Download MC/DBQ/T Practice – Movements of People

MC/DBQ/T Practice – Movements of People - Migration
Name: _________________
Do Now: Carefully read the directions to the January 2009 US History and Government
Thematic Essay question. Answer the questions that follow.
Theme: Movements of People - Migration
The movement of people into and within the United States has had a significant impact
on the nation. These movements have been both voluntary and involuntary.
Task:
Select two periods of migration that had an impact on the United States and for each
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Describe the historical circumstances that led to the migration
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Discuss the impact of the migration on the United States
Some suggestions you might wish to consider include colonial settlement (1600s–1700s),
westward expansion (1800s), rural to urban migration (1870s–1920s), European
immigration (1880–1910), the Dust Bowl (1930s), suburbanization (1950s–1960s), and
illegal immigration (1990 to the present).
1- What is the theme of the essay?
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2- Why has migration occurred in U.S. history?
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3- Identify one impact of voluntary or involuntary movement of people in American
history [Previous Knowledge].
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4- How many periods of migration must the student identify in the essay?
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5- What must the student address for each action?
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6- What suggestions does the Board of Regents provide?
________________________________________________________________________
7- Which two suggestions will you select?
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8- Do you have more knowledge about one of the migrations or are you quite
knowledgeable about both of the migrations?
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9- Why will you select these two migrations?
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10- On a scale of one to ten [one being easiest and ten being most difficult], rate this
essay? __________________________________________________________________
Part I: The following documents address each of the State’s suggested periods of
migration. Read each document carefully and then answer the multiple-choice questions.
Document 1: Colonial Settlement (1600s–1700s)
“In the early 1600s, in rapid succession, the English began a colony (Jamestown) in
Chesapeake Bay in 1607, the French built Quebec in 1608, and the Dutch began their
interest in the region that became present-day New York. Within another generation,
the Plymouth Company (1620), the Massachusetts Bay Company (1629), the Company
of New France (1627), and the Dutch West India Company (1621) began to send
thousands of colonists, including families, to North America. Successful colonization
was not inevitable. Rather, interest in North America was a halting, yet global, contest
among European powers to exploit these lands.
There is another very important point to keep in mind: European colonization and
settlement of North America (and other areas of the so-called ‘new world’) was an
invasion of territory controlled and settled for centuries by Native Americans…Indian
groups perceived the Europeans' arrival as an encroachment and they pursued any
number of avenues to deal with that invasion. That the Indians were unsuccessful in
the long run in resisting or in establishing a more favorable accommodation with the
Europeans was as much the result of the impact on Indians of European diseases as
superior force of arms.
Finally, it is also important to keep in mind that yet a third group of people – in this
case Africans – played an active role in the European invasion (or colonization) of the
western hemisphere. From the very beginning, Europeans’ attempts to establish
colonies in the western hemisphere foundered on the lack of laborers to do the hard
work of colony-building. The Spanish, for example, enslaved the Indians in regions
under their control. The English struck upon the idea of indentured servitude to solve
the labor problem in Virginia. Virtually all the European powers eventually turned to
African slavery to provide labor on their islands in the West Indies. Slavery was
eventually transferred to other colonies in both South and North America.
Because of the interactions of these very diverse peoples, the process of European
colonization of the western hemisphere was a complex one, indeed.”
~ loc.gov
Multiple-Choice Questions from the Document:
1- The Massachusetts Bay Colony was settled by which of the following groups?
