Chapter 19 Flashcards
The political activity of the late 1800s can best be described by the statement that
politicians did not address the problems caused by the rapid social and economic changes of the times
Of the eligible voters, voter turnout between 1860 and 1900 averaged
over three quarters
In the late 1800s, most Americans engaged in political activity because of their
regional, ethnic, or religious sentiments
Political party loyalties of the late 1800s tended to remain stable because
voting patterns were determined by vague cultural inclinations
During the late 1800s, the federal government had a reputation for
being very active in reform movements
During the late 1800s, the only significant form of federal assistance to individuals was
the Civil War veterans’ pension
During the late 1800s, the function of the president was to
spend much of his time making political appointments
In the political battles of the late 1800s, the Stalwarts and the Half-Breeds were
two rival factions within the Republican party who fought over political patronage
The assassination of James A. Garfield occurred as a result of the conflict between
Stalwarts and Half-Breeds
The purpose of the Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883 was to
fill some government jobs on the basis of competitive examinations
The election of 1884 was typical of national contests in the late 1800s because of its emphasis on
personalities rather than policies
Going into the election season of 1884, Grover Cleveland was respected for
his consistent opposition to corrupt politicians and interest groups
Grover Cleveland lost the election of 1888 partly because of the issue of
lowering tariffs
In the mid-1880s, many members of the public wanted federal antitrust regulation because
corporations could move to states that offered special protection to them
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 declared illegal any contract, trust, or restraint of trade in
interstate commerce
Because of the Republican passage of a high protective tariff in 1890, the next two national elections resulted in
substantial victories by the Democrats
The Wilson-Gorman Tariff of 1894 was significant because it contained
a substantial decrease in the general tariff
The Supreme Court eventually overturned the Granger Laws of the 1870s on grounds that
state regulation of freight rates was an unconstitutional attempt to control interstate commerce
When it was first created in 1887, the Interstate Commerce Commission was designed to regulate
railroads
The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 was essentially ineffective for the first twenty years after its passage because
it was haphazardly enforced and was narrowly interpreted by the courts
The Grange attempted to counteract economic hardships by its
forming market cooperatives and attempting to curb the monopolistic practices of warehouses
The Grange declined in power in the 1870s because of
the defeat of the Granger laws and the political inexperience of its leaders
One of the primary beliefs of the Farmers’ Alliances was that
too much power was in the hands of a few corporations and financial institutions
The Farmers’ Alliances had an intense dislike for all of the following groups in society except
politically active women
Populist party leaders of the early 1890s included all of the following people except
William Jennings Bryan
Supporters of the Populist party included large numbers of all of the following groups except
Eastern labor union members
In general, the Populist movement was primarily supported by
small farmers
Although historians disagree as to their interpretations of Populism, the movement was significant because
it was one of the few third-party movements to gain national influence
Historians have offered all of the following positive interpretations of Populism except
the movement was the forerunner of the civil rights movement of fifty years later
Historians have offered all of the following negative interpretations of Populism except
the movement created an extreme political atmosphere that led indirectly to the new imperialism
The Omaha Platform of the Populists included all of the following proposals except
federal support for national banks
The Populist ideology rejected the idea of
preserving a laissez-faire system of economics
The crisis of the 1890s was caused by all of the following developments except
government regulation of business
The symptoms of the depression of the 1890s included all of the following problems except
high inflation
Jacob S. Coxey’s army of unemployed Americans marched to Washington to demand that the federal government
create jobs for the unemployed
One of the major problems that caused the Panic of 1893 was that
the railroads expanded too rapidly
The coining of silver stopped in 1873 because
owners of silver were not interested in selling to the government
Free coinage of silver was supported by all of the following groups except
Eastern Republicans
Grover Cleveland obtained the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act because
he believed that the gold drain from the treasury threatened the nation’s financial stability
The speech that made William Jennings Bryan the Democratic nominee for president in 1896 climaxed with the famous words
“you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold”
Throughout his adult life, William Jennings Bryan served as a powerful symbol of
rural, Protestant, middle-class America
The Populist party ceased to be a separate political party when
it nominated the same presidential candidate as the Democrats in the election of 1896
During the election of 1896, William McKinley represented all of the following sectors of the voting populace except
small farmers
During the first McKinley administration, the country experienced
all of the answers above
The first McKinley administration focused on an issue that most Republicans could agree on, and the result was
an increase in the level of tariffs
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, currency inflation developed in the United States as a result of
newly discovered gold deposits and mining techniques
The Democratic Party of the late 1800’s appealed most strongly to all the following except
Midwestern farmers
The Republican Party of the late 1800’s appealed most strongly to all the following except
recent European immigrants
In arguing for their policies, the new American expansionists of the late 1800s offered all of the following economic and social reasons except
the United States needed to find new sources of immigrants who would work in its factories for low wages
In 1900, the nation that had the third largest naval force was
the United States
The Pan-American Congress of 1889 resulted in the
creation of an agency that distributed information to member American nations
The United States acquired the Hawaiian Islands as a result of all the following factors except
President Cleveland sent marines to ensure that nothing stopped annexation from taking place
The United States took control of part of the Samoan islands after a long dispute with
Great Britain and Germany
In the 1890s, Spain and the United States gradually moved toward war over Cuba for all of the following reasons except
during the Cuban revolt, the Spanish committed numerous atrocities, whereas the Cubans usually behaved humanely
The United States was finally pushed into war with Spain by all of the following developments except
Spain ignored U.S. diplomatic requests in regard to Cuba
The U.S. war effort in Cuba suffered from all of the following problems except
lack of popular support
During the fighting of the Spanish-American War,
more American fighting men died of disease than were killed in action
The black soldiers who fought in the Spanish-American War faced all of the following problems except
they experienced difficulties in combat because most of them had never been under fire before
The Rough Riders were
involved in bold, reckless charges during the fighting in Cuba
William Jennings Bryan wanted the U.S. Senate to ratify the peace treaty with Spain because
the war would be over, and the Democrats could make Republican imperialism a campaign issue
The Platt Amendment, incorporated into the Cuban constitution, gave Cuba
nominal political independence
In the Philippine War of 1898 to 1902, the United States
with great difficulty suppressed a full-scale revolt that the majority of the Filipino people supported
The Boxer Rebellion of 1900 came to an end when
a multinational armed force rescued the foreign diplomats trapped in Peking by the Boxers
