Home Instruction Schools American History Quiz Script

1) In writing the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson was influenced most by John Locke's idea of

a) due process of law
b) natural rights
c) the rights of the accused
d) the right to privacy

2) During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the plans for Congress proposed by delegates from New Jersey and Virginia differed mainly over the issue of

a) life terms of office or short terms of office
b) appointed legislators or elected legislators
c) equal state representation or proportionate state representation
d) power to check other branches or power limited to lawmaking

3) Which governmental action illustrates the system of checks and balances?

a) a senator helping a governor solve a state problem
b) the president negotiating a trade agreement with foreign diplomats
c) the Senate ratifying a peace treaty
d) Congress raising taxes to pay for federal programs

4) A major criticism of the electoral college system has been that

a) party loyalty is weakened after a presidential election
b) electors frequently fail to vote for a candidate
c) members of the electoral college are appointed for life terms
d) a president may be elected without receiving the majority of the popular vote

5) Which feature must a nation have to be considered a democracy?

a) a strong president
b) citizen participation in government
c) elected judges to conduct trials
d) a set of laws

a) control the federal budget
b) vote to end a tie in the Senate
c) approve presidential appointments
d) interpret the Constitution

7) Conflicts between Jeffersonians and Hamiltonians during President George Washington's first administration led directly to the

a) end of the Era of Good Feelings
b) decision to replace the Articles of Confederation
c) addition of the elastic clause to the Constitution
d) start of the first political parties

8) The term Manifest Destiny was first used to support

a) independence from Great Britain
b) westward expansion to the Pacific Ocean
c) efforts to stop secession of Southern states
d) laws restricting labor union activity

9) Which region of the United States was most directly affected by the passage of the Homestead Act?

a) Atlantic Coast
b) Rocky Mountains
c) Appalachian Mountains
d) Great Plains

10) Jane Addams and Jacob Riis were most notable for their efforts to

a) treat the wounded in World War I
b) stop the spread of diseases in Latin America
c) legalize birth control for women
d) aid the urban poor

11) In the mid-1800s, the growth of the populations of California and the western territories was mainly a result of the

a) discovery of gold and silver
b) opening of the Panama Canal
c) migration of freedmen after the Civil War
d) secession of the Southern states

12) In the late 1800s, the Granger movement tried to improve conditions for farmers by

a) lowering the rate of inflation
b) strengthening the gold standard
c) forcing railroads to lower their rates
d) making labor unions stronger

13) The passage of the Dawes Act in 1887 was primarily an attempt by the United States government to

a) limit the power of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
b) return eastern land to Native American Indian tribes
c) encourage Native American Indians to give up their traditional cultures
d) hire Native American Indians as military scouts

14) In the late 1800s, supporters of laissez-faire capitalism claimed that government regulation of business would be

a) essential to protect the rights of consumers
b) necessary to provide jobs for the unemployed
c) useful in competing with foreign nations
d) harmful to economic growth

15) Why did the United States follow a policy of open immigration during much of the 1800s?

a) Many United States citizens wanted to live abroad.
b) The United States had a shortage of labor.
c) Prosperous conditions in Europe resulted in fewer immigrants coming to the United States.
d) Immigrants provided United States industry with investment capital.

16) An important result of the Spanish-American War of 1898 was that the United States

a) acquired territories in Africa
b) became a world power with an overseas empire
c) improved its relations with Germany
d) lost interest in Latin American affairs

17) Which group of Americans generally failed to experience the economic prosperity of the 1920s?

a) farmers
b) retailers
c) consumers
d) manufacturers

18) Mark Twain labeled the late 1800s in the United States the Gilded Age to describe the

a) end of the practice of slavery
b) absence of international conflicts
c) extremes of wealth and poverty
d) achievements of the labor movement

19) One idea that both Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois supported is that

a) African Americans should have increased civil rights
b) vocational training was the best approach to education
c) immigration was responsible for racial segregation
d) Jim Crow laws were needed to help African Americans

20) During the late 1800s and early 1900s, where did most of the immigrants to the United States settle?

a) urban centers of the Northeast
b) plantations of the New South
c) mining areas of the Far West
d) farming regions of the Great Plains