History 1302 Final Exam

A transcontinental railroad was not built before the Civil War because:

a. the Appalachian Mountains presented great engineering problems.
b. Congress refused to consider federal subsidies for a private railroad.
c. the technologies for building long tunnels through the Rockies did not exist.
d. many southern states used the states’ rights argument to reject federal aid for railroads.
e. North-South sectional differences prevented Congress from selecting a route.

e. North-South sectional differences prevented Congress from selecting a route.

Thomas Alva Edison invented the:

a. first lightbulb.
b. air brake for trains.
c. heavier-than-air airplane.
d. telephone.
e. mechanized cotton textile weaver.

a. first lightbulb.

When it came to steel, Andrew Carnegie did all of the following EXCEPT:

a. promote it.
b. have technical expertise in it.
c. sell it.
d. know how to organize a steel company.
e. hire men of expert ability to help him run his business.

b. have technical expertise in it.

J. Pierpont Morgan is distinguished from business leaders such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller because he was the only one:

a. who had a rags-to-riches story.
b. who was foreign-born.
c. who came from an elite, privileged background.
d. who made millions with his investments.
e. who supported unions.

c. who came from an elite, privileged background.

During the Gilded Age, the rich were getting richer and:

a. the poor were getting poorer.
b. everyone was getting rich.
c. many other people were at least better off.
d. there were no disparities in the distribution of wealth.
e. rags-to-riches stories abounded.

c. many other people were at least better off.

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877:

a. was led by Samuel Gompers.
b. won higher wages for railroad workers.
c. did not have support of the public at first, but as the strike (and its violence) spread, so did public sympathy for the strikers.
d. ended when the workers, who lacked organized bargaining power, returned to work.
e. began when Irish workers refused to work alongside Chinese.

d. ended when the workers, who lacked organized bargaining power, returned to work.

The Knights of Labor declined for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

a. popular fears that the organization was too radical.
b. its leader Terence Powderly died.
c. the Haymarket affair discredited the union.
d. its leadership was devoted more to reform than to the nuts and bolts of organization.
e. their preoccupation with local politics.

b. its leader Terence Powderly died.

Membership in the American Federation of Labor at first:

a. reflected the growing membership of agricultural workers.
b. grew rapidly.
c. was primarily African American.
d. reflected the growing membership of the unskilled worker.
e. grew slowly.

e. grew slowly.

How did the American Federation of Labor differ from the Knights of Labor?

a. The AFL was socialist while the Knights were capitalists.
b. The AFL was a federation of national organizations, each of which retained a large degree of autonomy, while the Knights organization was more centralized.
c. The AFL was controlled by anarchists, while the Knights were statists.
d. The AFL had no national leader, while the Knights looked to Terence Powderly.
e. The AFL was affiliated with Republicans, while the Knights supported Democrats.

b. The AFL was a federation of national organizations, each of which retained a large degree of autonomy, while the Knights organization was more centralized.

All of the following statements are true of the Pinkertons EXCEPT:

a. they were a detective agency.
b. they relied on Chinese labor to fill their ranks.
c. they busted unions.
d. they were hired to end the Homestead strike.
e. they won every battle they were sent into.

b. they relied on Chinese labor to fill their ranks.

Why were mail cars connected to the Pullman cars during the Pullman strike?

a. to enable the strikers to create as big a disruption as possible
b. to allow President Grover Cleveland to express his support for the union
c. to justify federal intervention to end the strike by allowing railroad executives to claim the strike interfered with the mail
d. to allow union leaders throughout the country to exchange correspondence during the strike
e. to prevent anarchists from communicating with the strikers

c. to justify federal intervention to end the strike by allowing railroad executives to claim the strike interfered with the mail

One method that executives used to fight unions was:

a. discredit them.
b. deport their leaders.
c. infiltrate them with spies.
d. use the government.
e. murder their leaders.

d. use the government.

The major champion of the New South gospel was:

a. J. L. M. Curry.
b. Henry W. Grady.
c. John Ruffin Green.
d. Edmund Ruffin.
e. C. Vann Woodward.

b. Henry W. Grady.

Proponents of the New South believed that the South should:

a. eliminate agriculture.
b. form a separate union.
c. industrialize.
d. be dominated by planter aristocrats.
e. encourage immigration of cheap labor.

c. industrialize.

