illustrated the collective power of __________.

A) working-class miners
B) working-class women and middle-class reformers and suffragists
C) the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League
D) residents of company towns

Question 31

Lillian Wald was to Henry House as __________ was to Hull House.

A) Mary Brewster
B) Jane Addams
C) Florence Kelley
D) Ida B. Wells

Question 32

The "Wisconsin Idea" was promoted by Governor Robert La Follette as a way of __________.

A) promoting industry
B) protecting state forests and watersheds
C) applying academic scholarship and theory to human needs
D) improving race relations between African Americans and whites

Question 33

Margaret Sanger and fellow advocates wanted birth control because __________.

A) it would advance sexual freedom for middle-class women and protect poor working women
B) birth control would allow poor women to work longer hours
C) they feared population growth among unassimilated immigrants
D) birth control would prevent child labor

Question 34

Which positive action was taken because of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire?

A) Safety conditions were improved, and work hours for women and children were limited.
B) Women were allowed to unionize.
C) Large annual bonuses were given to women workers.
D) Women received health care and paid vacations.

Question 35

The Ludlow massacre was significant because it __________.

A) resulted in widespread demonstrations against John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
B) demonstrated how profitable mines were when management and labor cooperated
C) increased the wages for workers
D) improved the living conditions for labor

Question 36

The Industrial Workers of the World differed from other labor organizations in embracing __________.

A) racial harmony
B) socialism
C) Social Darwinism
D) nonviolent protest

Question 37

Which of these people would have been most likely to favor prohibition?

A) working-class Catholic
B) German Lutheran
C) Italian immigrant
D) middle-class Protestant

Question 38

Businesses organized company towns mainly __________.

A) to improve the lives of their workers
B) to maximize company control over workers' lives
C) at the demand of unions
D) under government pressure

Question 39

The NAACP journal was called __________.

A) The Crisis
B) The Souls of Black Folk
C) The Philadelphia Negro
D) Up from Slavery

Question 40

Japanese immigrants could not obtain American citizenship because __________.

A) they were not white
B) they wanted to maintain dual loyalties
C) Japan did not allow them to become American citizens
D) they did not wish to permanently reside in the United States

Question 41

How was the traditional progressive political and social vision that had its roots in Protestantism and middle-class values challenged by other groups of Americans?

Question 42

Between 1890 and World War I, American progressives could be found __________.

A) in all classes and regions and among all races
B) primarily among the wealthy monopolists of the Northeast
C) primarily among Catholic immigrants
D) primarily among African American farmers and businessmen

Question 43

Edward A. Ross's landmark work Social Control argued that __________.

A) progressivism was really a form of tyranny
B) the progressive movement had lost sight of its real purpose
C) society needed an "ethical elite" to govern it
D) the expansion of voting rights was the key to American prosperity

Question 44

Political progressivism originated in __________.

A) rural America
B) the cities
C) the West
D) union halls and Grange lodges

Question 45

What were the meaning and implications of Theodore Roosevelt's view that the presidency was a "bully pulpit"? To what extent did Roosevelt face limitations in exercising the full power of the "bully pulpit"?

Question 46

What did Hull House founder Jane Addams mean when she spoke of the "subjective necessity" of settlement houses?

A) Settlement houses gave educated women an opportunity to connect with the real world.
B) Settlement house workers first had to combat urban poverty for settlement houses to succeed.
C) Settlement houses were one of the few places where African American political activists could meet without fear.
D) Settlement house workers used their influence to change local laws through the advancement of social justice.

Question 47

Photographs taken and published by Jacob Riis in his book How the Other Half Lives advanced progressive goals most closely associated with __________.

A) promoting urban reform
B) ending political corruption
C) fostering inquiry through creative education practices
D) creating a greater number of female-dominated occupations focused on moral reform

Question 48

Which of these was an important difference between the WCTU and the Anti-Saloon League?

A) The WCTU advanced its cause through the manipulation of anti-immigrant sentiment.
B) The Anti-Saloon League was a one-issue pressure group.
C) The WCTU was an avowedly secular organization.
D) The Anti-Saloon League did not enjoy the support of the business community.

Question 49

Which of these was one of three basic attitudes that underlay progressivism?

