1. The Democratic party nominee for President in 1896 was ____; the Republicans nominated ____; and the
Populists endorsed ____.
a. William McKinley; Mark Hanna; William Jennings Bryan
b. William Jennings Bryan; William McKinley; James B. Weaver
c. William Jennings Bryan; William McKinley; William Jennings Bryan
d. Mark Hanna; William Jennings Bryan; William Jennings Bryan
e. William Jennings Bryan; Theodore Roosevelt; William Jennings Bryan

c

2. How did the railroad impact farmers?
a. freight rates ate crop profits
b. railroads often lost shipments
c. railroads were unable to ship crops on time
d. railroads brought cheap labor to the farms
e. they allowed farmers greater access to leisure time in the city

a

3. Jacob Coxey and his army marched on Washington, D.C., to
a. demand a larger military budget.
b. protest the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act.
c. demand that the government relieve unemployment with a public works program.
d. try to promote a general strike of all workers.
e. None of these choices are correct.

c

4. Match each individual with his role in the Pullman strike:
A. Richard Olney 1. Head of the American Railway Union that organized the

strike

B. Eugene V. Debs 2. Governor of Illinois who sympathized with the striking

workers

C. George Pullman 3. United States attorney general who brought in federal troops

to crush the strike

D. John P. Altgeld 4. Owner of the "palace railroad car" company and the

company town where the strike began

a. A-1, B-2, C-4, D-3
b. A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4
c. A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2
d. A-4, B-3, C-2, D-1
e. A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3

c

5. Late 19th-century farmers believed that their difficulties stemmed primarily from
a. low tariff rates.
b. overproduction.
c. a deflated currency and low prices for their agricultural goods.
d. immigration laws.
e. insufficient agricultural exports.

c

6. For farm men and women, Grangers were a godsend because
a. they required members to pitch in and help each other during harvest season.
b. the picnics, concerts and lectures they offered helped ease their isolation.
c. their secret rituals kept out people they didn't like.
d. they sold farming supplies at a deep discount.
e. they formed their own banks and credit unions that farmers could utilize to finance their operations.

b

7. Which of the following was NOT among the qualifications that helped William McKinley earn the Republican
presidential nomination in 1896?
a. He came from the key electoral swing state of Ohio.
b. He had acquired many years of honorable service in Congress.
c. He was a likable and esteemed Civil War veteran.
d. He was backed by the skilled political manager and fund raiser Mark Hanna.
e. He was an energetic and charismatic campaigner.

e

8. What did the grandfather clause do?
a. exempted anyone whose forebear voted in the 1860 election from literacy tests
b. mandated literacy tests for voting in the South
c. exempted former slaves from literacy tests
d. exempted all whites from literacy tests
e. created literacy tests for immigrants

a

9. As president, William McKinley can best be described as
a. cautious and conservative.
b. a man of little ability.
c. an active reformer.
d. a person willing to go against the opinion of the majority.
e. a skillful negotiator.

a

10. During the 1892 presidential election, large numbers of Southern white farmers refused to desert the
Democratic Party and support the Populist Party because
a. they did not think the Populists represented their political interests.
b. they were not experiencing the same hard times as Midwestern farmers.
c. they did not want to cooperate with Black farmers in the region.
d. they believed that too many Populists were former Republicans.
e. they could not accept the Populists' call for government ownership of the railroads, telegraph, and
telephones.

c

11. Farmers were slow to organize and promote their interest because they
a. were divided between small, self-sufficient family farmers and large cash crop farmers with onerous
mortgages.
b. did not possess the money necessary to establish a national political movement.
c. did not believe they could compete politically with wealthier, more powerful manufacturers and railroad
barons.
d. were too busy trying to eke out a living.
e. were, by nature, highly independent and individualistic.

e

12. What achievement is unique to Grover Cleveland?
a. the only president re-elected after defeat
b. the only president to serve three terms
c. the only president to serve nonconsecutive terms
d. the only president to have been vice-president
e. the only president from Ohio

a

13. The strongest ally of Mark Hanna and the Republicans in the 1896 presidential election was
a. a strong economy that raised wheat and other commodity prices.
b. McKinley's vigorous campaigning.
c. fear of the alleged radicalism of William Jennings Bryan and his free silver cause.
d. the nearly unanimous support of the nation's trained economists.
e. the divisions in the Democratic Party.

