Honors U.S.

History 2008/09 Name:

Mr. Irwin
Week 15 Period:

Gilded Age Scavenger Hunt

Textbook Source:
Chapter 8 – Politics, Immigration, and Urban Life (1870 – 1915)
America Pathways to the Present – McDougal Littell

Chapter 8-1 Politics in the Gilded Age:

1. What is the civil service?

2. Describe the Pendleton Civil Service Act

Chapter 8-2 People on the Move:

3. What is meant by the term steerage? How does this term relate to immigration to the U.S.?

4. According to this textbook, between 1865 – 1920, there were two large waves of immigration
to the U.S; jot down information about each of these two waves (include immigrant groups and
the approximate dates of each of the two waves).

5. Up until 1891, individual states handled immigration into the U.S. In 1891, the U.S.
established a national immigration department. Describe how immigration was managed under
the newly established office of the U.S. Superintendent of Immigration.

6. According to this textbook, a very small number of immigrants headed into the southern
states. What explanation does the book give for this?

7. According to this textbook, what is the true meaning of the word, ghetto?
8. What were restrictive covenants? Why would anyone want to set up a restrictive covenant?

9. Besides labor, what was the business relationship that existed between many Chinese laborers
and the railroad companies that they worked for?

10. According to this textbook, how did many Chinese laborers earn a living after the railroads
were built?

11. Based upon this week’s lessons and Chapter 8-3 of this textbook, make a comparison
between the way in which many Chinese lived and fit into the American society during the mid
to late 1800s, with the way in which Native American groups lived and fit into the American
society during this same period.

12. Give details of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

13. What was the Gentleman’s Agreement? What prompted President Roosevelt to set up this
agreement?

14. Why was irrigation an important part of the development of the southwestern part of the
U.S.?

15. Describe the contribution that this textbook gives to Mexican immigrants of the 1920s.

16. According to this textbook, what was unique about Los Angeles in 1925?
Chapter 8-3 The Challenge of the Cities
17. What were tenements?

18. Why were dumbbell tenements built?

19. Describe the theme of Jacob Riis’ book, How The Other Half Lives.

20. Based on yesterday’s in-class lesson, how would you characterize Mr. Riis?

21. Describe how the political boss system worked (include what is meant by the term, political
machine).

22. What is graft?

23. Give name and details of the operations of the most notorious political boss in U.S. history.

Chapter 8-4 Ideas for Reform

24. What was the Charity Organization Movement?

25. What was the Social Gospel Movement?

26. Describe the activities of Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Star in regards to settlement houses.

27. What was Prohibition?

28. How does the term temperance relate to Prohibition?

29. How did purity crusaders see the interrelation of urban cities – large numbers of immigrants
and vice?