(A) Quakers
(B) Puritans
(C) Shakers
(D) Pilgrims
2- Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the New World, was founded
by
(A) three aristocratic proprietors seeking private gain
(B) a joint stock company anxious to return a profit to investors
(C) Sir Walter Raleigh, wishing to gain favor with Elizabeth I
(D) John Smith seeking to spread Christianity
3- The Puritans who settled New England hoped to:
(A) create a model religious society based on biblical principles
(B) establish good trade relations with the French in Canada
(C) get rich quick by finding gold and silver
(D) convert the Native American Indians to Catholicism
4- In the Colonial Era, developments such as the New England town meetings and the
establishment of the Virginia House of Burgesses represented
(A) colonial attempts to build a strong national government
(B) efforts by the British to strengthen their control over the colonies
(C) steps in the growth of representative democracy
(D) early social reform movements
5- The British system of mercantilism was opposed by many American colonists
because it
(A) placed quotas on immigration
(B) discouraged the export of raw materials to England
(C) placed restrictions on trading
(D) encouraged colonial manufacturing
6- The Mayflower Compact, House of Burgesses, and Fundamental Orders of
Connecticut are all examples of the efforts of colonial Americans to
(A) use democratic practices in government
(B) protest British land policies
(C) establish religious freedom
(D) overthrow British royal governors
7- In its economic relationship with its North American colonies, Great Britain
followed the principles of 18th-century mercantilism by
(A) outlawing the African slave trade
(B) limiting the colonies’ trade with other nations
(C) encouraging the development of manufacturing in the colonies
(D) establishing laws against business monopolies
8- The first major cash crop in the American colonies was
(A) Cotton
(B) Corn
(C) Tea
(D) Tobacco
Document 2: Westward Expansion (1800s)
“Even before the American colonies won their independence from Britain in the
Revolutionary War, settlers were migrating westward into what are now the
states of Kentucky and Tennessee, as well as parts of the Ohio Valley and the
Deep South. Westward expansion was greatly aided in the early 19th century by
the Louisiana Purchase (1803), which was followed by the Corps of Discovery
Expedition that is generally called the Lewis and Clark Expedition; the War of
1812, which secured existing U.S. boundaries and defeated native tribes of the
Old Northwest, the region of the Ohio and Upper Mississippi valleys; and the
Indian Removal Act of 1830, which forcibly moved virtually all Indians from the
Southeast to the present states of Arkansas and Oklahoma, a journey known as
the Trail of Tears.
In 1845, a journalist named John O’Sullivan coined the term ‘Manifest
Destiny,’ a belief that Americans and American institutions are morally superior
and therefore Americans are morally obligated to spread those institutions in
order to free people in the Western Hemisphere from European monarchies and
to uplift ‘less civilized’ societies, such as the Native American tribes and the
people of Mexico…Westward expansion was greatly aided by the completion of
the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, and passage of the Homestead Act in
1862. That act provided free 160-acre lots in the unsettled West to anyone who
would file a claim, live on the land for five years and make improvements to it,
including building a dwelling.
The great losers in this westward wave were the Native American tribes.
Displaced as new settlers moved in, they lost their traditional way of life and
were relegated to reservations. However, westward expansion provided the
United States with vast natural resources and ports along the Atlantic, Pacific
and Gulf coasts for expanding trade, key elements in creating the superpower
America is today.”
~ history.net
Multiple-Choice Questions from the Document:
1- The legal basis for the United States purchase of the Louisiana Territory was the
(1) power granted to the President to make treaties
(2) President’s power as Commander in Chief
(3) authority of Congress to declare war
(4) Senate’s duty to approve the appointment of ambassadors
2- The Louisiana Purchase had great geographic significance for the United States because
it
(1) reduced British control of North America
(2) focused the United States on westward expansion
(3) extended United States control over Mexico
(4) decreased tensions with Native American Indians
3- The phrase “by military conquest, treaty, and purchase” best describes the
(1) steps in the growth of American industry
(2) methods used to expand the territory of the United States
(3) major parts of President Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points
(4) causes of the United States entry into the Korean War
4- When President Thomas Jefferson acquired the Louisiana Territory from France, he
demonstrated that he had modified his belief that
(1) the Constitution should be strictly interpreted
(2) the federal government should limit individual rights
(3) adding territory would lead to regional rivalries
(4) commercial development was the main goal of the federal government
5- Which geographic advantage did the United States gain by purchasing the Louisiana
Territory from France in 1803?
