The “middle ground” was an area __________.
a. where most of the fighting between whites and Indians occurred
b. where whites and Indians interacted on an approximately equal basis
c. inhabited by renegades, half-breeds, and runaway slaves
d. of metaphorical stasis, symbolic of a culture that was part European and part Indian
e. designated by treaty as a demilitarized zone
In implementing Johnson’s plan, southern states __________.
a. sometimes ignored Johnson’s plan altogether
b. accepted it grudgingly or with qualifications
c. required blacks have a job, but allowed them to choose their employer
d. were required to grant suffrage to all men, black and white
e. implemented Jim Crow laws to restrict the freedom of former slaves
Why did it take months to push the Compromise of 1850 through Congress?
a. President Taylor opposed the compromise, and congressmen kept granting key
concessions to rival parties.
b. President Taylor was for the compromise, but congressmen kept granting key
concessions to rival parties.
c. The compromise was broken into too many small and ineffective measures.
d. President Taylor died and was succeeded by Millard Fillmore, who opposed the
compromise.
e. President Taylor supported the compromise, but key senators kept proposing new
compromises before a vote could be taken.
What impact did the Nineteenth Amendment have on women?
a. It thrust women into the political arena.
b. It fundamentally redefined the sex roles in society.
c. It encouraged droves of middle class women to leave the home and enter the
workforce.
d. It had less impact on women than women had hoped for.
e. It further unified women on national causes.
What was the result of Andrew Carnegie’s sale of Carnegie Steel?
a. J. P. Morgan combined it with other steel companies into the U.S. Steel Corporation.
b. It led to the formation of the first American trust.
c. It inspired John D. Rockefeller to sell his Standard Oil Company.
d. It led to the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, the largest steel structure in the world.
e. Charles Schwab bought it and combined it with National Steel to form the largest
steel company in the United States.
After 1815, the United States __________.
a. grew rapidly in size and population
b. was threatened by foreign invasion
c. revised its form of government
d. was unable to expand its economy
e. invaded and occupied Canada
What was the primary motivation for the passage of the Social Security Act?
a. a belief that people ought to help themselves and to take responsibility for their own
economic situations
b. a desire to fend off Republican challenges to Democratic policies and ensure FDR
would be reelected
c. a belief that all American citizens ought to equally enjoy the fruits of industrial
society
d. general fear that radical elements within American society would gain power if
discontent among the poor, elderly, and dispossessed were not remedied
e. a sense of duty to ensure that all of America’s citizensespecially the elderly,
handicapped, and unemployedwould be adequately provided for
The signing of the Taft-Katsura Agreement was strategically important for the United
States because it gave the United States free rein in __________.
a. Korea
b. China
c. Japan
d. Asia
e. the Philippines
As early as 1863, Lincoln proposed a plan for restoring southern state governments if
__________ percent of the 1860 voting population took a loyalty oath to the Union.
a. 5
b. 10
c. 20
d. 25
e. 50
What was the significance of Ford’s Highland Park plant in the transition to modern
America?
a. It was the first factory to open in the United States.
b. It marked the beginning of mass production in the United States.
c. This plant produced crucial military equipment for the First World War.
d. It was the place where organized labor first emerged.
e. Women were employed here for the first time.
The boycott movement against the Stamp Act __________.
a. had little effect on Great Britain
b. mobilized colonial women to action
c. ultimately hurt American businessmen more than British
d. was opposed by New England businessmen
e. was badly organized
Why was there an uproar surrounding the formation of the Society of the Cincinnati?
a. The public feared that it would begin a hereditary peerage in America.
b. Many women were angry because membership was exclusively male.
c. Religious leaders felt the society was pagan in its rituals.
d. Parents feared allowing young men and women to meet without chaperones.
e. Southerners questioned the society’s strong antislavery stance.
Why did William Seward encourage the United States to buy Alaska?
a. He predicted Alaska’s rich resources.
b. He, like most expansionists, believed any new land was worth attaining.
c. It gave the United States access to Russia and Asia.
d. It gave the United States access to the Pacific Ocean.
e. He hoped the United States would annex Canada.
By 1960, America’s gross national product was __________ the 1940 GNP.
a. less than half of
b. about 10 percent less than
c. about the same as
d. about 50 percent higher than
e. more than double
Nineteenth-century parents began using __________ to enforce good behavior among
their children.
a. fear
b. praise
c. bribery
d. guilt
e. humor
German immigrants __________.
a. suffered less prejudice than the Irish
b. suffered more prejudice than the Irish
c. could not be assimilated easily into American society
d. possessed few agricultural or other skills
e. were extremely rare
What effect would the Baruch Plan have had on America?
a. It would have given the United States a monopoly on atomic weapons.
b. It would have neutralized America’s military advantage.
c. It would have returned the United States to isolationist foreign policies.
d. It would have had a catastrophic effect on the American military.
e. It would have greatly decreased American power overseas.
