Chapter 16 Take Home Exam
Student: ___________________________________________________________________________
1. Many early explorers called the region of the American West between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains the
A. Great Homestead
B. Wild West
C. Mississippi Plains
D. American Breadbasket
E. Great American Desert
2. In the mid-1800s, Anglo-American settlers in the Far West included all of the following groups except
A. miners
B. sailors
C. cattle ranchers
D. farmers
E. sheep ranchers
3. The caste system of the Spanish Southwest had as its bottom group
A. the Spanish
B. the Indians without tribes
C. mestizos
D. the people of mixed race
E. the Pueblos
4. By the early nineteenth century, the most powerful tribe in the Missouri River valley was the
A. Sioux
B. Arapaho
C. Nez Perce
D. Pueblo
E. Apache
5. The weaknesses of the Plains Indians in their struggles with the white settlers included all of the following factors except
A. they were not aggressive or warlike
B. they were vulnerable to eastern diseases
C. they usually would not work together to defeat the whites
D. they had neither the economy nor the technology to stand up to a long war
E. intertribal conflicts diverted their attention from white encroachment
6. When the United States began to govern Hispanic New Mexico, it created a territorial government composed of
A. a mixture of Hispanics and Indians
B. a mix of Anglos, Hispanics, and a few Indians
C. a combination of whites and mulattoes
D. a mixture of Anglos and Hispanics
E. almost exclusively Anglo-Americans
7. In California, anti-Chinese sentiment grew to the point that
A. the federal government deported many Chinese
B. the state government banned anti-Chinese political parties
C. the state government passed a special income tax on Chinese only
D. the local governments required Chinese to live separately in Chinatowns
E. the federal government prohibited any further Chinese immigration into the country
8. To encourage settlement, the federal government passed a law that permitted settlers to buy land for small amounts of money if they
lived on that land. The law was called the
A. Homestead Act
B. Settlement Act
C. Farmers' Act
D. Township Act
E. Desert Land Act
9. The western mining industry of the late 1800s exploited large deposits of all of the following minerals except
A. gold
B. platinum
C. silver
D. copper
E. quartz
10. The great cattle trails ran through all of the following states except
A. California
B. Kansas
C. Oklahoma
D. Texas
E. Wyoming
11. At the end of the Civil War, the number of cattle roaming the Texas ranges was approximately
A. 250,000
B. 1 million
C. 3 million
D. 5 million
E. 7 million
12. The natural enemies of the ranchers included all of the following groups except
A. Indians
B. blacks
C. sheep breeders
D. farmers
E. rustlers
13. Under the 1867 Indian Peace Commission plan, the federal government attempted to relocate the Plains Indians to
A. Oklahoma and the Dakotas
B. New Mexico and Arizona
C. Montana and Wyoming
D. Colorado and Utah
E. California and Nevada
14. The 1887 law that tried to force Indians to assimilate into white society by ending tribal ownership of land and distributing it to
individual tribe members was the
A. Indian Affairs Act
B. Wounded Knee Act
C. Homestead Act
D. Ghost Dance Act
E. Dawes Severalty Act
15. Which chief led his tribe on an incredible trek of defensive battles that covered over 1300 miles toward the Canadian border?
