1. Some third-party goals eventually become planks in the platforms of the major parties.
2. The United States has steadily moved from a two-party system to a multiparty system.
3. Religious ideals have most often motivated people to splinter away from major parties .
4. An increasing number of citizens have grown weary of party politics and fail to vote in elections.

Correct Answer Number: 1

Explanation: The Populist Party advocated for a graduated income tax and the direct election of senators (both ideas became popular among the larger 2 political parties and resulted in Constitutional amendments establishing them). The Progressive Party advocated for regulations of businesses and civil service reform (both ideas became reforms of the government, involving such ideas as antitrust legislation and civil service exams).

1. enable them to pay back their loans more easily
2. require banks to lend them more money at reduced interest rates
3. force manufacturers to reduce the prices of manufactured goods purchased by farmers
4. cause the price of undeveloped farmland to drop

Correct Answer Number: 1

Explanation: The idea of “Free Silver” (the open coinage of silver backed dollars, as opposed to those backed by more expensive gold) was one supported by the Populist Party. The belief was that silver backed money would cause inflation, making money more available and as such “cheaper”. This would allow the struggling farmer to pay back loans with the “cheaper” money.

1. prices of agricultural products were increasing
2. railroad companies charged high rates for transporting farm products
3. agricultural output was declining rapidly
4. farm labor was becoming more unionized

Correct Answer Number: 2

Explanation: Railroads had the farmer in a tough position. Areas typically had only one rail line out and as such farmers were forced to pay the rates that the lone railroad company charged. The result was that many railroads charged more for “short hauls” than for much longer distances. The frustrated farmers eventually organized around the Granger organizations in order to push for regulation of the railroads and their rates.

1. currency reform
2. postal savings banks
3. a national property tax
4. a renewed policy of open immigration

Correct Answer Number: 1

Explanation: The idea of “Free Silver” (the open coinage of silver backed dollars, as opposed to those backed by more expensive gold) was one supported by the Populist Party. The belief was that silver backed money would cause inflation, making money more available and as such “cheaper”. This would allow the struggling farmer to pay back loans with the “cheaper” money.

1. force the railroads to lower freight rates
2. reduce the rate of inflation
3. strengthen labor unions
4. improve living conditions in urban slums

Correct Answer Number: 1

Explanation: Railroads had the farmer in a tough position. Areas typically had only one rail line out and as such farmers were forced to pay the rates that the lone railroad company charged. The result was that many railroads charged more for “short hauls” than for much longer distances. The frustrated farmers eventually organized around the Granger organizations in order to push for regulation of the railroads and their rates.

1. adoption of the gold standard
2. elimination of racial segregation laws in the South
3. creation of a graduated income tax and the direct election of Senators
4. establishment of higher protective tariffs on manufactured goods

Correct Answer Number: 3

Explanation: The Populist Party advocated for a graduated income tax and the direct election of senators (both ideas became popular among the larger 2 political parties and resulted in Constitutional amendments establishing them). The Progressive Party advocated for regulations of businesses and civil service reform (both ideas became reforms of the government, involving such ideas as antitrust legislation and civil service exams).

1. citizens the right to choose Presidential candidates
2. voters greater direct participation in government
3. workers more rights in the collective bargain-ing process
4. business leaders more control over their industries

Correct Answer Number: 2

Explanation: Initiative is the ability of citizens to suggest legislation for consideration by a state legislature. Referendum is the passage or rejection of a proposed law by the citizens of a state in a statewide vote. Recall is the ability to recall a candidate once he or she has been elected if he/she is not fulfilling the promised duties of office.

1. Republican Party in 1876
2. Populist Party in 1892
3. Bull-Moose Party 1912
4. Democratic Party in 1932

Correct Answer Number: 2

Explanation: The Populist Party advocated for a graduated income tax and the direct election of senators (both ideas became popular among the larger 2 political parties and resulted in Constitutional amendments establishing them). The Progressive Party advocated for regulations of businesses and civil service reform (both ideas became reforms of the government, involving such ideas as antitrust legislation and civil service exams). The idea of “Free Silver” (the open coinage of silver backed dollars, as opposed to those backed by more expensive gold) was one supported by the Populist Party. The belief was that silver backed money would cause inflation, making money more available and as such “cheaper”. This would allow the struggling farmer to pay back loans with the “cheaper” money.

