The Champs
Created in 2012 by:
Exam coordinator / DBQ:
Brandon Tepner
Answers 01-20 / Essay #1:
Elliot Hale
Answers 21-40 / Essay #2:
Erin Rosenbaum
Answers 41-60 / Essay #3:
Selby Seador
Answers 61-80 / Essay #4:
Sean Rajkowski
UNITED STATES HISTORY
SECTION I
Time – 55 minutes
80 Questions
Directions: Each of the questions or incomplete statements below is followed by five suggested answers or completions. Select the one that is best in each case and then fill in the corresponding oval on the answer sheet.
1. The Iroquois Confederacy was able to menace its Native American and European neighbors because of
a. its military alliance, sustained by political and organizational skills.
b. the Iroquois warriors’ skill with the Europeans’ muskets.
c. the scattered nature of the Iroquois settlements, which made it difficult for their enemies to defeat them.
d. the alliance with the Aztecs and Incas.
e. its use of new weapons.
2. Unlike other English voyagers to the New World, the Puritans
a. transplanted entire communities.
b. lost most of their Old World habits.
c. immigrated as individuals rather than in groups.
d. came only for religious reasons.
e. renounced their membership in the Church of England.
3. One political principle that colonial Americans came to cherish above most others was
a. the property qualification for voting.
b. one man, one vote.
c. the separation of powers.
d. self-taxation through representation.
e. restricting the right to vote to men only.
4. A key reason France needed to control the Ohio Valley was to
a. stop Spain from extending its empire.
b. help win the War of Jenkins’s Ear.
c. stop the Indian attacks on its outposts.
d. link its Canadian holdings with those of the lower Mississippi Valley.
e. be able to put more of its settlers there in order to increase farm production.
5. As a result of the French and Indian War, Great Britain
a. gained control of Louisiana.
b. became the dominant power in North America.
c. annexed the island of Cuba.
d. gained exclusive control of the slave trade.
e. all of the above.
6. When it came to the Revolution, it could be said that the American colonists were
a. eager revolutionaries.
b. up until the end wanting more than the “rights of Englishmen.”
c. little concerned about economics.
d. clearly opposed to tightening commercial bonds to the British.
e. reluctant revolutionaries.
7. The Boston Tea Party of 1773 was
a. an isolated incident.
b. directed only at the British East India Company.
c. not the only such protest to occur.
d. supported by friends of America in Britain.
e. the result of the Intolerable Acts.
8. Which individual privately advocated equality for women?
a. Betsy Ross
b. Thomas Jefferson
c. Martha Washington
d. Benjamin Franklin
e. Abigail Adams
9. France came to America’s aid in the Revolution because
a. French officials supported our cause of democracy.
b. it hoped to gain access to the American fur trade.
c. it wanted revenge against Britain.
d. it could use America to test new military tactics.
e. all of the above.
10. The Articles of Confederation left Congress unable to
a. organize development of the western lands.
b. deal with foreign affairs.
c. apportion state representation equally.
d. enforce a tax-collection program.
e. establish a postal service.
11. All of the following are guarantees provided by the Bill of Rights except
a. the right to vote for all citizens.
b. freedom of speech.
c. freedom of religion.
d. freedom of the press.
e. right to a trial by a jury.
12. In Jay’s Treaty, the British
a. pledged to stop seizing American ships.
b. released Americans from their pre-Revolutionary War debt obligations to British merchants.
c. promised to evacuate the chain of forts in the Old Northwest.
d. refused to pay damages for seizures of American ships.
e. were denied most favored nation status.
13. The main purpose of the Alien and Sedition Acts was to
a. capture French and British spies.
b. control the Federalists.
c. silence and punish critics of the Federalists.
d. keep Thomas Jefferson from becoming president.
e. provide support for the Republican party.
14. Thomas Jefferson’s presidency was characterized by his
a. unswerving conformity to Republican party principles.
b. rigid attention to formal protocol at White House gatherings.
c. moderation in the administration of public policy.
d. ruthless use of the patronage power to appoint Republicans to federal offices.
e. inability to get legislation passed by Congress.
