Why was the opening of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 so significant?
What will be an ideal response?
Varies. California was reachable only by treacherous overland travel or ocean voyages measuring thousands of miles. Communication with most of the country, including the important East Coast states, was hampered by this distance and lack of reliable and quick transportation. The opening of the railroad connected California with the rest of the country in physical ways, and psychological ones as well. California no longer seemed unreachable. The opening of the transcontinental encouraged new waves of immigrants from other countries and states, including a low-paid Chinese labor force that had built the railroads, and settlers from the rest of the United States. The process led to the consolidation of political power in the Southern Pacific Railroad; already enriched from land grants, it came to dominate virtually every aspect of life in the West, from shipping to banking to mining enterprises.
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Which of the following factors can increase voter turnout in elections?
A. nonpartisan electoral system B. homogeneous cities C. council-manager form of government D. large cities
Why is the French Revolution still controversial in France more than two centuries later?
a. The revolution began with idealism but ended in dictatorship. b. The French are still embarrassed that so many people resisted the revolution and believed that "Freedom wears a crown"! c. Most French believe that the revolutionaries should have negotiated with the aristocracy rather than beheading them. d. Most French believe that their revolution would have been less bloody if they had more closely followed the example of the American Revolution.