SAT II US History : U.S. Foreign Policy

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

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Example Questions

Example Question #185 : Sat Subject Test In United States History

Which of the following was/were first used in WWI?

Possible Answers:

None of these

More than one answer is correct

Chlorine gas

Tanks

Correct answer:

More than one answer is correct

Explanation:

WWI, while rightfully known as one of the deadliest conflicts in all of human history, is also famous (or infamous) for the introduction of new, modern weapons used by both sides. One of the reasons that the casualties in WWI were so astoundingly high was that the development of offensive weaponry--such as the use of poison gas and tanks--had far outpaced military warfare tacticians. In other words, each side of the War had access to new and deadlier technology, but neither side adjusted their warfare tactics to account for it.

Example Question #186 : Sat Subject Test In United States History

What officially ended WWI?

Possible Answers:

 The Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of the Thames

The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo

The League of Nations

Correct answer:

 The Treaty of Versailles

Explanation:

The Treaty of Versailles officially ended WWI. The “Big Four” (Italy, France, UK, US) were responsible for crafting the terms of the treaty, and saddled the losers of the war (primarily Germany) with massive reparations. The reparations (repayments for the war, essentially) were so large (both at that time, and even today), that Germany didn’t finish paying them off until 2010.

Example Question #187 : Sat Subject Test In United States History

What was/were (an) event(s) that led to the US entering WWI?

Possible Answers:

All of these

The Zimmerman Telegraph

The sinking of the Lusitania

Submarine warfare

Correct answer:

All of these

Explanation:

All of the answers given were correct. The two specific ones—the sinking of the Lusitania and the Zimmerman telegraph—are likely the most important. The Lusitania was a British passenger ship that was carrying American civilians. The Germans, suspecting it of smuggling arms, torpedoed the ship, killing innocents. The Zimmerman telegraph was essentially a telegraph from the Germans to Mexico asking them to join in an alliance with Germany against the US.

Example Question #188 : Sat Subject Test In United States History

Which of the following is the "date which will live in infamy"?

Possible Answers:

The inaction of Herbert Hoover on October 29, 1929

September 11, 2001

The assassination of JFK

December 7, 1941

Correct answer:

December 7, 1941

Explanation:

This should have been a relatively simple question. The "day which will live in infamy" is a line from FDR regarding December 7, 1941. It was the day that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and the beginning of the United States' formal involvement in World War II (after a declaration of war from Congress).

Example Question #47 : U.S. Foreign Policy From 1899 To The Present

The Zimmerman Telegram helped generate support for the United States' entry into World War I because ____________________.

Possible Answers:

it proved that the United Kingdom was having secret talks with Germany about switching sides in the war

in it Germany promised Mexico a military alliance aimed at retaking the American southwest

it gave conclusive proof that American cargo and transport ships were being specifically targeted by German U-boats

it outlined the exact war plans made by Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire to invade the United States

it appealed to pro-German sentiment in American society and called for an internal uprising

Correct answer:

in it Germany promised Mexico a military alliance aimed at retaking the American southwest

Explanation:

By the beginning of 1917, the War in Europe was in a long stalemate, but America had not yet joined in despite being strongly favored towards the Allied powers of Great Britain and France, largely thanks to German wartime policies such as U-boat attacks on neutral ships. In January of 1917, a secret message from the German foreign office to the government of Mexico, known as "The Zimmerman Telegram," was discovered. In it, the German government suggested a military alliance that would seek to return the American Southwest to Mexico. This factor directly sparked the American entry into World War I.

Example Question #47 : U.S. Foreign Policy From 1899 To The Present

What was the general aim of Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points speech given in January of 1918?

Possible Answers:
None of the other answers
To declare American neutrality in any European conflict, no matter the political or economic ramifications for those nations
To criticize Allied war goals in their conflicts with the Central powers as too idealistic and moralistic
To state clear aims and goals for America’s involvement in World War I, apart from the nationalistic or territorial aims of many European powers fighting the war.
To announce American support for any nation in the Western Hemisphere that might be invaded by a European nation.
Correct answer: To state clear aims and goals for America’s involvement in World War I, apart from the nationalistic or territorial aims of many European powers fighting the war.
Explanation:

Wilson’s Fourteen Points speech was delivered months after the United States entered the war on behalf of the Allied Powers in April of 1917.  Facing political blowback about reasons for joining a nationalistic war, Wilson constructed a pro-war argument based around the need for a new form of diplomacy post-war and sovereignty for specific European populations.

