American History II Exam Preparation Guide
Course Introduction
American History II explores the political, social, and economic developments in the United States from the end of the Reconstruction era through the present day. This course examines key events such as the rise of industrialization, urbanization, the Progressive Era, the World Wars, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement, and contemporary America. Students will analyze the changing roles of government, the evolution of American society, and the nations interaction with the world, fostering an understanding of how past events have shaped current American identity and global influence.
Recommended Textbook
American Pageant Volume 2 16th Edition by
David M. Kennedy
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20 Chapters
2630 Verified Questions
2630 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Ordeal of Reconstruction, 1865-1877
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105 Verified Questions
105 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Hiram Revels
Answer: Answers will vary.
Q2) Congress objected to the readmission of Southern states to the Union under Johnson's plan because
A) the states had adopted Black Codes that limited the civil rights of freed slaves.
B) the states had been readmitted without consultation with Congress.
C) many former Confederates were elected to high political office in those states.
D) it feared that the restored South would be stronger than ever in national politics.
E) they feared that the South would just secede again if it didn't get its way.
Answer: A, B, C, D
Q3) As a politician, Andrew Johnson developed a reputation as a(n)
A) supporter of the planter aristocrats.
B) opponent of slavery.
C) inspiring and calmly eloquent speaker.
D) champion of the poor whites.
E) secret Confederate sympathizer.
Answer: D
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Chapter 2: Political Paralysis in the Gilded Age, 1869-1896
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147 Verified Questions
147 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) President James A. Garfield was assassinated
A) by an ex-Confederate bitter at Garfield's Union army service.
B) by an unknown and an undiscovered assassin.
C) by a jealous former lover.
D) by a deranged, disappointed office seeker.
E) by a political anarchist.
Answer: D
Q2) In the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court ruled that
A) African Americans could be denied the right to vote.
B) segregation was always unconstitutional.
C) "separate but equal" public schools and facilities were constitutional under the "equal protection" clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
D) the Fourteenth Amendment protections of "equal protection" applied only to African Americans who could prove that an individual segregated black school or facility was unequal to comparable white public school or public facility.
E) African Americans born as slaves could not sue in federal court.
Answer: C
Q3) Farmers' Alliance
Answer: Answers will vary.
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Industry Comes of Age, 1865-1900
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157 Verified Questions
157 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Sherman Anti-Trust Act prohibited
A) companies from signing contracts without competitive bidding.
B) the federal government from favoring one business corporation over another.
C) competing companies from having interlocking corporate boards of directors.
D) private corporations or organizations from engaging in "combinations in restraint of trade."
E) None of these choices are correct.
Answer: D
Q2) Leftists scholars who found fault with the post-Civil War era captains of industry mostly argued that these men
A) had no real business ability.
B) built their corporate wealth and power by exploiting workers.
C) tried to take the United States back to an earlier age of aristocracy.
D) were environmentally insensitive.
E) were insufficiently philanthropic in donating considerable sums of personal wealth to cultural institutions such as libraries that benefited the masses.
Answer: B
Q3) consumer goods
Answer: Answers will vary.
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Page 5
Chapter 4: America Moves to the City, 1865-1900
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154 Verified Questions
154 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) New Immigrant groups were regarded with special hostility by many nativist Americans because
A) most Americans considered Italian, Greek, or Jewish culture inferior to their own.
B) many New Immigrants attempted to convert Americans to Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, or Judaism.
C) in many New Immigrant families, women were kept in distinctly subordinate roles.
D) New Immigrants were often more politically loyal to their homelands than to the United States.
E) their religions were distinctly different and some New Immigrants were politically radical.
Q2) American Protective Association
Q3) Booker T. Washington
Q4) In what ways was the city a "frontier of opportunity for women"? Name at least two women who seized this opportunity and elaborate on their experiences.
Q5) William James
Q6) natural selection
Q7) Howard University
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Chapter 5: The Great West and the Agricultural Revolution, 1865-1896
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161 Verified Questions
161 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) William Jennings Bryan
Q2) A new round of warfare between the Sioux and U.S. Army began in 1874 when
A) the U.S. Army decided to retaliate for the Fetterman massacre.
B) Sioux Chief Crazy Horse began an effort to drive all whites from Montana and the Dakotas.
C) Colonel George Custer led an expedition to Little Big Horn, Montana.
D) Colonel George Custer discovered gold on Sioux land in the Black Hills.
E) the federal government announced that it was opening all Sioux lands to settlement.
Q3) Populist (People's) Party
Q4) safety-valve theory
Q5) What is the safety-valve theory? Do you find it plausible? Why or why not?
Q6) "fourth party system"
Q7) Late nineteenth-century Populist farmers held grievances against A) railroads.
B) state governments.
C) corporations and processors who provided products and services for farmers.
