This question refers to the following passage:

“Formerly the individual was the pioneer of civilization; now,  the railroad is the pioneer, and the individual follows, or is  only slightly in advance. . . . The wild roses are  blooming today, and the sod is yet unturned . . . where, in a year or two will be heard the screech of the locomotive and the tramp of the approaching legions, another year will bring the beginning of the change; towns and cities will spring into  existence, and the steam whistle and the noise of saws and hammers, and the click and clatter of machinery, the sound of industry will be heard. The prairies will be golden with the ripening harvest, and the field and the forest, the mine and the river, will all yield their abundance to the ever growing  multitude.”

George A. Batchelder, A Sketch of the History and Resources of Dakota Territory, 1870

The settlement pattern described in the excerpt was most similar to earlier settlement patterns in that it was

Question

This question refers to the following passage:

“Formerly the individual was the pioneer of civilization; now,  the railroad is the pioneer, and the individual follows, or is  only slightly in advance. . . . The wild roses are  blooming today, and the sod is yet unturned . . . where, in a year or two will be heard the screech of the locomotive and the tramp of the approaching legions, another year will bring the beginning of the change; towns and cities will spring into  existence, and the steam whistle and the noise of saws and hammers, and the click and clatter of machinery, the sound of industry will be heard. The prairies will be golden with the ripening harvest, and the field and the forest, the mine and the river, will all yield their abundance to the ever growing  multitude.”

George A. Batchelder, A Sketch of the History and Resources of Dakota Territory, 1870

The settlement pattern described in the excerpt was most similar to earlier settlement patterns in that it was

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question asks about the settlement pattern described in the excerpt from Batchelder (1870) and asks which pattern it was most similar to.
Option 1: 'discouraged by the federal government through legislation.' This claim would suggest a pattern where federal policy actively deterred settlement. In the Dakota Territory context of 1870, federal policy did not broadly discourage settlement in the way this option implies; rather, settlement often proceeded with government support or at least tolerance, even as conflicts arose. Therefore this option does not align with the described pattern of rapid expansion and transformation of the landscape.
Option 2: 'motivated largely by the desire to expand Protestant Christianity.' While religious motivations did play a role for some settlers, the dominant nationwide settlement pattern in Dakota Territory was less about a concerted religious expansion and more about economic opportunities, land acquisition, and the integration into a growing national economy. This option overemphasizes a single motive and does not capture the broader pattern described.
Option 3: 'accompanied by conflict with American Indians over landownership.' The excerpt vividly portrays a transformation of the landscape—railroads, towns, machinery, harvests—implying rapid settlement and land development. Such rapid settlement in Dakota Territory historically occurred amid disputes with Indigenous peoples over land rights and ownership, as settlers moved into lands traditionally used by tribes. The phrase 'the settlement pattern described ... was most similar to earlier settlement patterns in that it was accompanied by conflict with American Indians over landownership' reflects that historical dynamic where expansion often led to tensions and clashes over land.
Option 4: 'the source of political divisions over the expansion of slavery.' While slavery and its politics did influence regional tensions, the Dakota Territory in 1870 is better understood in terms of westward expansion, land settlement, and Indigenous displacement rather than as a primary site of national debates over slavery’s expansion. This option misstates the immediate historical drivers of settlement in that region at this time.
In summary, the passage depicts a transformative influx of settlers and infrastructure into the Dakota landscape, a pattern historically tied to conflicts over land with American Indians as frontiers shifted. The other options mischaracterize the driving forces or social tensions most central to this specific settlement pattern.

AP US History-Oster APUSH multiple-choice practice test #2 (55 minutes)

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