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CONTENTS
Introduction

Key Terms

Civics and Government

Geography and the World

Economics

U.S. History
INTRODUCTION
®
About the GED Social Studies Test

The GED® test measures how well you can apply problem solving,
analytical reasoning, and critical thinking skills alongside your
understanding of high school–level social studies.

The test is delivered on a computer and consists of approximately 35

multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, drop-down, drag-and-drop, and hot-spot
questions, including an extended-response question. The questions are
based on relevant social studies materials, including brief texts, maps,
graphics, and tables.

Many of the brief texts featured will be drawn from materials reflecting
“the Great American Conversation, which includes our founding
documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, as well as other
documents and speeches from U.S. history that express issues and values
that have shaped American actions and ideals.” You’ll have 90 minutes to
complete the test.

The new GED® Social Studies Test assesses important ideas in two
ways:

1. Every question tests a social studies “practice” skill. These skills

measure the critical thinking and reasoning skills that are essential to
social studies success.

2. Each question is drawn from one of the four main content areas in
social studies—Civics and Government, Geography and the World,
Economics, and U.S. History.

How to Use This Book

GED® Test Social Studies Flash Review is designed to help you prepare for
and succeed on the official exam—a strong knowledge of core social
studies concepts will get you confident and prepared for test day.

This book contains more than 600 important concepts, events, terms, ideas,
and practice questions in social studies. The cards are organized by topic for
easy access. It works well as a stand-alone study tool for the GED® Social
Studies test, but it is recommended that it be used to supplement additional
preparation for the exam.

The following are some suggestions for making the most of this effective
resource as you structure your study plan:

• Do not try to review this entire book all at once. Cramming is not the most
effective approach to test prep. The best approach is to build a realistic
study schedule that lets you review one topic each day (refer to the Table of
Contents to see where each new topic begins).

• Mark the cards that you have trouble with, so that they will be easy to
return to later for further study.

• Make the most of this book’s portability—take it with you for studying on
car trips, between classes, while commuting, or whenever you have some
free time.

• Visit the official GED® test website for additional information to help you
get prepared for test day.

Best of luck on the exam—and in earning your high school equivalency

credential!
KEY TERMS
ABOLITIONISM
................................

ABORIGINAL
................................

ABSOLUTE LOCATION
A reform movement during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that
advocated the end of African slavery in Europe and the Americas.

................................

Being the first or earliest known inhabitants of a region.

................................

The exact position of a place on Earth’s surface.

ACCRETION
................................

ACCULTURATION
................................

ACID DEPOSITIONS
The slow process of a sea plate sliding under a continental plate, creating
debris that can cause continents to grow outward.

................................

The cultural modification of an individual, group, or people by adapting to

or borrowing traits from another culture.

................................

Wet or dry airborne acids falling to Earth.

ACID RAIN
................................

ALLIED POWERS
................................
Precipitation carrying large amounts of dissolved acids that damage
buildings, forests, and crops and kill wildlife.

................................

A military coalition formed between nations in opposition to another

alliance of countries. In World War I, the Allied powers included 28 nations
that opposed the Central powers. In World War II, the Allied powers fought
the Axis powers.

................................
ALLUVIAL PLAIN
................................

ALLUVIAL SOIL
................................

ALTIPLANO
A floodplain, such as the Gangetic Plain in South Asia, on which flooding
rivers have deposited rich soil.

................................

Rich soil made of sand and mud deposited by running water.

................................

Spanish for “high plain”; a region in Peru and Bolivia encircled by the
Andes Mountains.
AMENDMENT
................................

ANIMISM
................................

APARTHEID
A change or addition to a motion, bill, written basic law, or constitution.
The U.S. Constitution has 27 amendments. The first ten are collectively
known as the Bill of Rights.

................................

The belief that spirits inhabit natural objects and forces of nature.

................................

The policy of strict separation of the races adopted in South Africa in the
1940s.
AQUACULTURE
................................

AQUIFER
................................

ARABLE
The cultivation of fish and other seafood.

................................

Underground water-bearing layers of porous rock, sand, or gravel.

................................

Suitable for growing crops.

ARCHIPELAGO
................................

ARCTIC ZONE
................................

ARTESIAN WELL
A group or chain of islands.

................................

The climatic zone near the North and South Poles characterized by long,
cold winters and short, cool summers.

................................

A bored well from which water flows up like a fountain.

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
................................

ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION

(APEC)
................................

ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN

NATIONS (ASEAN)
The first compact (agreement) uniting the American colonies; it was
formally ratified by all 13 states in 1781. It was replaced by the U.S.
Constitution in 1789.

................................

A trade group whose members ensure that trade among the member
countries of Asia and the Pacific is efficient and fair.

................................

An organization formed in 1967 to promote regional development and trade

in Southeast Asia.
ATHEISM
................................

ATMOSPHERE
................................

ATOLL
The belief that there is no God.

................................

A layer of gases surrounding Earth.

................................

A ring-shaped island formed by coral building up along the rim of an

underwater volcano, usually with a central lagoon.
AUTOCRACY
................................

AUTONOMOUS AREAS
................................

AVALANCHE
A government in which one person rules with unlimited power and
authority.

................................

Minor political subunits created in the former Soviet Union and designed to
recognize the special status of minority groups within existing republics.

................................

A large mass of ice, snow, or rock that slides down a mountainside.

AXIS
................................

BALKANIZE
................................

BARTERING
An imaginary line that runs through the center of the earth between the
North and South Poles.

................................

To divide a region into smaller regions, often hostile toward each other.

................................

As communities grew, a system of bartering—trading goods or services—

developed.
BILL OF RIGHTS
................................

BOLSHEVIK
................................

BOSTON TEA PARTY

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Ratified in 1791, the Bill
of Rights safeguards the liberties of individuals. These liberties include:

• the right to practice one’s religion freely

• the right to free speech

• the right to a free press

• the right to bear firearms

• the right to meet and to petition the government

• the right to a fair and speedy trial

• the right to representation by a lawyer

• the right to know the crime with which one is being charged

• protection from being tried twice for the same crime

• protection from excessive bail and/or cruel and unusual punishment

................................

A member of the radical faction of the Russian socialist party that took
power in Russia and formed the Communist Party in 1918.

................................

A 1773 incident staged by American colonists protesting the British tax on

tea. The colonists threw three shipments of tea into Boston Harbor.
BUBONIC PLAGUE
................................

BUSINESS CYCLE
................................

CAPITALISM
An infectious disease that killed up to one-third of all Europeans in the
fourteenth century. Also called “the Black Death.”

................................

A period of low productivity followed by a period of high productivity in a

capitalist economy.

................................

An economic system in which individuals and private organizations

produce and distribute goods and services in a free market.
CENTRAL POWERS
................................

CHARTER
................................
A military coalition of nations that fought against the Allied powers in
World War I. The Central powers included Austria-Hungary, Germany,
Bulgaria, and Turkey.

................................

A text or document that provides specific rights to a group or person, often

issued by a government.

................................
CHECKS AND BALANCES
................................

CIVILIZATION
................................

CLIMACTIC ZONE
A system outlined by the U.S. Constitution that divides authority between
the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the federal government
so that no branch of government dominates the others.

................................

An advanced state of intellectual, cultural, and technological development

in human society.

................................

Any of several broad areas that lie along latitudinal lines between the
equator and the North and South Poles.
CLIMATE
................................

COLD WAR
................................

COMMISSION
The atmospheric characteristics near the Earth’s surface over a period of
time. Climate includes average temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind, and
barometric pressure.

................................

Term for the post–World War II rivalry between the United States and the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) that ended in 1989.

................................

A form of local government in which voters elect commissioners to head a

city or county department, such as the fire, police, or public works
department.
COMMUNISM
................................

COMMUNIST MANIFESTO
................................
An economic and political system in which the means of production are
owned collectively and controlled by the state.

................................

A document of communist principles written by Karl Marx in 1848.