Example Question #1 : Representative Viewpoints In U.S. Foreign Policy From 1899 To The Present

"Speak softly and carry a big stick."

This phrase refers to which American president's foreign policy of civil negotiations with the threat of military might?

Possible Answers:
Harry Truman
Franklin Roosevelt
Dwight Eisenhower
Theodore Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
Correct answer: Theodore Roosevelt
Explanation:

First used in a speech before he assumed the presidency, Theodore Roosevelt's Big Stick diplomacy was his belief that intelligent forethought must be coupled with military muscle.

Example Question #2 : Representative Viewpoints In U.S. Foreign Policy From 1899 To The Present

"It must be the policy of the US to support the free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures." 

The above quote can most reliably be attributed to which President?

Possible Answers:
Harry S. Truman
George Bush
Richard Nixon
George W. Bush
Dwight Eisenhower
Correct answer: Harry S. Truman
Explanation:

The so called “Truman Doctrine” argued that it was the responsibility of the post-war United States to support the extension or maintenance of freedom, personal liberty and democratic ideals throughout the world. The quote comes from a speech given by Truman, to Congress, when he was calling for funds to support those people in Turkey and Greece who favored democracy. 

Example Question #4 : Representative Viewpoints In U.S. Foreign Policy From 1899 To The Present

How did the Nye Committee affect America’s involvement in global conflict in the 1930s?

Possible Answers:
It contended that the Japanese were preparing a series of large scale attacks aimed at disrupting American economic might and that the government should enlarge the armed forces so as not to be caught unprepared
It stated that United States banks and corporations, in order to gain personal profit, had tricked the American people into entering World War One and therefore the United States should remain a neutral state in future conflict
It declared that Hitler represented a threat to the entirety of the free world and, as a result, the United States had a moral imperative to enter the war on the side of the allies
It suggested that the American military was the strongest and best armed in the world and therefore the United States should not fear military intervention in Europe or Asia
It argued that the British and French had a very small chance to resist the might of the German military and therefore the United States should remain neutral so as to avoid joining the losing side
Correct answer: It stated that United States banks and corporations, in order to gain personal profit, had tricked the American people into entering World War One and therefore the United States should remain a neutral state in future conflict
Explanation:

The Nye Report was a Senate report issued during World War One that stated that American banks and corporations had tricked the American people into supporting a war so that they could gain profit from the sale of arms, post-war reconstruction projects and the elimination of foreign competitors. The report was widely quoted as a very significant reason for avoiding conflict in Europe and Asia in the 1930s and persisted into the early 1940s, as a reason not to join World War Two on the side of the allied forces

Example Question #3 : Representative Viewpoints In U.S. Foreign Policy From 1899 To The Present

Who among the following people was not responsible for the imperialist expansion of teh United States in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries? 

Possible Answers:

Woodrow Wilson

Theodore Roosevelt

William McKinley

William Taft

Grover Cleveland 

Correct answer:

Grover Cleveland 

Explanation:

The correct answer is Grover Cleveland. Taft, Roosevelt and McKinley all initiated conflicts or invasions that advanced American interests abroad. All three believed that the United States needed to expand its influence around the world to serve national interests. Wilson, who was staunchly against European Imperialism and ideologically opposed to America’s interference in foreign nations, still managed to send American troops into Nicaragua in 1914 to occupy the country and Haiti and the Dominican Republic in the years immediately after. Thus, Wilson can be seen as an Imperialist in practice if not in ideology. Grover Cleveland, on the other hand, came to the Presidency in the years shortly before Imperialist ideology took over the office, and once out of office he was a devoted member of the American Anti-Imperialist League. The Anti-Imperialist League believed that Imperialism violated the republican principles that America had been founded on, and they fiercely objected to any forced occupation of foreign lands. 

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