A) anger at the excesses of industrial capitalism and urban growth
B) belief in the inferiority of the lower classes
C) commitment to the ideal of individualism
D) anger at the growing power of unions and other labor organizations

Question 50

In your opinion, what were the most important achievements of the progressives as reflected by their basic goals and assumptions of American society? Why?

Question 51

Ida Tarbell is best known for her exposé on __________.

A) Chicago packinghouses
B) Social Darwinism
C) Standard Oil
D) African American lynchings

Question 52

The keys to strength of urban political machines were disciplined organization and __________.

A) the inability of most immigrants to vote
B) the delivery of essential services to key constituencies
C) the support of the Republican Party
D) the durability of their alliances with evangelical churches

Question 53

The 1903 "open shop" campaign was meant to __________.

A) eradicate unions altogether
B) punish stores that sold liquor
C) end racial discrimination in retail sales
D) prevent saloons and other establishments selling liquor from closing

Question 54

Discuss the position of African Americans in the progressive era and compare the two major views of black thought as represented by Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois.

Question 55

William D. "Big Bill" Haywood was the best-known and most influential spokesman for the __________.

A) American Federation of Labor (AFL}
B) International Workers of the World (IWW)
C) United Mine Workers of America (UMWA)
D) National Association of Manufacturers

Question 56

Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the prohibition movement.

Question 57

The deadly 1900 Galveston hurricane and flood affected the development of progressive ideals at the city level by __________.

A) promoting a strong mayor-council government at the municipal level to manage disaster relief
B) emphasizing both efficiency and social welfare that were based on changing municipal policies
C) encouraging the National Municipal League to promote nonpartisanship by bringing administrative techniques used by large corporations to the city government level
D) establishing the commission form of urban government that promoted greater accountability in city services to voters.

Question 58

Progressives tended to see society's problems as __________.

A) structural in nature
B) the result of individual failures
C) stemming from a lack of moral virtue among the poor
D) the result of lax immigration laws

Question 59

How did John Dewey's approach to education reflect the ideals associated with the progressive era?

A) Dewey advocated developing "creative intelligence" in students, which could then be used to improve society.
B) Dewey emphasized Social Darwinism, which attributed social inequality to the "survival of the fittest."
C) Dewey's system of education was centered on evangelical Protestantism and required Christians to purge the world of poverty and inequality.
D) Dewey's system of education stressed that student creativity and systematic inquiry could only be properly taught by female educators.

Question 60

Lawrence, Massachusetts; Gary, Indiana; and Butte, Montana, are all examples of __________.

A) urban ghettos
B) company towns
C) mining towns
D) barrios

Question 61

Which statement best explains why many local businessmen supported the Anti-Saloon League?

A) They saw a link between alcohol and worker productivity.
B) They were almost always progressives.
C) They hoped to use the League to build business contacts.
D) They saw the League as an alternative to traditional political parties.

Question 62

How did the National Association of Manufacturers, founded in 1903, try to eradicate unions altogether?

A) They launched campaigns for an "open shop," in which unions were not allowed.
B) They sought to eliminate the unions' leaders through violence, step by step.
C) They hoped to bribe and pay off the union leadership.
D) They aggressively promoted workers' welfare to make unions redundant.

Question 63

Most Jewish immigrants were different from other groups of people who immigrated to the United States during the early twentieth century because they __________.

A) came to the United States with the intention of living here permanently
B) came from the Middle East
C) were highly skilled laborers who quickly found high-paying jobs
D) settled in small towns and rural areas rather than large urban centers

Question 64

The most prominent leader of the birth control movement was __________.

A) Margaret Sanger
B) Frances Perkins
C) Jane Addams
D) Lillian Ward

Question 65

The right to hold a popular vote on proposed legislation is called __________.

A) a referendum
B) an open primary
C) a direct primary
D) the Australian ballot

Question 66

How did African Americans establish a small middle class of entrepreneurs and professionals in southern cities at the turn of the century?

A) They sold services and products to the black community.
B) They relied on a number of wealthy white patrons.
C) They offered products and services that no white shop or professional could offer.
D) They went into business with the protection of the federal government.

Question 67

How did the Seventeenth Amendment, which shifted the direct election of U.S. senators from state legislatures to voters, address progressive reform goals?

A) It made government more responsive to voters.
B) It resulted in senators being elected by informed, unbiased experts.
C) It removed some decisions from the electoral process entirely.
D) It led to greater alignment between machine politicians and progressive reformers.