................................
CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA
................................
A republic formed in 1861 by 11 Southern states that withdrew from the
United States. After its 1865 defeat in the American Civil War, the republic
dissolved.
Free States

California New ­Hampshire

Connecticut New ­Jersey

Illinois New ­York

Indiana Ohio

Iowa Oregon

Kansas Pennsylvania

Maine Rhode ­Island

Massachusetts Vermont

Michigan Wisconsin

Minnesota

Slave States

Alabama* Mississippi*

Arkansas* Missouri

Delaware North Carolina*

Florida* South Carolina*

Georgia* Tennessee*

Kentucky Texas*

Louisiana* Virginia*

Maryland

Territories

Colorado Nevada
Dakota New ­Mexico

Indian Utah

Nebraska Washington

*Confederate States

................................
CONSTITUTION
................................

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

................................

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (CPI)

The fundamental principles of a nation’s government embodied in one
document or several documents.

................................

The fundamental laws of the United States, written in 1787 and ratified in
1788.

................................

A measure of change in the cost of common goods and services, such as

food, clothing, rent, fuel, and others.

The graph shows the CPI in all U.S. cities between 1990 and 2007. To make
comparisons between years, the graph uses the years 1982–1984 as a base
period (1982–1984 = $100). For instance, if the average urban consumer
spent $100 on living expenses in 1982–1984, he or she spent more than
$150 on the same expenses in 1995.
CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
................................

CONTINENTAL DRIFT
................................

COST OF LIVING
An assembly of delegates from the American colonies who served as a
governmental body that directed the war for independence.

................................

The region on a continent where new crust is being created and the plates
on either side of the rift are moving apart.

................................

The price of common goods and services that are considered living
expenses, such as food, clothing, rent, fuel, and others.
COUNCIL-MANAGER
................................

CRUSADES
................................

CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
A form of local government in which voters elect council members, who, in
turn, hire a manager to run the day-to-day operations of the locality.

................................

Any of the military campaigns led by European Christians during the

Middle Ages to recover the Holy Land from Muslims.

................................

The study of the relationship between humans and their physical

environment.
CULTURE
................................

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
................................

DEFLATION
A shared way of living among a group of people that develops over time.

................................

A document adopted on July 4, 1776, in which the American colonies

proclaimed their independence from Great Britain.

................................

A decrease in prices due to decreased money supply and an increased

quantity of consumer goods.
DEMAND
................................

DEMOCRACY
................................

DEMOGRAPHY
The quantity of goods or services that consumers want to buy at any given
price. According to the principle of demand, demand decreases as price
increases and vice versa.

................................

A form of government in which decisions are made by the people, either

directly or through elected representatives.

................................

The study of changes in population through birth rate, death rate, migration,
and other factors.
DICTATORSHIP
................................

DIRECT ELECTION
................................

DISCOUNT RATE
A form of government in which one ruler has absolute power over many
aspects of society, including social, economic, and political life.

................................

A type of electoral process in which the citizens of a state or country elect

the government officials and representatives.

................................

The interest rate that the U.S. Federal Reserve Board charges banks to
borrow money.
DRED SCOTT DECISION
................................

ELECTORAL COLLEGE
................................

ENLIGHTENMENT
An 1857 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled that the Court could not
ban citizens from bringing slaves into free territories.

................................

The system by which the president of the United States is elected, wherein
the electors of each state cast their electoral votes for the winner of the
popular vote in their state.

Currently, a presidential candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the

election.

The electoral college is a group of electors who choose the president and
vice president. Each state is allowed the same number of electors as its total
number of U.S. senators and representatives—so each state has at least
three electors. In most states, the candidate who wins the most popular
votes earns that state’s electoral votes.
Source: National Archives and Records Administration

................................
A philosophical movement of the eighteenth century in Europe and North
America that emphasized rational thought.
EQUILIBRIUM (ECONOMICS)
................................

EXECUTIVE BRANCH
................................

FASCISM
When supply of a good or service equals that which customers are willing
to buy (demand).

................................

The arm of government that carries out laws.

................................

An Italian term for a military-based totalitarian government.

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM (THE FED)
................................

FEDERALISM
................................

FEDERALIST PAPERS
U.S. banking system established in 1913. Includes 12 Federal Reserve
banks under an eight-member controlling board.

................................

A government structure that divides power between a central government

and regional governments. The United States is a federal republic, a
democracy that divides power between federal, state, and local
governments.

................................

A series of 85 essays written in 1787–1788 by Alexander Hamilton, James

Madison, and John Jay in which they argued that federalism would offer a
government structure that would preserve the rights of states and secure
individual freedoms.
FEUDALISM
................................

FREE ENTERPRISE
................................

FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR

A political and economic system that existed in Europe between the ninth
and fifteenth centuries in which a lord granted land and employment to a
tenant in exchange for political and military services.

................................

Freedom of private business to organize and operate for profit with no or

little government intervention.

................................

The last of four North American wars fought between Great Britain and
France in which each country fought for control of the continent (1754–
1763).
GENERAL ELECTION
................................

GLOBAL ECONOMY
................................

GLOBALIZATION
An election in which the citizens of a nation or region vote to elect the
ultimate winner of a political contest.

................................

The merging of resource management systems so countries are

interconnected and dependent on one another for goods and services.

................................

The increasing interconnectedness of people and places throughout the

world through converging processes of economic, political, and cultural
change.
GOVERNMENT
................................

GREAT DEPRESSION
................................

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP)

The act or process of governing; the control of public policy within a
political organization.

................................

A severe economic recession characterized by bank closings, failed

businesses, high unemployment, and homelessness that lasted through the
1930s in the United States.

................................

A measure of the total value of goods and services produced within a nation
over the course of a year.
GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT (GNP)
................................

HEMISPHERE
................................

HIROSHIMA
A measure of the value of goods and services produced within a nation as
well as its foreign investments over the course of a year.

................................

Half of a sphere or globe, as in Earth’s Northern and Southern

Hemispheres.

................................

A city in southwestern Japan that was the target in August 1945 of the first
atomic bomb ever dropped on a populated area.
HOLOCAUST
................................

HUMANISM
................................

HYDROELECTRIC POWER
Persecution and murder of millions of Jewish people and other Europeans
under Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime.

................................

A cultural and intellectual movement of the Renaissance that emphasized

classical ideals as a result of a rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman
literature and art.

................................

Electrical energy generated by falling water.

HYDROSPHERE
................................

IDEOLOGY
................................

IMMIGRATION
The watery areas of the earth, including oceans, lakes, rivers, and other
bodies of water.

................................

Ideas or characteristics of a person, group, or political party.

................................

The process of moving and settling in a country or region to which one is

not native.
IMPERIALISM
................................

INDUSTRIALIZATION
................................

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
The practice of extending a nation’s power by territorial acquisition or by
economic and political influence over other nations.

................................

The transition from an agricultural society to one based on industry or

manufacturing.

................................

The extensive social and economic changes brought about by the shift from
the manufacturing of goods by hand to large-scale factory production that
began in England in the late eighteenth century.
INFLATION
................................

INTOLERABLE ACTS
................................

ISOLATIONISM
An increase in prices due to an increase in the amount of money in
circulation and a decreased supply of consumer goods.

................................

A series of laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 to punish the

colony of Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party.

................................

A national policy of avoiding political alliances with other nations.

JUDICIAL BRANCH
................................

JUDICIAL REVIEW
................................

LABOR MARKET
The arm of government that interprets laws.

................................

A doctrine that allows the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate laws and
executive actions if the Court decides they conflict with the Constitution.
This power was not established until the 1803 case of Marbury v. Madison.

................................

The market in which workers compete for jobs and employers compete for
workers. As in other markets, the labor market is driven by supply and
demand.
LABOR UNION
................................

LAISSEZ-FAIRE
................................

LEGEND
An organization of wage earners that uses group action to seek better
economic and working conditions.

................................

A doctrine that believes economic systems work better without intervention

by government.

................................

A table or list that explains the symbols used on a map or chart.

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
................................

LONGITUDE
................................

LOUISIANA PURCHASE
The law-making arm of a government.

................................

The distance measured by degrees or time east or west from the prime
meridian.

................................

The vast land area in North America bought by the United States from
France in 1803.
MANTLE
................................

MARKET
................................

MARKET ECONOMY
The thick middle layer of Earth’s interior structure, consisting of dense, hot
rock.

................................

Any forum in which an exchange between buyers and sellers takes place.

................................

An economic system based on free enterprise; businesses are privately

owned, and production and prices are determined by supply and demand.
MARTIAL LAW
................................

MAYFLOWER COMPACT
................................

MAYOR-COUNCIL
The control and policing of civilians by military rules.