1. tend to focus on one person or one issue
2. come into existence only during periods of corruption
3. have dealt mainly with foreign policy issues
4. have frequently forced Congress to decide Presidential elections

Correct Answer Number: 1

Explanation: The vast majority of the third parties in American history have focused on one issue or one set of issues. For example, the Populists Party was focused on the reforms needed in government and the economy and most recently the Reform Party of Ross Perot was centered on the reduction of national debt and balancing of the budget.

1. succeeded in electing two presidential candidates
2. won control of many state governments
3. proposed ideas that later became law
4. achieved suffrage for African Americans

Correct Answer Number: 3

Explanation:

1. an increase in the unemployment rate
2. an increase in the demand for government regulation
3. a decrease in the demand for raw materials
4. a decrease in the variety of products available for consumers

Correct Answer Number: 2

Explanation:

1. increase in prices paid for farm products
2. decline in the population growth rate of the United States
3. decline in demand for agricultural products
4. increase in the use of farm machinery

Correct Answer Number: 4

Explanation:

“Transportation being a means of exchange and a
public necessity, the government should own and
operate the railroads in the interest of the people.”
(1892)


Which group showed the greatest support for this idea?
 

1. western farmers
2. union leaders
3. factory owners
4. railroad owners

Correct Answer Number: 1

Explanation:

1. expand rights for African Americans
2. help western farmers fight unjust economic practices
3. provide support for the banking industry
4. enable big business to expand without government interference

Correct Answer Number: 2

Explanation:

1. increase safety in the workplace
2. promote fair hiring practices
3. improve working conditions
4. protect the interests of small businesses

Correct Answer Number: 4

Explanation:

1. Unemployed factory workers could find jobs in agriculture.
2. Food supplies were increased to feed urban dwellers.
3. The size of farms decreased.
4. United States farm exports decreased.

Correct Answer Number: 2

Explanation:

1. farmers
2. business leaders
3. African Americans
4. Native American Indians

Correct Answer Number: 1

Explanation:

1. lowering the rate of inflation
2. strengthening the gold standard
3. forcing railroads to lower their rates
4. making labor unions stronger

Correct Answer Number: 3

Explanation:

The Farmer is the Man
When the farmer comes to town
With his wagon broken down,
Oh, the farmer is the man
Who feeds them all. . . .
The farmer is the man,
The farmer is the man,
Lives on credit till the fall;
Then they take him by the hand
And they lead him from the land,
And the middleman’s the man
Who gets it all. . . .
— American folk song

1. low profits forcing many people out of farming
2. farm productivity declining for several decades
3. too many Americans entering the occupation of farming
4. poor farming practices destroying cropland

Correct Answer Number: 1

Explanation:

The Farmer is the Man
When the farmer comes to town
With his wagon broken down,
Oh, the farmer is the man
Who feeds them all. . . .
The farmer is the man,
The farmer is the man,
Lives on credit till the fall;
Then they take him by the hand
And they lead him from the land,
And the middleman’s the man
Who gets it all. . . .
— American folk song

1. Bull Moose
2. Free Soil
3. Populist
4. Progressive

Correct Answer Number: 3

Explanation:

1. failure to plant enough crops to meet local needs
2. government overregulation of farming
3. low tariffs on crops
4. overproduction compared to consumer demand

Correct Answer Number: 4

Explanation:

1. organizers of labor unions
2. sharecroppers following the Civil War
3. Grangers demanding railroad regulation
4. owners of big businesses

Correct Answer Number: 1

Explanation: Demands for the eight hour day were common among labor unions in the later 1800's, such as the American Federation of Labor and the Knights of Labor. The Chicago area march and demonstration of May 1886 that erupted into the Haymarket Riot after a bomb exploded, killed several police and inciting chaos, was initial held as support for the eight hour day initiative.

1. Know-Nothing
2. Populist
3. Whig
4. Bull Moose

Correct Answer Number: 2

Explanation: Among the many groups supporting the Populist Movement and Party of the 1890's were factory workers and many unionized laborers. The eight-hour day movement was a central demand of many unions and labor organizations of this era, it was incorporated into the sympathies of the Populist Party Platform (The Omaha Platform) of 1892.

1. an increase in production
2. less dependence on railroads by farmers
3. fewer agricultural exports
4. the decreasing size of the average farm

Correct Answer Number: 1

Explanation: