Visions of America
Chapter 18 Reading Questions
Multiple Choice: Select the BEST answer for each question AND identify the page number(s) containing the information you believe supports your selected answer.
1. What prevented workers from escaping when a fire broke out at the Triangle ShirtwaistFactory?
A) Government regulations prohibited the building of fire escapes.
B) Employers had locked the factory doors from the outside.
C) The workers stayed put, believing that firefighters would save them.
D) Indifferent managers harassed them, forcing them to keep working despite the fire.
E) The poorly constructed building collapsed almost immediately.
2. What did John D. Rockefeller and other members of the upper class believe was the source ofpoverty?
A) individual failures
B) inequity in taxation
C) unfair working conditions
D) overregulation by the government
E) a lack of good jobs
3. Proponents of the Social Gospel believed that
A) they had a duty to proselytize and spread their religion.
B) the working poor were to blame for their predicament.
C) the Bible should be interpreted literally.
D) people of different religious faiths should live in harmony.
E) Christians had a responsibility to address social problems.
4. The Progressive agenda mainly reflected the values of
A) immigrant workers.
B) upper-class philanthropists.
C) evangelical Protestants.
D) the working poor.
E) the middle class.
5. At the turn of the twentieth century, what factor made it increasingly difficult for smallbusinesses to succeed?
A) their reliance on immigrant labor
B) the dominance of huge conglomerates
C) rising agricultural prices
D) a tightening of credit emanating from Wall Street
E) the demands of organized labor
6. What did journalist Ida Tarbell reveal in her exposé of Standard Oil?
A) illicit deals between John D. Rockefeller and railroad companies
B) the economic benefits of trusts, such as stabilized prices
C) John D. Rockefeller’s attempt to broker a backroom deal with the president
D) the company’s efforts to take over the railroads
E) the failure of the government’s trustbusting efforts against the company
7. President Wilson offset lost tariff revenues by relying on
A) monies brought in by direct taxation on the states.
B) private donations from the wealthy.
C) a large tax on the wealthiest companies.
D) an increase in sales taxes for luxury items.
E) revenue created by the first federal income tax.
8. In campaigning for president, Woodrow Wilson promised “New Freedom,” which prioritized
A) competition in the marketplace.
B) limited monopolies.
C) government ownership of utilities.
D) the redistribution of wealth.
E) integration.
9. Which Republican incumbent was defeated in 1912 when his party split into Progressive andconservative factions?
A) Theodore Roosevelt
B) William Howard Taft
C) Eugene V. Debs
D) Woodrow Wilson
E) William Jennings Bryan
10. Frederick Taylor’s scientific management system involved all of the following EXCEPT
A) fining or firing unproductive workers.
B) assigning simple, repetitive tasks to workers.
C) speeding up the production process.
D) increasing the mechanization of factories.
E) providing more autonomy for the factory laborer.
11. Which of the following best describes the American Federation of Labor?
A) It represented only skilled workers.
B) It welcomed female textile workers among its ranks.
C) It strived to organize a diverse range of workers.
D) It was eventually supplanted by the IWW.
E) It was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
12. The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) differed from the American Federation of Labor (AFL) inthat they
A) embraced the Progressive vision of change through government regulation.
B) refused to use strikes as a method of protest.
C) encouraged workers’ desire for private property.
D) focused their efforts on limiting work hours rather than increasing wages.
E) rejected the idea of working within the free market system.
13. What event led to the death of thirteen women and children in the Ludlow Massacre?
A) the governor of California’s sending state troops to remove striking miners’ camps
B) the poor conditions in which even female and child laborers worked
C) a grave misstep on the part of the UMW union
D) John D. Rockefeller’s order that managers should fire on striking miners
E) an attempt by police to break up a sympathy strike for Ludlow miners
14. InLochner v. New York the Supreme Court ruled that
A) those whose occupations were dangerous but served the public interest should be protected bylaw.
B) segregation was legal as long as the accommodations were equal.
C) children under the age of fifteen could work only eight hours a day.
D) maximum hour laws for female workers were constitutional because women’s reproductivehealth served the public good.
E) the government should not interfere with an employee’s negotiating his own work scheduleunless the hours jeopardized health.
15. What ultimately resulted in a decline in child labor?
A) mandatory school attendance
B) legislation by the Progressive era Congress
C) boycotts by middle- and upper-class women
D) the declining population of young children
E) a decline in the wages paid to children
16. The temperance movement attracted all of the following EXCEPT
A) Progressives.
B) women.
C) working-class men.
D) rural Americans.
E) industrialists.
17. Which best describes the middle-class view on childhood?
A) the beginning of a life of production
B) a time to learn good work habits
C) a period for education and play
D) a state of vulnerability needing vigilant protection
E) a fleeting interval of pleasure
18. Child labor affected many recently arrived immigrant men because
A) their native cultures typically prohibited such practices.
B) their English-speaking children could often get jobs more easily than they could.
C) their dreams that their children would get an education and improve their lot were unfulfilled.
