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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the author in the Introduction, “Fifty-six years after the first earth was turned beside City Creek, the Mormons had” how many “acres under full or partial irrigation in several states”?

2. The Reclamation Act was authored by what U.S. Representative?

3. How many major dams does the author say California has in the Introduction?

4. What mountain range described in the Introduction stretches approximately 160 miles from the Utah-Idaho border, south through central Utah in the western United States?

5. When was Harrison Gray Otis born?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author describe the American West in Chapter One?

2. Describe the author of the book. What relevant professional experience does Reisner have to ecology?

3. What reaction did the public and lawmakers have to the advice of John Wesley Powell regarding settlement in the West? What was the result?

4. What ideological dualism is implied by the title of Cadillac Desert?

5. How does the author of Cadillac Desert describe the bureaucratic changes during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Administration?

6. What happened to the populations of Nebraska and Kansas in 1890?

7. When was the Hoover Dam constructed? Where is it located?

8. When did the perception of the American West as a desert begin to change? Who helped initiate this change?

9. How does the author describe the Colorado River in the beginning of Chapter Four?

10. What actions did William Mulholland take in order to solve the water problems in Los Angeles?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the explorations of the American West from 1540 through the 1800s. How did perceptions change of the West based upon these explorations?What role did Jefferson have in the exploration of the West? What were Lewis and Clark’s impressions of this rugged terrain?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Harold Ickes. What programs did Roosevelt initiate to resuscitate the economy in America during and after the Depression?What perception does the author have of F.D.R.? What were the positives and negatives of his Administration?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss Harry Chandler and his role in the Owens River scam. What was Chandler’s relationship to Harrison Gray Otis?What were Chandler’s associations with Fred Eaton?How did Chandler gain wealth through the Owens River scam?

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