Q&A Hero

Q: 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

Q: How did the United States and Great Britain avoid war over Venezuela? a. The U.S. defeat of Spain in Cuba sobered Great Britain into conceding Venezuela. b. Great Britain's superior naval fleet, fully deployed off the coast 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 sobered Great Britain into conceding Venezuela. e. The Venezuelan people successfully boycotted British and U.S. products, demonstrating their resolve for self-rule.

Q: 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

Q: The internal slave trade in the Unites States ran from the __________. a. West to the Upper South b. Upper South to the West c. Upper South to the Lower South d. Lower South to the Upper South e. Lower South to the West

Q: The most brilliant American political theorist of the post-Revolutionary period was __________. a. James Madison b. George Washington c. John Locke d. John Adams e. Thomas Jefferson

Q: The Portuguese explored West Africa __________. a. to convert natives to Christianity b. as tests of their new navigational technology c. to establish colonies in Africa before Spain and England d. searching for slaves and gold e. and established military forts along the coastland

Q: Reagan's approach to the conflict in Nicaragua differed from Carter's because Carter __________. a. refused to get involved in the conflict, whereas Reagan sent economic aid to the Sandinista government b. deployed ground troops to Nicaragua, whereas Reagan implemented an airstrike strategy c. favored an airstrike strategy in Nicaragua, whereas Reagan deployed ground troops instead d. deployed troops to Nicaragua, whereas Reagan sent economic aid to the Sandinista government e. gave economic aid to the Sandinista government, whereas Reagan cut off that economic aid

Q: How did Huey Long's "Share the Wealth" movement of 1935 reflect on the U.S. government's efforts to address the Great Depression? a. The fact that Americans were swayed by Huey Long's flamboyant style suggests that they had become disillusioned with FDR's leadership. b. The "Share the Wealth" movement complemented the New Deal's programs, which similarly sought to increase the standard of living of all Americans. c. It suggested that a large number of people felt that they were not benefiting from the New Deal. d. Rising frustration with the slow pace of recovery resulted in a grassroots revival of fundamentalist Christianity. e. The emergence of viable third-party candidates suggests that neither Democrats nor Republicans were capable of ending the Great Depression.

Q: 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.

Q: What was Lincoln's view of Reconstruction? a. Amnesty would be granted to those southerners who had never willingly aided the Confederacy. b. Reconstruction would guarantee full political and civil equality for southern blacks. c. Congress would determine the terms for readmission of the seceded states. d. Pardon would be granted to all southerners taking an oath of allegiance and acknowledging the legality of emancipation. e. The President and Congress would work together on a bill to address how to readmit Confederate states to the Union.

Q: The most profitable commodity bought and sold in the upper tier of southern states was __________. a. tobacco b. cotton c. human beings d. wheat e. corn

Q: The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 __________. a. defined the process by which a territory became a state b. provided for the surveying of the Northwest Territory c. ignored the basic rights of settlers in the region d. specifically allowed slavery to exist in the region e. was one of the first acts passed under the Confederation

Q: The first European nation to establish contact with sub-Saharan Africa was __________. a. France b. Italy c. the Netherlands d. Portugal e. Spain

Q: In the early 1980s, the Soviet Union broke off disarmament negotiations in Geneva because the United States __________. a. revealed plans to develop the Strategic Defense Initiative b. placed missiles in Europe within striking distance of the Soviet Union c. sent American troops into Afghanistan d. opened up diplomatic relations with China e. forcibly broke the Saudi Arabian oil embargo

Q: Why was the New Deal criticized during the early years of the Great Depression? a. The New Deal was criticized as tending to benefit large businesses and farms, leaving the poor and elderly unaided. b. Some felt that its programs favored minorities and immigrants, leaving white middle-class Americans without aid. c. Policies of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration were criticized for hampering agricultural production and leading to food shortages. d. Critics disagreed with the New Deal's attempts to institute national health insurance. e. Roosevelt and his policies were criticized for not being fiscally conservative.