D) the two major political parties.
E) banks.
Q8) James B. Weaver Page 7
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Page 8
Chapter 6: Empire and Expansion, 1890-1909
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161 Verified Questions
161 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Teller Amendment
A) guaranteed that the United States would support Cuban independence after Spain was ousted.
B) stated that Cuba would become an American possession.
C) directed President McKinley to order American troops into Cuba.
D) guaranteed that the United States would support a Cuban plebiscite by the Cuban people on independence or colonial status after Spain was ousted.
E) granted the United States a permanent base at Guantanamo Bay.
Q2) George Washington Goethals
Q3) Theodore Roosevelt strongly encouraged the Panamanians to revolt against Colombia because
A) he thought they would not charge as much for a canal route as the Colombians.
B) he wanted to establish a permanent U.S. military base in the region.
C) Roosevelt had designs on making Panama a colony of the United States.
D) he regarded the Colombians as racially inferior.
E) the Colombian senate had rejected the American offer to buy a canal route across Panama.
Q4) Panama Canal
Q5) Rough Riders
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Chapter 7: Progressivism and the Republican Roosevelt, 1901-1912
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142 Verified Questions
142 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The progressive-inspired city-manager system of government A) brought democracy to urban dwellers.
B) was developed in Wisconsin.
C) was designed to remove politics from municipal administration.
D) made giant strides under the leadership of Hiram Johnson.
E) opened urban politics to new immigrants.
Q2) Seventeenth Amendment
Q3) The Panic of 1907 exposed the need for substantial reform in A) U.S. banking and currency policies.
B) tariff policies.
C) regulation of trust policies.
D) the practice of corporate interlocking directorates.
E) Wall Street stock-trading
Q4) recall
Q5) Frances Willard
Q6) Why did feminists, and middle-class women generally, play such a prominent role in the progressive movement? Were feminist and progressive goals essentially identical, or were there areas where the two movements differed?
Q7) New Nationalism
Q8) Bull Moose Page 10
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Chapter 8: Wilsonian Progressivism in Peace and War,
1913-1920
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144 Verified Questions
144 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Prosecutions under the Espionage Act (1917) and the Sedition Act (1918) can be characterized in the following waysexcept
A) antiwar socialists and labor leaders were visibly targeted.
B) 1,900 Americans were prosecuted under these laws.
C) the laws meant that any criticism of the government could be censored and punished.
D) the Supreme Court ultimately ruled that they were unconstitutional violations of freedom of speech and association.
E) after the war, President Harding issued pardons to many of those prosecuted, including labor leader Eugene Debs.
Q2) Assess Wilson's conduct of foreign policy from 1914 to 1917. Do you think that he could have pursued a different course that would have kept the United States out of the war? Should he have? Why or why not?
Q3) William Jennings Bryan
Q4) ____ Identify the area of the Low Countries through which invading German armies passed on their way toward France.
Q5) ABC Powers
Q6) U-boats
Page 12
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Chapter 9: American Life in the Roaring Twenties
1920 1929
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145 Verified Questions
145 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) H. L. Mencken
Q2) The cultural offerings of radio programs and motion picturesin the 1920s
A) were less popular than had been anticipated.
B) contributed to the standardization of American life.
C) affirmed and supported the rich diversity of traditional Old Country cultures and values.
D) were for the most part too expensive for ordinary working families.
E) strengthened American family life.
Q3) Lindbergh Law
Q4) The Man Nobody Knows
Q5) scientific management
Q6) Immigration Act of 1924
Q7) Randolph Bourne
Q8) The most spectacular and deadly example of lawlessness and gangsterism in the 1920s was in
A) San Francisco.
B) New Orleans.
C) Boston.
D) Chicago.
E) Las Vegas.
Page 13
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Page 14
Chapter 10: The Politics of Boom and Bust 1920 1932
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105 Verified Questions
105 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Al Smith
Q2) When elected to the presidency in 1928, Herbert Hoover
A) was militantly antiunion and against big government.
B) brought little administrative talent or experience to the job.
C) understood that his major challenge was to find a solution to the Great Depression.
D) combined small-town values with wide experience in modern corporate America.
E) had been a successful governor of California.
Q3) Stimson doctrine
Q4) President Hoover's approach to the Great Depression was to
A) leave the economy alone to work itself out of trouble.
B) nationalize major industries.
C) encourage the states to stimulate spending.
D) work for the breakup of business monopolies.
E) offer federal assistance to businesses and banks but not individuals.
Q5) Douglas MacArthur
Q6) Fordney-McCumber Tariff
Q7) Charles R. Forbes
Q8) Black Tuesday
Q9) Andrew Mellon
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Chapter 11: The Great Depression and the New Deal
1933 1939
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118 Verified Questions
118 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Prominent female social scientists of the 1930s, like Ruth Benedict and Margaret Mead, brought widespread contributions to the field of
A) economics.