In the late 1800s, the South experienced major increases in the production of all of the following areas EXCEPT:

a. automobiles.
b. lumber.
c. tobacco products.
d. coal.
e. textiles.

a. automobiles.

Why was Alabama named the "Pittsburgh of the South"?

a. It was an iron center.
b. It had pirates.
c. It was Andrew Carnegie’s birthplace.
d. It lacked racial segregation.
e. It had the same population size as Pittsburgh.

a. It was an iron center.

Who was a prominent tobacco executive in the South during the late nineteenth century?

a. H. L. Mencken
b. Joe Camel
c. James Buchanan Duke
d. Henry Grady
e. Roy Bean

c. James Buchanan Duke

The postwar South suffered from an acute shortage of:

a. capital.
b. labor.
c. cotton.
d. domestic help.
e. water.

a. capital.

Redeemers were all of the following EXCEPT:

a. conservative.
b. pro-business.
c. members of the Republican party.
d. white politicians.
e. members of the Democratic party.

c. members of the Republican party.

The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was:

a. declared constitutional.
b. placed under the jurisdiction of the court.
c. declared unconstitutional.
d. endorsed by the Democratic party.
e. replaced by the Civil Rights Act of 1876.

c. declared unconstitutional.

What was a "fifty-niner"?

a. a cowboy on the verge of mandatory retirement at age sixty
b. a congressional representative from frontier district fifty-nine
c. someone in the 1870s who lived beyond the average life expectancy of fifty-eight
d. a miner who came to Colorado following several new discoveries made in 1859
e. someone who played from the first organized sports franchise based in California

d. a miner who came to Colorado following several new discoveries made in 1859

Why was the Fort Laramie Treaty, signed in 1851, significant to westward expansion?

a. It ended the Indian Wars.
b. It removed the remaining Indians to reservations.
c. It allowed white emigrants to travel on the trails of Plains Indians unmolested.
d. It stated that Indian reservations could apply for statehood.
e. It limited white emigration to 10,000 people per year.

c. It allowed white emigrants to travel on the trails of Plains Indians unmolested.

The Indian Tribe that defeated Custer and put up the greatest resistance U.S. domination was the:

a. Apache.
b. Comanche.
c. Crow.
d. Sioux.
e. Blackfoot.

d. Sioux.

As railroads spread into Texas and across the plains, the cattle business:

a. spread with them.
b. diminished in significance.
c. went bankrupt.
d. experienced no significant impact.
e. was taken over by southerners.

a. spread with them.

In much of the nineteenth century, women in Texas were legally prohibited from:

a. serving on juries.
b. farming.
c. getting any education.
d. getting married.
e. suing for divorce.

a. serving on juries.

One of the reasons mass transit was significant to developing cities was because:

a. it increased the reliance on horse-drawn transportation.
b. it allowed larger numbers of people to become commuters and live away from the central city.
c. it stifled the growth of the city by drawing jobs to the periphery.
d. it prevented parks from being built inside city limits.
e. it kept the population of women living in the city very low.

b. it allowed larger numbers of people to become commuters and live away from the central city.

The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act:

a. provided for appointments only in the postal service.
b. was signed into law by James Garfield.
c. was vetoed as "an unconstitutional intrusion of government into the private sphere" by Benjamin Harrison.
d. set up the first racial quotas for government service jobs.
e. provided for appointment to a number of government jobs on the basis of competitive exams.

e. provided for appointment to a number of government jobs on the basis of competitive exams.

After 1890, most immigrants were:

a. from northern and western Europe.
b. from southern and eastern Europe.
c. of Teutonic and Celtic origin.
d. from Mexico.
e. members of the professional class.

b. from southern and eastern Europe.

The exclusion of Chinese immigrants:

a. came only after the exclusion of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe.
b. came only after the exclusion of immigrants from northern and western Europe.
c. was opposed by white workers in the Far West.
d. was supported by President Chester A. Arthur.
e. originally called for a ten-year term.

e. originally called for a ten-year term.

In the late nineteenth century, the least likely place you would find a woman spending her leisure time was:

a. at the movies.
b. on a bicycle.
c. at a saloon.
d. at a public park.
e. at a dance hall.

c. at a saloon.

Commodity prices during the Gilded Age declined in large part because of:

a. rampant inflation.
b. overproduction and international competition in world markets.
c. "free-silver" policies.
d. low American tariff rates.
e. lazy farmers.

b. overproduction and international competition in world markets.

