US History Practice Test

1. Jacksonian Democrats believed which people should be able to vote?

a. White males
b. All males
c. Everyone
d. Landed gentry

2. The Second Great Awakening was

a. a multi-denominational religious movement to prepare people for the “End of Days”
b. a Reaction against religion, and the rise of logic over faith
c. a religious movement against skepticism and rationalism
d. a movement aimed toward reducing corruption in politics and putting politicians in power to support the “everyman”

3. In what case did Chief Justice John Marshal most increase the powers of the Supreme Court?

a. Fletcher v. Peck
b. Marbury v. Madison
c. Brown v. Board of Education
d. Roe v. Wade

4. Which of these was NOT a purpose of the Lewis and Clark Expedition?

a. Explore and map the Louisiana purchase
b. Find a practical route to the Pacific Ocean
c. Establish American presence in the Louisiana Territory
d. Try to claim some of the adjoining Spanish territory

5. Which of these is true about the First Barbary War?

a. The United States fought the war because they were the only country forced to pay a tribute to the Barbary States
b. It was the first time the United States fought a war in a foreign land
c. Spain suggested that the United States should fight or the Barbary Pirates would demand more tribute for safe passage
d. The United States decisively beat the Barbary pirates and took back American prisoners without having to pay any tribute or ransom

6. What is entailed in the Monroe Doctrine?

a. The suffrage of all white males
b. The removal of Native Americans from the Deep South
c. The assertion that the Americas would be free from European influence
d. The assertion that the United States would act as an arbitrator for any problems that occur in the Americas

7. Which of these states was NOT part of the Confederacy?

a. West Virginia
b. Tennessee
c. Texas
d. Florida

8. Why did the Confederate States of America believe that European nations would side with them over the United States of America?

a. The North had angered much of Europe by setting up tariffs against manufactured goods.
b. Many of the upper class in the South had family in Europe
c. The South produced much of the cotton that Europe depended on for its textile industries
d. The Confederacy thought that the Europeans would identify more with the genteel South compared to the rough North

9. What was the start of the American Civil War?

a. Abraham Lincoln’s election
b. The Confederate attack on Fort Sumter
c. The Battle of Gettysburg
d. The Battle of Antietam

10. Who provided the biggest labor base for the Second Industrial Revolution?

a. European immigrants
b. Children
c. Mexican immigrants
d. African Slaves

11. Which of these was NOT a reason that the South succeeded from the Union?

a. Slavery
b. Northern commercial competition
c. States rights
d. Tariffs

12. Which is the Missouri Compromise?

a. Missouri would enter the Union as a free state and Texas enter the Union as a slave state
b. It prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of 36°30’ including Missouri
c. Missouri would enter the Union as a slave state and California would enter as a free state
d. All areas in the former Louisiana Territory north of 36°30’ except for Missouri would enter the union as free states

13. What did the Kansas-Nebraska Act do?

a. Close Nebraska to slavery and make Kansas a slave state.
b. It prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of 36°30’ including Kansas and Nebraska
c. All areas in the former Louisiana Territory north of 36°30’ except for Kansas and Nebraska would enter the union as free states
d. The decision of whether Kansas or Nebraska would become either a slave or free state would be determined by popular vote

14. In response to what event did the Confederate States of America form?

a The Emancipation Proclamation
b. Jefferson Davis declaring that the South would no longer bend to the will of the North
c. The election of Abraham Lincoln
d. Robert E. Lee declaring that the South would no longer bend to the will of the North

Answer Key

1. A
Choice A is correct, President Jackson and his supporters believed that all white males, the common man, should have the right to vote, and not just those that owned property or payed certain taxes.

Choice B is incorrect, Almost no one believed that minorities should be able to vote, any politician with this stance would not get very far.

Choice C is incorrect, women were not directly part of the political process and the belief that women were to “fragile” or emotional for the process would hold sway after the Jacksonian Democrats were no longer a political party.

Choice D is incorrect, Jacksonian Democrats were explicitly against the landed gentry having all of the political power.

2. C
The Second Great Awakening was a movement that rejected skepticism and rationalism. The supporters called for everyone to become more moral and less analytical.

Choice A is incorrect, while it was a multi-denominational religious movement people believed the second coming of Christ was imminent which would be followed by a thousand years of peace, not the end of the world.

Choice B is incorrect, the Second Great Awakening was a religious movement that emphasized faith over logic.

Choice D is incorrect, while reducing corruption in politics may have been part of the increase in morality the Second Great Awakening called for, the movement was religious and not about corruption in politics.

3. B
With Marbury v. Madison Chief Justice Marshall allowed Marshall to establish the concept of judicial review. Judicial review is the concept that only the supreme court can declare a law unconstitutional and is the sole power of the Supreme Court.

Choice A is incorrect, Fletcher v. Peck in 1810 was the first ruling that ruled a state law was unconstitutional. This did enlarge the powers of the supreme court, but not as much as another case in this list.

Choice C is incorrect, Brown v. Board of Education declared that segregated schools are unconstitutional. The ruling had no effect on the powers of the Supreme Court and was not presided over by Chief Justice Marshall.

Choice D is incorrect, Roe v. Wade was a case on when women could get abortions. This did not have an effect on the Supreme Court’s power, nor did Chief Justice Marshall preside over the court that decided that case.

4. D
While the Lewis and Clark expedition did try and establish some American presence in unclaimed territory on the West Coast they did not try and claim any of the Spanish territory on the border of the Louisiana Purchase.

