SAT II US History : Cause and Effect in U.S. Social History from 1899 to the Present

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II US History

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : U.S. Social History From 1899 To The Present

“How you gonna keep them down on the farm after they have seen Paris?”

The above quote likely refers to                .

Possible Answers:

the social upheaval that followed the women’s liberation movement.

the difficulty for American men trying to reintegrate into society after World War I.

the desire to re-segregate the South.

the growth in atheism and agnosticism.

the decline of American agriculture due to foreign competition.

Correct answer:

the difficulty for American men trying to reintegrate into society after World War I.

Explanation:

The quote refers to the difficulty of American men to reintegrate into society following World War I. The majority of Americans in that era had never been more than a few hundred miles from their homes, let alone across continents. In addition, many men suffered from extreme trauma from the events they witnessed and participated in. A lot of jobs had been taken up by women, in the absence of male workers, and post-war society faced the problem of how to resolve this disparity.

Example Question #2 : U.S. Social History From 1899 To The Present

The massive increase in underground crime syndicates during the 1920s is largely attributable to which Constitutional amendment?

Possible Answers:

None of the other answers

The Seventeenth Amendment's guarantee of direct election of senators

The Sixteenth Amendment's imposition of a federal income tax

The Nineteenth Amendment's guarantee of women's suffrage

The Eighteenth Amendment's prohibition of alcohol possession and sales

Correct answer:

The Eighteenth Amendment's prohibition of alcohol possession and sales

Explanation:

The Eighteenth Amendment was the culmination of a decades long temperance movement that sought to end all alcohol sales, distribution, and consumption in America.  Initially celebrated as a progressive victory, the legal enforcement of prohibition proved a nightmare, and legions of criminal gangs began to control the illegal alcohol sales.  The Eighteenth Amendment was repealed by the Twenty First Amendment in 1933.

Example Question #811 : Sat Subject Test In United States History

Which court case struck down the doctrine of "separate but equal" in the field of public education?

Possible Answers:

Plessy v. Ferguson

Marbury v. Madison

Dred Scott v. Sanford

 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

Loving v. Virginia

Correct answer:

 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

Explanation:

In Brown, Chief Justice Earl Warren expressed that in the arena of public education, "separate but equal" is inherently unequal, unfair, and unconstitutional. Plessy v. Ferguson is a prior case that upheld the "separate but equal" doctrine.

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