1. Which group was seen as having too much unfair influence over California's government after the first constitution was written?
- A. Teachers and schools
- B. Powerful business owners
- C. Small family farmers
- D. Leaders from other states
2. How did the people of California respond to the growing power of large companies in the 1870s?
- A. They moved to other states.
- B. They demanded a new constitution.
- C. They stopped paying taxes.
- D. They asked the U.S. President for help.
3. What was the main problem that led Californians to decide they needed a new constitution in 1879?
- A. The state ran out of money to build roads.
- B. The original constitution was written in Spanish.
- C. Dishonest leaders and large companies had become too powerful.
- D. There were not enough laws about farming.
4. When the government in California was described as suffering from "political corruption" in the 1870s, what did this mean?
- A. The government buildings were old and falling apart.
- B. There were too many official holidays for government workers.
- C. The government was not working for the benefit of the people because leaders were dishonest.
- D. There was a disagreement over where the state capital should be located.
5. California's first constitution was written in 1849. Why did the state need to create a new one about thirty years later?
- A. The original document was lost in a fire.
- B. The first constitution did not do enough to stop unfair business practices.
- C. The population of California had become smaller.
- D. The federal government ordered California to write a new one.
6. What was a main purpose of creating a new California constitution in 1879?
- A. To make sure railroad companies could set any prices they wanted for shipping goods.
- B. To reduce the power of big companies and fight dishonest acts in government.
- C. To prevent farmers from getting fair prices for the crops they grew.
- D. To stop the University of California from operating independently.
7. The 1879 constitution included unfair laws that specifically harmed which group of people?
- A. Business leaders who ran the successful Southern Pacific Railroad company.
- B. Government officials who were working to create new state agencies.
- C. Chinese immigrants seeking to work.
- D. Married women who wanted to vote in state elections.
8. How did the 1879 constitution attempt to stop railroads from charging unfair prices?
- A. By giving the railroad companies complete control over the state legislature.
- B. By creating state agencies that could make rules and set fair shipping fees.
- C. By banning all future railroad construction within the state of California.
- D. By forcing farmers to pay higher taxes directly to the railroad companies.
9. One goal of the 1879 constitution was to make government fairer for citizens like farmers by...
- A. increasing the power of the Southern Pacific Railroad over lawmakers.
- B. raising the fees they had to pay to ship their goods to market.
- C. lowering their taxes and regulating railroad prices.
- D. preventing them from getting access to the University of California.
10. The 1879 constitution was written partly to fight corruption, which is best described as...
- A. the process of building new railroads and industries across the state.
- B. fair and legal behavior by government leaders and powerful citizens.
- C. dishonest or illegal actions by powerful people or companies.
- D. the system of setting fair prices for all goods and services.