AP US History : 1801–1848
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP US History
All AP US History Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #2 : Work, Exchange, And Technology 1801–1848
The Industrial Age brought many changes to American life. The changes were so rapid and widespread that many church leaders became deeply concerned about the effects of industrialization on society and their congregations. During the second half of the Nineteenth Century, the Second Great Awakening began as Protestant ministers began to preach for the improvement of the condition of industrial society through charity and justice. This movement, known as the Social Gospel, was led by Washington Gladden and Lyman Abbott. Their goal was to join salvation to good works. These ministers wanted people to put aside all earthly belongings and help those in need. They taught that the purpose of wealth was to help the less fortunate, and the principles of a just society were egalitarian in nature.
The Social Gospel Movement directly influenced the creation of what group in the United States?
the Salvation Army
the Red Cross
the NAACP
the Social Mission Society
Social Democracy
the NAACP
Many Protestant ministers and authors began preaching the Social Gospel to bring Christian ideas to the workplace. They preached against child labor and were in favor of the temperance movement, Progressivism, abolitionism, and civil service reform. Home Mission Societies were formed to send interdenominational preachers to the South and Western frontier to start new churches and address social problems. In the United States, Washington Gladden, well known for his preaching of the Social Gospel, was directly instrumental in forming the NAACP as part of the Social Gospel’s dedication to the abolitionist movement and civil rights for all Americans. Social Democracy describes a socialist government formed by democratic means and is not related to the Social Gospel. The Social Mission Society is a nonexistent organization. The Red Cross and The Salvation Army, while having at their core a concern for society and to help those in need, were not related to the Social Gospel.
Example Question #51 : Ap Us History
That any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and is a citizen of the United States ... shall, from and after the first January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, be entitled to enter one quarter section or a less quantity of unappropriated public lands
-United States Senate, Homestead Act, 1862
The passage of the Homestead Act is consistent with a political philosophy associated with what other historical event?
The Mexican-American War
The raid on Harper's Ferry
The Whiskey Rebellion
The Dred Scott decision
The Mexican-American War
Like the Homestead Act, the Mexican-American War was supported by the belief in Manifest Destiny, the attitude that America was destined to keep expanding westward.
Example Question #52 : Ap Us History
Which of the following best describes the impact on European population made by the exchange network depicted in the diagram?
The rise of a slave trade led reformers to challenge the government
Mass migration from Europe to the Americas led to shrinking populations in Europe
The arrival of new agricultural products allowed for more population growth
Economic conditions led to less competition between nation states
New diseases led to social unrest and instability
The arrival of new agricultural products allowed for more population growth
Note: the diagram was created by the question writer.
Nutritious and calorie-dense foods brought from the New World supported European population growth. As the population of Europe grew, in part based on the availability of richer and more varied agricultural products, so too did the demand for those products.
Example Question #11 : 1801–1848
"Have not results in Mexico taught the invincibility of American arms?...The North Americans will spread out far beyond their present bounds. They will encroach again and again upon their neighbors. New territories will be planted, declare their independence, and be annexed. We have New Mexico and California! We will have Old Mexico and Cuba! The isthmus cannot arrest--nor even the Saint Lawrence!! Time has all of this in her womb. A hundred states will grow up where now exists but thirty."
- DeBow's Commercial Review, 1848
Chief among the benefits of expansionism in the mid-nineteenth century was ___________________.
the acquisition of valuable new resources
the assimilation of new groups into the American identity
relieving the extreme population pressures in Eastern cities
increased recognition of the United States as a regional power
the addition of several new states into the union
the acquisition of valuable new resources
Though the new territories led to political disputes -especially as several sought statehood and questions arose about how to integrate existing populations into the United States- the access the new, fertile farm lands and natural resources (including gold and, later, oil) stood out as the most impactful benefit of expansion.
Example Question #2 : Geography, Environment, And Peopling 1801–1848
Manifest Destiny is the belief that __________.
the United States was destined to rule the entire Western Hemisphere
the United States has a predetermined end date
the United States was destined to own territory in Africa
the United States had a God-given right to occupy all territory west of the Mississippi River
the United States had a God-given right to dictate internal politics to all countries within the Western Hemisphere
the United States had a God-given right to occupy all territory west of the Mississippi River
Americans were entranced by the territory west of the Mississippi River after Lewis and Clark returned to the East Coast from their expedition in 1806. They brought back tales of great riches and wide-open land, as well as fantastic new animals and plants. The American people, and therefore politicians, began to believe that it was America's destiny to ultimately stretch from one coast to the other.
Example Question #3 : Geography, Environment, And Peopling 1801–1848
With which accomplishment is the Lewis and Clark expedition to the Pacific Northwest between 1804 and 1806 not credited?
They catalogued more than 180 new plant species.
They discovered a route that led from St. Louis Missouri to Ft. Clatsop, Oregon.
They made contact with more than 55 unique Native American cultural groups.
They catalogued more than 120 new animal, bird and fish species.
They discovered a water route leading from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.
They discovered a water route leading from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.
When Lewis and Clark embarked on their journey in 1804, one of their goals was to discover the "Northwest Passage," a rumored water route leading from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. Although they were able to travel for a great portion of their journey along various waterways, they were unable to find a continuous water route.
