Industrialization, Gilded Age, and Progressive Era (1877-1920) — High School U.S. History practice questions

The 17th Amendment (1913) provided for:

1. a graduated federal income tax
2. women's suffrage
3. direct election of senators
4. Prohibition

Answer: C — direct election of senators

C) Correct — Before it, state legislatures chose senators. A) Was the 16th Amendment. B) Was the 19th Amendment. D) Was the 18th Amendment.

Muckrakers were:

1. political machine bosses
2. leaders of the Populist Party
3. journalists who exposed corruption and abuse
4. strikebreakers hired by railroad and mining companies

Answer: C — journalists who exposed corruption and abuse

C) Correct — Writers like Ida Tarbell and Upton Sinclair spurred Progressive reform. A) Were often the targets of their exposés. B) Isn't the meaning. D) Isn't the meaning.

W. E. B. Du Bois differed from Booker T. Washington by:

1. urging Black Americans to accept segregation for now
2. focusing only on vocational training
3. supporting the Populist Party
4. demanding full civil and political rights now

Answer: D — demanding full civil and political rights now

D) Correct — Washington stressed job training and gradual progress; Du Bois co-founded the NAACP. A) Was closer to Washington's Atlanta Compromise. B) Was Washington's emphasis. C) Isn't the difference.

The name “Gilded Age” suggests that the era:

1. hid deep problems under a glittering surface
2. was a time of rising equality and fair wages for all
3. produced little economic growth
4. ended slavery

Answer: A — hid deep problems under a glittering surface

A) Correct — Mark Twain's term pointed to poverty and corruption beneath great wealth. B) Inequality was stark. C) Growth was rapid. D) Slavery ended earlier, in 1865.

Political machines like Tammany Hall gained support by:

1. trading jobs and favors for votes
2. refusing to help immigrants
3. passing strict civil service reform laws
4. banning city elections

Answer: A — trading jobs and favors for votes

A) Correct — Bosses helped immigrants find work and housing in return for loyalty. B) They courted immigrants. C) Reform was aimed against them. D) Isn't how they worked.

The Populist Party drew most of its support from:

1. Northern factory owners and managers
2. farmers in the South and West
3. city political machines
4. Eastern bankers

Answer: B — farmers in the South and West

B) Correct — Farmers blamed railroads, banks and tight money for falling crop prices. A) Were the Populists' targets. C) Weren't its base. D) Were its targets.

Theodore Roosevelt's “Square Deal” promised:

1. ending all regulation of business
2. government ownership of the railroads and coal mines
3. fairness for business, workers and consumers
4. neutrality in world affairs

Answer: C — fairness for business, workers and consumers

C) Correct — He broke up some trusts, conserved land and backed consumer protection. A) Reverses it. B) Wasn't his program. D) Isn't the Square Deal.

The Open Door Policy (1899) sought:

1. to colonize China
2. equal trading rights in China for all foreign nations
3. to end all immigration from China to the U.S.
4. U.S. control of Japan

Answer: B — equal trading rights in China for all foreign nations

B) Correct — The U.S. wanted access to Chinese markets without colonizing China. A) Reverses the policy. C) Was the Chinese Exclusion Act. D) Isn't the policy.

The American Federation of Labor focused on:

1. organizing every worker into one union
2. replacing capitalism with socialism
3. skilled workers and wages and hours
4. electing a labor president

Answer: C — skilled workers and wages and hours

C) Correct — Samuel Gompers' unions sought practical, “bread-and-butter” gains. A) Was the Knights of Labor. B) The AFL avoided that. D) Wasn't its focus.

Most of the “new immigrants” of about 1880–1920 came from:

1. northern and western Europe
2. southern and eastern European nations
3. Latin America
4. Africa

Answer: B — southern and eastern European nations

B) Correct — Italians, Poles, Russian Jews and others arrived in great numbers. A) Describes earlier waves. C) Became the largest source later. D) Wasn't the main source.

What was the Spanish-American War (1898)?

Brief war in which the U.S. defeated Spain, gaining Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, and influence over Cuba — marked U.S. emergence as a world power.

What was Ellis Island?

The main immigration station in New York Harbor (1892–1954); processed over 12 million immigrants, mostly from southern and eastern Europe.

What happened at Wounded Knee (1890)?

U.S. troops massacred about 250 Lakota Sioux (mostly unarmed women and children) in South Dakota — effectively ended the Indian Wars.

What was the Dawes Act (1887)?

Broke up tribal lands into individual allotments to assimilate Native Americans; resulted in massive loss of tribal land.