Choice A is incorrect, exploring and mapping the Louisiana Purchase was one of the chief reasons that the expedition was funded.

Choice B is incorrect, President Jefferson’s main purpose for the expedition was to find a water route across the continent for future commerce.

Choice C is incorrect, the United States did want to establish a presence in the Louisiana Territory so that their claim would be strengthened on the land.

5. B
The First Barbary War was the first war on a foreign land authorized by congress.

Choice A is incorrect, many European powers payed tribute to the Barbary States to ensure that their trading ships were not hassled.

Choice C is incorrect, Spain suggested that the United States should pay the tribute to prevent further attacks after the Spanish negotiated for the release of the captured ship and crew.

Choice D is incorrect, while the United States was winning some strategic battles a treaty was draw up in which their would be an end to hostilities and a complete prisoner exchange with the United States paying an additional ransom for the extra prisoners Tripoli had.

6. C
The Monroe Doctrine was proclaimed under President James Monroe that the United States would view any influence or colony making in the Americas as an act of war against the United States. In addition the United States would stay out of European affairs.

Choice A is incorrect, while suffrage for all white males happened in the 1820s when the Monroe Doctrine was established, it was not the same thing.

Choice B is incorrect, the removal of Native Americans from the Deep South was initiated under the Indian Removal Act, not the Monroe Doctrine.

Choice D is incorrect, the Roosevelt Corollary states that the United States would be the policemen of the Americas, and expand their influence throughout the Americas also.

7. A
West Virginia split off from Virginia in order to stay in the Union and not go along with the rest of Virginia to the Confederacy.

Choice B is incorrect, while Tennessee was not part of the original Confederate States of America it did join later on when war was imminent.

Choice C is incorrect, Texas was one of the original signatories to the Confederate Constitution.

Choice D is incorrect, Florida was also one of the original signatories to the Confederate Constitution.

8. B
The North and the South had very different economies that did not really compete. Unfortunately because of this both had very different wants when it came to commercial laws.

Choice A is incorrect, the right to own slaves was a belief that the Southern States held, and at every opportunity the North seemed to be impinging on that right. With the addition of new states, and whether they be slave or free, this issue became more and more heated.

Choice C is incorrect, the Southern States believed that each state could leave the Union if they wanted to and that state laws covered their citizens even in other states. The Northern states disagreed, states could not leave the union and you could not take your slave in to a free state.

Choice D is incorrect, the Southern States wanted tariffs against foreign cotton and not on manufactured goods while the North wanted the opposite. Usually the North got its way, angering the South.

9. B
The Confederate attack on Fort Sumter was in effect a declaration of war and the opening volley for the American Civil War.

Choice A is incorrect, Abraham Lincoln’s election was the justification of the formation of the Confederate States of America, but it did not start the war.

Choice C is incorrect, the Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, but the war had already been active for a few years.

Choice D is incorrect, the Battle of Antietam was the first major battle to take place on Union soil, but the war had started about a year before.

10. A
European immigrants were more easily taken advantage of due to their lack of a support structure in the states. With their cheap labor the Second Industrial Revolution was able to flourish.

Choice B is incorrect, while children were a part of the workforce and had to endure many hardships during the Second Industrial Revolution, they did not provide the largest labor base.

Choice C is incorrect, Mexican immigrants were very uncommon during the Second Industrial Revolution.

Choice D is incorrect, during the Second Industrial Revolution slavery was outlawed.

11. C
Many southern states vowed to secede from the Union if Lincoln was elected to presidency, and they followed through with their threat.

Choice A is incorrect, the Emancipation Proclamation happened well in to the Civil War.

Choice B is incorrect, while Jefferson Davis may have vowed that the South would no longer bend to the will of the North this did not lead to the Confederacy being born.

Choice D is incorrect, Robert E. Lee never wanted the Civil War to happen, but his loyalties lay with Virginia and so he fought for the Confederacy.

12. C
The South grew most of the cotton that fueled the European textile industries. It did not work though because the cotton output of the South had been so high for so long that their were huge stockpiles that Europe could rely on while India and some other areas picked up the cotton producing slack.

Choice A is incorrect, while the North did put up large tariffs to support its industries this was common practice in Europe and was never thought to be a big factor in deciding who the Europeans might support.

Choice B is incorrect, while many of the upper class in the South had family in Europe, so did many people in the Union. This was a reason why Europe stayed mostly neutral in the war.

Choice D is incorrect, the Europeans were actually more likely to identify with the North over the issue of slavery which had been outlawed in Europe for a while, and was the face of the American Civil War.

13. B
The Confederate attack on Fort Sumter was in effect a declaration of war and the opening volley for the American Civil War.

Choice A is incorrect, Abraham Lincoln’s election was the justification of the formation of the Confederate States of America, but it did not start the war.

Choice C is incorrect, the Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, but the war had already been active for a few years.

Choice D is incorrect, the Battle of Antietam was the first major battle to take place on Union soil, but the war had started about a year before.

14. A
European immigrants were more easily taken advantage of due to their lack of a support structure in the states. With their cheap labor the Second Industrial Revolution was able to flourish.

Choice B is incorrect, while children were a part of the workforce and had to endure many hardships during the Second Industrial Revolution, they did not provide the largest labor base.

Choice C is incorrect, Mexican immigrants were very uncommon during the Second Industrial Revolution.

Choice D is incorrect, during the Second Industrial Revolution slavery was outlawed.