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

Which of the following contributed most to the process described in the excerpt?

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

Which of the following contributed most to the process described in the excerpt?

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Contextualizing the excerpt, the passage describes a shift in national development where the railroad and industrial activity lead the pace of change in Dakota Territory, replacing the earlier primacy of individual pioneers. This kind of transformation is deeply tied to policies that opened and organized western settlement.

Option: 'Legislation that facilitated the distribution of western land.' This choice aligns with the historical mechanism that accelerated westward expansion: laws and acts that made land available to settlers, speculators, and homesteaders, which in turn spurred rapid infrastructure building, town formation, and extraction of resources. The proliferation of rail lines, towns, and industries described in the excerpt is consistent with a period when the federal government encouraged settlement through land distribution and sale, enabling and rewarding migration and investment.

Why this is plausible: legislative measures such as the Homestead Act and other land distribution policies reduced barriers to occupying western lands, creating a large and mobile population seeking land and opportunity. The resulting demand for rails, mills, and towns followed, as described in the passage, with the landscape transforming from prairie to settled and industrialized territory.

Why other options (if any) might be incorrect: Without the actual list of alternative options, we can still reason generally. If an option claimed that this transformation occurred purely due to private enterprise without policy support, it would ignore the critical role of land policy in enabling western settlement and infrastructure investment. If an option minimized the impact of railroads or resource extraction, it would conflict with the vivid emphasis on the locomotive, machinery, and growth of towns described in the text. If an option attributed change to cultural or social factors alone without economic and legal catalysts, it would fail to account for the large-scale, policy-facilitated expansion evident in the excerpt.

Note on missing choices: The prompt as given provides an answer statement but no list of answer options to analyze. Consequently, the analysis focuses on the provided option and its historical justification, while acknowledging that a complete comparison would require the full set of alternatives to contrast specific reasoning for each.

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

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