15. Napoleon chose to sell Louisiana to the United States because
a. he had suffered misfortunes in Santo Domingo.
b. he hoped that the territory would one day help America to thwart the ambitions of the British.
c. he did not want to drive America into the arms of the British.
d. yellow fever killed many French troops.
e. all of the above.
16. After killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel, Aaron Burr
a. fled to France.
b. fled to England.
c. was arrested and found guilty of murder.
d. was arrested and found innocent of murder.
e. engaged in a plot to separate the western part of the United States from the east.
17. From a global perspective, the War of 1812 was
a. a highly significant conflict.
b. more important to Europeans than to Americans.
c. of little importance.
d. responsible for the defeat of Napoleon.
e. more important than the American Revolution.
18. The Era of Good Feelings
a. was characterized by the absence of any serious problems.
b. was noted for cooperation between the Democratic and Republican parties.
c. marked a temporary end to sectionalism.
d. was a troubled period.
e. saw the start of the Whig party.
19. As a result of the Missouri Compromise
a. there were more slave than free states in the Union.
b. slavery was outlawed in all states north of the forty-second parallel.
c. slavery was banned north of 36° 30¢ in the Louisiana Purchase territory.
d. Missouri was required to free its slaves when they reached full adulthood.
e. there were more free states than slave states in the Union.
20. At the time it was issued, the Monroe Doctrine was
a. incapable of being enforced by the United States
b. greeted with enthusiasm and gratitude in South America.
c. universally acclaimed in Britain as a great act of statesmanship.
d. welcomed with relief by European powers who feared British power in the Western Hemisphere.
e. opposed by the Whig party.
21. In the 1820s and 1830s one issue that greatly raised the political stakes was
a. economic prosperity.
b. the Peggy Eaton affair.
c. a lessening of political party organizations.
d. the demise of the Whig Party.
e. slavery.
22. The purpose behind the spoils system was
a. to press those with experience into governmental service.
b. to make politics a sideline and not a full-time business.
c. to reward political supporters with public office.
d. to reverse the trend of rotation in office.
e. the widespread encouragement of a bureaucratic office-holding class.
23. The dramatic growth of American cities between 1800 and 1860
a. led to a lower death rate.
b. contributed to a decline in the birthrate.
c. resulted in unsanitary conditions in many communities.
d. forced the federal government to slow immigration.
e. created sharp political conflict between farmers and urbanites.
24. As a result of the development of the cotton gin,
a. slavery revived and expanded.
b. American industry bought more southern cotton than did British manufacturers.
c. a nationwide depression ensued.
d. the South diversified its economy.
e. the textile industry moved to the South.
25. The Second Great Awakening tended to
a. promote religious diversity
b. reduce social class differences.
c. blur regional differences.
d. discourage church membership.
e. weaken women’s social position.
26. Women became especially active in the social reforms stimulated by the Second Great Awakening because
a. evangelical religion emphasized their spiritual dignity and religious social reform legitimized their activity outside the home.
b. they refused to accept the idea that there was a special female role in society.
c. they were looking to obtain as much power as possible.
d. many of the leading preachers and evangelists were women.
e. they saw the churches as the first institutions that needed to be reformed.
27. The plantation system of the South was
a. increasingly monopolistic.
b. efficient at utilizing natural resources.
c. financially stable.
d. attractive to European immigrants.
e. unable to expand westward.
28. The majority of southern whites owned no slaves because
a. they opposed slavery.
b. they could not afford the purchase price.
c. their urban location did not require them.
d. their racism would not allow them to work alongside African-Americans.
e. they feared the possibility of slave revolts.
29. The Wilmot Proviso
a. symbolized the burning issue of slavery in the territories.
b. gained House and Senate approval in 1846.
c. settled once and for all the issue of slavery in California.
d. allowed slavery in the territory taken from Mexico in 1848.
e. left open the issue of slavery in New Mexico and Utah.