D) their ignorance about American ways kept them from protecting their children from poorworking conditions.
E) their families could lift themselves from poverty sooner than expected.
19. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle focused on the problems of immigrants who worked
A) in sweatshops.
B) in the meatpacking industry.
C) in mines.
D) in steel mills.
E) on railroads.
20. What did the Seventeenth Amendment do?
A) It made the distribution and use of alcohol illegal.
B) It provided for the direct popular election of U.S. senators.
C) It limited presidential terms.
D) It gave women the right to vote.
E) It confirmed the right of citizens to due process under the law.
21. Who inadvertently coined the term “muckraker?”
A) Upton Sinclair
B) Ida Tarbell
C) Edward Curtis
D) Theodore Roosevelt
E) William Howard Taft
22. Booker T. Washington believed that race relations would improve
A) if African Americans focused on economic advancement and remained patient.
B) if African Americans defended themselves with rifles.
C) if African Americans left the United States.
D) if white Americans understood the poverty in which many African Americans lived.
E) if African Americans were admitted into all-white private schools.
23. The Progressive movement was driven by
A) the conviction that government should redistribute wealth across classes.
B) the contention that only individual efforts, not government help, could solve social problems.
C) a general belief that moderate reforms were needed to help cure social ills.
D) a determination to end segregation in the South and improve race relations.
E) the belief that revolutionary change was at hand and should be embraced.
24. As a result of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
A) women across all classes fought for city safety regulations.
B) working-class men insisted that their wives and daughters should not work.
C) industrialists built safer buildings and instituted less exploitative practices.
D) women began to do more sewing from their homes.
E) firefighters and police officers were recognized as heroes.
25. Based on their work at Hull House, Jane Addams and Florence Kelley articulated the coreProgressive belief that
A) collective bargaining and strikes were the most effective means of obtaining rights forworkers.
B) the nationalization of industry would be the key to improving working-class lives.
C) the environment played an important role in shaping the lives of the poor.
D) people were personally responsible for the conditions in which they lived.
E) religious faith could effect more change than could practical reforms.
26. What portion of American workers were wage-earning manual laborers?
A) about 10 percent
B) nearly all
C) about one quarter
D) more than half
E) about 2 percent
27. Which statement best describes Woodrow Wilson’s style as president?
A) He kept his distance from issues, letting his cabinet take political leadership.
B) He built upon Theodore Roosevelt’s model of strong executive authority.
C) His reluctance to sponsor legislation impeded his effectiveness.
D) His support for radical reforms pleased socialists and advocates of women’s suffrage.
E) He was more liberal and open-minded than previous presidents.
28. Edward Curtis considered himself a “friend” to the Indian and advocated that
A) they become photographers to create a record of their culture.
B) they maintain their traditional ways.
C) they assimilate into American society.
D) they withdraw from society.
E) they take up arms against the American government.
29. What did President Roosevelt and John Muir have in common?
A) They both believed that businesses would conserve nature, since it was in their self-interest tomaintain natural resources.
B) They both were preservationists, who believed in preserving nature from development.
C) They both were conservationists, who believed in conserving nature for the future whilemeeting current economic needs.
D) They both were avid photographers, whose work helped inspire the environmental movement.
E) They both turned to nature to help recover from personal loss.
30. What factors constrained the Progressive agenda?
A) Striking workers discouraged Progressive Era presidents from advocating on their behalf, andthey chose to focus on breaking up trusts rather than improving labor conditions for Americanworkers.
B) Progressives could not agree whether it would be best to fight at the federal level forgovernmental protections or to work to improve conditions at the local level, such as throughimprovements in housing and sanitation.
C) The Supreme Court limited or struck down many protections for workers won byProgressives, and many workers themselves believed that unions and strikes were better meansto improving their situation.
D) Industrialists were engaged in applying the findings of Frederick Winslow Taylor in theworkplace, and the increases in production and efficiency captivated the interest of scientifically inclined Progressives.
E) The meager benefits of welfare capitalism turned out to be sufficient so that workers andProgressives alike gave up pushing for greater gains.
31. What was the effect on workers of the establishment of an “open shop” at a company?
A) Workers were required to join a union, which was typically manipulated by management.
B) Workers could choose to join a union, but might face harassment and other discriminatorypractices.
C) Workers were not allowed to join a union, and their lack of job security fueled an anxiety thatdrove them to work hard.
D) Workers could receive benefits such as medical care and pensions as long as they agreed notto join a union.
E) Workers could choose to join a union as long as they agreed not to strike.
32. How did Henry Ford’s innovations affect consumers?
A) They could support organized labor by buying from Ford.
B) They could choose from a large variety of models.
C) They could buy luxury cars for the first time.
D) They could buy cars for much less money than before.
E) They could buy cars that were much faster than any others.
