American History Students Review
Review Exam for Students by
Presidential Administrations.
Comments and Directions: This type of review is interesting but excludes a major part of the early and formative period in American History. Naturally, the colonial era is included on the AP Exam and so a review of that 170 year period (1620-1790) needs to take place by the students in addition to this review. One might call this period of review, “The Constitutional Era of Review” since it dates from the implementation of the American Constitution.
George Washington:
1. Everything President Washington did set a precedent for later American Presidents. Which area of presidential precedent have historians determined to be his most significant precedent?
A) Providing for civilian control of the military
B) Nominations to the Supreme Court
C) Exert effective control over organization of Congress
D) Establishment of the presidential cabinet
E) Establish the existence and function of political parties
2. Which of the following presidential advisers to Washington is mis-matched with the function he performed in the Washington Administration?
A) Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State?
B) Alexander Hamilton as Treasury Secretary
C) Henry Knox as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
D) Benjamin Franklin as Postmaster General
E) John Adams as Vice President
3. What major crop would radically affect the economy of the nation forever after it was introduced during the Washington Administration in 1792?
A) Soybeans
B) Wheat
C) Sugar
D) Tobacco
E) Cotton
4. Alexander Hamilton became the financial wizard of the Washington Administration by recommending several economic moves. Among these was a bill of assumption to be paid by 8% tariff and…
A) Raising the prices on western land sales
B) Excise tax on whiskey production
C) Income tax on the very wealthy
D) Head tax on slaves sold at auction
E) Selling surplus military equipment from the Revolution
5. In Washington’s “Farewell Address to the Nation” he pointedly warned against the…
A) Establishment of permanent alliances with foreign nations.
B) Evils of society which provided for permanent slavery
C) Right to vote for women and women and minorities
D) Evils of revolution
E) Establishment of sectionalism over national unity.
John Adams:
6. John Adams played a major role in ALL OF THE FOLLOWING EVENTS EXCEPT:
A) Delegate to the Declaration of Independence
B) Serving as cabinet member to George Washington
C) Leader of the Constitutional Convention
D) Vice President of the U.S.
E) Signed the Alien & Seditions Acts into law during his administration
7. Which of the following treaties was the one in which the resolution of the Revolution of 1800 was made under the leadership of John Adams?
A) Treaty of Joinville
B) Treaty of Boudreaux
C) Treaty of Reims
D) Treaty of Mortefontaine
E) Treaty of Paris 1803
8. John Adams held a firm, consistent, and almost blind proclivity for which of the following nations of Europe?
A) Great Britain
B) Spain
C) France
D) Italy
E) Germany
9. Which of the following exclamations did John Adams give voice when he heard about the XYZ Affair?
A) “We will not be held with hoops of steel to the anarchy of the French!”
B) “These are times that try men’s souls!”
C) “Caesar had his Brutus, and Napoleon may have his Robespierre!”
D) “I regret that I have but one life to give for my country!”
E) “We will spend millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute!”
10. The two issues that faced John Adams during his Presidential Administration were the Alien & Sedition Acts and…
A) French Revolution
B) Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
C) Assassination of Alexander Hamilton
D) Establishment of the Whiskey Tax
E) The Embargo Act
Thomas Jefferson:
11. Thomas Jefferson’s vision of the good society included ALL OF THE FOLLOWING EXECPT:
A) An agrarian society
B) A citizenry of virtuous independent farmers
C) A national government with limited powers
D) An economy that relied on the national government to provide subsidies
E) A society based upon education, agriculture, and politics.
12. The issue upon which Jefferson changed his view of strict construction of the Constitution was:
A) The Lewis and Clark Expedition and Louisiana Purchase
B) The issues involving slavery in 1808
C) The conflicts of opinions he had with Chief Justice John Marshall
D) The destruction of the national bank by Albert Gallatin
E) The writing of the Declaration of Independence
13. According to Thomas Jefferson, which of the following was most vital to the security of the United States in 1803?
A) Cuba
B) Nova Scotia
C) New Orleans
D) Florida
E) Columbia River
14. In his first inaugural address Jefferson was pledged to the task of
A) Strengthening the military
B) Jailing all subversives of the government of the U.S.