c

14. The Farmers' Alliance was originally formed to
a. drive up farm prices by reducing crop production.
b. advance agriculturally useful education in state land-grant colleges.
c. join poor Black and white farmers in a political alliance to advance their similar economic interests.
d. undermine eastern bankers by providing low-cost loans to farmers.
e. break the economic grip of the railroads through farmers' cooperatives.

e

15. The monetary inflation needed to relieve the social and economic hardships of the late 19th century eventually
came as a result of
a. the repeal of the Gold Standard Act.
b. McKinley's adoption of the bimetallic standard.
c. an increase in the international gold supply.
d. the United States going off the gold standard.
e. the creation of the Federal Reserve System.

c

16. Mark Hanna, the Ohio Republican president-maker, believed that the prime function of the federal government
was to
a. defend against foreign enemies.
b. maintain a laissez-faire policy.
c. ensure peace in labor relations between business and labor.
d. overturn the trickle-down theory of economics.
e. provide aid to big business.

e

17. Which William McKinley backer believed that the role of government was to aid business?
a. Marcus Alonzo Hanna
b. J.P. Morgan
c. Andrew Carnegie
d. William Jennings Bryan
e. William Allen White

a

18. Which one of the following was NOT among influential Populist leaders?
a. William "Coin" Harvey
b. Ignatius Donnelly
c. Mary Elizabeth Lease
d. James B. Weaver
e. Eugene V. Debs

e

19. William Jennings Bryan gained the presidential nomination of the Democratic party primarily because he
a. had already gained the nomination of the Populist party.
b. had the support of urban workers.
c. possessed a brilliant political mind.
d. eloquently supported the farmers' demand for the unlimited coinage of silver.
e. ran an insurgent political campaign that unified a divided Democratic party.

d

20. In a bid to win labor's support, the Populist party
a. supported restrictions on immigration.
b. supported the Haymarket anarchists.
c. opposed judicial injunctions against labor strikes.
d. endorsed workmen's compensation laws.
e. proposed a law guaranteeing the right to organize and strike.

c

21. With agricultural production rising dramatically in the post-Civil War years
a. more farmers could purchase land.
b. tenant farming spread rapidly throughout the Midwest and South.
c. bankruptcies declined.
d. Western farmers prospered, while Southern farmers had grave troubles selling their cotton.
e. the government began buying surplus cash crops in order to sustain farmers' economic welfare.

b

22. The Pullman strike created the first instance of
a. management recognition of the right of workers to organize and strike.
b. government use of federal troops to break a labor strike.
c. violence during a labor strike.
d. a united front between urban workers and agrarian Populists.
e. government use of a federal court injunction to break a strike.

e

23. In the decades after the Civil War, most American farmers
a. bartered to obtain many of their necessities.
b. diversified their crops.
c. became increasingly self-sufficient.
d. saw their numbers grow as more people moved west.
e. grew a single cash crop such as wheat or corn.

e

24. The Populist party arose as the direct successor to the
a. Greenback Labor party.
b. Farmers' Alliance.
c. Silver Miners' Coalition.
d. Liberal Republican party.
e. Grange.

b

25. The 1896 presidential election marked the last time that
a. rural America would defeat urban America.
b. the South remained solid for the Democratic party.
c. a third-party candidate had a serious chance at the White House.
d. factory workers would favor inflation.
e. a serious effort to win the White House would be made with mostly agrarian votes.

e

26. Which act was aimed to stop the hemorrhaging of gold from the Treasury?
a. Sherman Silver Purchase Act
b. Gold Act
c. Silver Standard Act
d. Homestead Act
e. Pass-Baron Act

a

27. All of the following characteristics describe William Jennings Bryan in 1896 EXCEPT he
a. disliked the concept of class conflict.
b. was very youthful.
c. was an energetic and charismatic campaigner.
d. was an excellent orator.
e. radiated honesty and sincerity.

a

28. The first major farmers' organization was the
a. National Grange.
b. Populists.
c. Greenback Labor party.
d. Farmers' Alliance.
e. American Farm Bureau.

a

29. Which one of the following was least sympathetic to workers and farmers hard-pressed by the Depression of
1893?
a. John P. Altgeld
b. Richard Olney
c. Eugene V. Debs
d. Jacob Coxey
e. William Jennings Bryan

b

30. The original purpose of the Grange was to
a. get involved in politics.
b. support an inflationary monetary policy.
c. stimulate self-improvement through educational and social activities.
d. improve the farmers' collective plight.
e. support the Homestead law.