Herbert Spencer:

a. coined the phrase "survival of the fittest."
b. was the influential president of Harvard University.
c. invented the modern game of basketball.
d. was the first person to earn a Ph.D. from an American university.
e. cowrote On the Origin of Species with Charles Darwin.

a. coined the phrase "survival of the fittest."

"Equal rights for all, special privileges to none" was the slogan of the:

a. Farmers’ Alliance.
b. Democrats.
c. Southern Alliance.
d. Republicans.
e. Greenback Party.

c. Southern Alliance.

The main idea of reform Darwinism was that:

a. humans, made in the image of God, should not be included among the animals when discussing Darwinism.
b. government should not interfere with business.
c. cooperation, not competition, would best promote progress.
d. man continued to evolve according to Darwin’s principles of natural selection.
e. for society to truly reform, any "imitation" of welfare must cease.

c. cooperation, not competition, would best promote progress.

Realists’ emphasis on closely observing everyday life grew out of:

a. transcendentalism.
b. reform Darwinism.
c. social Darwinism.
d. socialism.
e. the scientific spirit.

e. the scientific spirit.

All of the following statements are reasons why child labor was problematic EXCEPT:

a. child laborers took well-paying jobs from legal immigrants.
b. child laborers often received no education.
c. children suffered three times as many accidents as adults.
d. a child working in a textile mill was only half as likely to reach the age of twenty as a child outside a mill.
e. the few child labor laws that existed were rarely enforced and often ignored.

a. child laborers took well-paying jobs from legal immigrants.

All of the following groups were prominent in the West during the late nineteenth century EXCEPT:

a. Exodusters.
b. cowboys.
c. slaves.
d. miners.
e. Indians.

c. slaves.

Congress passed the Homestead Act:

a. because the big ranchers lobbied for it.
b. to encourage settlement of the western lands.
c. to encourage the railroads to build a transcontinental road out of the north.
d. to place Indians on reservations.
e. to build militias in Indian country.

b. to encourage settlement of the western lands.

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was significant in American immigration history because it:

a. sent all the Chinese immigrants in the United States back to China.
b. was the first federal law to restrict immigration on the basis of race and class.
c. was the first time Congress was unable to override a presidential veto of an immigration law.
d. denied citizenship to any Chinese born in the United States.
e. removed all restrictions from American immigration law.

b. was the first federal law to restrict immigration on the basis of race and class.

Benjamin Harrison lost the popular vote in the 1888 election. How was he able to win the presidency?

a. Corruption by the political machines affected the outcome.
b. His opponent died before he could take office.
c. He ran in and won the 1892 election.
d. He earned a majority of the electoral votes.
e. The House of Representatives voted to overturn the election results.

d. He earned a majority of the electoral votes.

Western imperialism in the late nineteenth century was stimulated by all of the following EXCEPT:

a. an ongoing quest for markets.
b. notions of racial superiority.
c. the desire to Christianize Africa and Asia.
d. an ongoing quest for raw materials.
e. the fear that Bolshevik ideas might advance around the globe.

e. the fear that Bolshevik ideas might advance around the globe.

Alfred Thayer Mahan:

a. argued that sea power was essential to national greatness.
b. was little known until Roosevelt read his work.
c. was a German who influenced American imperial thought.
d. thought a canal in Central America was a waste of money.
e. published his best-known book during the Civil War.

a. argued that sea power was essential to national greatness.

One reason the United States went to war against Spain was that:

a. the leaders of the Democratic party pushed for war.
b. Cuban cigar manufacturers in Florida insisted that war was necessary to protect their markets.
c. there was strong support among the American people for going to war.
d. the shipping profiteers in New England believed their prosperity depended on war.
e. Theodore Roosevelt insisted his corollary to the Monroe Doctrine demanded war.

c. there was strong support among the American people for going to war.

As a result of Japan’s show of strength in the Russo-Japanese War:

a. America was quick to send money and support troops to aid Russia.
b. Congress voted financial and military aid to Korea to help prevent a Japanese invasion of the Korean peninsula.
c. Congress lifted the limitations it had previously set on Japanese immigration.
d. Americans began to doubt the security of the Philippines.
e. Americans cut a deal with Korea to protect the Open Door.

d. Americans began to doubt the security of the Philippines.

The National Child Labor Committee pushed:

a. to allow as many immigrant children to enter the workforce as possible.
b. to open more technical schools.
c. federal legislation allowing children to work more hours.
d. for laws banning the widespread employment of young children.
e. for mandatory scholarships for employees’ children.

d. for laws banning the widespread employment of young children.

