Politics Of The Gilded Age

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Multiple Choice

Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

The main strength of political machines resided with

A.	the political bosses.
B.	the precinct captains.
C.	wealthy contributors who dictated party objectives.
D.	state governors and legislators.

Political bosses and precinct captains

A.	often formed personal relationships with constituents.
B.	used threats and strong-arm techniques to keep control over constituents.
C.	were generally honest men who sought to serve the public interests.
D.	seldom sought out the support of immigrants.

Some political bosses

A.	became less corrupt when they were elected to official positions.
B.	supported efforts to clean up local politics.
C.	believed making a profit through their political position was justifiable.
D.	left office poorer than when they were elected.

Thomas Nast

A.	was extremely popular, but his success failed to influence the popularity of political cartoons in general.
B.	refused to use caricature as a means of attacking political leaders whom he opposed.
C.	staunchly supported William Tweed with his cartoons.
D.	popularized the Republican elephant and the Democratic donkey.

Which of the following scandals did NOT involve President Grant’s administration?

A.	Jay Gould and James Fisk’s attempt to corner the gold market.
B.	Crédit Mobilier’s gifts of stock to members of Congress, which resulted in profitable subsidies for stockholders.
C.	Treasury Department officials accepted bribes from whiskey distillers and distributors.
D.	Grant’s vice president, Schuyler Colfax, and members of Congress accepted bribes to support the silver standard.

The Gilded Age was a novel written by

A.	Mark Twain and Roscoe Conkling.
B.	James G. Blaine and Julius Bing.
C.	Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner.
D.	Thomas Nast and Mary Cassatt.

The only U.S. president to serve two nonconsecutive terms was

A.	Grover Cleveland.	C.	Chester A. Arthur.
B.	Rutherford B. Hayes.	D.	Ulysses S. Grant.

Chester A. Arthur was succeeded by

A.	Rutherford B. Hayes.	C.	Grover Cleveland.
B.	James Blaine.	D.	William McKinley.

Grover Cleveland was determined to

A.	promote political reform.
B.	prevent additional reform legislation.
C.	unify the Republican Party, which had been divided by the Stalwarts and Half-Breeds.
D.	repeal the Pendleton Civil Service Act.

10.

When Benjamin Harrison won the presidency in 1888, he

A.	spearheaded the repeal of the Pendleton Civil Service Act.
B.	broke with his party and supported additional political reform.
C.	doubled the list of federal jobs covered by the civil service list.
D.	allowed Republicans to fill almost every federal job not covered by the civil service list with members of their party.

11.

The Republican-controlled Congress of 1890

A.	sharply reduced spending on Civil War pensions for Union veterans.
B.	became known as the Billion Dollar Congress.
C.	repealed the Pendleton Civil Service Act.
D.	almost eliminated spending on the pet projects of individual senators and representatives.

12.

When state governments passed Granger laws,

A.	farmers complained that railroad freight rates were already higher for short routes than for long ones.
B.	many farmers had to sell their farms and become farm laborers.
C.	railroads protested that only the federal government, not states, could regulate railroads.
D.	bankers protested that the states could not regulate interest rates on farm loans.

13.

Farmers wanted the government to back paper money with silver because it would put more money in circulation, thereby

A.	reducing the value of the dollar and enabling them to pay off debts more easily.
B.	increasing the cost of shipping and grain storage.
C.	increasing the cost of labor.
D.	decreasing the price of crops and animals and enabling them to sell more of them.

14.

The Populist Party

A.	was begun by a coalition of railroad owners, bankers, and other industrialists.
B.	adopted most of the goals of the National Grange and Farmers’ Alliance.
C.	won the presidential election of 1892.
D.	failed to elect a single candidate to a national office.

15.

The Populist Party lost its influence and faded from the national scene because

A.	voters wanted their currency backed by both silver and gold.
B.	voters were tired of corruption in government.
C.	farmers’ economic situations improved and they lost interest in the party.
D.	business leaders withdrew from the party, giving their support instead to William McKinley in the 1896 election.

Completion

Complete each sentence or statement.

Choose from the following list to complete each of the statements below.

political machines political bosses graft James Pendergast Thomas Nast Gilded Age	Stalwarts Pendleton Civil Service Act mugwumps James A. Garfield Benjamin Harrison National Grange	cooperatives Interstate Commerce Act gold standard Populist Party James B. Weaver William Jennings Bryan

16.

After defeating Grover Cleveland for president, _________________________ filled virtually every political job not on the civil service list with members of his party.

17.

_________________________ exercised great control over the local political parties.

18.

The first major farmers’ organization was the _________________________.

19.

_________________________, Kansas City’s powerful political boss, was well liked by most of his constituents.

20.

Many farmers formed ____________________ so they could buy machinery at wholesale and sell their produce directly to big-city markets.

21.

The latter half of the 1800s was called the ____________________ because corruption and greed lurked just below the polite and prosperous luster of society.

22.

_________________________ was assassinated in 1881, just four months after taking office as president.

23.

During President Hayes’s administration, the Republican Party split in two; one half became known as the Half-Breeds and the other half as the ____________________.

24.

Political parties that were especially successful in getting their candidates elected to local political offices were called _________________________.

25.

The ______________________________ prohibited railroads from giving secret rebates to large shippers or charging more for short hauls than for long ones over the same line.

26.

When the _________________________ was adopted, every dollar in circulation could be exchanged for a set amount of gold.

27.

Reformers within the Republican Party who abandoned the party’s candidate for president and instead supported the Democratic candidate, Grover Cleveland, were called ____________________.

28.

The _________________________, which included Alliance members, farmers, labor leaders, and reformers, called for a graduated income tax, bank regulation, and government ownership of railroad and telegraph companies.

29.

Many political bosses became wealthy and powerful through ____________________.

30.

Harper’s Weekly claimed that the cartoons of _________________________ increased the magazine’s subscriptions by 200,000.