B) political science.
C) psychology.
D) sociology.
E) anthropology.
Q2) John Steinbeck
Q3) sit-down strike
Q4) The Democratic party platform on which Franklin Roosevelt campaigned for the presidency in 1932 called for
A) extensive social reforms and a balanced budget.
B) deficit spending and a higher military budget.
C) higher tariffs and support for American manufacturers.
D) a sixty percent tax on the income of the highest tow percent of American income earners.
E) breaking up monopolistic corporations and supporting small business.
Q5) Glass-Steagall Act
Q6) Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act)
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Chapter 12: Franklin D Roosevelt and the Shadow of War
1933 1941
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104 Verified Questions
104 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The text states that the ultimate cause of America's entry into World War II was the fact that it pursued policies in both Europe and Asia that invited retaliation. Do you agree with the authors' assessment of why America ultimately entered World War II? If not, why not? If so, what were those policies, and why were Americans willing to risk war to uphold them?
Q2) In promising to grant the Philippines independence, the United States was A) motivated by treaty obligations.
B) providing the Philippines with long-term economic terms and assistance necessary to assure a smooth transition to political independence.
C) acknowledging the view of the U.S. Navy that the islands were militarily indefensible.
D) providing tacit encouragement to Japanese militarists who eyed the Philippines as a target for their imperialist ambitions in Asia and the Pacific.
E) acknowledging an official U.S. government apology for America's imperialist takeover of the islands in 1898.
Q3) ____ The nation through which German armies twice invaded France in the twentieth century.
Q4) Japanese militarism and the "China incident" of 1937
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Chapter 13: America in World War II 1941 1945
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106 Verified Questions
106 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Joseph Stalin
Q2) In waging war against Japan, the United States relied mainly on a strategy of
A) heavy bombing from Chinese air bases.
B) invading Japanese strongholds in Southeast Asia.
C) fortifying China by transporting supplies from India over the Himalayan hump.
D) island hopping across the South Pacific while bypassing Japanese strongholds.
E) turning the Japanese flanks in New Guinea and Alaska.
Q3) Office of Price Administration
Q4) In sharp contrast to World War I, during World War II, Americans were
A) ready to use conscription if necessary to raise an army.
B) forced to sacrifice civilian economic well-being for the military effort.
C) weakened by constant isolationist criticism of the war effort.
D) nearly unanimous in support of the war.
E) actually invaded by enemy forces.
Q5) Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC)
Q6) WACs (Women's Army Corps)
Q7) WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service)
Q8) Should the Allied victory in World War II be seen as proof of the strength of democracy? Support your answer with specific evidence regarding the course and conduct of the war.
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Chapter 14: The Cold War Begins 1945-1952
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154 Verified Questions
154 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why was there such strong popular domestic political support initially for Senator Joseph McCarthy's anticommunist crusade in the early 1950s?
Q2) In early 1945, the United States was extremely eager to secure the Soviet Union's participation in the projected invasion of Japan because A) the Soviets would become so engaged in East Asia that they would not expand further into central Europe.
B) without Soviet help, the Japanese could not be defeated.
C) American casualties were expected to be high if only Americans were involved.
D) Roosevelt believed that Stalin's involvement in Japan could help to control the communists in China.
E) Roosevelt did not want Stalin to become aware of the atomic bomb secret.
Q3) baby boom
Q4) The continued growth of the suburbs led to
A) increased school integration.
B) better entertainment opportunities in the cities.
C) an increase in urban poverty.
D) a decrease in urban crime.
E) more efficient transportation.
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Page 19
Chapter 15: American Zenith 1952-1963
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181 Verified Questions
181 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) European Economic Community (EEC)
Q2) Dwight Eisenhower's policies toward Native Americans included
A) efforts at tribal preservation.
B) the establishment of tribes as legal entities.
C) incentives for tribes to hold onto their land.
D) a return to the assimilation goals of the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887.
E) an emphasis on education and job training for Indians.
Q3) Rosa Parks
Q4) The Eisenhower-promoted public works project that was far larger and more expensive than anything in Roosevelt's New Deal was the
A) interstate highway system.
B) Grand Coulee dam project.
C) urban public subway and light rail project.
D) airport construction program.
E) public housing system.
Q5) white collar/blue collar
Q6) Arthur Miller
Q7) Sylvia Plath
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Q8) Why was Eisenhower generally successful in avoiding American involvement in any large-scale foreign wars?
Chapter 16: The Stormy Sixties 1963-1973
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168 Verified Questions
168 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Nixon Doctrine
Q2) Some advocates of Black Power, recollecting the black nationalist movement of the Marcus Garvey, made the movement the basis for A) emphasizing African American distinctiveness and separatism.
