SAT II US History : U.S. Social History

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

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Example Questions

Example Question #41 : Facts And Details In U.S. Social History From 1899 To The Present

Which of the following writings advocated that the very rich had a moral responsibility to help the poor using their wealth?

Possible Answers:

Gospel of Wealth

Common Sense

Social Darwinism

None of these

On the Theory of Evolution

Correct answer:

Gospel of Wealth

Explanation:

This should have been a relatively simple question. Andrew Carnegie quite famously wrote in The Gospel of Wealth that the very wealthy had a moral duty to help their less fortunate brothers and sisters. Carnegie, of course, fulfilled the obligations that he prescribed for others: Carnegie remains one of the greatest philanthropists in all of American history.

The Gospel of Wealth was published in 1889. 

Example Question #42 : Facts And Details In U.S. Social History From 1899 To The Present

Which of the following completely changed the landscape (literally and figuratively) of the Appalachian region?

Possible Answers:

The Tennessee Valley Authority

LaGuardia Airport

The Coulee Dam

Dane County Airport

Correct answer:

The Tennessee Valley Authority

Explanation:

The TVA, or Tennessee Valley Authority, changed the face of the Appalachian region. First, it literally changed the landscape, as it constructed different dams necessary to build reservoirs for hydroelectric power that completely obliterated various landmarks, homes, and ancestral graveyards when they impounded water and flooded regions. This is the negative effect of the TVA. In addition, the TVA figuratively changed the landscape by bringing power to a region that many social scientists have compared to a third world country. This is the positive effect of the TVA.

Example Question #43 : Facts And Details In U.S. Social History From 1899 To The Present

Why were the “fireside chats” important?

Possible Answers:

They were the first time that a president had spoken “directly” to the populace.

All of these answers are correct.

They encouraged and comforted the American people.

They showed the public that the President was attempting to address the various problems of the Great Depression.

Correct answer:

All of these answers are correct.

Explanation:

All of these answers are correct. The so-called “fireside chats” were the first time that a president had ever reached out “directly” (via the radio) to the American people. Generally speaking, Americans heard from their President only relatively rarely, or during election season. By reaching out, FDR attempted to assuage America’s fears, and keep the populace updated on what he was doing and why.

Example Question #861 : Sat Subject Test In United States History

In the Supreme Court case Muller v. Oregon,the Court ruled that __________.

Possible Answers:

the United States judicial system can hear cases regarding polygamy, even if it is a feature of religious belief 

individual rights in the Constitution do not apply to tribal governments 

None of those mentioned represent the decision of the Court in Muller v. Oregon.

the Eleventh Amendment prevents a citizen of a U.S. state from suing that state in Federal court

women could not work excessively long hours for fear they might damage their bodies for motherhood 

Correct answer:

women could not work excessively long hours for fear they might damage their bodies for motherhood 

Explanation:

The Supreme Court case of Muller v. Oregon upheld the state law of Oregon to limit the number of hours women could work, in order to protect their health. In the majority verdict the court stated that the physical well-being of women was an object of public interest, in order that the strength and vigor of the American people should be sustained.

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

What did Samuel Gompers hail as “the working man’s Magna Carta”?

Possible Answers:

The repeal of prohibition 

Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points

The passage of the Seventeenth Amendment

The Clayton Anti-Trust Act

William Jennings Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” speech 

Correct answer:

The Clayton Anti-Trust Act

Explanation:

The Magna Carta is a famous document from English history, written in 1215. It helped ensure limited democratic participation for a collection of prominent English barons against the tyrannical rule of King John. It is often hailed as one of the earliest assurances of democratic process in western history; however, it applied only to a very slim percentage of the population—only the highest of the upper classes. When Samuel Gompers called the Clayton Anti-Trust Act “the working man’s Magna Carta” he was echoing a commonly held belief that, after the passage of the Act, the working man was finally as free and enfranchised as the wealthy class. The Clayton Anti-Trust Act was designed to ensure fair competition in the workplace and marketplace, along with competitive wages and benefits for the working class. Whether or not it achieved this in practice is up for debate, as many businesses fused into a single corporations and were able to derive the benefits of a cartel in a legal fashion. What is certain, however, is that the Clayton Anti-Trust Act was a significant event in the correcting of social and economic injustices in early twentieth-century America. 