Example Question #1 : Domestic Politics 1801–1848
"If an act of the Legislature repugnant to the Constitution is void, does it, notwithstanding its invalidity, bind the Courts and oblige them to give it effect? Or, in other words, though it be not law, does it constitute a rule as operative as if it was a law? This would be to overthrow in fact what was established in theory, and would seem, at first view, an absurdity too gross to be insisted on. It shall, however, receive a more attentive consideration.
It is emphatically the province and duty of the Judicial Department to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases must, of necessity, expound and interpret that rule. If two laws conflict with each other, the Courts must decide on the operation of each."
What U.S. Supreme Court case is the passage excerpted from?
Mcculloch v. Maryland
Marbury v. Madison
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Gibbons v. Ogden
Marbury v. Madison
Marbury v. Madison (1803) established the principle of judicial review. It held that the Supreme Court had the authority to invalidate legislation passed by Congress that was unconstitutional. Its author was Chief Justice John Marshall.
Example Question #2 : Domestic Politics 1801–1848
"If an act of the Legislature repugnant to the Constitution is void, does it, notwithstanding its invalidity, bind the Courts and oblige them to give it effect? Or, in other words, though it be not law, does it constitute a rule as operative as if it was a law? This would be to overthrow in fact what was established in theory, and would seem, at first view, an absurdity too gross to be insisted on. It shall, however, receive a more attentive consideration.
It is emphatically the province and duty of the Judicial Department to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases must, of necessity, expound and interpret that rule. If two laws conflict with each other, the Courts must decide on the operation of each."
Who wrote the Supreme court decision that this excerpt is from?
Chief Justice John Jay
Chief Justice John Marshall
Chief Justice Roger B. Taney
Chief Justice Earl Warren
Chief Justice John Marshall
Chief Justice John Marshall was the fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and served from 1801 to 1835. In Marbury v. Madison, the principle of judicial review was established. This provided that the Supreme Court had the authority to invalidate congressional acts. This has contributed to his reputation as the "court builder." Other key decisions authored by Marshall include McCullough v. Maryland and Gibbons v. Ogden.
Example Question #2 : Domestic Politics 1801–1848
"If it be conceded, as it must be by every one who is the least conversant with our institutions, that the sovereign powers delegated are divided between the General and State Governments, and that the latter hold their portion by the same tenure as the former, it would seem impossible to deny to the States the right of deciding on the infractions of their powers, and the proper remedy to be applied for their correction. The right of judging, in such cases, is an essential attribute of sovereignty, of which the States cannot be divested without losing their sovereignty itself, and being reduced to a subordinate corporate condition." - John C. Calhoun, South Carolina Exposition and Protest, 1828
"My experience in public concerns and the observation of a life somewhat advanced confirm the opinions long since imbibed by me, that the destruction of our State governments or the annihilation of their control over the local concerns of the people would lead directly to revolution and anarchy, and finally to despotism and military domination. In proportion, therefore, as the General Government encroaches upon the rights of the States, in the same proportion does it impair its own power and detract from its ability to fulfill the purposes of its creation. " - President Andrew Jackson, Second Inaugural Address, 1833
Which controversial act of government is Calhoun responding to in his speech?
The "American System" program of internal improvements advanced by President John Quincy Adams.
The revocation of the charter for the Second Bank of the United States.
The forced migration of American Indians to the Oklahoma Territory.
The Tariff of 1828, also known as the "Tariff of Abominations"
The Tariff of 1828, also known as the "Tariff of Abominations"
The Tariff of 1828 negatively affected the Southern economy and was the proximate cause of the nullification crisis that Calhoun's speech presages.
Example Question #3 : Domestic Politics 1801–1848
"If it be conceded, as it must be by every one who is the least conversant with our institutions, that the sovereign powers delegated are divided between the General and State Governments, and that the latter hold their portion by the same tenure as the former, it would seem impossible to deny to the States the right of deciding on the infractions of their powers, and the proper remedy to be applied for their correction. The right of judging, in such cases, is an essential attribute of sovereignty, of which the States cannot be divested without losing their sovereignty itself, and being reduced to a subordinate corporate condition." - John C. Calhoun, South Carolina Exposition and Protest, 1828
"My experience in public concerns and the observation of a life somewhat advanced confirm the opinions long since imbibed by me, that the destruction of our State governments or the annihilation of their control over the local concerns of the people would lead directly to revolution and anarchy, and finally to despotism and military domination. In proportion, therefore, as the General Government encroaches upon the rights of the States, in the same proportion does it impair its own power and detract from its ability to fulfill the purposes of its creation. " - President Andrew Jackson, Second Inaugural Address, 1833
Which earlier historical group espoused strong support for states' rights?
Congressional supporters of the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798
Farmers who participated in the Whiskey Rebellion in 1791
Soldiers in the War of 1812
Federalists supporting John Adams for re-election in 1800
Farmers who participated in the Whiskey Rebellion in 1791
The Whiskey Rebellion was the first major challenge to federal authority. Although it was quickly suppressed, it set the stage for decades of debate over the rightful role and power of the federal government. All of the other examples either favored a strong federal government or, in the case of 1812 soldiers, were not a cohesive political group.
All AP US History Resources