Which was a consequence of the advent of advertising and large-scale retailing?
a. Europeans bought more American goods.
b. The demand for goods decreased.
c. Rural areas saw an expansion of their economy.
d. Most consumers felt threatened by new industrial goods.
e. Americans became aware of needs they did not realize they had.
What eventually solved the economic problems of seventeenth-century Virginia?
a. cultivation of tobacco
b. reorganization of the joint-stock company
c. a successful agreement with the Native Americans
d. trading with Barbados
e. stopping the import of goods from England
Between 1856 and 1860, the explosive tensions between __________ led to a growing
sense that the two groups could no longer coexist in the same nation.
a. blacks and whites
b. northerners and southerners
c. immigrants and native-born citizens
d. farmers and factory owners
e. southerners and former slaves
The Soviet Union first learned of the American atomic bomb __________.
a. from President Roosevelt during the Yalta Conference
b. at the Potsdam Conference
c. when Truman invited Stalin to see a film of a test
d. through the use of espionage
e. when the first one was dropped on Hiroshima
In the late nineteenth century, __________.
a. few women entered the workforce
b. most women took advantage of economic changes
c. few women challenged the system
d. the role of women in society was changing
e. womanly “innocence” was never questioned
Of the estimated 11 million African slaves carried to America, the great majority were
sent to __________.
a. Brazil and the Caribbean
b. British North America
c. Chile
d. Argentina
e. Central America
Which of the following was a reason for farm discontent in the late nineteenth century?
a. the inability of farmers to organize to voice discontent
b. the rising railroad rates
c. the lack of new farm technology
d. the perception of a loss of status in society
e. the loss of farmers to urban factories
Why were Scandinavian outposts in the New World eventually abandoned?
a. lack of leadership
b. lack of available resources for survival
c. attacks by the Spanish Armada
d. competition with Portuguese fishing groups
e. poor lines of communication
The Great Depression affected racial minorities more severely than other groups
because racial minorities __________.
a. were the first to be fired and last to be hired
b. had more heavily speculated in the stock market
c. had invested more in small, failing banks
d. were excluded from recognition by the government in the New Deal plans
e. were generally poor at the start of the Great Depression, so they sank even further
into poverty and did not know how to cope with it
Which statement best characterizes how the labor force changed during the 1800s?
a. Male workers made the transition from being factory workers to being artisans.
b. Male workers made the transition from being artisans to being factory workers.
c. Married women were more likely than men to work in factories.
d. Married women were more likely than unmarried women to work in factories.
e. Immigrants were being replaced in factories by native-born Americans.
What artistic movement is associated with the “beats”?
a. abstract expressionism
b. postmodernism
c. cubism
d. realism
e. pointillism
How did ordinary colonists respond after the wealthy elite had initiated the American
rebellion?
a. They rejected the lead of their “betters.”
b. They lost rights gained during the colonial period.
c. They turned an elite movement into a mass movement.
d. They fought for a social-economic revolution against the gentry.
e. They retreated further from political activities.
Which statement best describes a major disadvantage to the extensive cotton production
that took place in the Deep South?
a. The South lacked the infrastructure to transport all the cotton it produced, so planters
were frequently forced to burn their crops.
b. Such a large percentage of arable land was devoted to cotton that there were frequent
food shortages in the South.
c. The focus on a single industry that was profitable only to a small minority prevented
industrial and commercial growth.
d. The excessive profits of the industry led to unchecked price inflation in southern
urban centers.
e. The profits of the industry were available to everyone, so the South underwent social
upheaval and class conflict.
How did the Bill of Rights of 1789 protect only some individual freedoms?
a. It did not allow for freedoms of speech, religion, press, or trial.
b. It excluded foreigners and poor Americans.
c. It protected the freedoms of speech, religion, press, trial, bearing arms, and searches
but did
not grant rights to nonwhite males.
d. It granted the states more power than the federal government.
e. It was comprised mostly of legal procedures for Congress, the president, and the
Supreme Court.
Which two factors explain American isolationism in the 1930s?
a. the Great Depression and an understanding of the costs of war
b. the Great Depression and the Catholic Church
c. the Kellogg-Briand Pact and anti-Semitism
d. the Kellogg-Briand Pact and a lack of resources
e. a lack of resources and religious revival
Some congressmen opposed the formation of the League of Nations because it
__________.
a. was an elitist group of nations that left out many poorer nations in the world
b. was unconstitutional according to legal scholars
c. was too expensive for the U.S. postwar economy
d. violated many existing treaties with other countries
e. was an international body that infringed upon American autonomy
Why were Americans fascinated by politics during the Gilded Age?
a. Women and men were voting for the first time.
b. African Americans were able to use their newly won suffrage.
c. The quality of political candidates was excellent.
d. Most Americans saw it as a form of entertainment.
e. Cash incentives made people eager to vote.
How did the XYZ Affair affect U.S. politics?
a. Adams declared war on France.
b. France suffered diplomatic humiliation at the hands of the United States.
c. Hamilton resisted the idea of a strong army.
d. Adams and Jefferson reached a political impasse.
e. High Federalists used the tensions it created as an excuse for military expansion.