A. Sitting Bull
B. Crazy Horse
C. Geronimo
D. Chief Joseph
E. Black Kettle
16. Farming on the Great Plains in the late 1800s consisted mainly of
A. commercial operations
B. sharecroppers
C. communal towns
D. subsistence farmers
E. cotton plantations
17. In Hispanic California and Texas, the coming of Anglo-Americans meant that
A. all of the answers below
B. many Hispanics became part of the impoverished working class
C. some Hispanics found new opportunities for wealth and prestige
D. Hispanic landowners usually lost their lands over the years
E. the most powerful Hispanics experienced the destruction of their authority
18. Chinese who lived in the western United States worked in all of the following occupations except
A. owners of small businesses
B. members of criminal gangs
C. laborers on the transcontinental railroads
D. developers of gold mining corporations
E. miners in the gold industry
19. White settlement of the Great Plains west of the Mississippi occurred because of
A. all of the answers below
B. the discovery of gold and silver deposits
C. encouragement by the federal government
D. the completion of the transcontinental railroad
E. passage of the Homestead Act
20. Settlers came to the West in pursuit of all of the following economic opportunities except
A. pasture lands capable of supporting cattle and sheep
B. large stands of timber
C. readily available supplies of water
D. large amounts of gold and silver
E. the availability of cheap farmland
21. The mining towns that developed between 1860 and 1890
A. all of the answers below
B. were often abandoned after the mines closed
C. frequently suffered from lawlessness
D. were predominantly settled by men
E. originally were filled with prospectors
22. In general, women in the mining areas had all of the following characteristics except
A. they often came with their husbands
B. they were greatly outnumbered by men
C. they had domestic duties similar to those of women in the East
D. they could not find any work as wage laborers in mining towns
E. they worked as prostitutes in sexually imbalanced mining communities
23. The cattle kingdom of the West depended on all of the following factors except
A. the railroads
B. the great cattle trails
C. open-range ranching
D. U.S. Army protection
E. the hard labor of cowboys
24. Women in politics gained most respect and earliest suffrage in the
A. northeastern cities
B. Great Lakes region
C. Southern plantations
D. New England states
E. western frontier territories
25. Under the administration of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indians suffered because
A. all of the answers below
B. many of the bureau's agents were incompetent and corrupt
C. the government failed to respect the Indians' way of life
D. the agents managed the reservations without consideration for the needs of the Indians
E. jobs in the bureau were given to people who didn't understand tribal ways
26. In its long-running battle with the Indians, the government sought all of the following goals except
A. forcing the tribes off disputed land
B. stopping Indian attacks on whites
C. strengthening tribal ties to allow easier negotiation with the Indians
D. forcing the Indians to adopt white culture
E. removing Indians to federal reservations
27. The following pairs match Indian chiefs with the tribes that they led in resistance to the whites. The incorrect pair is
A. Crazy Horse—Sioux
B. Joseph—Nez Perce
C. Sitting Bull—Arapaho
D. Geronimo—Apache
E. Little Crow—Sioux
28. Sand Creek and the Washita River are associated with the
A. cattle trails that led from Texas to Kansas
B. massacre of peaceful Plains Indians
C. spread of rail lines into the Far West
D. use of water transportation to move cattle
E. victory of the Sioux at the Battle of One Hundred Slain
29. Geronimo managed to resist the U.S. military for more than a decade by
A. choosing to assimilate to white culture
B. setting up effective bases in the mountains
C. making an alliance with the armies of Mexico
D. converting to Christianity
E. capitalizing on the victory at Little Big Horn
30. The most important factor in allowing farmers to settle the Great Plains was the
A. easiness of farming on the plains
B. decline of cattle ranching
C. the abundance of fertile soil
D. transcontinental railroad
E. scarcity of Indian attacks
31. In the late 1800s, farmers on the Great Plains faced all of the following problems except
A. poor fencing materials
B. high land prices
C. indebtedness
D. lack of water
E. falling crop prices
32. After the boom of the 1870s and 1880s, agriculture in the West
A. went into a period of stable growth
B. emerged as the main strength of the national economy
C. experienced a long period of economic decline
D. enjoyed a further boom until the 1910s
E. changed little for the next decade
33. By 1900, the majority of American farmers had become
A. simple, independent people who lived close to nature
B. businessmen confronted with highly unstable market conditions
C. self-sufficient individuals who made many of their own supplies and grew most of their own food
D. growers of cash crops that sold primarily in the United States
E. leading advocates of the Socialist party
34. In comparing themselves with the rest of the nation, farmers felt that they were
A. receiving fewer economic and social rewards than were other groups
B. useful, productive, and respected members of the community
C. prospering despite a lack of respect from others
D. losing respect, but gaining new opportunities for economic advancement
E. on the verge of making the United States an agrarian republic
35. The economic difficulties and isolation of farm life near the turn of the century caused all of the following except
A. a growing malaise among many farmers
