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
By 1960, the most racially integrated institution in American society was _______.
A) the public high school system
B) the private university system
C) corporate America
D) the armed forces
E) Protestant churches
The most serious consequence of the 1970s oil shocks for America was ________.
A) the collapse of several Arab states that were friendly to the United States
B) the loss of international respect for Americans
C) the decline of the automobile culture in the United States
D) the beginning of the mass exodus from American suburbs
E) the rampant inflation they fueled in the larger economy
Which of these was true of U.S. political leaders in the 1790s?
A) Many of those who had collaborated closely during the American Revolution found
themselves bitter enemies.
B) Political leadership passed from those active in the American Revolution to a new
generation of statesmen.
C) Friendships among those active in the American Revolution continued under
Washington’s two terms.
D) Differences that developed during the Revolution created the political parties that
emerged under Washington.
E) While those who were prominent remained united, political parties emerged under
the leadership of a new generation of leaders.
John F. Kennedy’s domestic program was known as the ________.
A) Great Society
B) New Deal
C) Fair Deal
D) New Frontier
E) Camelot Era
The Brer Rabbit stories ________.
A) showed how a fugitive slave could find safe haven in the underbrush
B) were fantasies which enabled slaves to forget their harsh lot for a while
C) were used to indoctrinate white children with the belief that slaves were no smarter
than animals
D) showed how a defenseless animal could overcome a stronger one through cunning
and deceit, a metaphor for survival as a slave
E) portrayed slaves as being happy and well-adjusted
What was the general difference between the Democrats and Republicans in the late
1800s?
A) Democrats felt that social reform was fundamental to the economic success of the
nation, while Republicans felt that government regulation was more important.
B) Democrats felt that the public sector should stimulate the economy, while
Republicans believed that was the role of the private sector.
C) Democrats favored government control in all industries, while Republicans wanted
very little government regulation of business.
D) Democrats favored little federal government intervention, while Republicans felt
that the federal government should promote economic and social reform.
E) Democrats believed that the federal government should take an active role in
economic and social reform, while Republicans favored little government intervention.
What was the chief reason France was slow to establish a North American empire?
A) poor relations with the Indians of Canada and the West
B) the French government’s indifference to affairs in the New World
C) too many French settlers moving to the New World too quickly
D) an inability to find anything of economic consequence in the New World
E) too much competition with the English settlers over land in the New World
Which of the following stated Parliament’s belief in its own sovereignty?
A) Townshend Acts
B) Declaratory Act
C) Coercive Acts
D) Stamp Act
E) Sovereignty Act
Magazines became popular and successful in the early 1900s partly because of which of
these factors?
A) appealing pictures, new fiction, and muckraking journalism
B) support for management’s rights, sensationalism, and new poetry
C) new printing techniques using huge new printing presses
D) yellow journalism and the appeal of local coverage
E) a new national postal system that delivered the mail
Why did northern sentiment to free the slaves increase as the war dragged on?
A) People began to realize that slavery was immoral.
B) People recognized that emancipation could be used as a weapon against the South’s
economic and social systems.
C) Congress thought it would be easier to reintegrate the southern states into the Union
if slavery were abolished.
D) Hatred for the South and the Confederacy had increased.
E) Strategists thought that a northern emancipation law might goad southern military
leaders into making tactical mistakes.
The peaceful ousting of James II by Parliament in 1688 was known as ________.
A) King James’s War
B) the Restoration
C) Parliament’s Rebellion
D) the Glorious Revolution
E) the People’s War
The man who entered the White House after the disputed election of 1876 was
________.
A) Grover Cleveland
B) William McKinley
C) Rutherford B. Hayes
D) Benjamin Harrison
E) William Jennings Bryan
Which of the following best describes the state of the nation in the wake of World War
II?
A) The United States was drastically weaker than it had been before the war.
B) The United States was slightly weaker than it had been before the war.
C) The United States had about the same amount of power as it had before the war.
D) The United States was slightly more powerful than it had been before the war.
E) The United States had become the most powerful country in the world.
Which correctly describes the attitudes of southern yeoman farmers?
A) They were staunch supporters of abolitionism even though they owned slaves.
B) They listened sympathetically to abolitionist ideas but remained neutral.
C) They paid little attention to the slave system even though it supported them.
D) They were staunch supporters of slavery even though they rarely owned slaves.
E) They were staunch supporters of slavery even though they were Christians.
All of the following characterize the route recommended by the Isthmian Canal
Commission in 1899 EXCEPT that _____.
A) it followed natural waterways
B) it was the shortest route through Panama
C) it wandered through rough, swampy terrain
D) it was about fifty miles in length
E) it was supported by Roosevelt
How did Americans feel about collective security toward the end of World War II?
A) They were eager to make new attempts at collective security.
B) They acknowledged that collective security was useful, but remained reluctant.
C) They still thought that isolationism was preferable to collective security.
D) They realized that collective security was ineffective, but it kept their alliances in
place.
E) They vowed never to make another attempt at collective security.