Q: How were religion and foreign policy related in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the United States? a. Most U.S. foreign ministers were religious leaders, using their diplomatic posts for missionary access. b. Most religious leaders believed that God had blessed the United States with riches that should be shared with the world's poor, making foreign policy mainly about charity. c. Most religious leaders believed that God had given the United States to Christians, and they should be content and not seek more riches throughout the world. d. Most religious leaders believed that Americans should bring Christianity to the rest of the world, so they advocated imperialist foreign policies. e. Most religious leaders followed the "conversion by sword" example of European Christian powers in the Middle Ages, so they advocated U.S. military coups.

Q: Restrictions on black civil rights imposed by southern states after Reconstruction from 1876 to 1910 were known as __________. a. Black Codes b. the Code Noir c. the Compromise of 1877 d. Redeemer laws e. Jim Crow laws

Q: At the time of the Civil War, there were approximately __________ slaves in the South. a. 200,000 b. 400,000 c. 1,000,000 d. 2,000,000 e. 4,000,000

Q: Under the terms of the __________, an orderly process for laying out lands and towns in the western territory was established. a. Land Ordinance of 1785 b. Northwest Ordinance of 1787 c. Proclamation of 1763 d. Cumberland Agreement e. Ordinance of 1784

Q: In the Columbian Exchange, the Old World and the New exchanged __________. a. animal, plant, and microbial life forms b. technologies c. religious beliefs d. political systems e. scientific theories

Q: A central tenet of Reagan's approach to foreign policy at the beginning of his presidency was the belief that __________. a. the Palestine Liberation Organization represented a serious threat to the United States b. trading arms for hostages was an effective way to negotiate quietly with terrorists c. the Middle East needed U.S. intervention to achieve freedom d. the Soviet Union was a deadly enemy that threatened the United States e. Israel could not be trusted to keep its word

Q: How did the Roosevelt administration finally deal with the problem of agricultural overproduction? a. It used strategies that aided small farming operations more than large farming operations. b. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration convinced farmers to stop destroying their crops. c. It found new international markets for surplus American crops. d. It set production limits for leading crops and paid farmers subsidies. e. It increased demand by giving away surplus foods to the starving urban poor.

Q: One factor that fostered a change in American foreign policy during the 1890s was __________. a. the census report of 1890 b. concern over lack of natural resources c. oversaturation of foreign markets d. the fear of racial mixing e. the perceived need to build up domestic markets

Q: The Redeemers __________. a. continued the policies established during Reconstruction b. offered new programs for working people and tenant farmers c. were loyal to the Union above all d. believed in the principles of laissez-faire and white supremacy e. were from the old planter aristocracy

Q: As southern opinion about the morality of slavery changed during the 1830s, people began to describe slavery as __________. a. a positive good b. a necessary evil c. an inevitable institution d. a neutral business arrangement e. a sinful enterprise

Q: The most important accomplishment of Congress under the Articles of Confederation was its __________. a. disposition of the Florida border problem with Spain b. passage of ordinances organizing the Northwest Territory c. management of the nation's financial affairs d. rejection of British demands for territory along the country's borders with Canada e. set of rules for interstate trade and tariffs

Q: The single greatest factor that caused the destruction of Native Americans after contact with Europeans was __________. a. warfare b. planned genocide c. disease d. forced conversions to Christianity e. forced removal from tribal lands

Q: The results of President Reagan's economic policies were __________. a. overwhelmingly positiveunemployment declined and the budget was balanced b. fairly positiveunemployment declined but the economy overall did not improve c. mixedthere were record federal deficits but the economy overall improved d. very minorthe economy remained about the same during his presidency e. decidedly negativeinflation increased and the economy declined dramatically

Q: What caused the National Recovery Administration ultimately to fail? a. It did not address business owners' goals of stabilizing production and raising prices. b. It compelled all companies to join, whether they wanted to or not. c. In the final analysis, very few industries decided to enroll in the NRA. d. It proved overly cumbersome, and its rules favored big businesses over small businesses and labor. e. It did not attempt to address labor leaders' goals of ensuring maximum working hours and establishing minimum wage.

Q: How did U.S. geography encourage isolationism? a. The United States was so close to Canada and Mexico that expansion there seemed natural. b. The United States was a relatively small country compared to Canada or Mexico, making it less willing to engage in armed conflicts over land. c. The United States was protected on both sides by vast oceans that discouraged attack from Europe or Asia. d. The United States had just concluded the Civil War and was more concerned with domestic affairs than foreign ones. e. The United States was beginning to prosper and look for new markets for its products and workers for its factories.