C) Repudiating the debt of the United States
D) Reconciling political differences with the Federalists
E) Sponsoring the Lewis and Clark Expedition
15. The unforeseen relocation of power within the Federal Government came as the result of…
A) Fletcher vs Peck
B) Cherokee Nation vs Georgia
C) Dartmouth College vs Woodward
D) Gibbons vs Ogden
E) Marbury vs Madison
James Madison:
16. In which of the following events does James Madison, NOT play a major and determinative role?
A) Participant in the Presidents cabinet
B) A Justice of the Supreme Court
C) Architect of the Constitution of 1787
D) A major leader of Congress until the Revolution of 1800
E) An author of the Federalist Papers
17. A rising new young and dynamic group of men elected to Congress while Madison was the President included ALL EXCEPT:
A) Daniel Webster
B) Henry Clay
C) Andrew Jackson
D) John C. Calhoun
E) Felix Grundy
18. which of the following was NOT a unique long range cause of the War of 1812?
A) Rise of slavery
B) Imperialism
C) Indian relations on the frontier
D) Impressment
E) Anti-Spanish ethnicity
19. What diplomatic conference ended the War of 1812 and thus achieved American nationalism from Britain, once and for all.
A) Treaty of Joinville
B) Treaty of Ghent
C) Treaty of San Idelfonso
D) Treaty of Paris 1815
E) Treaty of Chapultepec
20. Which of the following events expressed dissatisfaction with the War of 1812, and can be called the first American anti-war movement?
A) Treaty of Greenville
B) Treaty of Paris – 1815
C) Hartford Convention
D) Seneca Falls Convention
E) Port Huron Statement
James Monroe:
21. Which of the following events or developments happen while James Monroe was President, but, which he had very little to with their development? Which is the lone EXCEPTION to this assertion?
A) McCulloch vs Maryland
B) Development of the American System
C) Missouri Compromise
D) Dartmouth College vs Woodward
E) Recognition of Latin American Independence movements
22. The Monroe Doctrine was issued in response to
A) the threat of war with England
B) the threat of war with Austria
C) the purchase of Florida
D) the invention of the cotton gin
E) the threat of the Quadruple Alliance to reestablish Spanish Power in the Americas
23. The Monroe Doctrine, which has been the foundation of American foreign policy, was brilliant bold step taken by which of the following secretaries of state?
A) Thomas Jefferson
B) James Madison
C) James Monroe
D) John Quincy Adams
E) Henry Clay
24. The Monroe Administration was called “The Era of Good Feelings” because of
A) The absence of sectionalism
B) The dominance of one major party
C) The absence of political strife
D) The lack of important national issues
E) The disappearance of slavery on the national scene
25. Thomas Jefferson, commenting on the Missouri Compromise under James Monroe called it:
A) The compromise to save the union
B) A compact with the devil
C) A fire-bell in the night
D) Abolitionist propaganda
E) An end to slave rebellions
John Quincy Adams:
26. John Quincy Adams had the distinction of being ALL of the following EXCEPT:
A) The second one term President
B) The son of a former President
C) The first post—Revolutionary President
D) The first President to serve without an outright election of the people or House of Representatives
E) The first pro-western politician on the national scene
27. Which of the following is true of the John Q. Adams Administration?
A) Adams cabinet was one of the most able and harmonious on record
B) The nationalistic goals were to provide—education, industrialization, & transportation
C) Adams was able to win over with personality that he could not control politically
D) Except of the “Corrupt Bargain” the Adams Administration was absent of strife
E) Adams refused to use the spoils systems and dismiss public workers to fill their jobs with political supporters.
28. It has been claimed that John Q. Adams:
A) did his finest work for the American before and after he was President
B) was a week spineless politician prone to making political deals for the federalists.
C) fired John Marshall from the Supreme Court & appointed Roger Taney.
D) nationalist more than he was an internationalist.
E) political conformist rather than a creative and idealistic diplomat.
