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AP U.S. History 2.1 Period 6: 1865-1898 230 Views


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AP U.S. History 2.1 Period 6: 1865-1898. The completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad, as depicted in the painting, is an example of what emerging political trend of the late 19th century?

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Transcript

00:00

[ musical flourish ]

00:03

And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by the golden spike,

00:07

the most highly valued volleyball move in the game.

00:10

The completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad as depicted

00:13

in the painting is an example of what emerging political

00:16

trend of the late 19th century?

00:18

And here are your potential answers.

00:23

So what exactly is this question asking?

00:25

We know that expanding the railroads westward was, well,

00:28

expansive. It involved new immigrants laying the tracks,

00:31

members of Congress providing incentives,

00:34

and wealthy industrialists counting each and every dollar they made. Ooh.

00:37

So we just need to figure out which answer best reflects

00:41

this enormous effort to make sure the trains ran on time.

00:44

Was the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad

00:47

a reflection of A -

00:49

the reluctance of Congress to invest in large-scale infrastructure?

00:53

Quite the opposite. Congress not only endorsed the railroads,

00:56

but they also gave them millions of dollars in land and subsidies

00:59

in the process. So that means A and D are both out of the question.

01:03

Did laying the last spike of the First Transcontinental Railroad reflect

01:07

B - the refusal of companies to compromise with local legislatures?

01:11

Well, actually, railroad companies and local legislatures

01:14

cooperated all the time. Probably a bit more than they should've.

01:17

In the Credit-Mobilier scandal,

01:20

the Union Pacific Railroad set up fake corporations,

01:23

gave legislatures stock in exchange for land,

01:26

and for political favors, and then reported false earnings,

01:29

causing the stock to soar and get everyone rich.

01:32

Except the taxpayers, who eventually had to foot the bill.

01:36

Sounds like a solid business plan, fellas.

01:38

All right, well that means the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad

01:41

was a reflection of C - the growing interconnection between

01:44

big business and politicians. Cha-ching.

01:47

In the late 19th century, it was all aboard with the big business

01:50

gravy train and politicians were no exception.

01:53

Corruption was rampant and politicians went out of their way

01:55

to befriend the tycoons, hoping they might have a

01:58

favor should they ever find themselves out of a job.

02:01

So the correct answer is C.

02:02

Seems like pretty much everyone was on the wrong side of the tracks.

02:07

[ train runs ]

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