................................

An agreement which stated that the settlers of the Plymouth Colony would
make decisions by the will of the majority. It was the first instance of self-
government in America.

................................

A form of local government in which voters elect a mayor as city or town

executive and elect a council member from each ward.
MEGALOPOLIS
................................

METROPOLITAN AREA
................................

MIDDLE AGES
A thickly populated area centered around several large and small cities or
one large city.

................................

The region that includes a central city and its surrounding suburbs.

................................

A period in Europe beginning with the decline of the Roman Empire in the
fifth century and ending with the Renaissance in 1453.
MIGRATION
................................

MIXED ECONOMY
................................

MONARCHY
The movement of people from place to place.

................................

A system of resource management in which the government supports and

regulates enterprise through decisions that affect the marketplace.

................................

A form of government headed by one ruler who claims power through

hereditary or divine right.
MONOPOLY
................................

MONOTHEISM
................................

MONSOON
A situation in which a specific person or enterprise owns all or nearly all of
the market for a particular commodity. A monopoly is characterized by a
lack of viable economic competition to produce a good or service. Because
losing customers to competitors is not an issue, the specific person or
enterprise can set a price that is significantly higher than the cost of
producing the good or service.

................................

The worship or belief in a single God. Monotheistic religious systems

include Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Sikhism.

................................

In Asia, seasonal wind that brings warm, moist air from the oceans in
summer and cold, dry air from inland in winter.
MUTUALISM
................................

NAGASAKI
................................

NATIONALISM
A class of relationship between two organisms in which both organisms
benefit.The pollination process involving flowering plants and insects (such
as bees and wasps) is the best example of this. While the insects get their
food in the form of nectar from the plants, the plants benefit from
pollination carried out by these insects, which helps them reproduce.

................................

A seaport in western Japan that was the target in August 1945 of the second
atomic bomb ever dropped on a populated area. The bombing marked the
end of World War II.

................................

The belief in the right of each people to be an independent nation.

NATURAL BOUNDARY
................................

NATURAL INCREASE
................................

NATURAL RESOURCES
A fixed limit or extent defined along physical geographic features like
mountains and rivers.

................................

The growth rate of a population.

................................

Substances from the earth that are not man-made.

NATURALIZATION
................................

NEW DEAL
................................

NOMAD
The process by which one becomes a citizen of a new country.

................................

A domestic reform program initiated by the administration of President

Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide relief and recovery from the Great
Depression.

................................

A member of a wandering pastoral people.

NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE
AGREEMENT (NAFTA)
................................

NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION
................................

OLIGARCHY
The trade pact made in 1994 by Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

................................

The spreading development of nuclear arms.

................................

A form of government in which decisions are made by a small, elite group

that is not elected by the people.
OUTSOURCING
................................

OZONE LAYER
................................

PARLIAMENT
The practice of subcontracting manufacturing work to outside companies,
especially foreign or nonunion companies.

................................

The atmospheric layer with protective gases that prevents solar rays from
reaching Earth’s surface.

................................

A national legislative body made up of elected and sometimes non-elected

officials. The British Parliament is made up of the House of Commons and
the House of Lords.
PASTORALISM
................................

PEARL HARBOR
................................

PHYSICAL MAP
The raising of livestock.

................................

A United States military base in the Pacific Ocean that was attacked by
Japan in 1941. The attack led to the entry of the United States into World
War II.

................................

A map that shows the location of natural features such as mountains and
rivers; can also show cities and countries.
PILGRIMS
................................

PLURALITY SYSTEM
................................

PLYMOUTH COLONY
A group of religious separatists who were the founders of the Plymouth
Colony on the coast of Massachusetts in 1620.

................................

An electoral system in which a candidate need only receive more votes than
each of his or her opponents to win.

................................

A settlement made by Pilgrims on the coast of Massachusetts in 1620.

POLITICAL MAP
................................

POLITICAL PARTY
................................

POLYTHEISM
A map that shows the boundaries and locations of political units such as
countries, states, counties, cities, and towns.

................................

An organization that presents its positions on public issues and promotes

candidates that support its point of view. Political parties serve several
functions:

• recruit candidates and run election campaigns

• formulate positions on issues that affect the public and propose solutions

• educate the public on issues

• mobilize their members to vote

• create voting blocs in Congress

................................

The worship or belief in many Gods. Polytheistic religious systems include

Buddhism, Hinduism, and Shintoism.
POPULATION
................................

POSTINDUSTRIAL
................................

PRIMARY ELECTION
The size, makeup, and distribution of people in a given area.

................................

Refers to an economy with less emphasis on heavy industry and

manufacturing and more emphasis on services and technology.

................................

A preliminary contest in which voters give their preference for a political

party’s candidate for public office.
PRIME MERIDIAN
................................

PRIVATIZATION
................................

PROGRESSIVISM
The meridian of 0 degrees longitude from which other longitudes are
calculated.

................................

A change to private ownership of state-owned companies and industries.

................................

A reform movement of the early twentieth century that sought to remedy

the problems created by industrialization.
PURITANS
................................

RATIFY
................................

RECESSION
A group of English migrants who sought to purify the Church of England.
The group started settlements in New England in the seventeenth century.

................................

To confirm or give formal approval to something, such as an agreement

between nations.

................................

A period of low economic productivity and income.

RECONSTRUCTION
................................

REFUGEE
................................

REGION
From 1865 to 1877, the period of readjustment and rebuilding of the South
that followed the American Civil War.

................................

One who flees his or her home for safety.

................................

A land area that shares cultural, political, or geographic attributes that

distinguish it from other areas.
RENAISSANCE
................................

REPARATION
................................

REPEAL
A term meaning “rebirth” that refers to a series of cultural and literary
developments in Europe in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries.

................................

A payment for damages. An example of this is the reparations made by

Germany to the Allied countries following World War I.

................................

To take back or undo, typically referring to the repeal of an amendment to

the U.S. Constitution.
REPUBLIC
................................

RESERVE RATIO
................................

REVOLUTION
A government based on the concept that power resides with the people, who
then elect officials to represent them in government.

................................

A portion of deposits that banks, which are members of the Federal Reserve
system, set aside and do not use to make loans.

................................

A violent change in the political order and social structure of a society.

ROMANOV DYNASTY
................................

RULE OF LAW
................................

SECT
The family that ruled Russia from 1613 until the Russian Revolution in
1917.

................................

The principle that all citizens, including functionaries of the government,

must follow the law.

................................

A subdivision within a religion that has its own distinctive beliefs and/or
practices.
SECTIONALISM
................................

SEPARATION OF POWERS
................................

SEPARATISM
The attitude or actions of a region or section of a nation when it supports its
own interests over those of the nation as a whole.

................................

The practice of dividing the authority of a government between different

branches to avoid an abuse of power.

................................

The breaking away of one part of a country to create a separate,

independent country.
SERF
................................

SERVICE INDUSTRY
................................

SHORTAGE
Laborer obliged to remain on the land where he or she worked in feudal
times.

................................

A business that provides a service instead of manufacturing goods.

................................

When demand for a good or service is greater than that which is produced.
SOCIAL STUDIES
................................

SOCIALISM
................................

STAMP ACT
The study of how people live every day, including the exploration of
humans’ physical environments, cultures, political institutions, and
economic conditions.

................................

An economic system in which the state owns and controls the basic factors
of production and distribution of wealth.

................................

A measure passed by the British Parliament in 1765 as a means of

collecting taxes in the American colonies. It required that all printed
materials, including legal documents and newspapers, carry a tax stamp.
STOCK EXCHANGE
................................

STOCK MARKET CRASH OF 1929

................................

SUBSISTENCE AGRICULTURE
An organized market for buying and selling stocks.

................................

A collapse in the value of stocks that marked the onset of the Great
Depression in the United States.

................................

Farming that produces only enough crops or animal products to support a

farm family’s needs. Usually little is sold at local or regional markets.
SUFFRAGE
................................

SUPPLY
................................

SURPLUS
The right to vote.

................................

The amount of goods and services available for purchase.

................................

When the supply of a good or service is greater than that which customers
are willing to buy (demand).
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
................................

TARIFF
................................

TOPOGRAPHY
Technological and economic growth that does not deplete the human and
natural resources of a given area.

................................

A tax on imported, and sometimes exported, goods.