Q: The organization that symbolized most vividly the "white backlash" of the Reconstruction era was the __________. a. Union League b. Freedmen's Bureau c. Redeemers d. White Citizens Council e. Ku Klux Klan

Q: How did apologists describe the institution of slavery before the 1830s? a. as a benefit to the slaves themselves b. as a necessary evil c. as an inevitable institution d. as a neutral business arrangement e. as a sinful enterprise

Q: The controversy that delayed ratification of the Articles of Confederation involved __________. a. slavery b. the disposition of western lands c. American relations with European countries d. regulating trade with British manufacturers e. boundaries between the states

Q: What Indians desired most, upon encountering Europeans, was __________. a. cultural enlightenment b. victims for human sacrifice rituals c. religious instruction d. allies to help them defeat their enemies e. peaceful trade

Q: The turmoil of the 1960s and the economic and political troubles of the 1970s __________. a. turned America to conservatism b. turned America to liberalism c. turned America away from both the Republican and Democratic parties d. caused the public to want more involvement in international conflicts e. caused the public to crave more government control over their lives

Q: How did agencies created during the Hundred Days affect the Great Depression? a. They attempted to relieve the suffering of Americans by giving government-subsidized loans at very low rates. b. Agencies such as the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Civilian Conservation Corps succeeded in getting most Americans back to work. c. Their main effect was to end economic stagnation by getting many people back to work. d. They strengthened all the failing banks of the country, restoring Americans' confidence in banking. e. Actually they did little to affect the Great Depression, but they were perceived to be effective by the public.

Q: Why did some people in the 1890s, and even today, consider late-nineteenth-century American foreign policy an aberration? a. As a democratic republic founded on the idea of freedom, the United States had no right to deny independence to other countries by annexation. b. The United States had once been a colony itself, so creating other colonies around the world was part of its history and legacy. c. The United States had once been a small country of just thirteen states, so expanding to new lands and creating new states was an aberration. d. As a democratic republic founded on the idea of freedom, the United States had the obligation to seek the same rights for countries around the world. e. As a former colony, the United States understood the challenges of gaining independence and could better assist new nations than Europe could.

Q: Which amendment to the Constitution states that no person can be denied the right to vote because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude? a. Eleventh b. Twelfth c. Thirteenth d. Fourteenth e. Fifteenth

Q: What was one goal of the American Colonization Society? a. to enact gradual voluntary emancipation for slaves b. to force an immediate end to slavery c. to relocate freed slaves to a new colony in South America d. to reunite former slaves with their families e. to bring slavery to every state in the union

Q: The Articles of Confederation __________. a. gave too much power to the central government b. provided for state representation by population c. jealously guarded state sovereignty at the expense of national power d. created a powerful presidency e. changed little from first draft to final document

Q: The Atlantic tribal group with whom the English had the most contact was called __________. a. Algonquian b. Mayan c. Apache d. Sioux e. Cherokee

Q: Why did militants take 53 Americans prisoner from the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979? a. The Carter administration had threatened war if the oil embargo was not lifted immediately. b. The Carter administration had seized a group of insurgents the week before and refused to release them. c. The Carter administration refused to end American involvement in Nicaragua. d. President Carter publicly denounced their Ayatollah's revolution. e. Carter had allowed the exiled shah to seek medical treatment in the United States.

Q: Which of FDR's actions ended the immediate financial crisis of the 1930s? a. FDR established the Tennessee Valley Authority and created thousands of new jobs. b. Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration spent nearly $5 billion in emergency government relief. c. He worked with powerful European nations to advance American agricultural trade. d. Using a calm and fatherly tone, he soothed the public's fears during his weekly fireside chats. e. He took control of the nation's banks, thereby restoring the public's confidence in the banking system.

Q: Why was American expansion of the 1890s different from earlier expansionist moves? a. It was intended for settlement. b. It was primarily for agricultural objectives. c. It would create economic and military colonies overseas. d. It would venture into uninhabited areas. e. It was the result of war.