Contrary to his party’s tradition, President Taft called for:

a. a moderately high tariff.
b. no tariff.
c. a lower tariff.
d. a high tariff only on luxury items.
e. a drastically higher inheritance tax.

c. a lower tariff.

President Taft’s domestic policies generated a storm of controversy:

a. overseas.
b. within the Democratic party.
c. within the Progressive party.
d. within his own party.
e. in the military.

d. within his own party.

As a result of the Brownsville Riot in 1906:

a. Roosevelt supported the African American soldiers.
b. Roosevelt discharged the entire regiment of African American soldiers.
c. Congress impeached Roosevelt.
d. Congress protested Roosevelt’s actions.
e. The state of Texas discharged the entire African American regiment.

b. Roosevelt discharged the entire regiment of African American soldiers.

During the presidential election of 1916, the Republicans:

a. nominated Theodore Roosevelt.
b. lost by a small margin.
c. nominated Woodrow Wilson.
d. won by a large margin.
e. blew their chances when they did not allow the progressives to support Hughes.

b. lost by a small margin.

The Zimmerman telegram:

a. urged the Mexican government to invade the United States.
b. announced Germany’s decision to wage unrestricted submarine warfare.
c. announced the addition of three countries to the Central Powers.
d. caused the United States to break diplomatic relations with Germany.
e. tipped off J. Edgar Hoover that Germans had infiltrated the FBI.

a. urged the Mexican government to invade the United States.

What was the major cause of the East St. Louis riot in 1917?

a. Racial tension over employment in a defense factory sparked the riot.
b. A white man was accused of murdering an African-American child.
c. An African American was accused of rape.
d. There was a misunderstanding of the homeowners’ restrictive clauses.
e. Black members of the National Guard were told not to wear their uniforms.

a. Racial tension over employment in a defense factory sparked the riot.

What was the major cause of the Chicago riot in 1919?

a. Whites were angered by the influx of southern blacks into their communities.
b. A white man was accused of murdering an African-American child.
c. An African American was accused of rape.
d. There was a misunderstanding of the homeowners’ restrictive clauses.
e. Black members of the National Guard were told not to wear their uniforms.

a. Whites were angered by the influx of southern blacks into their communities.

The Red Scare of 1919-1920 was directed against:

a. the Ku Klux Klan.
b. blacks.
c. labor unions.
d. communists.
e. Germans.

d. communists.

The U.S. military effort in France:

a. helped turn back several German offensives.
b. had little, if any, significance.
c. resulted in millions of American casualties.
d. was commanded by Herbert Hoover.
e. showed that small, elite fighting forces were more effective than trench warfare.

a. helped turn back several German offensives.

To what did Wilson refer when he spoke of "the heart of the League"?

a. the League of Nations army, which would enforce peace
b. the Permanent Court of Justice, which would rule on international disputes
c. Article X, which would pledge members to consult on military and economic sanctions against aggressors
d. the Assembly, which would allow each League member an equal voice
e. the idea of a "moral compass held by God"

c. Article X, which would pledge members to consult on military and economic sanctions against aggressors

The German delegation at Versailles objected most bitterly to:

a. reparations for the entire war.
b. the reparations to be paid to the United States.
c. reparations for only civilian damages.
d. France’s attempt to kidnap the kaiser.
e. England’s attempt to arrest a young politician named Adolf Hitler.

a. reparations for the entire war.

Why did Wilson travel around the country giving speeches in 1919?

a. He wanted to set the stage for his reelection campaign in 1920.
b. He wanted to drum up support for his version of the war treaty.
c. He wanted to garner support for the second Selective Service Act.
d. He wanted to make sure that Henry Cabot Lodge did not become the next president.
e. He wanted to help Herbert Hoover get elected as his successor.

b. He wanted to drum up support for his version of the war treaty.

The NAACP emphasized:

a. enforcement of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution.
b. the formation of a black political party.
c. vocational and technical education.
d. Du Bois’s concept of supporting the Talented Tenth.
e. strictly black membership.

a. enforcement of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution.

Charles A. Lindbergh Jr., a St. Louis-based mail pilot, made the first solo transatlantic flight, traveling from New York to Paris in:

a. 1929.
b. 1928.
c. 1926.
d. 1920.
e. 1927.

e. 1927.