................................

The representation of features of land surfaces, including the shape and

elevation of terrain, primarily through mapping.
TOTAL COST
................................

TOTALITARIANISM
................................

TOWNSHEND ACTS
Total cost = number of units × price per unit.

................................

A government in which the rulers of the state control all aspects of society,
including economic, political, cultural, intellectual, and spiritual life.

................................

Measures passed by British Parliament in 1767 that taxed American

colonists for imported glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea.
TREATY
................................

TREATY OF VERSAILLES
................................

TROPIC OF CANCER
A formal agreement between sovereign nations or groups of nations.

................................

The major treaty of five peace treaties that ended World War I in 1919.

................................

An imaginary line at 23.5º north latitude.

TROPIC OF CAPRICORN
................................

UNEMPLOYMENT
................................

URBANIZATION
An imaginary line at 23.5º south latitude.

................................

When willing and able wage earners cannot find jobs. The unemployment
rate serves as one index of a nation’s economic activity.

................................

The movement of a population from rural areas to cities with the result of
urban growth.
VETO
................................
The power of the executive to block the laws passed by the legislative
branch.

................................
CIVICS AND GOVERNMENT
The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the
Constitution. What are these words?

................................

In The Politics, the Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote that, “Even when
laws have been written down, they should not always remain
unaltered.” What fundamental element of the U.S. Constitution
supports this idea?

a. checks and balances

b. separation of powers

c. amendment process

d. federalism

................................

“From each according to his ability, to each according to his need” is a

slogan most associated with what form of government?

a. communism

b. democracy

c. fascism

d. monarchy
Answer: We the People

................................

Answer: c. An alteration, like an amendment, is a change. A constitution

lays down the basic laws or rules of an organization, and amendments are
changes to these rules.

................................

Answer: a. Communism sought a classless society based on this Marxist

principle.
The following question is based on the First Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or

prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or
of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the government for a redress of grievances.

—First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

In interpreting the First Amendment, the Supreme Court has ruled that
individual freedom must be weighed against the safety of the public and
the rights of other citizens. Thus, the First Amendment does not protect
actions that put others in danger. Which of the following actions is
covered by the First Amendment according to the interpretation of the
U.S. Supreme Court?

a. assembling in the middle of a street without a permit

b. falsely yelling “fire” in a crowded movie theatre

c. petitioning to impeach the president

d. engaging in human sacrifice as a religious practice

................................

What role do third parties such as the Populist Party play in American
politics?

a. They provide continuity in times of change.

b. They provide a platform to propose new ideas and policies.

c. They regularly replace the two major parties.

d. They tend to attract important politicians from the two major parties.
................................

What is an amendment?
Answer: c. The right to petition is exactly the kind of political speech that
the First Amendment has always protected.

................................

Answer: b. In U.S. history, third parties rarely have electoral success but
often find their principles adopted by the major parties.

................................

Answer: A change or an addition (to the Constitution).

What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?

................................

Use the excerpts from the Articles of Confederation to answer the

following two questions.

Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union

between the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and
Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Article 1. The style of this confederacy shall be, “The United States of
America.”

Art. 2. Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence, and
every power, jurisdiction and right, which is not by this Confederation
expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.

Art. 3. The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship
with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and
their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other
against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on
account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretence whatever. . . .

July 9, 1778

Based on these excerpts, the government defined by the Articles of

Confederation can best be described as a

a. business arrangement.

b. constitutional monarchy.

c. loose affiliation.

d. military power.
................................
Answer: The Bill of Rights

................................

Answer: b. The Articles of Confederation established a “firm league of

friendship” in which “each state retains its sovereignty.”

................................
What was a main difference between the U.S. Constitution and the
Articles of Confederation?

a. The U.S. Constitution created new state boundaries.

b. The U.S. Constitution established a representational government.

c. The U.S. Constitution encouraged states to work together in times of

war.

d. The U.S. Constitution strengthened the power of the central

government.

................................

How many amendments does the Constitution have?

................................

What did the Declaration of Independence do?

Answer: d. The Constitution was established to remedy the weaknesses of
the Articles of Confederation and gave more power to the central
government.

................................

Answer: Twenty-seven (27)

................................

Answer: Announced (or declared) our independence (from Great Britain).

What is the economic system in the United States?

................................

Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

In 1832, Congress passed a bill to re-charter the national bank. President

Andrew Jackson vetoed the bill. Henry Clay, a U.S. Senator from Kentucky,
said the following about the president’s veto:

“A bill to re-charter the bank, has recently passed Congress, after much
deliberation, . . . the president has rejected the bill. . . .

“The veto is an extraordinary power, which, though tolerated by the

Constitution, was not expected, by the convention, to be used in ordinary
cases. It was designed for instances of precipitate legislation, in unguarded
moments. Thus restricted, and it has been thus restricted by all former
presidents, it might not be mischievous. . . .

“The veto is hardly reconcilable with the genius of representative

government. It is totally irreconcilable with it, if it is to be frequently
employed in respect to the expediency of measures, as well as their
constitutionality. It is a feature of our government, borrowed from a
prerogative of the British king. And it is remarkable, that in England it has
grown obsolete, not having been used for upward of a century. . . . It can not
be imagined that the Convention contemplated the application of the veto, to
a question which has been so long, so often, and so thoroughly scrutinized,
as that of the bank of the United States.”

—Henry Clay

Henry Clay expresses concerns with all of the following except

a. checks and balances.

b. federalism.
c. the power of the president.

d. the role of Congress.

................................
Answer: Capitalist economy or market economy

................................

Answer: b. Only federalism, the relationship between the state and national
government, is not covered in this address. This was a major concern of
Henry Clay’s, but he does not deal with it here.

................................
Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

“The person of the king is sacred, and to attack him in any way is an attack
on religion itself. God has the kings anointed by his prophets . . . in the same
way he has bishops and altars anointed. . . . The respect given to a king is
religious in nature. Serving God and respecting kings are bound together. . .
.”

—Jacques Bossuet, French theologian, Politics Drawn from the Very Words
of Holy Scripture, 1707

Based on this excerpt, Bossuet believed in

a. unlimited monarchy.

b. the divine power of prophets.

c. the importance of religious feeling.

d. the separation of church and state.

................................

What is the “rule of law”?

................................

Name one branch or part of the government.

Answer: a. Although the word monarchy never appears in the quotation,
Bossuet is stating the theory of the divine right of kings. By linking them
with God, Bossuet believes a king’s power is unlimited.

................................

Answer: Some possible responses:

• Everyone must follow the law.

• Leaders must obey the law.

• Government must obey the law.

• No one is above the law.

................................

Answer: Some possible responses:

• congress

• legislative

• president

• executive

• the courts

• judicial
What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?

................................

Use the table to answer the following four questions.

In which year was voter turnout highest in terms of percentage of the

voting-age population?

a. 2012

b. 2008

c. 2004

d. 2000

................................
Answer: Checks and balances or separation of powers

................................

Answer: b. The fourth column of the table shows voter turnout as a

percentage of the voting-age population. According to the table, that
percentage was highest in 2008.

................................
Suppose you were deciding how many ballots to print for the 2014
election. Based on the pattern shown, how many ballots do you think
you would need?

a. the same number as for 2012

b. about twice as many as for 2012

c. about half as many as for 2012

d. about three-quarters as many as for 2012

................................

How does the change in voter turnout between 1992 and 1994 compare
with the change between 1996 and 1998?

a. In both cases, voter turnout increased by several percentage points.

b. In both cases, voter turnout declined by several percentage points.

c. In the first case, voter turnout went up; in the second, it declined.

d. In the first case, voter turnout declined; in the second, it rose.

................................

Which conclusion is best supported by the information in the table?

a. Turnout is higher in presidential election years.

b. Turnout declined sharply throughout the 2000s.

c. Turnout steadily increased during the 1990s and 2000s.

d. Turnout rose sharply throughout the 1990s.

Answer: d. The table shows a distinct pattern in voter turnout: in every other
election, turnout goes up; then in the next election, it declines. Based on this
pattern, 2012 was an “up” year and turnout will most likely decline in 2014.
Furthermore, the pattern appears to be that turnout in each “down” year is
about three-quarters of turnout in the preceding “up” year. Based on this
pattern, for 2014 you would need to print about three-quarters as many
ballots as were used in 2012.