Example Question #862 : Sat Subject Test In United States History

Marcus Garvey __________.

Possible Answers:

helped ensure the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, granting women the right to vote 

advocated for the end of alcohol prohibition 

sponsored a movement to encourage the return of Blacks to Africa

successfully argued for the protection of Native American land

was the first African-American Supreme Court Justice

Correct answer:

sponsored a movement to encourage the return of Blacks to Africa

Explanation:

Marcus Garvey was a prominent member of the movement to advance the status of blacks in America, and indeed the world. He believed strongly in Black Nationalism and advocated for the return of America’s black population to Africa, as well as the removal of European colonial influence on that continent. Garvey was a controversial figure throughout his political life—he staunchly opposed W.E.B. Dubois and the NAACP, once meeting with the leader of the Ku Klux Klan: calling the Klan’s racism the most honest form of white supremacy.

Example Question #863 : Sat Subject Test In United States History

Which First Lady was behind the sexual and drug abstinence campaign called Just Say No?

Possible Answers:

Jacqueline Kennedy

Lady Bird Johnson 

Hilary Clinton 

Barbara Bush

Nancy Reagan

Correct answer:

Nancy Reagan

Explanation:

The Just Say No campaign was a reaction to the growth of drug use and the emergence (into public knowledge) of sexually transmitted diseases—most notably HIV—in the 1980s and 1990s. It aimed to prevent young people from experimenting with drugs or engaging in unprotected sex. The campaign was created and championed by First Lady Nancy Reagan. 

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

. . . But the great glory of American democracy is the right to protest for right. My friends, don’t let anybody make us feel that we [are] to be compared in our actions with the Ku Klux Klan or with the White Citizens Council. There will be no crosses burned at any bus stops in Montgomery. There will be no white persons pulled out of their homes and taken out on some distant road and lynched for not cooperating. There will be nobody amid, among us who will stand up and defy the Constitution of this nation. We only assemble here because of our desire to see right exist. . .

— Martin Luther King, Jr., December 1955

What is the main idea of this quotation by MLK Jr? 

Possible Answers:

Sometimes, civil disobedience is a necessity to create change

In every society, there is and will always be revolution

The Ku Klux Klan will keep attacking black people who protest

The government will protect the black protesters from the Ku Klux Klan

Violence is how to create change

Correct answer:

Sometimes, civil disobedience is a necessity to create change

Explanation:

MLK was a supporter of civil disobedience and acts of nonviolence to bring about change. He is advocating assembling nonviolently to gain rights. Dr. King's fundamental argument expressed in this passage, was that to disobey and unjust and inhumane law was not to be socially disruptive, but socially progressive.

Example Question #1 : Sequence In U.S. Social History From 1899 To The Present

The television became a regular household item in America in the __________.

Possible Answers:

the 1910s

the 1960s

the 1920s

the 1930s

the 1950s

Correct answer:

the 1950s

Explanation:

Television was first invented in the 1920s, but the technology to manufacture televisions and broadcast programming were extremely costly. Radio remained the premier form of home entertainment through World War II. In the post-war economic boom, however, more and more American families were able to acquire televsions and stations appeared all over the country. By the middle of the 1950s, television was the most popular form of home entertainment in America.

Example Question #864 : Sat Subject Test In United States History

Why did Walter Waters and the Bonus Army march on Washington during the Great Depression?

Possible Answers:

To protest the passage of recent bills that had greatly diminished the resources being accorded to the armed services.

To remove Civil Rights protestors who had forcibly taken up residence throughout the capital.

To demand that Congress expedite the payment of retirement money promised to veterans of World War One.

To show support for President Roosevelt in the face of scrutiny.

To protest the fact that McCarthy was going after the army in his campaign against Communism.

Correct answer:

To demand that Congress expedite the payment of retirement money promised to veterans of World War One.

Explanation:

The Bonus Army is the popular name given to a group of veterans who marched to Washington in 1932 to protest the fact that they could not cash many of their service certificates until 1945. Following World War One, a cash-strapped United States government had issued certificates in lieu of payment. Many veterans were out of work or suffering deeply during the Great Depression, and the idea that they had been deprived of payment was enough to motivate a march upon the capital. They were forcibly evicted without having their demands met.

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