Sumptuary laws ________.
A) made excessive gluttony a crime
B) established statutes that limited the wearing of fine apparel to the wealthy and
prominent
C) criminalized frivolity on the Sabbath
D) provided that only “visible saints” could be buried in a church cemetery
E) made church attendance compulsory
The countries which comprised President George W. Bush’s “axis of evil” in 2002 were
________.
A) Afghanistan, Russia, and North Korea
B) China, Cuba, and Russia
C) Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan
D) Iraq, Afghanistan, and Russia
E) Iraq, Iran, and North Korea
The _____ helped usher in an age of leisure.
A) use of electricity
B) use of cotton in textile manufacturing
C) introduction of popular fiction
D) increased use of domestic workers
E) equal distribution of wealth
How did Joseph McCarthy develop power over his fellow senators?
A) He physically threatened them.
B) He blackmailed them.
C) He instilled fear in them.
D) He bribed them with campaign contributions.
E) He was wildly popular with the public.
How are the Quasi-War and the XYZ Affair related?
A) The XYZ Affair was the most significant “battle” in the Quasi-War between the U.S.
and France.
B) The Quasi-War was one factor leading to the XYZ Affair.
C) They XYZ Affair and the Quasi-War are examples of European attacks on the
United States.
D) The XYZ Affair ended the Quasi-War between the U.S. and France.
E) The XYZ Affair was a disagreement between England and the U.S., whereas the
Quasi-War was a disagreement between France and the U.S.
The last resistance of Indians to white settlement in the Old Northwest came in
1831″1832 under Chief ________.
A) Tecumseh
B) Sitting Bull
C) Osceola
D) Black Hawk
E) Rain-in-Face
How does the Marbury v. Madison case influence legislature today?
A) It established the constitutionality of political parties and the limits on political
contributions.
B) It began the civil rights movement, determining that the rights of life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness are for all people.
C) It was the first unanimous ruling, demonstrating that even politically divided
Supreme Courts can work together.
D) It began the process of rewriting the U.S. Constitution, making it the document
legislators use today.
E) It established precedence for the Supreme Court to judge the constitutionality of
congressional acts.
The Sixteenth Amendment _____.
A) established civil rights guidelines
B) authorized the direct election of senators
C) gave women the right to vote
D) authorized an income tax
E) enfranchised eighteen-year-olds
How did Wilson ultimately organize the wartime economy?
A) He decentralized a variety of boards that had been tightly organized.
B) He appointed a number of economic advisors known as “czars.”
C) He established a series of highly centralized planning boards.
D) He raised taxes to fund the war effort, which angered the public.
E) He charged his cabinet with finding workable solutions.
What was Madison’s goal in the War of 1812?
A) territorial expansion
B) reparations for British damage done during the Revolutionary War
C) respect for U.S. maritime rights
D) support for Britain against France
E) providing aid to France, then in the midst of the French Revolution
America’s use of the atomic bomb to defeat Japan resulted in all of the following
EXCEPT _______.
A) a tightening of the U.S.-Soviet alliance
B) a decisive end to the war
C) the death of thousands
D) the postwar arms race
E) an unconditional surrender
Why was “America” named after Amerigo Vespucci?
A) Vespucci published a falsified travel account that convinced mapmakers that he had
been the first European to reach the continent.
B) Vespucci had been on Columbus’s last voyage, but unlike Columbus realized that
they had found a new continent.
C) Vespucci’s travels to the Americas brought great wealth to Spain, and he was
rewarded with a continent named for him.
D) Vespucci was the first person to make contact with what is now the Bahamas, and
the continent he reached was named after him.
E) Vespucci convinced the king and queen of Spain that Columbus had falsified reports
of his travels, and proved that it was he who had been the first to reach the Americas.
The most encouraging economic development for women in the late twentieth century
was that ________.
A) women’s wages largely closed the gap with men’s wages
B) women made great progress in entering male-dominated professions
C) the number of female business owners increased greatly
D) the number of women serving on corporate boards grew rapidly
E) the Equal Rights Amendment was ratified in 1982
What led the two-party system of politics to develop in the 1820s”1840s?
A) The Supreme Court passed changes in the Constitution regarding the party system.
B) There was an increasing concern about foreign policy issues.
C) Changes in the method of nominating and electing the president developed.
D) The burgeoning population of the trans-Appalachian West created a need for two
parties.
E) Married women gained the right to vote and created a second party.
What was the focus of the bestselling book The Lonely Crowd?
A) life in suburbia
B) love and romance
C) Cold War politics
D) manufacturing work
E) life in the cities
Which event prompted a massive wave of ‘sit-ins” across the country?
A) African Americans went on a hunger strike after being refused service at a diner.
B) An African-American soldier refused to stand and salute an abusive white officer.
C) A white restaurant owner assaulted a black customer when she sat in a white area.
D) Four college students refused to leave a lunch counter after they were denied
service.
E) Three African-American women would not get off a bus after being asked to move.