................................

Answer: b. The pattern shown in the table is that in every other election,
turnout goes up; then in the next election, it declines. The years 1992 and
1996 were both “up” years, followed in 1994 and 1998 by “down” years.

................................

Answer: a. The pattern shown in the table is that in every other election,
turnout goes up; then in the next election, it declines. The “up” years, 1992,
1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012, were all presidential election years.
Who is in charge of the executive branch?

................................

Who makes federal laws?

................................

What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?

Answer: The president of the United States

................................

Answer: Some possible responses:

• Congress

• Senate and House of Representatives

• (U.S. or national) legislature

................................

Answer: The Senate and House of Representatives

How many U.S. senators are there?

................................

We elect a U.S. senator for how many years?

................................

The House of Representatives has how many voting members?

Answer: One hundred (100)

................................

Answer: Six years

................................

Answer: Four hundred thirty-five (435)

We elect a U.S. representative for how many years?

................................

Why do some states have more representatives than other states?

................................

We elect a president for how many years?

Answer: Two years

................................

Answer: Number of representatives is based on a state’s population.

................................

Answer: Four years

In what month do we vote for president?

................................

If the president can no longer serve, who becomes president?

................................

If both the president and the vice president can no longer serve, who
becomes president?
Answer: November

................................

Answer: The vice president

................................

Answer: The Speaker of the House

Who is the commander in chief of the military?

................................

Who signs bills to become laws?

................................
Answer: The president of the United States

................................

Answer: The president of the United States

................................
Use the following two excerpts from the U.S. Constitution to answer the
question.

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from
each state, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years, and each Senator
shall have one vote.

—U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 3

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from
each state, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator
shall have one vote. The electors in each state shall have the qualifications
requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislatures.

—U.S. Constitution, Seventeenth Amendment

Which statement is true based on the above information?

a. U.S. Senators have always been elected by popular vote.

b. A state’s two senators can cast only one unified vote on any law.

c. The framework of the U.S. government can be altered by amendment.

d. Senators can serve only one six-year term.

................................

Who vetoes bills?

................................

What does the president’s cabinet do?

Answer: c. In 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
took the power to elect U.S. senators from the state legislatures and gave it
to the people.

................................

Answer: The president of the United States

................................

Answer: The cabinet advises the president.

If an election were held on Tuesday, November 6, in which of these
states could you vote if you moved there on Monday, October 1, and
registered immediately?

a. California only

b. California and Kentucky only

c. all the states listed except Missouri

d. all the states listed

................................

What is the highest court in the United States?

................................
Answer: d. None of the states in the chart has a residency requirement of
more than 30 days. The time from October 1 to November 6 is more than 30
days. If the person registered immediately, the registration requirements of
California and Missouri would have been met.

................................

Answer: The Supreme Court

................................
How many justices are on the Supreme Court?

................................

How old do citizens have to be to vote for president?

................................
Answer: There are nine justices on the Supreme Court.

................................

Answer: Citizens eighteen and older can vote.

................................
The cartoonist who drew this image is most likely hoping to elicit which
of the following reactions?

a. If you can’t manage your money, you need to suffer the consequences.

b. People who can’t afford to go to college should not have incurred the
debt in the first place.

c. Families need to spend on more practical things than a college

education.

d. We need to help our college graduates who are drowning in debt.

................................
Answer: d. The cartoonist hopes that the reaction would be sympathy for
the college grad and a desire to help; he urges sympathy in the viewer
through a depiction of the just-graduated college student as being pulled
under water by the heavy responsibility of student loan debt.

................................
The amendment process to the U.S. Constitution requires that three-
quarters of the states approve a proposed amendment for it to go into
effect. Which of the following conclusions regarding the number of
states needed to ratify an amendment is correct?

a. All the original 13 states were needed to ratify the first ten
amendments since they were proposed with the Constitution and were
part of a grand bargain between Federalists and Anti-Federalists.

b. Twenty-seven states were needed to ratify the Thirteenth

Amendment, which abolished slavery, since there were 36 states at the
end of the Civil War.

c. The reason that 36 states were needed to repeal the Eighteenth

Amendment in 1933 was that 36 states were needed to ratify the
Eighteenth Amendment creating Prohibition in 1919.

d. Because we now have 50 states, 37 states will have to be on record

ratifying the Sixteenth Amendment—which was passed in 1909 and
authorized the income tax—even though 36 states were needed then.

................................

One of the powers that is shared by the federal and state governments is
the power to raise revenue. What was the most likely reason that led to
this power being shared?

a. The federal and state governments both need money to operate

effectively.

b. The federal government would be too weak without the power to

raise revenue.

c. The federal government would be too strong with the power to raise
revenue.

d. It helps maintain the balance of power between the two levels of

government.
................................
Answer: b. Three-quarters of 36 states, the number of states at the end of the
Civil War, is 27 states.

................................

Answer: d. Sharing the power to raise revenue helps keep both levels of
government strong and independent and maintains a balance of power.

................................
Andover, Massachusetts, claims to be the largest community in the
world to be governed by an annual Town Meeting. All registered voters
are eligible to attend and vote at Town Meeting. Citizens have the
opportunity to stand up and be counted on issues such as the town and
school budgets and special projects and issues, such as new sidewalks
and changes in the zoning laws.

The type of government in Andover is best described as

a. anarchy.

b. oligarchy.

c. dictatorship.

d. democracy.

................................

This question is based on the following excerpt from Article 1 of the U.S.
Constitution.

Section 8. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties,
imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense
and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises
shall be uniform throughout the United States. . . .

To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into
execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this
Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or
officer thereof.

—United States Constitution, Article 1, Section 8

The second paragraph is sometimes known as the elastic clause. The

elastic clause has been used to justify all of the following acts of
Congress except
a. establish a national bank.

b. draft young people into the U.S. Army.

c. outlaw racial discrimination practices.

d. eliminate judicial review.

................................
Answer: d. Town Meeting, in which every registered voter can participate,
is considered to be direct democracy.

................................

Answer: d. Congress cannot control the power of judicial review. This is a

constitutional power given to the judicial branch. Judicial review cannot be
changed (because the Constitution is the highest law) except by
constitutional amendment.

................................
The notion that a legitimate government can only function with the
consent of the governed is known as popular sovereignty. Which of the
following slogans from the American Revolutionary period most
directly supports the notion of popular sovereignty?

a. Don’t tread on me.

b. A man’s house is his castle.

c. No taxation without representation.

d. Join or die.

................................

While Iran does have an elected president and legislature, it also has a
supreme leader, the Islamic cleric Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, who
was elected by the Islamic Assembly of Experts and has ruled Iran since
1989. The Supreme Leader is the highest-ranking political and religious
authority in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The type of government in
Iran is best described as a(n)

a. theocracy.

b. oligarchy.

c. dictatorship.

d. democracy.

................................
Answer: c. No taxation without representation most directly expresses the
notion of popular sovereignty. The colonists claimed that the right to collect
taxes depended on the consent of the people.

................................

Answer: a. While having an elected Parliament and president is considered

to be evidence of democracy, all democratically elected individuals can be
overruled by a religious authority. A government in which the final say is
given to a religious leader is a theocracy.

................................
Use the information below to answer the following three questions.

Presidential Veto Power

When a bill is presented to the president, he can sign it into law or he can
veto the bill. Bills that are vetoed return to Congress. If a vetoed bill is
passed by a two-thirds majority of both houses, it becomes law over the
president’s veto. If the president does not take any action, the bill becomes a
law without his signature. If Congress adjourns in this time, however, the bill
does not become law. This is called a pocket veto.

The chart shows the total number of vetoes in U.S. history.

How is a pocket veto different from a regular veto?

a. A pocket veto is done in secret.

b. The president does not take any action.

c. Congress cannot overturn a pocket veto.

d. A pocket veto can involve just one part of a bill.

................................
Answer: b. The president does not take any action in a pocket veto.

................................
Which chart shows the information on the table?

a.

b.

c.
d.

................................
Answer: c. There were 1,067 pocket vetoes and 1,497 regular vetoes, as
shown on this chart.

................................
Which claim is supported by the information in the excerpt and the
table?

a. Presidents rarely use the pocket veto.

b. Congress is better able to overturn regular vetoes than pocket vetoes.

c. Congress does not have the authority to overturn presidential vetoes.

d. Early presidents were less apt to use veto power than today’s
presidents.