B. national political movements
C. the feeling that the government favored big business
D. children leaving the farm to move to the cities
E. several minor rebellions similar to Shays's rebellion
36. The writings of Hamlin Garland expressed
A. sympathy for the plight of the Sioux Indians
B. a mythical respect for Buffalo Bill Cody
C. discontent with the military's presence in the West
D. anti-Chinese sentiments
E. disillusionment with the promise of the West
37. The growth of the West
A. all of the answers below
B. reflected the growth of the rest of the nation
C. provided natural resources for industries in the East
D. fulfilled a growing demand for beef in American markets
E. resulted in the loss of autonomy for Native Americans
38. The Plains tribes exhibited all of the following characteristics except
A. they were dependent on the buffalo for survival
B. their tribes were made up of several smaller bands, each of which had its own government council
C. they were finally able to band together to fight the white man
D. they were the fiercest opposition the United States had yet to face from Native Americans
E. their religion was centered on a belief in the spirituality of the natural world
39. The federal government aided settlement into the Great Plains region by all of the following means except
A. offering settlers large areas of land at very small fees if they would live there for five years
B. making it easy to establish western territorial governments
C. giving cash bonuses to every settler who established residency in the new territories
D. changing federal land law frequently to adjust to western circumstances
E. increasing homestead allotments several times in the 1870s
40. The multiracial working class in the western United States of the late 1800s
A. enjoyed equal opportunities to rise to management positions
B. united in common opposition to the practices of management
C. had a greater social mobility than the working class of the East
D. contained a higher percentage of single people than the workers in other parts of the country
E. made strides forward by creating its own political parties
41. Mining in the West was characterized by
A. all of the answers below
B. areas that rapidly declined after the deposits were mined
C. men who developed an area after a great deal of preliminary planning
D. prospectors who discovered deposits and then stayed until they were completely mined
E. many working-class miners finding their fortunes
42. The railroads influenced the cattle industry by
A. all of the answers below
B. helping to make the "long drive" economically feasible
C. transporting cattle to markets in the North and the East
D. bringing in farmers who fenced the plains, eventually ending the open-range form of cattle ranching
E. influencing the growth of market facilities in Kansas
43. The range-cattle industry declined for all of the following reasons except
A. decreasing demand for beef
B. changes brought by farmers and railroads
C. severe weather that killed thousands of cattle
D. expansion by ranchers beyond the capacity of the grasslands
E. deadly fever epidemics that killed cattle
44. During the late 1800s, the West was romanticized for all of the following reasons except
A. many people considered it the last frontier
B. its landscape was striking and grand
C. painters created grandiose images of nature in the West
D. cowboys had lives full of continual excitement
E. some westerners lived close to nature and outside of traditional social constraints
45. The historian Frederick Jackson Turner argued that the frontier shaped America by
A. killing off many of the most adventurous individuals
B. stimulating individualism, nationalism, and democracy
C. creating new opportunities for women
D. producing institutions very much like those of Europe
E. recreating sectional differences of the North and South
46. During the period in which the railroads expanded into the West, all of the following events occurred except
A. both federal and state government offered incentives to railroad companies
B. railroads encouraged settlement by making transportation easier and cheaper
C. railway construction provided jobs for many eastern members of the middle class who were potential settlers
D. railroads became important landowners
E. subsidiary lines proved to be very beneficial to the West
47. The buffalo were virtually exterminated in the 1860s and 1870s for all of the following reasons except
A. the people traveling in the area needed food and supplies
B. the meat industry needed meat for its eastern markets
C. railroad companies hired hunters to kill buffalo
D. hunters shot the animals for sport
E. the clothing industry used the hides
48. After the Civil War, U.S. government policy toward the western Indian tribes was to
A. exterminate all of the Indians
B. settle all of the Indians in two big areas
C. force the Indians to accept white culture
D. push the Indians over the Rocky Mountains
E. allow Indians to choose new areas of settlement
49. For legal purposes, the federal government traditionally viewed Indian tribes as
A. United States citizens requiring special treatment
B. noncitizens with special rights under the law
C. noncitizens without any claim to land rights
D. independent nations with whom treaties could be negotiated
E. independent nations who were not recognized by U.S. policy
50. Western historians have offered all of the following interpretations of the West except
A. the West was a place of heroism, triumph, and progress
B. the West was a land of oppression, greed, and failure
C. the West was a place of conservatism, inheritance, and continuity
D. the West was a land of terrorism, ignorance, and stagnation
E. the West was a region of adventure, bravery and opportunity