Q: Which group was not part of the southern coalition supporting Radical Reconstruction? a. businessmen interested in government funding b. poor white farmers from upland regions c. newly enfranchised African Americans d. white planters e. "scalawags"

Q: What was the primary source of income for most yeoman farmers? a. sugar b. rice c. whiskey d. livestock e. lumber

Q: John Dickinson's 1776 plan for a new U.S. government revolved around the concept of __________. a. a weak central government b. extremely powerful state governments c. unification with Canada d. a strong central government e. a centralized banking system

Q: The aggressive Native American people who occupied the valley of Mexico when the Spanish arrived were the __________. a. Mayas b. Apaches c. Aztecs d. Incas e. Toltecs

Q: How did Carter try to redeem himself after his crisis of confidence speech? a. He tried to blame the Soviet Union for ruining his presidency. b. He tried to pin responsibility on the public and his dismissed cabinet members. c. He donated several million dollars to popular American charities. d. He tried to demonstrate that he understood the common man. e. He ordered a supportively slanted film to sway public opinion.

Q: How might FDR's personal background have prepared him to meet the challenges of the Great Depression? a. Since he was from a privileged background, he did not personally suffer financial hardship, which left him free to address the country's crisis. b. His service as assistant secretary of the Navy under Wilson prepared him to balance foreign and domestic affairs during the Great Depression. c. His relationship to Theodore Roosevelt gave him a reputation as a conservationist and powerful Republican leader. d. His bout with polio gave him personal experience of suffering and made him more sensitive to the downtrodden of society. e. His Ivy League education made him sensitive to the needs of wealthy American businessmen during the Great Depression.

Q: How did the end of the Spanish-American War establish the United States as a world power? a. It gave the United States lands beyond its borders, making it an imperial power. b. It marked the first U.S. major military victory against a world power. c. It opened the Caribbean to the United States, giving it protectorates like European countries. d. It led to the annexation of the Philippines, giving the United States a stronghold in the Pacific and access to all of Asia. e. It showed the rest of the world that the United States was militarily powerful and diplomatically weak, like most other world powers.

Q: During Reconstruction, African Americans __________. a. were able to become independent farmers b. lived in integrated urban societies c. lived in a divided society d. had no opportunity for schooling e. left the South in overwhelming numbers

Q: The yeoman farmers of the South __________. a. were typically slaveowners b. did not own the land they worked c. were located primarily in the backcountry d. were clustered around the large plantations e. were quite different from their northern counterparts

Q: Most new state constitutions after the American Revolution __________. a. strengthened the power of the governor b. weakened the power of the legislature c. were agreed-upon rather than written d. included declarations of rights e. affirmed freedom of speech and press but not of religion

Q: Which of the following revolutionized early Native American cultures? a. the discovery of hunting b. the development of agriculture c. tribal political alliances d. emergence of a written language e. the domestication of the horse

Q: President Gerald Ford's brief "honeymoon" with the American public ended when he __________. a. confessed to taking steroids during his college football days as a Michigan Wolverine b. suppressed about-to-be-declassified files pertaining to the Kennedy assassination c. proposed normalizing relations with Castro's Cuba d. granted disgraced President Richard Nixon a full pardon e. appointed liberal Republican Nelson Rockefeller as his vice president

Q: How did the Great Depression benefit the Democrats? a. The handling of the Depression by Democrats was universally popular and led to a short period of Democratic control of the Congress. b. The success of New Deal programs led the public to ignore critics, such as Huey Long. c. FDR and Democratic lawmakers made sweeping changes to the financial sector, including nationalizing the banking system. d. Because the Republicans had been unable to prevent the Depression, Democrats returned to power. e. Initially Democrats and Republicans formed a coalition that helped push through New Deal programs.