................................

Read the paragraph below and answer the following two questions.

On May 26, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Judge Sonia

Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. She then met with the Senate
Judiciary Committee to answer questions about her experiences. The Senate
Judiciary Committee approved of Sotomayor’s nomination and sent it to the
Senate for a vote. The Senate approved Barack Obama’s nomination by a
vote of 68 to 31. Sotomayor was sworn into office on August 8, 2009,
becoming the first Hispanic and the third woman to sit on the Supreme
Court.

The nomination process demonstrates a check of which branch of

government on the power of the other two branches?

a. legislative

b. judicial

c. executive

d. none of these

................................
Answer: b. Regular vetoes have been overturned 7% of the time, but the
overall rate is lower, suggesting that pocket vetoes are harder to overturn.
The text also suggests this, as Congress would need to be called back into
session to reconsider and take a new vote on a vetoed bill.

................................

Answer: a. The nomination process demonstrates a check of the legislative

branch of government on the power of the other two branches. The excerpt
discusses the role that the Senate plays in the nomination of Supreme Court
Justices. The Senate is part of the legislative branch. The Constitution gives
the president the power to nominate a judge. The confirmation process
provides the legislative branch with a check on this power.

................................
Use the chart to answer the following two questions.

The following chart compares the most common basic forms of local
government in the United States.

The executive personnel and functions of which type of local

government most directly mimic those of the federal government?

a. council-manager

b. mayor-council

c. commission

d. town meeting

................................

Which conclusion can most fairly be drawn from the chart?

a. The size of a city affects the form of government that works best.
b. Once a city has selected a form of government, it is difficult to
change.

c. The most democratic forms of local government are also the most
common.

d. Mayor-council government works more efficiently than the city-

council form.

................................
Answer: b. This is the correct answer. Like the president, the mayor leads
the executive branch and is an elected position.

................................

Answer: a. Cities of different sizes tend to gravitate to a specific type of

government. While town meetings are sometimes used in very small
communities, they would likely be impractical in larger communities, which
generally need a full-time executive who can take the lead on managing the
complexities of a large city.

................................
Based on the information in the excerpt, which step happens first in the
Supreme Court judge approval process?

a. The Supreme Court reviews a candidate’s qualifications.

b. The Senate takes a vote on the candidate.

c. The president nominates a candidate for the Supreme Court.

d. The Supreme Court nominee is sworn in.

................................

Use the information below to answer the following three questions.

What is the biggest reason that people do not vote?

a. illness or disability

b. not interested

c. too busy or conflicting schedule

d. did not like candidates or campaign issues

................................
Answer: c. The first step in the Supreme Court judge approval process is the
president nominating the candidate. He or she does not approve the
nomination.

................................

Answer: c. To find the most common reason given, look for the biggest slice
of the pie, or the item with the highest percentage. The most common reason
given was by people who said they were too busy or had conflicting
schedules, which is 19%. The next biggest reasons given were not interested
(16%), illness or disability (14%), and did not like candidates or campaign
issues (13%).

................................
Which change would likely have the greatest impact on voting rates?

a. relocating polling places

b. extending the polling hours or days

c. sending reminders to registered voters

d. changing the voter registration process

................................

Consider the following opinion: Americans are apathetic about politics

and do not appreciate the right to vote.

What evidence from the chart could be used to support this opinion?

a. Sixteen percent of Americans who did not vote said it was because
they were not interested.

b. Five percent of Americans who did not vote said it was because they
had registration problems.

c. The most often cited reason for not voting was that Americans were
too busy.

d. Thirteen percent of those who did not vote did not like the candidates
or campaign issues.

................................
Answer: b. Being too busy was cited by more nonvoters than any other
reason. Providing longer polling hours may enable busy people to get to the
polls.

................................

Answer: a. Apathy is defined as a lack of interest or enthusiasm. The fact

that, according to the chart, more than 15% of Americans did not vote
simply because they were not interested supports this opinion.

................................
Use the Preamble to answer the question.

Preamble to the U.S. Constitution

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our prosperity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.

What is the main purpose of the Preamble?

a. to tell why the Constitution is needed

b. to present an outline of the document

c. to describe the new system of government

d. to review the reasons for breaking from England

................................
Answer: a. The Preamble lists six reasons that a new governing document is
needed.

................................
Use the cartoon to answer the following two questions.

The cartoonist would probably agree with which of the following

statements?

a. The vice presidency is the second-most important position in the

government.

b. Presidents should travel by elephant.

c. The vice presidency is not an important government office.

d. Everyone should dress in a top hat and a waistcoat.

................................
Answer: c. The cartoon depicts presidential candidate Theodore Roosevelt
offering the vice presidency to Joseph Cannon. The vice presidency is
represented by a tiny elephant with a child’s chair mounted atop. These
details indicate that the cartoonist thinks the vice presidency is an
insignificant job.

................................
The cartoon shows Theodore Roosevelt, a presidential candidate in
1904, and Joseph Cannon, a man whom Roosevelt wanted for his vice
president.

What is the most likely explanation for why Roosevelt is riding an

elephant?

a. The elephant is a universal symbol of wealth and prosperity.

b. Roosevelt was the Republican candidate for president.

c. Roosevelt was born in India, a place where it is not unusual for people
to ride elephants.

d. Roosevelt was well known as a champion of animal rights.

................................
Answer: b. The elephant is the symbol of the Republican Party, the party to
which Theodore Roosevelt belonged. None of the other answer choices is
supported by details in the cartoon.

................................
Read the passage and answer the following two questions.

The U.S. Constitution does not explicitly give the power of judicial review
to the Supreme Court. In fact, the Court did not use this power—which gives
it the authority to invalidate laws and executive actions if they conflict with
the Constitution—until the 1803 case of Marbury v. Madison. In that case,
Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that a statute was unconstitutional. He
argued that judicial review was necessary if the Court was to fulfill its duty
of upholding the Constitution. Without it, he felt that the legislature would
have a “real and practical omnipotence.” Moreover, several of the
Constitution’s framers expected the Court to act in this way. Alexander
Hamilton and James Madison emphasized the importance of judicial review
in the Federalist Papers, a series of essays promoting the adoption of the
Constitution. However, the power of judicial review continues to be a
controversial power because it allows the justices—who are appointed rather
than elected—to overturn laws made by Congress and state lawmaking
bodies.

Which of the following statements is an implication of judicial review?

a. The Constitution is a historic document with little influence over how

the government operates today.

b. The Constitution must explicitly state which branch of government is

to have what authority.

c. The framers never meant for the Supreme Court to have this power.

d. The Constitution is a living document that continues to be

interpreted.

................................

Which of the following best describes the process of judicial review?

a. to declare a law unconstitutional

b. to follow public opinion polls

c. to determine the country’s changing needs

d. to propose new laws

................................
Answer: d. Through judicial review, the Supreme Court is continually
interpreting the limits set by the Constitution.

................................

Answer: a. According to the passage, judicial review is “the authority to

invalidate laws and executive actions if they conflict with the Constitution.”
Choice a is a good paraphrase of the excerpt from the passage.

................................
Read the quotation and answer the following three questions.

“Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local
governments. Compulsory school attendance laws and the great expenditures
for education both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of
education to our democratic society. It is required in the performance of our
most basic public responsibilities, even service in the armed forces. It is the
very foundation of good citizenship. Today it is a principal instrument in
awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later
professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his
environment. In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be
expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.
Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right
which must be made available to all on equal terms.

“We come then to the question presented: Does segregation of children in

public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities
and other ‘tangible’ factors may be equal, deprive the children of the
minority group of equal educational opportunities? We believe that it does.”

—U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren in a 1954 decision that
ruled that separate schools for African Americans and whites were
unconstitutional
Source: Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

Which of the following is NOT a value of education as expressed in the

quotation?

a. to expose children to music and the arts

b. to explain the government’s education budget

c. to prepare those who might serve the country as soldiers

d. to produce good citizens

................................
Answer: b. The amount of money the government spends on education
shows that people care about education; it is not, however, a value of
education as previously defined.