B) upholding the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. C) violent overthrow of the U.S. government.
D) encouraging the end of racially based identity and culture.
E) promoting affirmative action in education and employment.
Q3) Nation of Islam
Q4) Eugene McCarthy
Q5) Voting Rights Act of 1965
Q6) How did the cultural and social upheavals of the 1960s alter American religion and values?
Q7) Some historians argue that only a staunch anticommunist like Richard Nixon could have softened the once-bitter American relations with Communist China. Is this view accurate?
Q8) George McGovern
Q9) The Beatles
Q10) Civil Rights Act of 1964
Q11) "silent majority" Page 21
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Page 22
Chapter 17: Challenges to the Postwar Order 1973-1980
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83 Verified Questions
83 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The "boat people" were
A) the first wave of Vietnamese immigrants who fled to the United States immediately after the fall of Saigon.
B) Cuban refugees who fled communism and landed in Florida.
C) a second wave of Vietnamese people who sought to escape Vietnam'soppressive communist regime for freedom.
D) Cambodians who came to the U.S. seeking a better life after the Vietnam War.
E) None of these choices are correct.
Q2) Jimmy Carter quickly found himself in political trouble because he
A) emphasized his Southern Baptist beliefs in his public speeches.
B) seemed to lack fundamental moral and religious values.
C) proved too ready to compromise with Republicans in Congress.
D) relied too heavily on a small circle of Georgia advisers.
E) spent too much time on foreign policy and not enough on the economy.
Q3) Watergate scandal
Q4) Which of the following was the most important in creating the mood of public disillusionment in the 1970s: Watergate, the loss of Vietnam, or economic woes? Cite specific examples to support your point of view.
Q5) Iranian hostage crisis
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Chapter 18: The Resurgence of Conservatism 1980-1992
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120 Verified Questions
120 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Solidarity Movement
Q2) rainbow coalition
Q3) The Iran-Contra investigations revealed Ronald Reagan as a president who
A) was an intellectual giant.
B) napped through cabinet meetings.
C) was losing his popularity.
D) paid too much attention to detail.
E) planned elaborate foreign-policy moves.
Q4) Democrats who opposed the reelection of President Carter complained that he
A) had failed to control double-digit inflation.
B) negotiated the Panama Canal Treaty.
C) had not aggressively pursued civil rights.
D) failed to rescue the hostages in Iran.
E) had removed regulatory controls from major industries.
Q5) Boris Yeltsin
Q6) Moral Majority
Q7) Describe President Reagan's evolving approach to foreign affairs over two presidential terms.Why did President Reagan shift his approach to managing the superpower relationship with the Soviet Union? Was Reagan's foreign policy in his second term more effective than during his first term? Why or why not?
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Chapter 19: America Confronts the Post-Cold War Era,
1992-2000
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87 Verified Questions
87 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What were the primary domestic policy goals of the Clinton presidency? Did Clinton's policies owe more to his claim to be a New Democrat, or was he still fundamentally in tune with the liberal heritage of the Democratic party?
Q2) World Trade Organization (WTO)
Q3) By the early twenty-first century, evidence of the growing numbers and influence of the Latino population in the U.S. could be seen in all of the following ways except A) electing Hispanic mayors of major cities such as Miami, Denver and San Antonio.
B) the United Farm Workers' success in improving working conditions for the mostly Chicano laborers.
C) electing Hispanic senators from states such as Arizona, Florida, and Texas.
D) increasing Spanish-language television broadcasts.
E) more election ballots in Spanish.
Q4) Evaluate the debates over multiculturalism and the traditional melting pot of American national culture. Why have such controversies so often contributed to the culture wars? Is there a middle ground between a strong multiculturalism and the desire to hold onto shared American values and culture?
Q5) "don't ask, don't tell"
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88 Verified Questions
88 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/20730
Sample Questions
Q1) The money used to provide Social Security payments to retirees comes from A) the federal income tax.
B) the contributions made by the elderly during their working lives.
C) Social Security taxes paid by current workers.
D) private employers' pension funds.
E) the federal government's investment of Social Security contributions in the stock market.
Q2) Barack Obama
Q3) In what ways did George W. Bush's administration and policies represent a continuation of the conservative revolution launched by Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and to what extent did it represent a more radical and unprecedented turn in American foreign and domestic policies?
Q4) Saddam Hussein
Q5) Colin Powell
Q6) Among Bush's advisers who pushed most strongly for the invasion of Iraq were
A) Secretary of State Colin Powell and the State Department.
B) Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge and the Central Intelligence Agency.
C) former President George H.W. Bush and the foreign policy realists.
D) Vice President Richard Cheney and administration neoconservatives.
E) former Bush administration National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft. Page 26
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