33. What was the main effect of mass production techniques such as the assembly line on theworkplace?
A) increased efficiency
B) overcrowding in the workplace
C) greater liberty for workers to socialize during working hours
D) a diminished interest in unionizing
E) backbreaking labor for workers
34. Henry Ford’s policies benefited workers in all of the following ways EXCEPT by
A) reducing shifts to nine hours.
B) honoring their private lives without interference.
C) paying workers twice the standard wage.
D) ensuring that workers could afford his automobiles.
E) using assembly techniques that kept workers from having to move a chassis.
35. How did the Supreme Court use the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to benefit industrialists?
A) It determined that the dissemination of the radical vision of the Industrial Workers of theWorld was unconstitutional.
B) It defined most labor unions as trusts and declared that they should be broken up.
C) It determined that small businesses were free to fire workers for joining a union.
D) It defined sympathy strikes or boycotts by workers as “restraints of trade.”
E) It determined that fraternizing among workers was illegal and that the ban should be strictlyenforced.
36. Reform efforts to improve the lives of children included all of the following EXCEPT
A) creating a juvenile criminal system that focused on rehabilitating young offenders.
B) establishing urban playgrounds with adult supervisors.
C) setting up local boys and girls clubs.
D) organizing sports teams and art classes.
E) sending children to farms so that they could spend more time outdoors.
37. How did the 1916 law banning the interstate sale of products made by child labor affectchildren in the workplace?
A)Public sentiment throughout all classes turned against having children in the workplace .
B) Factories stopped employing children, but they continued to work on farms.
C) A series of laws gradually leading to the total banning of child labor was initiated.
D) The law protected fewer than one out of every ten child laborers.
E) Child labor was effectively banned throughout the United States.
38. Why were some feminists disappointed with the Supreme Court ruling in Muller v. Oregon?
A) They saw the ruling as a distraction from their fight for suffrage for all American women.
B) They believed all employees should have the right to negotiate their own terms withemployers.
C) They believed that maximum hours laws should be extended to all.
D) They were upset that the ruling depended on a view of women as inferior to men.
E) They were concerned that the ruling would effectively block women from manyemploymentopportunities.
39. What did the popularity of Carry A. Nation reveal about early twentieth-century Americanculture?
A) There was growing concern about the effects of the increase in alcohol consumption.
B) Women believed prohibition was a more important cause than gaining the right to vote.
C) Men and women of all classes were becoming less interested in drinking.
D) People were eager for any excuse to engage in violent behavior.
E) The working class was growing increasingly resentful of the hedonistic lifestyle of the upperclass.
40. In his 1895 “Atlanta Exposition Address,” Booker T. Washington claimed to acceptsegregation if
A) whites would cease lynching African Americans.
B) it did not impede the economic progress of African Americans.
C) African Americans segregated themselves by emigrating to other countries.
D) African Americans were granted equal educational opportunities.
E) obstacles were removed from African Americans’ ability to vote.
41. Most American socialists advocated for
A) limiting governmental regulation of industry.
B) the temperance movement.
C) welfare capitalism.
D) public ownership of railroads and utilities.
E) the election of Theodore Roosevelt.
42. Which resulted from the popularity of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair?
A) federal regulation of meat production
B) increased membership in the Socialist Policy
C) growing concern about the lives of immigrants to the United States
D) an exposé revealing that Sinclair’s novel was exaggerated and inaccurate
E) a turn to vegetarianism among the mainstream middle class
43. What might have been the result if the Supreme Court in Lochnerv. New York had ruled thata state could use its police powers to protect workers’ health and safety?
A) Regulators would have used their own judgment rather than uniform standards to decidewhether employees were overworked.
B) States would have focused their efforts on enforcing maximum hour laws for female workersonly.
C) More states would have passed and enforced maximum hour laws for both male and femaleworkers.
D) An increasing number of employers would have agreed to eight-hour workdays.
E) Employees would have fought to work more than ten hours a day.
44. In what way did the urban working class disagree with Progressives about the ward system?
A) The working class felt that until the ward system was reformed, political leaders should beappointed.
B) The working class resented the ward system because it created pressure to vote for aparticular party or politician.
C) The working class felt that informed experts would lead better than their ward representatives.
D) The working class believed that the government was too big and that eliminating the wardsystem would reduce its size.
E) The working class was grateful to their ward representatives for providing job opportunitiesand aid during hard times .
Completion: Complete each statement with the term(s) that BEST complete the thought. Identify the page number(s) containing the information you believe supports your selected answer.
45. The billionaire titan of Standard Oil, who believed individuals were alone responsible fortheir own success or failure, was ______.
46. Progressives sought to eliminate vice by combatting the twin evils, prostitution and______.
47. Through their work at ______, a settlement house for immigrants in Chicago, JaneAddams and Florence Kelley were able produce statistical studies of the problems related topoverty.
48. Theodore Roosevelt became president after the assassination of President ______.
49. In 1908, the candidate who ran against William Jennings Bryan to become the next presidentof the United States was ______.
50. The Socialist Party candidate who got nearly one million votes in the presidential election of1912 was ______.