Which of these developments most opened up the West and produced great economic growth in the United States?

A. The completion of the transcontinental railroad and the overall expansion of the nation’s railroad network
Correct! The railroad boom provided the pathway to open up the West to economic development and spurred the growth in the U.S. economy.

B. The development of sharecropping as an agriculture system
Incorrect. Sharecropping had little to do with the West and only produced economic gains for some. The railroad boom provided the pathway to open up the West to economic development and spurred the growth in the U.S. economy.

C. The discovery of gold in the Black Hills
Incorrect. While the Black Hills Gold Rush did benefit the economy and brought some people West, it did not have nearly the same effect as the railroad boom.

D. The expansion policies of President Hayes
Incorrect. The railroad boom provided the pathway to open up the West to economic development and spurred the growth in the U.S. economy.

The development of the railroads into large corporations that were publicly traded as stocks helped cement what city as the financial center of the United States through its stock exchange?

A. Chicago
Incorrect. The stock exchange in New York grew increasingly important as the financial business center in the United States.

B. Dallas
Incorrect. The stock exchange in New York grew increasingly important as the financial business center in the United States.

C. San Francisco
Incorrect. The stock exchange in New York grew increasingly important as the financial business in the United States.

D. New York
Correct! The stock exchange in New York grew increasingly important as the financial business center in the United States.

The system of sharecropping became known as “worse than slavery” because —

A. sharecroppers lost their rights as citizens and could be beaten by their owners if they didn’t work hard enough
Incorrect. While many sharecroppers were subject to violence because of the actions by groups like the KKK, that was because of their race not because of their occupation. There were no special laws for sharecroppers.

B. many former slaves ended up remaining just as tied to their former plantations as under slavery and worked just as hard—if not harder—for their former masters in order to repay sharecropping debts
Correct! Many former masters received all of the financial benefits under slavery through sharecropping without any of the obligations.

C. sharecroppers frequently starved to death because of the cruelty of the owners of the land they worked
Incorrect. Landowners sold sharecroppers food on credit so sharecroppers did not starve. When their farmers could not pay, it only meant the next year they had to give the owners more of their crop as part of the cycle of poverty.

D. many sharecroppers grew cotton during all-time high cotton prices, but had to give their former masters half of their crops
Incorrect. Giving the owners half of the crops was the basic deal of sharecropping. During the 1870s, cotton was at record low prices locking the farmers into poverty. If prices were consistently higher, the system might not have been as terrible.

The United States now solemnly agrees that no persons. . . except such officers, agents, and employees of the government as may be authorized to enter upon Indian reservations in discharge of duties enjoined by law, shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in the territory described in this article, or in such territory as may be added to this reservation for the use of said Indians, and henceforth they will and do hereby relinquish all claims or right in and to any portion of the United States or Territories. –Treaty of Fort Laramie of 1868

Which one of the following actions most directly violates the above treaty?

A. Black Hills Gold Rush
Correct! The Black Hills Gold Rush brought whites to the land protected in the above treaty.

B. Sharecropping
Incorrect. The Black Hills Gold Rush brought whites to the land protected in the above treaty in hopes of striking it rich.

C. Panic of 1873
Incorrect. The Black Hills Gold Rush brought whites to the land protected in the above treaty in hopes of striking it rich. The Panic of 1873 intensified the Rush, but did not cause it.

D. Red Cloud’s War
Incorrect. The Black Hills Gold Rush brought whites to the land protected in the above treaty in hopes of striking it rich. Red Cloud’s victory in his war brought about the treaty.

The Panic of 1873 —

A. led to the expansion of the railroad industry
Incorrect. The Panic of 1873 halted the expansion of the railroad industry for a time. The economic downturn was a major factor in the end of Reconstruction.

B. caused gold to be discovered in the Black Hills
Incorrect. Gold was not discovered in the Black Hills because of the Panic, but it did make the following rush larger. The economic downturn was a major factor in the end of Reconstruction.

C. prevented the construction of the first Transcontinental Railroad
Incorrect. The first Transcontinental Railroad was completed before the Panic of 1873. Its success contributed to the railroad boom that eventually caused the downturn. The economic downturn was a major factor in the end of Reconstruction.

D. was a major factor in the end of Reconstruction
Correct! The economic downturn was a major factor in the end of Reconstruction.