In physics, the theory of relativity was developed and explained by:

a. Albert Einstein.
b. Isaac Newton.
c. Max Planck.
d. Werner Heisenberg.
e. Sir Francis Bacon.

a. Albert Einstein.

Gertrude Stein was a(n):

a. disc jockey.
b. Dada artist.
c. experimentalist poet.
d. freedom fighter in World War I.
e. member of congress.

c. experimentalist poet.

Which court case or legal action brought the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments back to life?

a. Abrams v. United States (1919)
b. Schenck v. United States (1919)
c. Buchanan v. Worley (1917)
d. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
e. Guinn vs. United States (1915)

e. Guinn vs. United States (1915)

The result in the presidential election of 1920 might be attributed to:

a. the smear campaign directed against Democratic candidate A. Mitchell Palmer.
b. the fact that Americans in the 1920s were "tired of issues, sick at heart of ideals, and weary of being noble."
c. southerners who expressed their displeasure at President Wilson’s policies by voting Republican.
d. the lack of women voters in that election.
e. all of the above.

b. the fact that Americans in the 1920s were "tired of issues, sick at heart of ideals, and weary of being noble."

Harding’s secretary of the Treasury:

a. favored retaining the high wartime level of taxation to build up the public treasury.
b. favored a reduction of the high wartime level of taxation, but mainly for the rich.
c. favored a reduction of the high wartime level of taxation, but mainly for the poor and middle class.
d. persuaded Congress to drop the personal income tax instituted under Wilson.
e. supported calling in all loans to Europe.

b. favored a reduction of the high wartime level of taxation, but mainly for the rich.

Harding’s administration is most remembered for:

a. the fact that he died while in office.
b. the poor state of the economy while he was president.
c. his promotion of the arts and culture.
d. the scandals that plagued it.
e. its overwhelming popularity with the American people.

d. the scandals that plagued it.

In 1928, Democratic presidential nominee Alfred E. Smith was hurt by the the fact that he was a(n):

a. New Yorker and a Roman Catholic.
b. boring public speaker.
c. member of the Ku Klux Klan.
d. supporter of Prohibition.
e. actor.

a. New Yorker and a Roman Catholic.

On March 12, in the first of his radio-broadcast "fireside chats," the president:

a. promised to push through a bank bailout bill worth more than $7 billion.
b. announced he would use his emergency powers to nationalize the banking industry.
c. ordered strict limits on the issuance of paper currency.
d. ordered the Federal Reserve Board to lower interest rates.
e. assured the 60 million Americans listening that it was safer to "keep your money in a reopened bank than under the mattress."

e. assured the 60 million Americans listening that it was safer to "keep your money in a reopened bank than under the mattress."

South Carolina Senator Ellison "Cotton Ed" Smith:

a. was FDR’s staunchest ally in the South.
b. was appointed head of the Public Works Administration.
c. was Huey Long’s running mate for vice president in 1936.
d. cringed at the thought of Roosevelt running for a fourth term.
e. came up with the term "New Deal."

d. cringed at the thought of Roosevelt running for a fourth term.

The Tennessee Valley Authority, as a multipurpose public corporation, included all of the following states EXCEPT:

a. Louisiana.
b. Alabama.
c. Georgia.
d. Illinois.
e. Kentucky.

a. Louisiana.

Because of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Tennessee River became:

a. the water source for Atlanta, Birmingham, Nashville, and hundreds of small towns.
b. known as the "Great Lakes of the South."
c. the most polluted river in the nation.
d. known as "the Southern Snake."
e. "politicized nature," as Alabama refused to accept "socialized electricity."

b. known as the "Great Lakes of the South."

The dust bowl can be associated with:

a. large migrations from the impacted area to the Atlantic coast.
b. terrible storms that plagued the Great Basin.
c. a severe blow to farmers in Illinois, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
d. the blowing away of millions of acres of topsoil.
e. a famous movie made by the Works Progress Administration filmmaker Ansel Adams.

d. the blowing away of millions of acres of topsoil.

The Indian Reorganization Act:

a. attempted to reinvigorate traditional Indian cultures.
b. broke up tribal lands and allocated them to individuals.
c. had the support of western congressmen and assimilated Indians.
d. was the brainchild of Henry Dawes.
e. reorganized tribal leaders into nonvoting members of Congress.

a. attempted to reinvigorate traditional Indian cultures.

