The greatest inventor of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century America was
________.
A) Cyrus Field
B) Thomas A. Edison
C) Henry Bessemer
D) J. P. Morgan
E) Eli Whitney
Why was the Republican-controlled Congress elected in 1890 notable?
A) It was unable to assert federal authority.
B) Its legislation shaped the future policy of the nation.
C) It was overwhelmingly reelected.
D) It gained the support of the Democrats.
E) It spent frugally in an effort to build up the Treasury.
The most serious slave rebellion of the colonial period was ________.
A) the Stono Uprising
B) the Denmark Vesey Conspiracy
C) Nat Turner’s Rebellion
D) the Jamestown Massacre
E) Bacon’s Rebellion
The most obvious indicator of the supremacy of democracy in the United States was the
________.
A) high percentage of people who voted
B) widespread use of the ‘spoils system”
C) absence of any kind of social or economic class
D) development of universal white manhood suffrage
E) increase in the number of appointed officials
How did progressive attitudes affect the size of government?
A) Progressives believed that local government was ineffective in enacting social
reforms, so municipal government decreased during the progressive era.
B) Progressives believed that the federal government could best conduct social reforms,
so government grew during the progressive era.
C) Progressives believed that charities could best conduct social reforms, so
government shrank during the progressive era.
D) Progressives believed that most voters were too uneducated to understand national
issues, so they supported small state and local government only.
E) Progressives believed in the wisdom of the general masses, so state and local
governments shrank while agencies run by non-politicians grew.
What was the effect of the American Revolution on slavery?
A) Soon after the end of the war, slavery was abolished in northern states.
B) The war set a time limit to end slavery in the South.
C) The war had little effect on slavery.
D) Initially, the war led to African Americans’ gaining freedom.
E) The war emancipated African Americans in several states.
What was the difference between northern and southern evangelicalism in the
mid-1800s?
A) Northern evangelicalism focused on self-discipline and social reform; southern
evangelicalism focused on personal piety.
B) Northern evangelicalism focused on personal piety; southern evangelicalism focused
on philanthropy.
C) Northern evangelicalism focused on the virtues of the family unit; southern
evangelicalism focused on helping the poor.
D) Northern evangelicalism focused on philanthropy; southern evangelicalism focused
on self-discipline.
E) Northern evangelicalism focused on conversion of the poor; southern evangelicalism
focused on personal piety.
The Tea Act of 1773 was passed in order to ________.
A) save the East India Company
B) raise revenue to pay royal governors’ salaries
C) punish colonists for the Boston Massacre
D) support the stationing of British troops in America
E) recover revenue lost by reducing the tax on molasses
The Staple Act of 1663 stated that ________.
A) Americans must stop raising corn and wheat
B) imports to America had to be shipped through England
C) Americans could not produce iron products
D) rum had to be manufactured in the West Indies
E) Americans could only produce staple foodstuffs
Which of these was true of the War Hawks?
A) They favored war with Britain.
B) They were Federalists.
C) They called for war with France.
D) They supported invading Mexico.
E) The group was too radical to be of much influence.
How did the Historia de las Indias change the colonization of the New World?
A) It helped the Spanish recognize that they needed to be ruthless in order to prevail.
B) It led Spain to improve its treatment of Indians under their rule.
C) It helped the Spanish recognize that they would not be able to prevail over the
powerful empires in the New World.
D) It led the Spanish to the conquest of the Aztecs.
E) It helped the Spanish recognize that Spanish culture was vastly inferior to native
culture.
How did the United States and Great Britain avoid war over Venezuela?
A) The defeat of Spain in Cuba encouraged Great Britain to concede Venezuela to the
United States.
B) Great Britain’s superior naval fleet, which was fully deployed off the coasts of
Venezuela and Guiana, discouraged U.S. involvement.
C) Larger problems in Africa and Europe caused Britain to agree to negotiate with
Venezuela.
D) The U.S. annexation of Hawaii and the Philippines convinced Great Britain to
concede Venezuela.
E) The Venezuelan people successfully boycotted British and U.S. products,
demonstrating their resolve for self-rule.
“No Child Left Behind” required ________.
A) billions of dollars be sent to anti-poverty efforts around the world
B) state testing to evaluate student performance in reading and math
C) resources go to low-income families to increase graduation rates
D) mandatory preschool and kindergarten for all American children
E) a reformed foster care system that would prevent all child abuse
How did consumers respond to Upton Sinclair’s novel The Jungle?
A) They avoided buying drugs from pharmacies.
B) They stayed away from certain fruits and vegetables.
C) They quickly cut back on meat.
D) They began to purchase more dairy products.
E) They learned how to read product labels.
