American History: A Survey (Brinkley), 13th Edition

Chapter 19: FROM CRISIS TO EMPIRE

Study Questions

1
How well balanced were the two major political parties between the Civil War and the turn of the century?
2
What explains the extraordinary loyalty that voters showed to their political parties in this period?
3
What regional, religious, and ethnic factors distinguished the two major parties? Who was excluded from participation?
4
What was the nature of the national government in the late nineteenth century?
5
What was the patronage system, and how did it dominate national politics in the 1870s and 1880s? What was the role of Civil War pensions in this system?
6
How did the assassination of James A. Garfield lead to the passage of the Pendleton Act and the beginning of the end of the patronage system?
7
How did the tariff become the key issue in the 1888 presidential election? Where did Grover Cleveland and the Democrats stand? What was done about the issue during the Benjamin Harrison administration? How did the same issue affect the 1890 and 1892 elections?
8
What led to the passage of the Sherman Antitrust Act? What practical impact did it have?
9
What caused the demise of state-based railroad regulation? How was the demise related to the passage of the Interstate Commerce Act?
10
Why was the Interstate Commerce Act so ineffectual?
11
Explain the evolution of purpose and the accomplishments of the Grange. Why did it eventually fail?
12
What reforms did the Farmers' Alliances stand for? How did the movement transform into the People's Party?
13
Who was most attracted to populism? Why did the movement fail to obtain significant labor support?
14
What doomed the possibilities for effective biracial cooperation among populists?
15
What did the Populists stand for and what were their leaders like?
16
How, according to "Debating the Past," have historians differed in their interpretation of Populism?
17
What were the immediate and long-range causes of the Panic of 1893? How serious was the depression that followed?
18
What developments after 1870 led to the coalition of farmers and miners on behalf of silver coinage?
19
Explain the debate over the gold standard. How did it divide the Democratic Party?
20
How did the nomination of William Jennings Bryan as the Democratic presidential candidate in 1896 put the Populists in a dilemma? How did they resolve it, and what was the result?
21
Describe the passions of the 1896 campaign. Where did Bryan do well? Why did he lose?
22
How did President William McKinley handle the tariff and silver issues? What happened during his administration to help resolve the currency question?
23
What intellectual, economic, philosophical, and racial factors helped create a new national mood more receptive to overseas expansion?
24
How did American imperial actions compare to those of Great Britain and other European nations?
25
What developments in the late 1880s and mid-1890s demonstrated the increasing interest of the United States in Latin America?
26
How did American planters and missionaries transform the traditional society of the Hawaiian Islands?
27
How did Hawaii gradually get drawn into America's economic and political sphere?
28
How did the United States acquire part of Samoa?
29
What were the causes of American involvement in Cuban affairs? How was American public opinion shaped on these issues?
30
What two incidents combined finally to pull the United States into war with Spain?
31
Describe the American plans and preparations for the Spanish-American War. Why was the "splendid little war" so short?
32
Describe the role that black soldiers played in the Spanish-American War. What tensions surfaced?
33
What were the results of George Dewey's Philippine attack?
34
Describe the U.S. sea and land operations at Cuba. How did the U.S. manage to win despite poor planning and organization?
35
Compare and contrast the development of Cuba and Puerto Rico before and after the Spanish-American War. What was the key to the Puerto Rican economy?
36
What were the basic terms of the Treaty of Paris?
37
What arguments were raised for and against imperialism in general and the annexation of the Philippines in particular? Why did President McKinley favor annexation? What role did William Jennings Bryan play?
38
Did the Platt Amendment and American actions in Cuba violate the spirit of the ostensible reasons that the United States went to war? Explain.
39
Explain the goals and tactics of the Philippine War. Was American policy in the war a repudiation of the ideals that had led the United States to help Cuba secure its independence?
40
How was the Open Door policy calculated to provide maximum commercial and diplomatic advantage at minimum cost?
41
What changes from 1900 to 1903 gave the United States a more modern military establishment?
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