AP U.S. History Period 6 Multiple Choice Questions
Questions 1.1-1.3 refer to the excerpt below.
“Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the expiration of ninety days next after the passage of this act, and until the expiration of ten years next after the passage of this act, the coming of Chinese laborers to the United States be… suspended; and during such suspension it shall not be lawful for any Chinese laborer to come, or having so come after the expiration of said ninety days to remain within the United States.
SEC. 2. That the master of any vessel who shall knowingly bring within the United States on such vessel, and land or permit to be landed, any Chinese laborer, from any foreign port or place, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars for each and every such Chinese laborer so brought, and maybe also imprisoned for a term not exceeding one year….
SEC. 14. That hereafter no State court or court of the United States shall admit Chinese to citizenship; and all laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed.
SEC.15. That the words "Chinese laborers", wherever used in this act shall be construed to mean both skilled and unskilled laborers and Chinese employed in mining.”
--Forty-Seventh U.S. Congress, Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882
1.1
The above legislation was a direct development of which of the following?
(A)A desire to balance the numbers of ethnicities immigrating into the U.S.
(B)The end of an era of railroad construction leading large numbers of unemployed Chinese workers to spread across the nation
(C)A rapid growth in Chinese immigrant population
(D)Political pressure arising from strong anti-Chinese nativist sentiments in the West
Answer: D
Feedback:Chinese immigration to the West increased dramatically after 1848 as laborers came to work on railroads, in gold mines, and in cities. By 1880, Chinese Americans represented a significant portion of California's population in particular. White Americans began to consider them with fear and as rivals, as the Chinese were so industrious and successful. White workers also felt threatened and angered by the low wages for which the Chinese immigrants were willing to work. Whites began to see the Chinese immigrants and barbaric and savage, incapable of being assimilated. Attacking the Chinese immigrants became valuable, politically, and so politicians began to take up the call to exclude them.
Learning Objective:POL-6
Historical Thinking Skill:Historical Causation
Key Concept: 6.3.I
Stimuli: yes
1.2
Cultural and racial arguments made against Chinese immigrants in the late 19th century were the same as those made against American Indians in which of the following ways?
(A)They were “noble,” despite being savages.
(B)They were capable of being assimilated into European cultural ways.
(C)They were uncivilized savages, unable to be assimilated into society.
(D)They were bringing radical new ideas into white society, causing social agitation.
Answer: C
Feedback:Nativists and white union laborers feeling threatened by Chinese immigration argued that the Chinese immigrants were barbaric and savage and, therefore, incapable of being assimilated. This was an argument that was made against American Indians earlier in the 19th century, when the policy toward them was removal and isolation.
Learning Objective:POL-6
Historical Thinking Skill:Comparison
Historical Thinking Skill:Contextualization
Historical Thinking Skill: Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time
Key Concept: 6.3.I
Stimuli: yes
1.3
The language in the above excerpt would imply that the legislation was enacted to most address which of the following concerns?
(A)Fear of the influences of the non-western Chinese cultural and religious practices
(B)The communal structure of Chinese political society changing politics in the West, due to the large numbers and rapid influx of Chinese immigrants
(C)Middle class fears of economically competing with an highly educated class of immigrants
(D)White laborers fears of unemployment and being undercut in wages
Answer: D
Feedback:The emphasis on “Chinese laborers” would imply that the import of the legislation was to address workers’ or laborers’ concerns related to jobs.
Learning Objective:POL-6
Historical Thinking Skill:Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Evidence
Key Concept: 6.3.I
Stimuli: yes
Questions 2.1-2.5 refer to the excerpt below.
“After freedom, we worked on shares a while. Then we rented. When we worked on shares, we couldn’t make nothing, just overalls and something to eat. Half went to the other man and you would destroy your half if you weren’t careful. A man that didn’t know how to count would always lose. He might lose anyhow. They didn’t give no itemized statement. No, you just had to take their word. They never give you no details. They just say you owe so much. No matter how good account you kept, you had to go by their account and now, Brother, I’m tellin‘ you the truth about this. It’s been that way for a long time. You had to take the white man’s work on note, and everything. Anything you wanted, you could git if you were a good hand. You could git anything you wanted as long as you worked. If you didn’t make no money, that’s all right; they would advance you more. But you better not leave him, you better not try to leave and get caught. They’d keep you in debt. They were sharp.”
-- Federal Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administration for the State of Arkansas,Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves, Henry Blake narrative, published in 1941
2.1
In the post-Reconstruction era, which of the following was an alternative economic vision promoted by some white southerners, as opposed to the economic system described above?
(A)A “New South” based on a system of small, family-owned farms
(B)A “New South” based on a strong industrial economy
(C)A “New South,” rejuvenated to a return of the plantation system
(D)A “New South,” having a diverse agricultural economy
Answer: B
Feedback:Following Reconstruction, some white southern leaders argued for industrialization of the South that would compete with the industrial North. They had reasoned this lack of a modern, industrial economy was the reason for the South’s loss of the Civil War, and that this weakness should be rectified.
Learning Objective:ID-5
Historical Thinking Skill:Comparison
Historical Thinking Skill:Contextualization
Key Concept: 6.1.II
Stimuli: yes
2.2
The most directeffect of the system described in the excerpt was that
(A)the event known as the “Great Migration” of African Americans to the North occurred
(B)African Americans in the South were denied political civil rights
(C)for most newly-freed African Americans, the dream ofowning land became virtually impossible
(D)opportunities increased for African Americansin the South to advance to a middle class
Answer: C
Feedback:After the abolition of slavery, formerly enslaved workers mostly transitioned to a system of tenant farming, in which they rented lands, or of sharecropping, in which they farmed on others' lands in return for a small share of the proceeds. This system effectively kept workers from being able to buy their own land and develop true economic independence.
Learning Objective:WXT-5
Historical Thinking Skill:Historical Causation
Historical Thinking Skill:Contextualization
Key Concept: 6.1.II
Stimuli: yes
2.3
The system described in the above excerpt most directly had which of the following negative consequences for the larger southern economy?
(A)An even greater dependency on cash crops and a lack of a diversified agricultural industry
(B)A lack of strong motivation for the South to grow the economy
(C)A lack of industrial growth
(D)No development of a system of credit to help farmers during times of low crop prices
Answer: A
Feedback:The crop-lien system kept most farmers—African American and white—in perpetual debt. As a result, farming a cash crop—in most cases, cotton—seemed to most to offer the sole possibility to make enough money to escape debt. The repeated planting of cotton depleted the fertility of the soil, and contributed to the cycle of poverty for the small farmer. Growing cash crops also contributed to a lack of diversification of the agricultural economy, leaving it even more one-dimensional and at the mercy of a single market. In general, the crop-lien system had the basic effect of contributing to a general decline in the Southern economy.
Learning Objective:WXT-5
Historical Thinking Skill:Historical Causation
Historical Thinking Skill:Contextualization
Key Concept: 6.1.II
Stimuli: yes
2.4
Which of the following arguments is best supported by the above excerpt?
(A)African Americans saw education as a means to gain economic independence.
(B)White landowners kept African Americans working their plantations by moving to a salary system.
(C)Renting land to farm was more difficult for the African American than sharecropping.
(D)A culture of white supremacy continued to be reinforced in the South.
Answer: D
Feedback:The crop-lien system based on tenant farming and sharecropping prevented farmers, particularly the impoverished African American, from building equity or making true profits. Landowners and creditors ensured that the sharecropper or tenant farmer remained in debt. This indebtedness was used to keep the indebted farmer essentially in slavery-like conditions, despite having formal personal freedom. The crop-lien system continued to reinforce the domination of white society in the South.
Learning Objective:ID-5
Historical Thinking Skill:Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Evidence
Key Concept: 6.1.II
Stimuli: yes
2.5
Which event most undermined the agricultural system described in the above excerpt?
(A)Widespread adoption of the cotton gin greatly lowered the demand for agricultural output.
(B)The development of refrigerated rail cars in the late 1800s allowed for greater distribution of food, lowering the need for the small farmer.
(C)The ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment created a constitutional ban on slavery and any systems that essentially had the same effect.
(D)Industrial labor needs during World War I sparkeda great African American migration to northern cities.
Answer: D
Feedback:The crop-lien system kept African Americans in a perpetual state of poverty and oppression. During World War I, the pull of industrial employment in war factories sparked a "Great Migration" of black workers from the South to the North, weakening the labor force needed to further the crop-lien system.
Learning Objective:PEO-3
Historical Thinking Skill:Historical Causation
Key Concept: 6.2.I
Stimuli: yes
Questions 3.1-3.4 refer to the excerpt below.
“Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the tract of land in the Territories of Montana and Wyoming, ... is hereby reserved and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale under the laws of the United States, and dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people; and all persons who shall locate or settle upon or occupy the same, or any part thereof, except as hereinafter provided, shall be considered trespassers and removed therefrom.
SEC 2. That said public park shall be under the exclusive control of the Secretary of the Interior, whose duty it shall be, as soon as practicable, to make and publish such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary or proper for the care and management of the same. Such regulations shall provide for the preservation, from injury or spoliation, of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonders within said park, and their retention in their natural condition.”
--Forty-Second U.S. Congress, Act Establishing Yellowstone National Park, 1872
3.1
Which was a more common notion ofland conservation in the late 19th century, compared to the general idea reflected in the above legislation?
(A)Only development on land limited in water resources should be restricted.
(B)Preservation was a private endeavor, not a public one.
(C)Land should be protected for carefulpublicmanagement ofthenatural resources.
(D)Land should be protected the sake of preserving the natural beauty and ecology.
Answer: C
Feedback:Although president Theodore Roosevelt was a more progressive advocate of conservation, his administration frequently followed a policy reflecting the more common idea of carefully managing resource use. As a result, cities and companies could have access to natural resources on protected lands. Opposition to measures such as the Hetch Hetchy Dam encouraged support for a purer form of conservation, ie. preservation.
Learning Objective:ENV-5
Historical Thinking Skill:Contextualization
Historical Thinking Skill:Comparison
Key Concept: 6.1.III
Stimuli: yes
3.2
In the conservation movement of the late 19th century, which of the following groups would most likely disagree with federal funding for building dams and reservoirs in the West?
(A)Eastern bankers who had landholding interests in the West
(B)Preservationists
(C)Railroads, timber, mining companies
(D)Conservationists
Answer: B
Feedback:Preservationists advocated protection of land for the sake of the natural beauty. Preservationists were distinguished from conservationists, at the time, who believed that land should be protected in order that development could be carefully managed.
Learning Objective:ENV-5
Historical Thinking Skill:Contextualization
Key Concept: 6.1.III
Stimuli: yes
3.3
Why might historians choose to categorize this legislation of 1872 as typical of the Progressive era rather than of the Reconstruction era?
(A)Progressive era reformers concerned themselves almost entirely with rural and environmental issues.
(B)Conservation as a movement arose mostly in response to the rapid industrialization of the late 1800s and progressive ideas of purposeful human intervention.
(C)Government lacked the constitutional right to pass such legislation until ratification of amendments in the early 1900s.
(D)The advance of the Social Gospel movement spurred reformers to expand their ideas of justice to the environment, as well.
Answer: B
Feedback:Interest in the protection of the environment simply for its own sake was a new and fragile concept even during the early 1900s. Conservationists urged the protection or management of resources amid a time of great industrialization and expansion of big business interests into the West. Historians, therefore, often consider the creation of national parks such as Yellowstone within the context of the Progressive period of reform. Additionally, the conservation movement reflects the progressive idea that direct human action and purposeful intervention was an essential part of an ordered and civil society.
Learning Objective:POL-3
Historical Thinking Skill:Periodization
Key Concept: 6.1.III
Stimuli: yes
3.4
Which group most expressed similar concerns asthe preservationists in the 19th century over the impact of capitalist enterprises on the natural environment?
(A)Romantics who believed in human perfectability
(B)Southern romantic aristocrats
(C)Those who promoted science
(D)Protestant evangelicals
Answer: A
Feedback:Transcendentalists expressed fear of the impact of capitalist enterprises on the natural world. They, like the preservationists, were concerned with the beauty of the natural world and its preservation, as they believed that human spirituality rested in communion with nature—that the humanity of people and the self could not be realized without unity with nature.
Learning Objective:ENV-5
Historical Thinking Skill:Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time
Key Concept: 6.1.III
Stimuli: yes
Questions 4.1-4.6 refer to the excerpt below.
“DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Washington, December 2, 1882 SIR: I desire to call your attention to what I regard as a great hindrance to the civilization of the Indians, viz, the continuance of the old heathenish dances, such as the sun-dance, scalp-dance, & c. These dances, or feasts, as they are sometimes called, ought, in my judgment, to be discontinued, and if the Indians now supported by the Government are not willing to discontinue them, the agents should be instructed to compel such discontinuance. These feasts or dances are not social gatherings for the amusement of these people, but, on the contrary, are intended and calculated to stimulate the warlike passions of the young warriors of the tribe.”
-- Office of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Code of Indian Offenses, 1883
4.1
The above excerpt best reflects the changing nature of government policies towards the American Indian by the late 19th century in which of the following ways?
(A)A shift from forced movement onto large reservations together to isolating each tribe individually
(B)Formal declaration of American Indian sovereignty and acknowledgement of tribal cultures
(C)A shift from a policy of isolating the tribes from white society to one of assimilation
(D)A move to establish citizenship qualifications for the American Indian, in order to facilitate assimilation
Answer: C
Feedback:In the earlier part of the 19th century, government policy had been to partially recognize the sovereignty of the American Indians by establishing “Indian country” west of the Missouri River. This policy eventually gave way to establishing single reservations for smaller groups of tribes, as white settlers moved into “Indian country.” In that period, views had begun to shift about allowing the American Indians to maintain their cultural ways, including their collective societal structure and religious rituals. As hostilities and warring continued, whites came to increasingly see the tribal ways as instigating rebellion among the tribes and continuing conflict. Government policy then assumed a shift to assimilating the tribes, increasingly imposing “white ways” on the tribes and taking apart tribal cultures.
Learning Objective:PEO-4
Historical Thinking Skill:Contextualization
Historical Thinking Skill:Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Evidence