Which of the following individuals is INCORRECTLY associated with the industry he
helped to found?
A) Andrew Carnegie: steel
B) J. P. Morgan: finance
C) Henry Bessemer: railroads
D) John Rockefeller: oil
E) William Kelly: steel
What was one major factor that helped Kennedy defeat Nixon in the 1960 presidential
election?
A) Kennedy’s performance in the first televised presidential debate
B) Nixon’s poor performance in a presidential radio debate
C) Kennedy’s extensive political experience compared with Nixon’s
D) Kennedy’s warm relationship with the Eisenhower administration
E) The nation was familiar with Kennedy, but Nixon was a newcomer to politics
The Open Door policy ________.
A) claimed economic rights for the U.S. in China
B) met with the approval of western Europe
C) had little effect on American policy in the Far East
D) provided the United States with a sphere of influence in China
E) was publicly denounced in China
The most important domestic law passed during Wilson’s administration was the _____.
A) Underwood Tariff
B) Dingley Tariff
C) Federal Reserve Act
D) Pure Food and Drug Act
E) Clayton Antitrust Act
Why didn’t early American railroads actually link different regions to each other?
A) They did not have enough steel to make the tracks very long.
B) They were only built to bring goods from one city to another.
C) They had different schedules and incompatible gauges.
D) They were only affordable to the richest passengers.
E) They were built with inferior equipment and were constantly breaking down.
Why did support for free silver coinage grow rapidly from 1894 to 1896?
A) because it seemed a simple, compelling answer to the economic crisis
B) because workers joined farmers in support of silver coinage
C) because Cleveland Democrats joined workers in support of silver coinage
D) because the country was rapidly running out of gold reserves
E) because silver would ensure there would be less money in circulation
Which of the following statements best describes the migration of the American
population during World War II?
A) Rural areas lost many residents while coastal areas grew in population.
B) People moved from urban to rural areas to help grow food to support the troops.
C) Coastal areas lost population as millions moved into America’s heartland.
D) The South and West lost population as millions moved to states in the Northeast.
E) The United States lost a number of citizens as millions fled to Canada.
What was a common sight for pioneers heading west on the Oregon and other trails?
A) the bleached bones of those who had gone before
B) menacing bands of hostile Indians
C) piles of trash discarded by previous travelers
D) towns in which gambling and drinking predominated
E) cattle drives heading north
Which statement best describes the transition from war to peace in America after World
War II?
A) The transition caused inflation and labor unrest.
B) The transition was an exceptionally smooth one.
C) The transition solved the wartime economic problems.
D) The transition was a period of contentment for the American people.
E) The transition gave Democrats an advantage over Republicans.
Which of the following was part of the Republican Party platform in the post-Civil War
era?
A) lower tariffs
B) free trade measures
C) subsidies to railroads
D) decentralized federal power
E) the promotion of states’ rights
How was George W. Bush’s economic policy different from Clinton’s?
A) Clinton favored investing in education, while Bush favored investing in
environmental reforms.
B) Clinton favored reducing government spending, while Bush favored increasing
government spending.
C) Clinton favored tax reduction, while Bush favored eliminating the deficit.
D) Clinton favored eliminating the deficit, while Bush favored tax reduction.
E) Clinton favored tax reduction, while Bush favored cutting spending.
The greatest economic challenge faced by the Nixon administration involved ________.
A) the reduction of government spending
B) a dramatic increase in international oil prices
C) the bankruptcy of the Federal Reserve System
D) the crisis in American farming
E) rampant unemployment
How did the Allies decide to divide reparations in postwar Germany?
A) The Soviet Union would take all the war reparations from Germany.
B) The United States would take all the war reparations from Germany.
C) Each country would take reparations from its own occupation zone.
D) The countries would divide reparations from all of Germany.
E) No country would take war reparations from Germany.
Why has the nineteenth century been identified as “the century of the child”?
A) Parents began having more children, and larger families required more attention.
B) Parents had a new attitude towards childhood, and families became child-centered.
C) Medical advances made it possible for more children to survive to adulthood.
D) Children became a more important part of the labor force.
E) For the first time ever, children began to spend money in the economy.
Where did the techniques of the western cattle industry originate?
A) Mexico
B) Spain
C) New England
D) the plantation South
E) the Midwest
John Marshall was extremely influential in interpreting ________.
A) the role of the presidency
B) the extent of executive privilege
C) the Constitution
D) Congress’ role in national politics
E) the role of political parties
The Marshall Plan proposed _______.
A) infusing massive amounts of American capital into Western Europe
B) bolstering the German army to prevent the spread of communism
C) an international effort to stop postwar global inflation
D) that all nations should immediately destroy their atomic weapons
E) dividing Germany into several areas of military occupation