Which of the following refused to apply for a social security card?

a. Alfred E. Smith
b. Herbert Hoover
c. Theodore Roosevelt
d. Franklin D. Roosevelt
e. Eugene Debs

b. Herbert Hoover

During the 1936 election, Roosevelt wound up carrying every state except:

a. Maine and Ohio.
b. Iowa and Vermont.
c. Maine and Vermont.
d. New Jersey and Florida.
e. Utah and Texas.

c. Maine and Vermont.

A significant economic problem during the war was:

a. finding enough workers for the essential wartime industries.
b. overcoming high unemployment that lingered from the Depression.
c. dealing with deflationary pressures that killed consumer demand.
d. women refusing to work in wartime industries.
e. raising low wages.

a. finding enough workers for the essential wartime industries.

The mobilization of women in the labor force during World War II:

a. led to a significant increase of American women joining the labor force.
b. did not include women serving in the armed forces.
c. has been greatly exaggerated and distorted beyond its real significance.
d. only impacted minorities and immigrants.
e. occurred in all Allied nations except in the United States.

a. led to a significant increase of American women joining the labor force.

Which statement best describes the Native American experience in the armed forces during World War II?

a. Native American servicemen fought in segregated units with African Americans.
b. Native American servicemen were integrated into regular units.
c. Native Americans were ineligible for service in the armed forces.
d. Native Americans refused to serve in the armed forces.
e. Native Americans served but were exempt from fighting on the front lines.

b. Native American servicemen were integrated into regular units.

Following the defeat of Germany:

a. came the shocking realization of the full extent of the Holocaust.
b. Hitler was executed after his conviction of war crimes.
c. the Prussian monarchy was restored to the German throne.
d. the Allies established a unified liberal democratic government with its capital in Berlin.
e. Franklin Roosevelt died in office.

a. came the shocking realization of the full extent of the Holocaust.

The Potsdam Declaration:

a. accepted the Japanese surrender and allowed the emperor to remain on the throne "subordinate to the authority of the Allied occupation."
b. is the formal name for the Soviet Union’s declaration of war against Japan.
c. threatened that Hiroshima and Nagasaki faced an "atomic holocaust" if Japan did not surrender.
d. presented Japan’s terms for surrendering to the Allied powers.
e. demanded that Japan surrender or face "prompt and utter destruction."

e. demanded that Japan surrender or face "prompt and utter destruction."

What was the significance of the use of atomic bombs against Japan?

a. They prevented the Soviets from entering the war in Asia.
b. They shocked Germany into surrendering before facing the same fate.
c. They killed the Japanese emperor and paved the way for surrender.
d. They allowed the Americans to avoid an amphibious invasion of Japan.
e. They rendered the entire island of Honshu uninhabitable for twenty-three years.

d. They allowed the Americans to avoid an amphibious invasion of Japan.

When confronted with a railroad strike in 1946, President Truman’s response was to:

a. declare martial law.
b. threaten to draft the strikers.
c. say government had no role in labor-management disputes.
d. break the strike with unemployed veterans.
e. freeze transportation with energy prices.

b. threaten to draft the strikers.

The secretary of state who devised the plan of massive economic recovery aid to Europe was:

a. Dean Acheson.
b. George Marshall.
c. James F. Byrnes.
d. George Kennan.
e. Averell Harriman.

b. George Marshall.

The 1948 election is probably most remembered for:

a. Truman’s upset victory.
b. Dewey’s energetic campaign.
c. the new use of polls and television.
d. the racism of the Dixiecrats.
e. the poor showing of Henry Wallace.

a. Truman’s upset victory.

The second-place finisher in the 1948 election was:

a. Strom Thurmond.
b. Thomas Dewey.
c. Henry Wallace.
d. Harry Truman.
e. George Marshall.

b. Thomas Dewey.

Truman viewed his victory as a mandate for:

a. socialism.
b. bipartisanship.
c. the status quo.
d. liberalism.
e. thoughtful conservatism.

d. liberalism.

The Soviet acquisition of the atomic bomb in 1949 inspired Truman to:

a. arrange a summit conference with Stalin.
b. order the resumption of the military draft.
c. order the development of a hydrogen bomb.
d. see the folly of the nuclear-arms race.
e. arm American submarines with nuclear missiles.

c. order the development of a hydrogen bomb.

All of the following countries were physically devastated during World II EXCEPT:

a. Great Britain.
b. France.
c. Japan.
d. the United States.
e. Germany.

d. the United States.

