Chapter 174. Reflections on Land Fever, Chapter 17

There is no right or wrong answer to this question. Your answer has been accepted and your response will be reviewed by your instructor.

Correct. The answer is b. The author’s main argument in this section of the chapter is that thousands of Americans moved West in search of land in the late 1800s, but although some westerners fulfilled their dreams of owning prosperous farms or ranches, large business interests became the biggest beneficiaries of westward expansion.

Incorrect. The answer is b. The author’s main argument in this section of the chapter is that thousands of Americans moved West in search of land in the late 1800s, but although some westerners fulfilled their dreams of owning prosperous farms or ranches, large business interests became the biggest beneficiaries of westward expansion.

Correct. The answer is a. To bolster her argument that Americans were drawn to the West by the promise of agricultural land in the late nineteenth century, the author cites the fact that 2.5 million new farms were established in the trans-Mississippi West between 1860 and 1900.

Incorrect. The answer is a. To bolster her argument that Americans were drawn to the West by the promise of agricultural land in the late nineteenth century, the author cites the fact that 2.5 million new farms were established in the trans-Mississippi West between 1860 and 1900.

Correct. The answer is b. The author uses the Mexican cowboys, or vaqueros, in California who made good wages herding cattle on long drives until the 1880s to demonstrate how the development of big business in the West eroded the economic status of many westerners. After that time, when the railroads and large-scale ranchers replaced the open range, the vaqueros’ skills declined in value and their wages decreased. Many vaqueros were driven out of the cattle industry altogether, and went to work as migrant farm laborers.

Incorrect. The answer is b. The author uses the Mexican cowboys, or vaqueros, in California who made good wages herding cattle on long drives until the 1880s to demonstrate how the development of big business in the West eroded the economic status of many westerners. After that time, when the railroads and large-scale ranchers replaced the open range, the vaqueros’ skills declined in value and their wages decreased. Many vaqueros were driven out of the cattle industry altogether, and went to work as migrant farm laborers.

Correct. The answer is d. The author argues that barbed wire, invented in 1874, revolutionized the cattle business by making it possible for large ranchers to fence in their land. Fencing, she suggests, forced small ranchers to sell their land for the best price they could get. Many of them ended up as wageworkers in large businesses owned by Anglos or European syndicates.

Incorrect. The answer is d. The author argues that barbed wire, invented in 1874, revolutionized the cattle business by making it possible for large ranchers to fence in their land. Fencing, she suggests, forced small ranchers to sell their land for the best price they could get. Many of them ended up as wageworkers in large businesses owned by Anglos or European syndicates.

Correct. The answer is a. The author argues that mechanization accounted for the decline of small farmers and the emergence of commercialized agriculture in the late nineteenth century. Mechanization allowed for the mass production of farm equipment and the availability of mechanized farm machinery enabled farmers to cultivate vast tracts of land. By the end of the century, she suggests, agriculture had become an industrial operation.

Incorrect. The answer is a. The author argues that mechanization accounted for the decline of small farmers and the emergence of commercialized agriculture in the late nineteenth century. Mechanization allowed for the mass production of farm equipment and the availability of mechanized farm machinery enabled farmers to cultivate vast tracts of land. By the end of the century, she suggests, agriculture had become an industrial operation.

There is no right or wrong answer to this question. Your answer has been accepted and your response will be reviewed by your instructor.

There is no right or wrong answer to this question. Your answer has been accepted and your response will be reviewed by your instructor.