Question 68

Which of these emerged out of the depression of the 1890s as the strongest and most stable workers' organization?

A) American Federation of Labor (AFL)
B) International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU)
C) United Mine Workers (UMW)
D) Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

Question 69

How did the women's club movement advance many of the goals set by progressives in the early twentieth century?

A) It allowed middle-class women to participate in civic activities that addressed issues such as child labor and the problems of working-class women.
B) It gave middle-class women an opportunity to go back to college to pursue advanced degrees.
C) It gave middle-class women the chance to promote and adopt bohemian values such as more open sexual expression and the use of birth control.
D) It tended to isolate and shelter middle- and upper-class women from the struggles of working-class women.

Question 70

How did white popular culture in turn-of-the-century America tend to portray African Americans?

A) as innately inferior to other races
B) as kind and clever
C) as victims
D) as future leaders

Question 71

The battle to ban alcohol that took place between opponents of alcohol, known as "pietists," and opponents of prohibition, known as "ritualists," revealed that __________.

A) ethnic and cultural divides shaped the debate over alcohol
B) evangelical Protestants were divided over the issue of banning alcohol
C) recent immigrants to the United States favored a ban on alcohol
D) divisions over the issue of alcohol were mainly between rural and urban communities

Question 72

What effect did the progressive reformers' approach to the social ills of prostitution have on the sex trade?

A) Their anti-vice crusades closed red-light districts and brothels but pushed prostitution into the street.
B) Progressive laws against prostitution pushed the sex trade into Mexico, where it flourished thanks to American sex tourism.
C) Progressive sympathy for the plight of women led to lenient laws that did not affect prostitution much.
D) Progressives condemned women harshly for having an inborn tendency toward moral corruption, causing prostitutes to ignore their messages and the trade to flourish.

Question 73

The effort of the National Municipal League to make city management a nonpartisan process was part of the __________ movement.

A) "good government"
B) Social Darwinism
C) Tammany Hall
D) "muckraker"

Question 74

How did the Woman's Christian Temperance Union try to protect women and children from the abuse of fathers and husbands?

A) It worked toward ending the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol.
B) It argued that women should withhold sex to control and discipline their husbands.
C) It tried to teach women how to be more understanding of men and keep their emotions in check.
D) It built women's shelters and refuges all over the country, sometimes in the form of settlement houses.

Question 75

The Wisconsin Republican who forged a coalition of angry farmers, small businessmen, and workers with his attacks on railroads and large corporations was __________.

A) Robert M. La Follette
B) Hiram Johnson
C) Alexander McKelway
D) Edgar Gardner Murphy

Question 76

What best describes the role of party machines in urban politics at the turn of the century?

A) Although these political systems thrived on corruption, they also secured access to services for many immigrant and working-class populations.
B) Party machines undermined the principles of democracy by marginalizing immigrants in the electoral process.
C) Although party machines did local communities some service early on, they later became little more than systems of bribery with no benefit to anyone.
D) The political party machine in urban America was essential at a time when parties lacked disciplined organization.

Question 77

Progressive reformers looked to the public school primarily as an agent of __________.

A) Americanization
B) standardization
C) gentrification
D) pacification

Question 78

How was life for workers in western mining communities different from that in other types of company towns?

A) Conflicts between laborers and mine owners were more violent.
B) Corporations like the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company often gave residents of their company towns greater political and economic freedom.
C) Most residents of western mining company towns were white Protestants from northern and western European backgrounds.
D) Working residents in company mining towns enjoyed more union benefits than workers in other professions.

Question 79

How were patterns of immigration to the United States in the early twentieth century different from those in the nineteenth century?

A) Larger numbers of immigrants came to the United States in the early twentieth century, especially from southern and eastern Europe as well as from other areas of the Western Hemisphere.
B) Most immigrants to the United States in the early 1900s were highly skilled laborers, unlike their counterparts 100 years earlier.
C) Most immigrants came with the intention of permanently living in the United States rather than returning to their homelands after earning decent money.
D) Immigration to the United States began to decline by 1900 and was mostly from areas in northern and western Europe.

Question 80

Which statement accurately describes how single-sex clubs brought middle-class women into the public sphere?

A) by celebrating cooperation, uplift, and service
B) by focusing on women's innate cultural preferences
C) by drawing on women's interest in artistic performance
D) by blending social engagement with religious proselytizing