The First Indochina War ended when the French suffered a major defeat at:

a. Dien Bien Phu.
b. Hanoi.
c. Saigon.
d. Taipei.
e. Khe Sanh.

a. Dien Bien Phu.

After the war, Americans were most eager to:

a. purchase.
b. save.
c. travel.
d. pursue education.
e. work overtime.

a. purchase.

In the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, decision, the Supreme Court:

a. was closely divided.
b. ordered an immediate end to Jim Crow segregation.
c. rejected the legal arguments of the National Association for the Advancement of Color People.
d. struck down "separate but equal" in public education.
e. recognized the high quality of black schools in the South.

d. struck down "separate but equal" in public education.

Which of the following is NOT true of the GI Bill?

a. It caused a dramatic increase in college enrollments.
b. It enabled many veterans to buy new homes.
c. Its huge cost did not justify its benefits.
d. It led to the creation of the Veterans Administration.
e. It is also known as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act.

c. Its huge cost did not justify its benefits.

Suburban growth was spurred by all of the following EXCEPT:

a. federally insured loans.
b. highway construction.
c. increases in car ownership.
d. veterans’ benefits.
e. new construction of mass public transportation.

e. new construction of mass public transportation.

The nation’s suburban population by 1970 was overwhelmingly:

a. elderly.
b. in the Northeast.
c. upper class.
d. white.
e. Democratic.

d. white.

By the mid-1950s, an increasing number of workers:

a. were self-employed.
b. did mental rather than physical labor.
c. were industrial wage laborers.
d. worked in small businesses.
e. were discontented and rebellious

b. did mental rather than physical labor.

Richard Nixon:

a. had limited political experience when he ran for president in 1960.
b. possessed a shrewd intelligence and a compulsive love for combative politics.
c. like John F. Kennedy, came from a wealthy family.
d. did not have the intellectual depth to be president.
e. was politically damaged by his service as vice president due to Eisenhower’s unpopularity when his presidency ended.

b. possessed a shrewd intelligence and a compulsive love for combative politics.

The strongest and most visible opposition to Diem’s government was led by:

a. Buddhists.
b. Socialists.
c. Muslims.
d. American diplomats.
e. French-speaking Vietnamese elites.

a. Buddhists.

Kennedy’s successor as president, Lyndon Johnson:

a. had a humble and modest character.
b. was a fairly typical southern conservative.
c. may have been involved in the assassination.
d. like Kennedy, had been born into wealth and privilege.
e. genuinely cared about the disadvantaged in society.

e. genuinely cared about the disadvantaged in society.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964:

a. outlawed segregation in public facilities.
b. strengthened the Democratic party in the South.
c. was reluctantly supported by Johnson.
d. passed Congress with minimal opposition.
e. ended racism in the United States.

a. outlawed segregation in public facilities.

Malcolm X:

a. said blacks should be proud of their African heritage.
b. was killed by a white racist during a speech in Harlem.
c. headed the Black Panthers.
d. supported the nonviolent tactics of Martin Luther King Jr.
e. was a militant black Christian.

a. said blacks should be proud of their African heritage.

At the Altamont concert in 1969:

a. the Hells Angels killed a man in front of the stage.
b. the Beatles gave their last performance.
c. the violence of the hippies was fully displayed.
d. a huge crowd enjoyed three days of "peace and music."
e. the Rolling stones recorded live their most classic psychedelic album.

a. the Hells Angels killed a man in front of the stage.

One major impetus behind the rise of a Native American rights movement was the:

a. effective work of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
b. interest of many Americans in Indian history.
c. realization of Indians that their votes could swing elections in several states.
d. fact that Indians were still not recognized as citizens.
e. terrible levels of poverty that persisted in the Indian population.

e. terrible levels of poverty that persisted in the Indian population.

The figure who most influenced Nixon’s foreign policy was:

a. General Alexander Haig.
b. Robert McNamara.
c. Henry Kissinger.
d. William Rogers.
e. Bob Haldeman.

c. Henry Kissinger.

The "silent majority":

a. quietly approved of the social and cultural changes of the 1960s.
b. was anti-Vietnam War, though not involved in open protest.
c. was growing weaker by the early 1970s.
d. were not fans of TV’s Archie Bunker.
e. supported politicians like Richard Nixon.

e. supported politicians like Richard Nixon.