30. The largest single addition to American territory was
a. the Louisiana Purchase.
b. the Mexican Cession.
c. the Oregon Country.
d. the Old Northwest.
e. Alaska.
31. The public liked popular sovereignty because it
a. stopped the spread of slavery.
b. fit in with the democratic tradition of self-determination.
c. provided a national solution to the problem of slavery.
d. supported the Wilmot Proviso.
e. upheld the principles of white supremacy.
32. The prime objective of Manifest Destiny in the 1850s was
a. Panama.
b. Nicaragua.
c. Cuba.
d. Hawaii.
e. the Dominican Republic.
33. Uncle Tom’s Cabin may be described as
a. a firsthand account of slavery.
b. a success only in the United States.
c. a romanticized account of slavery.
d. having little effect on the start of the Civil War.
e. a powerful political force.
34. In his raid on Harpers Ferry, John Brown intended to
a. foment a slave rebellion.
b. discredit abolitionists.
c. force the North and South to compromise on the slavery issue.
d. make Kansas a free state.
e. overthrow the federal government.
35. The greatest weakness of the South during the Civil War was its
a. military leadership.
b. navy.
c. slave population.
d. economy.
e. political system.
36. The North’s greatest strength in the Civil War was its
a. ethnic unity.
b. military leadership.
c. navy.
d. high morale.
e. economy.
37. In the Civil War, the South won the battle of
a. Vicksburg.
b. Bull Run.
c. Gettysburg.
d. Atlanta.
e. Lookout Mountain.
38. The two major battles of the Civil War fought on Union soil were
a. Shiloh and Chancellorsville
b. Bull Run and Vicksburg.
c. Gettysburg and Antietam.
d. Peninsula Campaign and Fredericksburg.
e. Mobile and Missionary Ridge.
39. Freedom for Southern blacks at the end of the Civil War
a. came with relative ease.
b. enabled large numbers to move to the big cities in the North.
c. came haltingly and unevenly in different parts of the conquered Confederacy.
d. was achieved without the use of Union soldiers.
e. was a source of considerable anxiety.
40. The main purpose of the Black Codes was to
a. guarantee freedom for the blacks.
b. ensure a stable labor supply.
c. allow blacks to marry.
d. prevent blacks from becoming sharecroppers.
e. create a system of justice for ex-slaves
41. The passage of the Pendleton Act was a direct result of the
a. assassination of Abraham Lincoln
b. failure of Reconstruction
c. Assassination of James A. Garfiled
d. Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson
e. Assassination of Wlliam McKiley
42. The term vertical integration refers to
a. Reconstruction-era efforts to assimilate newly freed slaves into all social strata of American society
b. an architectural movement that sought to blend urban skyscrapers with the natural landscape surrounding theme
c. the industrial practice of assigning workers a single, repetitive task in order to maximize productivity
d. control of all aspects of an industry, from production of raw materials to delivery of finished goods
e. the belief that wealthy citizens have a moral obligation to engage in philanthropic acts
43. The Haymarket Affair represented a major setback for the
a. women’s suffrage movement
b. civil rights movement for African-Americans
c. Knights of Labor
d. Temperance movement
e. Populist movement
44. A “bird of passage” was an immigrant who
a. came to the United States to live permanently.
b. only passed through America on his or her way to Canada.
c. was unmarried.
d. came to America to work for a short time and then returned to Europe.
e. flew from job to job.
45. Booker T. Washington believed that the key to political and civil rights for African-Americans was
a. the vote.
b. rigorous academic training.
c. the rejection of accommodationist attitudes.
d. to directly challenge white supremacy.
e. economic independence.
46. 46.The Dawes Severalty Act was designed to promote Indian
a. prosperity.
b. annihilation.
c. assimilation.
d. culture.
e. education.
47. The Homestead Act
a. sold more land to bona fide farmers than to land promoters.
b. was a drastic departure from previous government public land policy.
c. was responsible for the sale of more land than any other agency.
d. managed to end the fraud that was common with other government land programs.
e. was criticized as a federal government giveaway