(1) warm-water ports on the Atlantic coast
(2) rich fishing areas in the Great Lakes
(3) full control of the Mississippi River
(4) vast coal reserves in the region west of Pennsylvania
6- In 1862, the Homestead Act and the Pacific Railway Act were passed primarily to
(1) achieve Northern victory in the Civil War
(2) develop the Midwest and western parts of the country
(3) improve the lives of freed slaves
(4) expand overseas markets to Asia and Europe
7- The rapid westward migration caused by the discovery of gold in California led directly
to
(1) the start of the Civil War
(2) the adoption of the Compromise of 1850
(3) increased trade through the Panama Canal
(4) control of the United States Senate by the slave states
8- Manifest Destiny was used to justify an American desire to
(1) limit the number of immigrants entering the country
(2) control the area located east of the Appalachian Mountains
(3) expand the United States to the Pacific Ocean
(4) warn European countries against colonizing Latin America
9- A basic argument offered in support of manifest destiny was that
(1) American expansion would mean an extension of democracy.
(2) God favored American expansionism.
(3) The United States was meant to occupy the entire North American continent.
(4) All of the answers are correct.
Document 3: Rural to Urban Migration (1870s–1920s)
“Within the span of a few decades from the late 19th to the early 20th century,
the United States was transformed from a predominately rural agrarian society
to an industrial economy centered in large metropolitan cities. Prior to the
American industrial revolution, most Americans were reared in largely isolated
agricultural households and small towns that were linked to the external world
by horse drawn wagons. Except for towns that were connected to railroads or
water borne shipping, isolation and the costs of overland transportation meant
that many rural communities were largely self-sufficient in food, clothing, and
many other essentials of everyday life. This changed dramatically in the early
decades of the 20th century, as the supply and lowered costs of manufactured
goods created a consumer revolution for both urban and rural households…
These changes were the direct result of the American industrial revolution that
was founded on rising investment, employment, and productivity in the
manufacturing sector…Perhaps the most consequential change of the American
industrial revolution was the increasing urbanization of society and the shift of
labor from farms to factories and offices. In 1880, workers in agriculture
outnumbered industrial workers three to one, but by 1920, the numbers were
approximately equal. Employment in the manufacturing sector expanded fourfold from 2.5 to 10 million workers from 1880 to 1920.”
~ ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Multiple-Choice Questions from the Document:
1- At the turn of the century, why did most immigrants to the United States settle in cities?
(1) Jobs were readily available.
(2) Government relief programs required immigrants to settle in cities.
(3) Labor union leaders encouraged unrestricted immigration.
(4) Immigrants were not permitted to buy farmland.
2- Which statement about immigration to the United States during the 19th century is most
valid?
(1) Organized labor supported unlimited immigration.
(2) Most immigrants to the United States were illegal aliens.
(3) Industrial growth led to a demand for cheap immigrant labor.
(4) Few immigrants came from Western Europe.
3- Which of the following was a major factor contributing to urbanization in America early
in the twentieth century?
(1) An increase need for agricultural workers
(2) Industrialization
(3) Massive federal and state road building programs
(4) Education
Document 4: European Immigration (1880–1910)
“After the 1880s, immigrants increasingly came from Eastern and Southern
European countries, as well as Canada and Latin America. By 1910, Eastern and
Southern Europeans made up 70 percent of the immigrants entering the country.
After 1914, immigration dropped off because of the war, and later because of
immigration restrictions imposed in the 1920s.
The reasons these new immigrants made the journey to America differed little from
those of their predecessors. Escaping religious, racial, and political persecution or
seeking relief from a lack of economic opportunity or famine still pushed many
immigrants out of their homelands. Many were pulled here by contract labor
agreements offered by recruiting agents, known as padrones to Italian and Greek
laborers. Hungarians, Poles, Slovaks, Bohemians, and Italians flocked to the coal
mines or steel mills, Greeks preferred the textile mills, Russian and Polish Jews
worked the needle trades or pushcart markets of New York. Railroad companies
advertised the availability of free or cheap farmland overseas in pamphlets
distributed in many languages, bringing a handful of agricultural workers to western
farmlands. But the vast majority of immigrants crowded into the growing cities,
searching for their chance to make a better life for themselves.