Q: Where did the Boxer Rebellion take place? a. the Philippines b. China c. Hawaii d. Cuba e. Puerto Rico

Q: Andrew Johnson was indicted by the House for his violation of the __________. a. Civil Rights Act of 1866 b. Tenure of Office Act c. Wade-Davis Bill d. Fourteenth Amendment e. Loyalty Act

Q: Who was the typical small slaveholder? a. an urban merchant b. a wealthy landowner c. a small business owner d. a shopkeeper e. a farmer

Q: An important fact about the Americans who wrote the first state constitutions was that they __________. a. totally rejected British traditions and ideas in creating them b. demanded written documents c. refused to include bills of rights d. made the constitutions vague and imprecise where basic rights were concerned e. followed the example of the British constitution

Q: The most significant factor that allowed large numbers of nomadic hunters to enter the heart of North America was __________. a. the domestication of horses b. global warming c. population growth d. the search for new food supplies e. the growing diversity of people

Q: How did President Clinton change the experience of gays and lesbians in the military? a. He launched an investigation to root out and prosecute homosexuals in the military. b. He instigated a ban on homosexuals in the military. c. He established the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy. d. He pressured the military to accept a small number of openly gay recruits. e. He forced the military to accept homosexuals in every branch of the service.

Q: What effect did the Great Depression have on immigration to the United States? a. The rate of immigration to the United States remained constant during the Great Depression. b. More immigrants came to the United States at this time due to the availability of low-skilled, hard-labor jobs. c. Progressives urged that legislation be passed restricting immigration and making it more difficult for immigrants to become citizens. d. Conservatives supported immigration reform, since immigrants tended to take jobs that Americans were too proud to take. e. It effectively reversed the flow, with hundreds of thousands being deported.

Q: The Open Door notes __________. a. called for China to trade with the United States 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. were publicly denounced in China

Q: The First Reconstruction Act of 1867 __________. a. recognized the existing southern state governments as legitimate b. confiscated all property of ex-Confederates c. guaranteed the freedmen the right to vote in southern elections d. supported the Black Codes e. placed the South under military rule

Q: Most southern whites __________. a. owned at least one slave b. were non-slaveholding yeoman farmers c. were poor people who sympathized with the slaves d. owned at least five slaves e. favored abolishing slavery

Q: How many states did not have to draft new constitutions, since they already had republican governments as part of their colonial charters? a. none b. one c. two d. three e. four

Q: The 1962 Baker v.Carr decision required that legislative seats be apportioned __________. A) on a population basis B) as state legislatures saw fit C) by geographic area D) in such a way as to increase racial diversity in legislatures

Q: The Scopes Trial revealed fundamentalists' discomfort with __________. A) international communism B) nativism C) labor unions D) evolutionary science

Q: Between 1876 and 1900, voter turnout in presidential elections averaged __________ percent of eligible voters. A) 25 B) 50 C) 75 D) 80

Q: Several counties in the western part of __________ supported the Union and eventually became the 35th state. A) Kentucky B) Tennessee C) Virginia D) Missouri

Q: One of the effects of destroying the Bank of the United States was __________. A) the belief that Jackson had sold out to the northeastern elite B) a decline in land buying in the western territories C) a decrease of commodity prices D) the shifting of deposits to state banks

Q: Aboard what ship did the "Boston Tea Party" take place? A) Yankee B) Cornell C) Dartmouth D) Townshend

Q: Reies Lpez Tijerina led a movement that __________. A) condemned anti-union businesses in Texas B) demanded the return of land to Hispanics in New Mexico C) rejected local organization and grass-roots democracy D) resulted in his nomination for president

Q: Which of the following would be most likely to oppose prohibition? A) female leaders of the temperance movement B) fundamentalist preachers C) immigrants in urban ethnic areas D) protestant farmers in the South

Q: How did railroads shape the settlement and development of the West? Give examples of the positive and negative effects of rail lines spreading from coast to coast.

Q: What flaw existed in the Confederacy's strategy for victory? A) Their offensive strategy was unrealistic because of the huge size of the North. B) They could not achieve the overwhelming conquest that their leaders had demanded. C) Their defensive strategy contradicted their desire to conquer the major cities of the North. D) They did not possess enough resources to stay the course of their defensive strategy.

Q: During his second term, President Jackson __________. A) sponsored his first Indian Removal Act B) established his support of preserving the union for the first time C) dismantled the Bank of the United States D) encouraged the removal of the Choctaw tribe

Q: Some slaves used the language of liberty in __________ to gain their freedom A) civil disobedience B) starting rebellions C) citing the Bible D) suing their owners