................................
Sovereignty is the power or authority of a government. At one time,
people believed that governments ruled by divine right, with power
granted by God. Today’s democratic governments receive their
sovereignty from the people. By what means do the people demonstrate
sovereignty in a democracy?

a. crowning a king

b. serving in the armed forces

c. voting on issues

d. obeying the law

................................

According to the passage, how might the Court define “equal

educational opportunity”?

a. schools with the same quality of teaching

b. schools with the same quality of facilities and materials

c. schools that only admit students based on sex

d. schools that are of the same quality and welcome all students
regardless of race

................................

Chief Justice Warren most likely mentions compulsory school

attendance and government spending on education in order to

a. argue that the government should reduce its efforts in the field of
education.

b. support the position that segregated schools are not inherently

unequal.
c. encourage young Americans to remain in school long enough to get a
high school diploma.

d. strengthen the argument that education is a critical function of

government.
Answer: c. In a democracy, only by voting do people choose those who will
represent them in government.

................................

Answer: d. The Court’s decision states that a similar level of “physical

facilities and other ‘tangible’ factors” is not enough to offer equal
educational opportunity. You can infer that the Court believes schools should
also welcome students of all races.

................................

Answer: d. By pointing out that the government requires students to attend

school, Warren makes the point that American society places a strong
emphasis on the need for a good education. Similarly, government spending
on education indicates that education is a major priority in American society.
Both of these facts support the argument that education is a critical function
of government.
Read the passage and answer the following question.

The Sixth Amendment of the U.S.Constitution states, “In all criminal

prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial,
by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have
been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by
law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be
confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for
obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for
his defence [sic].”

Which of the following instances is NOT protected by the Sixth

Amendment?

a. a person accused of a crime silently prays before his trial begins

b. a person accused of drug trafficking hires a lawyer to defend him

c. a trial is moved to another area because no jurors could be found who

had not heard of the crime and had an opinion about who committed it

d. a lawyer informs an accused person of her charges

................................
Answer: a. Prayer is protected by the First Amendment, which protects the
freedom of religion.

................................
Use the campaign poster to answer the following question.

Which of the following questions would be most useful in determining

the value of the information presented on Governor Montanez’s
campaign sign?

a. What is Bill Wyoming’s definition of “great”?

b. What qualifies Bill Wyoming to predict the quality of a future

governor?

c. How good a season did Bill Wyoming have last year?

d. Does Bill Wyoming live in Sylvia Montanez’s state?

................................
Answer: b. The campaign poster suggests that voters should choose
Governor Montanez because professional quarterback Bill Wyoming thinks
Montanez would be a great governor. This is typical of endorsement
advertisements, which try to persuade voters by associating the candidate
with a popular figure. To determine whether the information on the poster is
valuable in determining whether to vote for Montanez, the voter should ask
herself whether Wyoming has any expertise in the field of governing. Why
should the voter care who Bill Wyoming thinks would make a great
governor if Wyoming is not an expert in this area?

................................
Isolationism refers to the national policy of avoiding political or
economic relations with other countries. Which of the following is an
example of American isolationist policy?

a. the Neutrality Act of 1935, an arms embargo designed to try to keep

the United States out of a European war

b. bombing al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan after the terrorist

attack on the World Trade Center

c. the unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Cuban leader Fidel Castro in

1961

d. joining with 11 nations to form the North Atlantic Treaty

Organization (NATO) in 1949

................................
Answer: a. An example of American isolationist policy is the 1935
Neutrality Act because it was an instance of avoiding political and economic
alliances with other countries.

................................
Use the chart to answer the following question.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2000.

According to the graph, how many eligible U.S. citizens

are NOT registered to vote?

a. 19 million

b. 56 million

c. 76 million

d. 92 million

................................
Answer: b. Subtract the registered population (130 million) from the citizen
population (186 million). Fifty-six million citizens are not registered to vote.

................................
Use the quotations to answer the following two questions.

“We might as easily reprove the east wind, or the frost, as a political party,
whose members, for the most part, could give no account of their position,
but stand for the defence [sic] of those interests in which they find
themselves.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882), American essayist

“A party of order or stability, and a party of progress or reform, are both

necessary elements of a healthy state of political life.”

—John Stuart Mill (1806–1873), British philosopher

Which of the following party systems would Emerson most likely

support?

a. one in which citizens are loyal to a political party at all costs

b. a single-party system

c. a system with a liberal party that advocates for change and a

conservative party that maintains tradition

d. one in which citizens are independent and think for themselves

................................

Which of the following party systems would Mill most likely support?

a. one in which citizens are loyal to a political party at all costs

b. a single-party system

c. a system with a liberal party that advocates for change and a

conservative party that maintains tradition

d. one in which citizens are independent and think for themselves

................................
Answer: d. Emerson portrays loyal party members as followers who cannot
defend the positions of their own party. Emerson would most likely choose a
system that encourages individual thought.

................................

Answer: c. Mill believes that a healthy system needs political parties with
the opposing goals of change and order.

................................
Use the form to answer the following two questions.

Which of the following is NOT a purpose of this form?

a. notifying the government that you have changed your name

b. registering with a political party

c. applying for U.S. citizenship

d. registering to vote in an upcoming local election

................................
Answer: c. You cannot use this form to apply for U.S. citizenship. The uses
of the form appear in its upper left-hand corner.

................................
Which of the following expresses a FACT rather than an opinion?

a. States have different requirements about who is eligible to vote.

b. The voting age should be changed from 18 to 21 years of age.

c. Every state should institute a “voter-motor” program in which people

can register to vote at the same time that they are registering their
motor vehicle.

d. The government should allow non-citizens to vote.

................................
Answer: a. The information on the voter registration form provides proof
that choice a is a statement of fact.

................................
Use the following definitions of political beliefs and policies to answer the
following four questions.

Isolationism: a national policy of avoiding political alliances with

other nations

Nationalism: a sense of allegiance to the interests and culture of a

nation

Socialism: the belief that essential property and services should be

owned and managed by the government

Pacifism: the belief that nations should settle their disputes peacefully

Regionalism: a political division between two regions within an area

Read the quotation and identify which term best describes it.

“This whole nation of one hundred and thirty million free men, women, and
children is becoming one great fighting force. Some of us are soldiers or
sailors, some of us are civilians. . . . A few of us are decorated with medals
for heroic achievement, but all of us can have that deep and permanent inner
satisfaction that comes from doing the best we know how—each of us
playing an honorable part in the great struggle to save our democratic
civilization.”

—Radio address of Franklin D. Roosevelt, October 12, 1942

a. isolationism

b. nationalism

c. socialism

d. pacifism
................................
Answer: b. The purpose of Roosevelt’s address was to inspire a spirit of
nationalism during World War II.

................................
Use the chart to answer the following two questions.

The most important way that the Supreme Court can check the power
of Congress is to

a. veto bills.

b. shorten legislative terms.

c. declare laws unconstitutional.

d. initiate impeachment proceedings.

................................
Answer: c. The power to declare a law unconstitutional is an important
check of the Supreme Court on the legislature.

................................
How do the president and Congress share wartime power?

a. Only Congress can declare war, but the president commands the
armed forces.

b. The president can declare war, but Congress must authorize funds for
the military.

c. Congress and the president work together to command the armed

forces and negotiate peace treaties.

d. Congress declares war, but only the president can write laws after a
war is declared.

................................
Answer: a. Only Congress has power to declare war, and the president
serves as commander in chief over the military.

................................
Use the cartoon to answer the following question.

What is the main point of the political cartoon above, “Going Through
the Form of Universal Suffrage?”

a. Voting is a privilege to be earned by the citizenry.

b. Voters should always cast their ballots strictly along party lines.

c. Universal suffrage is meaningless when political bosses control the

ballot box.

d. Voting is the right of every working person.

................................
Answer: c. The cartoon, with its caption, shows men voting while a political
boss and his cronies watch. The boss’s comment makes it clear that voting is
an empty exercise when a boss will declare his candidate elected, no matter
what the vote count. This choice reflects the point of the cartoon.

................................
Read the quotation and identify which term best describes it.

“The . . . parties solemnly declare in the names of their respective peoples

that they condemn recourse to war for the solution of international
controversies, and renounce it as an instrument of national policy in their
relations with one another.”

—Kellogg-Briand Pact, Article I, 1928

a. isolationism

b. nationalism

c. socialism

d. pacifism

................................