29. Which of the following historical issues did NOT occur under John Q. Adams?
A) Canal building begins spurred into reality by Henry Clay
B) South Carolina Exposition & Protest was written by Calhoun
C) Cherokee Nation vs Georgia was rendered under John Marshall
D) James Fennimore Cooper’s Last of the Mohicans was published
E) Joseph Smith establishes the Mormon religion in Kirtland, Ohio
30. John Quincy Adams was President who dealt with revolutions of ALL but which of the following?
A) transportation revolution
B) gender revolutionary issues
C) social & religious revolutions
D) diplomatic revolutions
E) market revolution
Andrew Jackson
31. Jackson was the forerunner of which late nineteenth century movement?
A) Social Darwinism
B) Imperialism
C) Populism
D) Industrialism
E) Pragmatism
32. During the Age of Jackson, democracy was characterized by which of the following changes?
A) Politicians emphasized a high education or strong qualification for the job and boasted of their upper class status or wealth.
B) The percentage of eligible voters casting ballots increased with each election as mass
mass politics became a popular activity.
C) Parties relied primarily upon mass communication tools, especially the newspaper and pamphlets.
D) Party bosses tried to clean up their acts; ridding the party of corruption, kickbacks, and the spoils system.
E) Political deals, congressional caucuses, behind the scenes manipulation were common during this era.
33. Which was the major item of debate in the election of 1828 which saw the ascension of Andrew Jackson to the Presidency?
A) Interventionist European foreign policy
B) Tariffs
C) Personalities of the candidates
D) Western land sales and prices
E) Manufacturing
34. The Tariff of 1828 provoked publication of a pamphlet called The South Carolina Exposition & Protest. This pamphlet offered what solution to the tariff dilemma?
A) Secession
B) Nullification
C) Virtual representation
D) Loose construction interpretation of the Constitution
E) Doctrine of implied powers
35. Considering the issue of government and economics, Andrew Jackson was a(n)…
A) soft money advocate
B) defender of the national debt
C) proponent of high tariffs
D) hard money advocate
E) advocate of a graduated income tax
Martin Van Buren:
36. What democratic political bureaucrat was the leader of the New York “Buck Tails?”
A) John C. Calhoun
B) Theodore Roosevelt
C) Martin Van Buren
D) Thurlow Weed
E) Gouverner Morris
37. The newly formed legislative caucus in New York led by Martin Van Buren was known as:
A) Democrats
B) Federalists
C) Loyalists
D) Copperheads
E) regency
38. The consensus “great” Whig leader of the Van Buren era was?
A) Henry Clay
B) John Quincy Adams
C) Daniel Webster
D) James K. Polk
E) Ralph Waldo Emerson
39. Which of the following events DID NOT TRANSPIRE UNDER Martin Van Buren?
A) Invention of the steel plow by John Deere
B) Massachusetts establishes state board of education
C) Whig Party organized
D) Mormon migration to Illinois
E) Independent Treasury Act was passed into law by Congress
40. Which of the following events was considered by many to be Van Buren’s major economic achievement?
A) Gold Rush to California
B) Mormon migration to Utah
C) Samuel F.B. Morse invents the telegraph
D) Large scale development of railroads
E) Steam power manufacturing begins
William Henry Harrison:/John Tyler
41. The distinguishing factors about William Henry Harrison as the President of the US were ALL EXCEPT:
A) He was a military hero//and a Congressional delegate from Ohio
B) He was the oldest man to become President//lived the shortest time in office
C) He was known as “Old Hickory//and Billy Budd
D) He was a Whig from Ohio//Governor of Indiana Territory
E) He inaugural address was the longest on record//Director of US Bank
James K. Polk:
42. The primary advocate of “Manifest Destiny” as the public policy of the United States Government was:
A) Andrew Jackson
B) James K. Polk
C) John L. O’Sullivan
D) Henry Clay
E) Thomas Hart Benton
43. James K. Polk, sent John Slidell to Mexico to:
A) purchase Texas
B) secure recognition of the Texas annexation
C) purchase California
D) end the Mexican War
E) negotiate the purchase of the Oregon Territory
44. The Oregon Treaty of 1846
A) established a boundary on the Columbia River
B) was on the whole a British victory
C) was a colossal Russian defeat
D) fulfilled Polk’s campaign slogans and promises
E) was a reasonable compromise
45. Which of the following movements did not occur in the 1844-1848 period of US History?
A) Gag Rule
B) Split of the Baptist Church into Northern and Southern Churches
C) Publication of The Essay on Civil Disobedience
D) Hawthorne writes The Scarlet Letter
E) George Morton discovers ether as anesthesia
Franklin Pierce:
46. The cotton gin is to the South as ____ is to ____