Immigrants entering the United States who could not afford first or second-class
passage came through the processing center at Ellis Island, New York…For the
newcomers arriving without family, some solace could be found in the ethnic
neighborhoods populated by their fellow countrymen. Here they could converse in
their native tongue, practice their religion, and take part in cultural celebrations that
helped ease the loneliness. Often, though, life for all was not easy. Most industries
offered hazardous conditions and very low wages – lowered further after the padrone
took out his share. Urban housing was overcrowded and unsanitary. Many found it
very difficult to accept. An old Italian saying summed up the disillusionment felt by
many: ‘I came to America because I heard the streets were paved with gold. When I
got here, found out three things: First, the streets weren’t paved with gold; second,
they weren’t paved at all: and third, I was expected to pave them.’ In spite of the
difficulties, few gave up and returned home.”
~ eyewitnesstohistory.com
Multiple-Choice Questions from the Document:
1- In the late 19th century, the pattern of United States immigration changed in that
(1) far fewer immigrants arrived in the United States than in previous years
(2) most immigrants chose to settle in the rural, farming regions of the western United
States
(3) increasing numbers of immigrants came from eastern and southern Europe
(4) most immigrants were political refugees
2- What was the experience of most of the “new immigrants” who arrived in the United
States from southern and Eastern Europe in the late 1800s and early 1900s?
(1) They lived in urban areas and most held low paying jobs.
(2) They obtained free land in the West and became farmers.
(3) They became discouraged with America and returned to their homelands.
(4) They were easily assimilated into mainstream American culture.
3- Between 1890 and 1915, the majority of immigrants to the United States were labeled
“new immigrants” because they were
(1) considered physically and mentally superior to earlier immigrants
(2) forced to settle in the cities of the Midwest
(3) from China, Japan, and other Asian countries
(4) culturally different from most earlier immigrants
4- Between 1870 and 1920, the federal government placed few restrictions on immigration
primarily because it wanted to
(1) sell land in the West
(2) recruit men for the military
(3) ensure that there would be workers for the factories
(4) avoid offending foreign governments
5- During the late 1800s and early 1900s, where did most of the immigrants to the United
States settle?
(1) urban centers of the Northeast
(2) plantations of the New South
(3) mining areas of the Far West
(4) farming regions of the Great Plains
6- The “new immigrants” to the United States between 1890 and 1915 came primarily from
(1) southern and eastern Europe
(2) northern and western Europe
(3) East Asia
(4) Latin America
7- Between 1880 and 1920, the majority of the “new” immigrants to the United States came
from
(1) northern and western Europe
(2) southern and eastern Europe
(3) Canada and Latin America
(4) China and Southeast Asia
8- At the turn of the century, why did most immigrants to the United States settle in cities?
(1) Jobs were readily available.
(2) Government relief programs required immigrants to settle in cities.
(3) Labor union leaders encouraged unrestricted immigration.
(4) Immigrants were not permitted to buy farmland.
Document 5: The Dust Bowl (1930s)
“The Dust Bowl of the 1930s lasted about a decade. Its primary area of impact was on
the southern Plains. The northern Plains were not so badly affected, but nonetheless,
the drought, windblown dust and agricultural decline were no strangers to the north. In
fact the agricultural devastation helped to lengthen the Depression whose effects were
felt worldwide. The movement of people on the Plains was also profound.
As John Steinbeck wrote in his 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath: ‘And then the
dispossessed were drawn west – from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico; from
Nevada and Arkansas, families, tribes, dusted out, tractored out. Carloads, caravans,
homeless and hungry; twenty thousand and fifty thousand and a hundred thousand and
two hundred thousand. They streamed over the mountains, hungry and restless –
restless as ants, scurrying to find work to do – to lift, to push, to pull, to pick, to cut –
anything, any burden to bear, for food. The kids are hungry. We got no place to live.