c

31. How did the invention of the refrigerated railcar change agriculture?
a. it allowed Californian fruit to be sold in the East.
b. it allowed the transport of cheese and milk for the first time.
c. It allowed for dining cars on passenger trains.
d. It allowed for the transport of Georgia peaches to California markets.
e. It opened up Canadian produce markets to American vegetables.

a

32. In the election of 1896, the major issue became
a. restoration of protective tariffs.
b. enactment of an income tax.
c. government programs for those unemployed as a result of the depression.
d. guaranteeing unions the right to organize and collectively bargain.
e. free and unlimited coinage of silver.

e

33. The 1896 victory of William McKinley ushered in a long period of Republican dominance that was accompanied
by
a. diminishing voter participation in elections.
b. strengthening of party organizations.
c. increasing voter participation in elections.
d. less concern for industrial regulation.
e. sharpened conflict between business and labor.

a

34. What were the chief concerns of farmers in the North, South, and West?
a. low prices and deflated currency
b. inflated currency
c. competition between regions
d. soil degradation
e. new tariffs

a

35. Labor unions, Populists, and debtors saw in the brutal Pullman episode
a. proof of an alliance between big business, the federal government, and the courts against working people.
b. a strategy by which united working-class action could succeed.
c. the need for a socialist party in the United States.
d. the potential of the federal government as a counterweight to big business.
e. the fallacy of using labor for organizing strikes to achieve economic gains for working-class citizens.

a

36. In several states, farmers helped to pass the Granger Laws, which were designed to
a. provide state subsidies for farm exports.
b. lower farm mortgage interest rates.
c. allow the formation of producer and consumer cooperatives.
d. prohibit bankruptcy auctions.
e. regulate railroad rates and grain storage fees.

e

37. What factor further pinched the farm debtor?
a. static money supply
b. increased taxes
c. increased tariffs
d. reduced tariffs
e. competition between farms

a

b

b

e

e

a

a

e

e

a

a

43. The Populist party's presidential candidate in 1892 was
a. James B. Weaver.
b. William Jennings Bryan.
c. Mary Elizabeth Lease.
d. Adlai Stevenson.
e. William "Coin" Harvey.

a

44. Why were Coxey and his lieutenants arrested?
a. walking on the grass in the nation’s capital
b. failing to pay taxes on their businesses
c. collaborating with foreign agents
d. stealing government documents
e. attacking the Kansas state legislature with rifles

a

45. Who did Cleveland turn to for a loan to shore up faith in the government?
a. J.P. Morgan
b. Andrew Carnegie
c. William Jennings Bryan
d. John Sinclair
e. William Hope Harvey

a

46. What was the impact of flourishing agriculture in Russia and Argentina?
a. American sodbusters faced ruin
b. new markets opened for America in South America
c. the federal government protected American agriculture with new tariffs
d. American farm equipment sales increased dramatically
e. a global depression was sparked

a

47. The root cause of the American farmers' problems after 1880 was
a. underproduction of agricultural foodstuffs.
b. foreign competition.
c. the declining number of farms and farmers.
d. the shortage of farm machinery.
e. low prices and a deflated currency.

e

48. The depression of the 1890s and episodes like the Pullman Strike made the election of 1896 shape up as a
a. battle between down-and-out workers and farmers and establishment conservatives.
b. conflict between the insurgent Populists and the two established political parties.
c. sectional conflict with the West aligned against the Northeast and South.
d. contest over the power of the federal government to manage a modern industrial economy like the United
States.
e. clash of cultures between ordinary middle-class Americans and European-oriented radicals and
reformers.

a

49. In the presidential election of 1896, McKinley carried
a. the upper Mississippi Valley.
b. most urban workers.
c. the South.
d. the West.
e. New England.

a, b, e

50. The consolidation of Republican power and eclipse of the Populists after the 1896 elections can be attributed to
a. eastern labor's opposition to free silver.
b. the return of general economic prosperity.
c. the decline of middle-class values.
d. the relative decline of rural America in relation to the cities.
e. increasing levels of voter participation in national elections.

a, b, d

51. The Populists' political program called for
a. a graduated income tax.
b. government ownership of the railroads, telephones, and telegraphs.
c. protective tariffs.
d. free and unlimited coinage of silver in the ratio of 16 to 1.
e. loans to farmers based on crops stored in government warehouses.

a, b, d, e

52. Late 19th-century Populist farmers held grievances against
a. railroads.
b. state governments.
c. corporations and processors who provided products and services for farmers.
d. the two major political parties.
e. banks.

a, b, c, d, e