18. Railroads, Business, and Politics in the Gilded Age, 1865

Quiz for Experiencing the American Promise: Charles Crocker, the Big Four, and the Race for Riches

Choose the best answer to each question. Click the “submit” button for each question to turn in your work.

Question 18.1

1. What role did government support play in allowing the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific to undertake the railroad project?

The government supplied the companies with cheap labor.

The government allowed the companies to raise their own funds.

The government supplied both companies with substantial subsidies.

The government granted the companies immunity from being prosecuted for crimes committed during the project.

Question 18.2

2. Which of the following correctly describes the treatment of the workers hired by Crocker to build the railroad?

They were not allowed to contact their families.

They were given good benefits.

They were paid very low wages.

They received impressive pensions after the railroad was complete.

Question 18.3

3. What occupations did Collis P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, Leland Stanford, and Charles Crocker have prior to getting involved in the railroad business?

They were the foremost experts on railroads at the time.

They were storekeepers of various businesses.

They were well-educated engineers.

They were government employees tasked with overseeing the railroad project.

Question 18.4

4. Which of the following was a tactic used by the four men to complete the project and make more money?

Enslaving Indians to work for them

Forcing local towns to give them food and supplies

Soliciting funds from foreign governments

Lobbying and bribing politicians in Washington

Question 18.5

5. How did Charles Crocker explain his success in life?

It was due to his upstanding business ethics.

It was mostly due to luck.

It was a product of his genius in many areas.