Like ants scurrying for work, for food, and most of all for land.’
Poor agricultural practices and years of sustained drought caused the Dust Bowl.
Plains grasslands had been deeply plowed and planted to wheat. During the years when
there was adequate rainfall, the land produced bountiful crops. But as the droughts of
the early 1930s deepened, the farmers kept plowing and planting and nothing would
grow. The ground cover that held the soil in place was gone. The Plains winds whipped
across the fields raising billowing clouds of dust to the skies. The skies could darken for
days, and even the most well sealed homes could have a thick layer of dust on furniture.
In some places the dust would drift like snow, covering farmsteads.”
~ english.illinois.edu/maps
Multiple-Choice Questions:
1- The Dust Bowl experiences of the Oklahoma farmers during the Great Depression
demonstrated the
(1) effect of geography on people’s lives
(2) success of government farm subsidies
(3) limitation of civil liberties during times of crisis
(4) result of the Indian Removal Act
2- What were two basic causes of the Dust Bowl during the early 1930s?
(1) strip mining and toxic waste dumping
(2) overfarming and severe drought
(3) clear-cutting of forests and construction of railroads
(4) overpopulation and urban sprawl
3- Before it became known as the Dust Bowl, which of the following was true about the
Great Plains?
(1) Many plants and animals thrived there.
(2) Frontiersmen lived in harmony with buffalo.
(3) The weather was always mild.
(4) Cattle died after inhaling dust.
Document 6: Suburbanization (1950s–1960s)
The years after World War Two saw a massive movement of people into new
suburbs. The growth of suburbs resulted from several historical forces, including
the social legacy of the Depression, mass demobilization after the War (and the
consequent “baby boom”), greater government involvement in housing and
development, the mass marketing of the automobile, and a dramatic change in
demographics. As families began moving from farms and cities into new suburbs,
American culture underwent a major transformation. Race and class dynamics
began to shift; the longer distance between home and work generated a highway and
housing construction boom; and older community institutions began to disappear as
the family turned inward.” ~ umbc.edu
Multiple-Choice Question:
1- In contrast to that of the central cities, life in suburbia became attractive to many
American families in the 1950s because the suburbs seemed to provide:
(1) Variety and excitement in lifestyles and entertainment.
(2) Racial integration in neighborhoods and schools.
(3) Greater opportunities for cultural and educational advancement.
(4) Larger, safer, and more private homes.
Document 7: Illegal Immigration (1990 to the present)
“The number of illegal, or unauthorized, immigrants entering the United States
is estimated to have increased over the past several decades, from approximately
180,000 per year in the 1980s to as many as 850,000 per year since 2000. The
reasons for this are both simple and complex. Simply stated, most immigrants
who come to the United States illegally – especially those from less-developed
nations – do so because U.S. employers hire them at wages substantially higher
than they could earn in their native countries.”
~ udallcenter.arizona.edu
Multiple-Choice Questions:
1- Which statement about immigration to the United States is most accurate?
(1) The desire for economic advancement has been a major reason for immigration to
the United States
(2) The ethnic mix of immigrants to the United States has remained mostly unchanged.
(3) The number of immigrants has remained constant in each decade during most of
United States history.
(4) Nearly all immigrants have easily assimilated into American culture.
2- The majority of immigrants to the U.S. during the latter third of the twentieth century
came from
(1) Asia and the Middle East.
(2) Latin America and Eastern Europe.
(3) Latin America and Asia.
(4) Latin America and Africa.
Outline the Essay: Movements of People - Migration
First Migration: __________________
Second Migration: __________________
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Describe the historical circumstances
that led to the migration
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Describe the historical circumstances
that led to the migration
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Discuss the impact of the migration
on the United States
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Discuss the impact of the migration
on the United States
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Conclusion:
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