This question refers to the following passage:

“So many people ask me what they shall do; so few tell me what they can do.Yet this is the pivot wherein all must turn.

“I believe that each of us who has his place to make should go where men are wanted, and where employment is not bestowed as alms. Of course, I say to all who are in want of work, GoWest! . . .

“On the whole I say, stay where you are; do as well as you can; and devote every spare hour to making yourself familiar with the conditions and dexterity required for the efficient conservation of out-door industry in a new country. Having mastered these, gather up your family and GoWest!”

Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, letter to R. L. Sanderson, 1871

Which of the following late-nineteenth-century federal actions most directly supported the ideas expressed in the excerpt?

Question

This question refers to the following passage:

“So many people ask me what they shall do; so few tell me what they can do.Yet this is the pivot wherein all must turn.

“I believe that each of us who has his place to make should go where men are wanted, and where employment is not bestowed as alms. Of course, I say to all who are in want of work, GoWest! . . .

“On the whole I say, stay where you are; do as well as you can; and devote every spare hour to making yourself familiar with the conditions and dexterity required for the efficient conservation of out-door industry in a new country. Having mastered these, gather up your family and GoWest!”

Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, letter to R. L. Sanderson, 1871

Which of the following late-nineteenth-century federal actions most directly supported the ideas expressed in the excerpt?

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

We start by restating the core prompt and the single available answer choice to ground our analysis. The question quotes Horace Greeley’s urging to go West and questions which late-nineteenth‑century federal action most directly supported those ideas. The only answer option provided is: The sale of land to settlers at low cost.

Now, evaluating the option in context:
- The thematic link: Greeley’s exhortation to move westward to settle and work the land aligns with federal efforts to attract settlers and populate the western territories. A policy that lowers the cost barrier for obtaining land would directly operationalize his call by making it feasible for individuals and families to relocate and establish farms or communities in the West.
- Historical plausibility: The United States government did implement land-related policies to incentivize westward expansion, especially in the post–Civil War era. The Homestead Act (though enacted in 1862) is the quintessential example of selling or granting land at favorable terms to settlers, designed to encourage settlement and agricultural development in the western territories. While the exact act dates back earlier, its effects and related land-distribution policies persisted and were reinforced in the late 19th century as westward settlement intensified.
- Directness of the link: A policy framed around “sale of land to settlers at low cost” directly translates the abstract idea of going West into a tangible, actionable government program. It reduces financial barriers, thereby increasing the likelihood that ordinary families could relocate and establish livelihoods in new regions.

What we can say about the other options, given that they are not provided here, is that a robust analysis would compare how each action temporally and causally connects to the push to Go West: (1) measures that promote railroad expansion enabling easier access to western lands; (2) incentives for mineral or agricultural development; (3) policies aimed at Native American displacement or assimilation, which, while historically connected to westward expansion, would require careful contextual scrutiny and are not part of the single listed option to evaluate.

In summary, among policies intended to encourage settlement and development in the western territories, a program involving the sale of land to settlers at low cost directly implements the practical means by which the exhortation to Go West could be realized, making it the most logically connected choice given the excerpt’s focus on enabling people to move and establish livelihoods in new areas.

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

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