All SAT II US History Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #61 : U.S. Intellectual And Cultural History
Timothy Leary is most closely associated with research into __________.
Alcohol
LSD
Cocaine
Marijuana
Heroin
LSD
Timothy Leary was a Harvard University psychology professor who began conducting research into the effects of the psychedelic drug lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD. Leary's research and advocacy made the use of LSD, which would only be criminalized in 1970, one of the key features of the 1960s counterculture. The use of psychedelics would produce many "mind altering" forms of art, philosophy, and culture that greatly informed the youth culture of the 1960s.
Example Question #62 : U.S. Intellectual And Cultural History
Stream-of-consciousness prose, opposition to 1950s postwar materialism, drug use, and interest in Eastern mysticism were all essential elements of which famous historical American literary movement?
The Beat Generation
The Lost Generation
The New Romantics
The Blank Generation
The Greatest Generation
The Beat Generation
All of these elements were closely associated with the art and literature of the Beat Generation. The Beat Generation was a group of authors and aesthetes who came to exemplify the literary and intellectual counterculture of the postwar era, and were seen as the intellectual predecessors to the countercultural revolution of the 1960s.
Example Question #63 : U.S. Intellectual And Cultural History
Who was the main proponent of Alternating Current (as opposed to Direct Current) electricity?
Frederick W. Taylor
None of these
George Westinghouse
Henry Ford
Thomas Edison
George Westinghouse
George Westinghouse was the main proponent of Alternating Current (AC), as opposed to Direct Current (DC), for which Thomas Edison advocated. The conflict between these two set up what we now refer to as the “Currency Wars”; I strongly encourage you to look it up—it’s incredibly interesting.
The short of it is that there are advantages and disadvantages to both AC and DC. AC tends to be more economical in some instances where DC is more expensive. That said, AC is [more] dangerous (i.e. you can be electrocuted at a lower threshold) whereas DC is safer. This information formed the backdrop of the rivalry between Edison and Westinghouse, which included some very . . . shocking . . . moments (Edison, for example, attempted to coin the term “Westinghoused” rather than “electrocuted”).
In the end, Westinghouse won out—we use AC in the US today.
Example Question #64 : U.S. Intellectual And Cultural History
Who is responsible for the first assembly line for the mass production of an automobile?
Mr. Chrysler
Alfred P. Sloan
Henry Ford
None of these
The Dodge Brothers
Henry Ford
This should have been a very simple question. The answer is Henry Ford. Ford not only was the first to apply the assembly line to automobile manufacturing, he also made it more efficient. In other words, he took the different processes it takes to build an automobile (the Model T, in this instance) and then broke them down into discrete actions that only one person performed (and that person performed the same action, every day)
Example Question #65 : U.S. Intellectual And Cultural History
This book was a cautionary tale about the decadence and idealism of the 1920s
Looking Backwards
None of these
The Jungle
The Great Gatsby
Uncle Tom's Cabin
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby was published in 1925 by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and was a cautionary tale about the idealism and decadence of the era. The Jungle was published in 1906 by Upton Sinclair, and concerned the unsanitary conditions of the Chicago meatpacking plants, as well as the harsh living conditions of the plants' immigrant workers. Uncle Tom's Cabin was published in 1852 by Harriet Beecher Stowe, and portrayed the harsh living conditions of antebellum slaves. Looking Backward was a utopian science fiction novel published by Edward Bellamy in 1888.
Example Question #66 : U.S. Intellectual And Cultural History
Which of the following is true about Eleanor Roosevelt?
She often held press conferences that all reporters were invited to.
She campaigned for women in political office.
She is currently a delegate to the United Nations.
She divorced Franklin Roosevelt after his very public affair with her social secretary.
She took a much more public role than any First Lady before her.
She took a much more public role than any First Lady before her.
Because FDR had debilitating polio, Eleanor Roosevelt often traveled for him, reporting her findings; therefore, she took a much more active role as First Lady than anyone had done before.
The other answers are all false. She held press conferences that only women reporters were invited to, so as to encourage news outlets to hire female reporters. She was also appointed to the United Nations by President Truman, but no longer holds that position as she passed away from tuberculosis. Additionally, Franklin Roosevelt did have a very public affair, but she did not divorce him for it.
Example Question #67 : U.S. Intellectual And Cultural History
The Red Scare of the 1920s was an American response to .
McCarthyism
Bolshevism
Chinese Communism
Menshevism
Imperialism
Bolshevism
The Red Scare, which began in the early 1920s but remained a constant fixture of American political and social life for several decades, is the name given to America's response to the growth of Communism in the Soviet Union. The primary political party behind Communism in the Soviet Union was the Bolshevik Party. The Mensheviks were the rival Communist Party, which were defeated by Lenin and his comrades. Chinese Communism would not arise for another thirty years. And McCarthyism is a name related to America's response to Communism, led by United States Senator Joseph McCarthy—it primarily has connotations of unfair or unfounded accusations of disloyalty directed at U.S. citizens during the Red Scare.
Example Question #68 : U.S. Intellectual And Cultural History
The Scopes Trial was a reaction to which of the following theories or philosophies?
Existentialism
Evolution
Transcendentalism
Eugenics
Positivism
Evolution
The Scopes Trial took place in 1925. The case was made against Tennessee school teacher John Scopes, on the grounds that he had violated Tennessee state law by teaching the theory of evolution in his classroom. The case immediately gained national media attention, especially once former Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan agreed to represent the prosecution and famed defense attorney Clarence Darrow agreed to represent the defense. The case contributed greatly to the growth of both the scientific movement and the anti-evolution movement in the United States.
Example Question #69 : U.S. Intellectual And Cultural History
Who is the author of On the Road?
John Steinbeck
Jack London
Ernest Hemmingway
Jack Kerouac
Herman Melville
Jack Kerouac
On the Road is considered the principle novel of the so-called Beat Generation. It was written by Jack Kerouac in the early 1950s, and published for the first time in 1957. The book chronicles Kerouac’s real-life journeys across the United States and reflects the growing dissatisfaction among young people of the time with conventional forms of life. The Beat Generation can be classified a number of ways, but generally it refers to a certain type of youth culture that rejected conformist career and life choices in favor of drug experimentation, spiritual enlightenment, unorthodox sexual behavior, and the gaining of awareness of one’s own human nature.
Example Question #70 : U.S. Intellectual And Cultural History
The artistic movement known as Pop Art was characterized by __________.
an embrace of abstract forms instead of rigid adherence to naturalism
focusing on painting landscapes and still lifes instead of people
borrowing images and themes from popular culture and advertising
strictly adhering to traditional principles of fine art
using geometric shapes and primary colors to break down traditional art
borrowing images and themes from popular culture and advertising
Pop Art was developed in Great Britain and the United States in the 1950s, and reached its apex in the 1960s with artists like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Jasper Johns. These artists rejected the pre-World War II uses of abstract art, and instead used images culled from comic books, movies, and advertising. Iconic Pop Art pieces include Warhol's "Campbell's Soup Cans" and Johns' "Flag," both of which were paintings of iconic images in American culture.
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