SAT II US History : SAT Subject Test in United States History

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

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Example Questions

Example Question #83 : U.S. Intellectual And Cultural History

During the American Revolutionary War, this general originally served the cause of the American Continental Army before defecting to the British.  As a consequence of his treason, his name is now a popular byword in the States for betrayal.  What was this general's name?

 

 

 

Possible Answers:

Marquis de Lafayette

James Clinton

William Alexander

Benedict Arnold

Vidkun Quisling

Correct answer:

Benedict Arnold

Explanation:

Embittered by his experience with the Continental Army, General Benedict Arnold schemed to deliver the American fort of West Point to the British.  Today, his name remains tarnished in the USA for his actions.

Example Question #2 : Facts And Details In Intellectual And Cultural History From Pre Columbian History To 1789

The Mesoamerican cultures do not include which of the following major civilizations?

Possible Answers:

The Toltec

The Aztec

The Maya

The Olmec

The Iroquois

Correct answer:

The Iroquois

Explanation:

The Iroquois are a Native American tribe found outside of the mesoamerican time period and geography.

Example Question #1 : Facts And Details In Intellectual And Cultural History From Pre Columbian History To 1789

The Half-Way Covenant was passed to             .

Possible Answers:

Eliminate non-conformists elements from the Puritan church

Ensure that no non-Puritans could serve in political office in the colony of Massachusetts

Maintain a secular government that still sustained a foundation of Christian ideals

Enforce stricter entrance requirements into the Puritan church

Ease membership requirements for the Puritan church 

Correct answer:

Ease membership requirements for the Puritan church 

Explanation:

Entry into the early Puritan church in the seventeenth-century American colonies required that the user be baptized and undergo a “full religious experience,” but the church began to decline rapidly in membership as the children and grand-children of the first generation Puritans were excluded from the full religious community. In an attempt to counter this trend, the Puritan church passed the Half-Way Covenant to allow for the baptism of children of the holders of the Covenant. The idea was that these children would still reap the social and moral lessons of the Puritan church and then later in life would come to experience the “born again” moment and become full members.

Example Question #2 : Facts And Details In Intellectual And Cultural History From Pre Columbian History To 1789

Who wrote the pamphlets Common Sense and The Crisis to champion American independence?

Possible Answers:

Patrick Henry

Samuel Adams

Alexander Hamilton

Thomas Paine

Thomas Jefferson

Correct answer:

Thomas Paine

Explanation:

The writings of Thomas Paine, the Anglo-American revolutionary, inspired Americans to seek independence from Britain before their Revolutionary War.

Example Question #3 : U.S. Intellectual And Cultural History From Pre Columbian History To 1789

Benjamin Franklin was all of the following EXCEPT:

Possible Answers:

A decorated soldier

A delegate to the Constitutional Convention

An inventor

A signer of the Declaration of Independence

A diplomat

Correct answer:

A decorated soldier

Explanation:

Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers, never served in the army.

Example Question #87 : U.S. Intellectual And Cultural History

What is the name of the city in which the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were both written?

Possible Answers:

Washington, D.C.

New York

Philadelphia

Richmond

Boston

Correct answer:

Philadelphia

Explanation:

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were both written at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Example Question #91 : U.S. Intellectual And Cultural History

On October 12th, 1492, this European explorer landed in the New World, beginning centuries of colonization, conquest and development for the West.

Possible Answers:

Vasco Núñez de Balboa

Hernán Cortés

Leif Ericson

Christopher Columbus

Juan Ponce de León

Correct answer:

Christopher Columbus

Explanation:

On October 12th, 1492, Christopher Columbus set foot in Guanahani, which he called San Salvador.

Example Question #92 : U.S. Intellectual And Cultural History

What is the name of the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States that was founded in 1636?

Possible Answers:

Brown University

Harvard College

The College of William and Mary

The University of Virginia

Yale College

Correct answer:

Harvard College

Explanation:

Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States.

Example Question #3 : Facts And Details In Intellectual And Cultural History From Pre Columbian History To 1789

The first American medical school was established at __________.

Possible Answers:

New York University 

The University of Pennsylvania 

Yale University 

Emory University 

Harvard University 

Correct answer:

The University of Pennsylvania 

Explanation:

The first American medical school was established at the University of Pennsylvania in 1765. It was an important moment in the history of American intellectual identity and the pursuit of scientific understanding. 

Example Question #93 : U.S. Intellectual And Cultural History

_____________ was instrumental to the religious revival of the First Great Awakening.

Possible Answers:

Dwight L. Moody

John Winthrop

Martin Luther

John Calvin

Jonathan Edwards

Correct answer:

Jonathan Edwards

Explanation:

Jonathan Edwards was a Christian minister and theologian whose religious traditions were rooted in the Enlightenment and Puritanism. He was one of the driving forces behind the First Great Awakening in America in the 1730s and 1740s. The First Great Awakening was a religious movement that swept through Europe and North America in the middle decades of the Eighteenth Century – it emphasized personal communion with faith and moved religious observation away from devoted adherence to ceremony and scripture. 

Calvin and Luther were both Christian reformers in sixteenth century Europe who were primarily responsible for dividing Christianity into Catholic and Protestant branches. Dwight L. Moody was a notable religious figure during the Third Great Awakening in the nineteenth century. John Winthrop was a leading figure in the settlement of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 

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