The Railroads Played a Key Role in the Settlement of the West GMAT Reading Comprehension

Reading Passage Question

The railroads played a key role in the settlement of the West. They provided relatively easy access to the region for the first time, and they also actively recruited farmers to settle there. The railroads are criticized for their part in settling the West too rapidly, with its resultant economic unrest. Of course there were abuses connected with building and operating the railroads, but it must be pointed out that they performed a useful service in extending the frontier and helping to achieve national unity.

The real tragedy of the rapid settlement of the Great Plains was the shameful way in which the American Indians were treated. Threatened with the destruction of their whole mode of life, the Indians fought back savagely. Justice was almost entirely on the Indians’ side. The land was clearly theirs; frequently their title was legally certified by a treaty negotiated with the federal government. The Indians, however, lacked the military force and the political power to protect this right. Not only did white men encroach upon the Indians’ hunting grounds, but they rapidly destroyed the Indians’ principal means of subsistence—the buffalo. By 1869, the railroads had cut the herd in half, and by the middle of the 1880s, both the southern and northern herd were eliminated. The white man frequently killed the buffalo merely for sport, leaving the valuable carcass to rot in the sun.

The plains Indians were considered different from the Indians encountered by the English colonists on the Atlantic coast. Mounted on horses, typical plains Indians were fierce warriors who could shoot arrows with surprising accuracy while galloping at top speed. Although they quickly adapted themselves to the use of the rifle, the Indians were not equal to the firepower of the United States Army and thus were doomed to defeat.

Theoretically, at least, the government tried to be fair to the Indians, but all too often the Indian agents were either too indifferent or corrupt to carry out the government’s promises conscientiously. The army frequently ignored the Indian Bureau and failed to coordinate its policies with the civilians who were nominally in charge of Indian affairs. The settlers hated and feared the Indians and wanted them exterminated. This barbaric attitude is certainly not excusable, but it is understandable in the context of the time.

“The railroads played a key role in the settlement of the West”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with sets of answers. The candidates must attain a solid understanding of English GMAT reading comprehension. The GMAT Reading Comprehension section mainly deals with eight series of questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are created to check the proficiency level of the candidates and enable them to learn and use ideas or concepts. The candidates improve their learning by answering GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solutions and Explanation

1. The author’s attitude toward the treatment of American Indians by whites is one of

1. qualified regret.
2. violent anger.
3. strong disapproval.
4. objective indifference.
5. unfair bias.

2. The author implies which of the following about the forces at work during the settlement of the Great Plains?

1. The federal government represented the moral use of law.
2. Justice was overcome by military firepower.
3. Attempts by the government to be fair were rejected by the Indians.
4. The settlers’ hatred and fear was offset by the Indians’ attempts at kindness.
5. The Indians and the white settlers shared a sporting interest in the hunting of buffalo.

3. Which of the following is concrete evidence that the white settlers did not need the buffalo for their own subsistence, as did the Indians?

1. More than half of the great buffalo herd had disappeared by 1869.
2. Nearly 15 million buffalo were killed within 20 years.
3. Buffalo carcasses were left rotting in the sun by whites.
4. The railroad brought necessary food and supplies to the white settlers from the East.
5. The white settlers had their own hunting grounds separate from the Indians’.

4. What is the point of the comparison between the plains Indians and the Indians encountered on the Atlantic coast?

1. The Atlantic coast Indians were not as abused by white settlers.
2. Because they were considerably better warriors than the Atlantic coast Indians, the plains Indians were a match for the United States military.
3. If Indians such as those on the Atlantic coast had populated the plains, there would have been no bloodshed of the white settlement.
4. The Indians encountered by English colonists posed no violent threat to the colonists.
5. The Atlantic coast Indians were unfamiliar with horses.

5. Which of the following characteristics of the passage suggests that the abuse of the Indians is a more significant topic for the author than the beneficial role of the railroads?

1. the statement that the railroads “are criticized for their part in settling the West too rapidly” (lines 3–4)
2. the amount of discussion devoted to the abuse of the Indians
3. the reliance on statistical details in both the first and second paragraphs
4. the mention of the plains Indians’ ability to fight
5. the perception that the achievement of national unity was one of the services that the railroad performed

6. The author of the passage would most likely disagree that

1. the United States government’s policies toward the American Indians were shameful.
2. the land that the Indians fought to retain belonged to them.
3. numerous abuses were among the results of the railroads’ rapid spread westward.
4. some American Indian tribes used sophisticated weapons brought by settlers.
5. the United States army could not be considered a friend of the American Indian.

7. It can be inferred from the passage that the purpose of the Indian Bureau was to

1. try Indians who violated the laws of the new territory.
2. establish reservations where the peaceful American Indians would live.
3. assist with Indian affairs and policies of the government regarding the American Indian.
4. bring to justice white settlers who treated the Indians in a savage or unlawful manner.
5. assist the Indians in learning a new method of procuring food to rely less on buffalo meat.

8. All of the following are presented as overt enemies of the Indians EXCEPT the

1. railroads.
2. white hunters.
3. army.
4. Indian agents.
5. western settlers.

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