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 #521 : Sat Subject Test In United States History

Which of the following was not a key political goal of the Progressive movement?

Possible Answers:

The deregulation of railroads

The enforcement of the gold standard

Opposition to women's suffrage

The direct election of Senators

Educational reform 

Correct answer:

The enforcement of the gold standard

Explanation:

The Progressive movement in America was first developed during the Gilded Age, largely as a response to the overindulgence and corruption in society and politics during the last decades of the nineteenth century. The Progressive's sought to enact many sweeping reforms, including political reforms like the direct election of Senators (enacted in the Seventeenth Amendment), women's suffrage (the Nineteenth Amendment), and municipal reform at the local level. Progressives were also supporters of trust busting, breaking up big corporations, particularly the banks and railroads, while also advocating the elimination of the gold standard and the implementation of an income tax. Many progressive reforms were enacted by Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson.

Example Question #522 : Sat Subject Test In United States History

What was the significance of The Revolution of 1800?

Possible Answers:
It ushered in another term for President John Adams
It re-affirmed the Universal Suffrage of all white men
It represented a shift in political ideology, from Federalism to Democratic-Republicanism
All of the those mentioned were true and significant
It Signaled the end of the Democratic-Republican party as a major force in United States’ politics
Correct answer: It represented a shift in political ideology, from Federalism to Democratic-Republicanism
Explanation:

The Presidential Election of 1800, also called The Revolution of 1800, was important for a number of reasons. The only true answer choice here though is that it represented a shift from the Federalist Party to the Democratic - Republican Party. It was the beginning of the end for the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republicans would hold power for several years to come. The election was also notable for exposing one of the flaws of the original Constitution; Because Electors were instructed to cast their vote for two separate candidates the result was both Jefferson and Burr gaining the exact same number of votes. It took thirty-six polls before Jefferson was finally elected President, and Burr Vice-President. Following this election the Twelfth Amendment was passed to instruct electors to make a clear distinction between their choice for President and for Vice-President.

Example Question #184 : U.S. Political History

Abraham Lincoln began his political career as a member of which party?

Possible Answers:
Whig
Federalist
Democratic
Republican
Know Nothing
Correct answer: Whig
Explanation:

While Abraham Lincoln ran as the Republican candidate in 1860, he was leading a new coalition devoted to anti-slavery principles.  The Republican Party was formed by Free Soil Democrats, Union Democrats, and Northern Whigs, including Lincoln.

Example Question #2 : Sequence In U.S. Political History From 1790 To 1898

On December 20th, 1860, this southern state became the first to secede from the Union.

Possible Answers:

Virginia

North Carolina

Alabama

Georgia

South Carolina

Correct answer:

South Carolina

Explanation:

South Carolina was the first state to vote to secede from the Union, and the first state to actually secede.  It was re-admitted to the United States on June 25th, 1868.

Example Question #3 : Sequence In U.S. Political History From 1790 To 1898

Who was the first African-American elected to the United States Congress?

Possible Answers:

W.E.B. Dubois

Marcus Garvey

John Willis Menard 

Booker T. Washington

Stephen Douglas

Correct answer:

John Willis Menard 

Explanation:

Following the end of the Civil War, and the issuing of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, African-Americans were now free to vote and hold office. The first African-American to be elected was John Willis Menard. He was elected to the House of Representatives from the state of Louisiana in 1868. His election caused a great deal of outrage, but he did become the first black man to address Congress in 1869. The first African-American woman to be elected to the United States Congress was Shirley Chisholm, who was elected a whole century later, in 1968.

Example Question #4 : Sequence In U.S. Political History From 1790 To 1898

Which state was the first to secede from the Union following the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860?

Possible Answers:

Georgia

North Carolina

Virginia

South Carolina

Texas

Correct answer:

South Carolina

Explanation:

While all five answer choices are states that eventually seceded from the union and joined the Confederacy, South Carolina moved first, holding their Secession Convention in December of 1860.  In order, the states that seceded from the Union were  South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

Example Question #523 : Sat Subject Test In United States History

The Battle of New Orleans, in 1812                      .

Possible Answers:

resulted in a British victory, but encouraged both sides to reach a negotiated peace

encouraged President Madison to continue the war effort

occurred after the war officially ended, but elicited a positive national response nonetheless 

ended the War of 1812 and made Andrew Jackson a national hero

led to an immediate American surrender 

Correct answer:

occurred after the war officially ended, but elicited a positive national response nonetheless 

Explanation:

The Battle of New Orleans was fought between British forces and the Americans, led by Andrew Jackson. The Americans achieved a decisive victory that elicited a positive response of patriotic feeling and propelled Andrew Jackson to the status of a war hero. Unfortunately for posterity’s sake, the Battle occurred five days after the War of 1812 had officially ended; however, in that time, when news travelled reasonably slowly, the announcement of victory in New Orleans and the announcement of a signed peace occurred almost simultaneously. This gave the impression to many Americans that Jackson and his troops had ended the war and achieved American victory.

Example Question #524 : Sat Subject Test In United States History

All of the following states entered the union before the Civil War except __________.

Possible Answers:

Oregon

Nebraska

California

Kansas

Nevada

Correct answer:

Nevada

Explanation:

In the 1840s and 1850s, a large westward migration happened across the North American continent. Settlers moved into the Great Plains for its farmlands beginning in the 1830s, and the Oregon Trail allowed settlers to make it to the Pacific Coast shortly thereafter. The 1848 discovery of Gold in California set off another major wave Westward. Kansas and Nebraska were allowed in to the Union in the 1850s under great controversy around slavery, setting the stage for the Civil War. California joined the Union in 1850 as a free state, with Oregon following nine years later, also as a free state. Nevada was brought into the Union during the War, as a free state, but also because its vast silver and gold mining provided valuable resources to the Union.

Example Question #525 : Sat Subject Test In United States History

Andrew Jackson gained national notoriety as an army general in __________

Possible Answers:

the Spanish American War.

the Revolutionary War.

the War of 1812.

the Mexican American War.

the American Civil War.

Correct answer:

the War of 1812.

Explanation:

Andrew Jackson started his military career as teenage boy in the American Revolution, but never rosed past being a private. While spending time in the young Republic as a lawyer, planter, and slave trader, Jackson became involved in the Tennessee state militia. As a leader of the militia, Jackson led troops in 1814 against the Creek tribe in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, and roundly defeated them. In 1815, Jackson led troops against the British at the Battle of New Orleans. While Jackson's victory there was widely celebrated, the battle actually occurred after the British had already surrendered in the War of 1812. Jackson's popularity as a military commander eventually helped propel him to the Presidency in 1828.

Example Question #526 : Sat Subject Test In United States History

Which of the following events did NOT occur during the Andrew Jackson administration?

Possible Answers:

The rescinding of the charter for the Bank of the United States

The social ostracizing of Secretary of War John H. Eaton and his wife Margaret O’Neill Eaton by Vice President John C. Calhoun and his wife Floride Calhoun due to the Eaton's perceived violation of the social norms of marriage

The annexation of the Republic of Texas as a slave state, forcing new legislative compromises on slavery, and the Mexican-American War

The forced removal of the Cherokees from their traditional lands in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia

The dismissal of many federal employees

Correct answer:

The annexation of the Republic of Texas as a slave state, forcing new legislative compromises on slavery, and the Mexican-American War

Explanation:

The Annexation of Texas occurred in 1845, eight years after Jackson left the White House, during the administration of James Polk.  Every other answer choice is a real event that DID occur during Jackson’s administration.

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