In April 1970, Nixon extended the war when he sent troops into:

a. Laos.
b. China.
c. Cambodia.
d. Thailand.
e. North Vietnam.

c. Cambodia.

Shocking events at Kent State University involved:

a. a fight between anti-war students and construction workers.
b. the killing of four students by the National Guard.
c. violence when police broke up a student strike.
d. several deaths when students exploded a bomb in the ROTC building.
e. student attacks on conservative, pro-war professors.

b. the killing of four students by the National Guard.

Nixon’s new relationship with China was made possible by:

a. the discovery of China’s vast oil deposits.
b. China’s growing fear of the Soviet Union.
c. Nixon’s landslide reelection in 1972.
d. the American public’s more favorable attitude toward communism.
e. the removal of Vietnam as a source of division between the United States and China.

b. China’s growing fear of the Soviet Union.

On the domestic front, Carter’s most notable shortcoming was:

a. providing amnesty for draft evaders.
b. failing to deal adequately with an energy crisis.
c. not putting a stop to government corruption.
d. opposing new initiatives to protect the environment.
e. trying to slow progress on civil rights.

b. failing to deal adequately with an energy crisis.

The Camp David Accords involved all of the following EXCEPT:

a. Egypt’s diplomatic recognition of Israel.
b. the creation of a Palestinian state on the West Bank.
c. intense negotiations among Carter, Sadat, and Begin.
d. Israel’s return of the Sinai to Egypt.
e. massive anger resulting toward Sadat in the Arab world.

b. the creation of a Palestinian state on the West Bank.

Reagan’s experience as an actor:

a. helps explain his skill as a public speaker.
b. was irrelevant once he entered politics.
c. had been limited to a few performances on radio.
d. helped him master policy details.
e. caused conservative Christians to view him with suspicion given the immorality of Hollywood.

a. helps explain his skill as a public speaker.

Most likely to support the Moral Majority would be:

a. science teachers.
b. Californians.
c. evangelical Christians.
d. college-educated women.
e. Episcopalians.

c. evangelical Christians.

Bush’s goal as president seemed to be to:

a. pursue his own ambitious legislative agenda.
b. wipe out the Democratic opposition.
c. consolidate Reagan’s policies and achievements.
d. be a Kennedy-like inspirational leader.
e. establish a dynasty of Bushes in the White House.

c. consolidate Reagan’s policies and achievements.

One of President Bush’s major domestic successes was:

a. eliminating poverty.
b. significantly reducing drug use.
c. assisting people with disabilities.
d. reducing taxes.
e. paying off the deficit.

c. assisting people with disabilities.

In late 1989, all of the Communist regimes of Eastern Europe toppled bloodlessly EXCEPT that of:

a. East Germany.
b. Poland.
c. Bulgaria.
d. Czechoslovakia.
e. Romania.

e. Romania.

By 2015, the largest number of legal immigrants to the United States came from:

a. Canada.
b. Mexico.
c. India.
d. Korea.
e. Nigeria.

b. Mexico.

The politician who led the Republican takeover of Congress in the mid-1990s was:

a. Kenneth Starr.
b. Newt Gingrich.
c. Dick Cheney.
d. Pat Buchanan.
e. Alan Greenspan.

b. Newt Gingrich.

In 1999, NATO air strikes helped stop "ethnic cleansing" in:

a. Bosnia.
b. Somalia.
c. Haiti.
d. Kosovo.
e. Northern Ireland.

d. Kosovo.

Bush’s major legislative victory in 2001 came with Congress’s passage of:

a. new environmental regulations.
b. health-care reform.
c. term limits.
d. a tax cut.
e. banking industry regulation.

d. a tax cut.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, did all of the following EXCEPT:

a. paralyze the United States in fear and disunity.
b. force desperate people who worked in the skyscrapers to jump to their deaths.
c. include the Pentagon as a target.
d. destroy the twin towers of the World Trade Center.
e. turn the lower end of Manhattan into a hellish scene.

a. paralyze the United States in fear and disunity.

The Occupy Wall Street protesters excelled at creative:

a. legislation.
b. public relations.
c. accounting.
d. protests in rural America.
e. disruption.

e. disruption.

The housing-industry crash in 2007:

a. affected only some reckless speculators.
b. proved the virtue of free-market capitalism.
c. sent bank profits soaring, given all the homes they were able to acquire through foreclosure.
d. froze credit and provoked a recession.
e. had long been predicted by the Bush administration.

d. froze credit and provoked a recession.