All SAT II US History Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #721 : Sat Subject Test In United States History
How much of a vote did it take to amend the Articles of Confederation?
Unanimous
Plurality
Simple Majority
Unanimous
Open and shut answer here, no tricks or gimmicks. The Articles of Confederation imposed very high transaction costs on all parties involved (transaction costs, of course, are the time effort and money it takes to get something done). The transaction costs were so high that it took a unanimous vote to amend the Articles of Confederation.
Example Question #722 : Sat Subject Test In United States History
Under the Articles of Confederation, states could ___________ raise tariff barriers against one another.
only under special circumstances
always
not
None of these answers is correct.
not
This question assesses your ability to remember the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. One of the weaknesses, of course, was the government’s inability to control interstate (between-states) commerce. This led to states raising all sorts of trade barriers against one another and inadvertently hurting both themselves and the fledgling country.
Example Question #723 : Sat Subject Test In United States History
Why did Great Britain establish the Proclamation Line of 1763?
None of these
So that Native Americans and colonists would avoid conflict
To keep the colonists all in one place so that they would be easier to tax
To make money by selling the land to France
To give Canada control of the West
So that Native Americans and colonists would avoid conflict
The Proclamation Line of 1763 was created by Great Britain so that conflict between Native Americans and the American colonists would be avoided. By setting a settlement line along the Appalachian mountains, they hoped that lack of physical proximity and encroachment would eliminate conflict between the two groups.
Example Question #724 : Sat Subject Test In United States History
What was the main political point of the Declaration of Independence?
The government is supposed to guarantee economic security for every citizen
Governments are not allowed to tax their people
If a government is not representing or protecting the rights and ideas of the people, that government can be overthrown
None of these
The federal and state governments have equal power
If a government is not representing or protecting the rights and ideas of the people, that government can be overthrown
Similar to Enlightenment ideas, the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence supported the ideas that if the government does not protect the rights of the people, a revolution is justified.
Example Question #725 : Sat Subject Test In United States History
Which of these was not an accomplishment of the Second Continental Congress, which convened in 1775?
The establishment of an army under the direct control of General George Washington
The authorization of the Declaration of Independence
The Passage of the Olive Branch petition, calling for peace with Britain on the colonists’ terms
The ratification of the United States Constitution
The dispatch of representatives to France, Spain, and the Netherlands to ask for assistance in a war with Britain
The ratification of the United States Constitution
The Second Continental Congress established itself as the primary governing body during the Revolutionary War and began to make all the necessary steps in order that the country should be able to effectively wage war. The Olive Branch petition was roundly refuted by the British, and indeed most Representatives believed it to be little more than a piece of propaganda. Much more important were the dispatches to other European nations requesting economic or even military assistance. One consequence of this was France entering the war on the side of the colonists. The Congress also ratified the Declaration of Independence, but did not ratify the Constitution (that would not happen until 1789). Instead, they proposed an Articles of Confederation, which would serve as the governing document between 1781-1789, the years immediately following war.
Example Question #1 : Representative Viewpoints In U.S. Political History From Pre Columbian To 1789
"Yes, we must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."
Having signed the Declaration of Independence, a fundamentally treasonous declaration, Benjamin Franklin reportedly made the above comment to fellow signer, John Hancock, which illustrated Franklin's insistence on what?
The abolition of slavery
Unity among the colonies
The abolition of the death penalty
Women's suffrage
The repeal of the Stamp Act
Unity among the colonies
Benjamin Franklin was a staunch advocate of colonial unity, believing cohesion to be critical in the face of the ensuing revolution. He is well known for his famous cartoon, 'Join or Die' which depicted a snake cut up into eighths, each representing a colony.
Example Question #2 : Representative Viewpoints In U.S. Political History From Pre Columbian To 1789
What two reasons were responsible for the Anti-Federalist’s objections to the ratification of the United States Constitution?
The Anti-Federalists opposed ratification of the Constitution on a number of issues that centered on the fear that the power of the Federal government had been increased too heavily, at the expense of the States, and would lead the power of the centralized government to keep growing and growing. Further, to the point of preventing a possible rise of tyranny the Anti-Federalist demanded that prior to ratification the Constitution have included a Bill of Rights that would forever codify into law the individual freedoms and liberties of all Americans. The central argument of the Anti-Federalists was that, as written, the Constitution did not do enough to prevent the possibility of an autocratic President, or Congress, gaining power and using it to subjugate the people.
Example Question #2 : Representative Viewpoints In U.S. Political History From Pre Columbian To 1789
The British government viewed the passage of the Stamp Act primarily as?
The British government, and Prime Minister George Greenville, issued the Stamp Act to help raise revenue for the indebted Crown. Although many in British society felt that the colonists owed a debt to the British public for protecting them during the French-Indian wars, and many in the colonies felt that this was meant as a demonstration of the Crown’s ultimate dominion the primary reason was simple “dollars and cents”. The government needed more money and was willing to incur the colonists’ wrath in order to get it. The Stamp Act was passed in 1765 and required colonists to purchase heavily taxed stamps for all post and newspapers. The passage of the Act promoted widespread indignation and some protests in the colonies.
Example Question #3 : Representative Viewpoints In U.S. Political History From Pre Columbian To 1789
What was the primary impetus behind William Penn’s establishment of the Pennsylvania colony in 1682?
William Penn was granted a proprietary colony from the English Crown in 1682 and endeavored to set up a colony that granted political freedom to all and, also, to provide a colony for the “Holy Experiment” of the Quakers – who were disparaged and persecuted in Europe. Penn’s intentions were somewhat democratic, but the most pertinent reason was the provisions guaranteeing Quaker religious freedom.
Example Question #4 : Representative Viewpoints In U.S. Political History From Pre Columbian To 1789
In the early years of the United States, how were slave populations divided for the purposes of Congressional representation?
At the Constitutional Convention, the Northern and Southern states could not decide on how to account for the slave populations when considering how Congressional representatives should be divided. The North favored a system where slaves did not count at all, conversely the South favored a system where each slave was equivalent to one free man. In an attempt at compromise, the Convention passed the Three-Fifths Compromise - which stated that, for the purposes of representation, a slave was to be equal to three-fifths of a free man.
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