Read the quotation and identify which term best describes it.

“The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, in extending
our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as
possible. So far as we have already formed engagements let them be fulfilled
with perfect good faith.”

—President George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796

a. isolationism

b. consumerism

c. socialism

d. pacifism

................................
Answer: d. Signed by the United States and 15 other nations, the Kellogg-
Briand Pact of 1928 tried to promote pacifism. However, because there was
no way to enforce the pact, it was not effective.

................................

Answer: a. Washington advocates avoiding political attachments with other

nations, which is an isolationist view.

................................
Read the quotation and identify which term best describes it.

“The free States alone, if we must go on alone, will make a glorious nation.
Twenty millions in the temperate zone, stretching from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, full of vigor, industry, inventive genius, educated, and moral;
increasing by immigration rapidly, and, above all, free—all free—will form
a confederacy of twenty States scarcely inferior in real power to the
unfortunate Union of thirty-three States which we had on the first of
November.”

—Rutherford Birchard Hayes, January 4, 1861

a. isolationism

b. nationalism

c. socialism

d. regionalism

................................
Answer: d. This comment demonstrates the political division between the
North and South before the outbreak of the Civil War.

................................
Review the map and answer the following three questions.

The electoral college is a group of electors who choose the president and
vice president. Each state is allowed the same number of electors as its total
number of U.S. senators and representatives—so each state has at least three
electors. In most states, the candidate who wins the most popular votes earns
that state’s electoral votes.
Source: National Archives and Records Administration.

Based on the information in the map, which of the following might be

true of Kerry’s campaign strategy?

a. It focused on winning the states in the Southeast.

b. Kerry targeted his campaign efforts in his home state of

Massachusetts.

c. It targeted states that have large populations and a large number of

electoral votes.

d. It focused on winning most of the states with small populations.

................................
Answer: c. You can infer from the map that Kerry’s campaign strategy
focused on winning states with large populations and a large number of
electoral votes, like California, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, and
Michigan.

................................
Which of the following is NOT a true statement?

a. George W. Bush won a larger number of states.

b. John Kerry was popular in New England.

c. If Kerry had won Florida’s electoral votes, he would have become

president.

d. If Kerry had won South Dakota’s electoral votes, he would have

become president.

................................

Which of the following conclusions can you make from the information
in the map?

a. Women are more likely than men to vote for the Democratic party.

b. Increasing numbers of Americans consider themselves political

independents.

c. The Sunbelt—the southern and southwestern states—was once a

stronghold of the democratic party.

d. There were distinct regional differences in voting patterns.

................................
Answer: d. Had Kerry won South Dakota’s three electoral votes, the final
electoral vote total would have been Bush 283, Kerry 255. Therefore,
Kerry’s winning in South Dakota would not have been enough to change the
results of the election. In contrast, had Kerry won in Florida (choice c), the
final electoral vote would have been Kerry 279, Bush 259 (you must
remember to add Florida’s 27 votes to Kerry’s total AND subtract Florida’s
27 votes from Bush’s total).

................................

Answer: d. The map highlights the regional differences in the 2004

presidential election. Bush was clearly more popular in the southern and
mountain states; Kerry was clearly more popular in the Northeast and on the
Pacific coast. The map does not provide any information to support any of
the other statements.

................................
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, November 2000.

Based on the information in the graph, which of the following proposals

might best improve the voting rate?

a. Distribute umbrellas to all households to encourage people to vote on

rainy election days.

b. Organize buses to help people get to voting places.

c. Send reminders to registered voters so they do not forget to vote.

d. Reschedule Election Day to a weekend so that people who are busy at

work and at school can be available to vote.

................................
Answer: d. Because the most common reason for not voting is “too busy,” it
is reasonable to conclude that rescheduling Election Day to a day when
many people are not at work may improve the voting rate.

................................
Read the passage and answer the following two questions.

The U.S. Constitution gives the president the power to veto, or reject, a bill
passed by Congress. The president typically states his objections to the bill
when he announces the veto. Because it takes a two-thirds vote from both
the House of Representatives and the Senate to override a veto, Congress
often changes the bill to make it more acceptable to the president.
Sometimes Congress adds provisions to a bill that the president strongly
favors. The president does not have the power of line-item veto, in which
lines or parts of a bill can be rejected individually. The president must accept
or reject the bill as Congress has written it.

Which of the following statements can you infer from the passage?

a. Congress is more powerful than the president.

b. Congress tries to get the president to accept its provisions by

attaching provisions to a bill that the president supports.

c. A president is more effective when members of the same political

party are the majority in Congress.

d. If a president vetoes a bill, there is no way to get it passed into law.

................................

Which of the following conclusions can you make based on the passage?

a. It is easier to rewrite and make a bill more acceptable to the president

than it is to override a veto.

b. It is easier to override a veto than it is to rewrite and make a bill more

acceptable to the president.

c. The U.S. Constitution gives the president the power to edit the bills he
receives from Congress.
d. The system of checks and balances insures that the president has no
influence over the lawmaking branch of government.

................................
Answer: b. Because the president cannot reject single items within a bill, he
must accept them if he wants the provisions he favors to become law.

................................

Answer: a. Because Congress would rather rewrite a bill than try to override
a veto, you can conclude that it is easier to do so.

................................
Read the passage below and answer the following four questions.

California Voter Guide

California Legislative Races

The California State Legislature is made up of two houses: the senate and
the assembly. The senate is the upper house. There are 40 senators, each
representing about 800,000 people. The assembly is the lower house. There
are 80 assembly members, each representing about 400,000 people. Senators
and assembly members receive an annual salary of $99,000 plus per diem;
legislative leaders receive a slightly higher salary.

Assembly members are elected to two-year terms and are limited to serving
three terms. Senators are elected to four-year terms and are limited to serving
two terms. California’s legislative districts are “nested,” so that two
assembly districts comprise one senate district.

The California Voter Foundation has compiled information on each of this

year’s 80 state assembly races and 20 state senate races. (Half the senate
seats are up for election in each election year—this year the odd-numbered
seats are up.) In this guide you will find a list of the candidates running in
each district, their party affiliation, and contact information. You will also
learn how to access candidates’ websites, which typically feature campaign
literature, endorsement lists, position papers, and information about how to
contribute or volunteer.

Based on the guide, which statement is true about California legislators?

a. Each senator represents more people than each assembly member.

b. Each assembly member represents more people than each senator.

c. Senators have term limits, but assembly members do not.

d. Assembly members have term limits, but senators do not.

................................
Answer: a. Each senator represents 800,000 people, but each assembly
member represents 400,000.

................................
Why won’t voters choose all of California’s state senators in the next
election?

a. Some senate seats have term limits.

b. Typically only half of eligible voters vote.

c. California’s legislative districts are “nested.”

d. Only half the senate seats are up for election in any election year.

................................

If a California assembly member was first elected in 2008, in 2012 the

assembly member

a. was not allowed to run again.

b. could run for two more terms.

c. could run for one more term.

d. was not allowed to run that year but could run in 2013.

................................

Based on the Guide, if you live in an odd-numbered district, you

a. can only vote for senator in the coming election.

b. may vote for both assembly member and senator in the coming
election.

c. are represented only by a senator.

d. are represented only by an assembly member.

Answer: a. This is the only true statement.

................................

Answer: c. Assembly members are elected to two-year terms and may serve
for three terms. So an assembly member would have served two terms from
1996 to 2000. Therefore, he or she could serve one more term.

................................

Answer: b. Odd-numbered senate seats are up for election this year, so you
would vote for a senator and an assembly member, since there is an election
for assembly members every two years.
Sovereignty is the power or authority of a government. At one time,
people believed that governments ruled by divine right, with power
granted by God. Today’s democratic governments receive their
sovereignty from the people. By what means do the people demonstrate
sovereignty in a democracy?

a. crowning a king

b. serving in the armed forces

c. voting on issues

d. attending religious services

................................
Answer: c. In a democracy, only by voting do people choose who will
represent them in government.

................................
Which conclusion can most fairly be drawn from the two excerpts?

Excerpt from the Majority Decision of

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

This case turns upon the constitutionality of an act of the general assembly
of the state of Louisiana, passed in 1890, providing for separate railway
carriages for the white and colored races. . . . The constitutionality of this act
is attacked upon the ground that it conflicts . . . with . . . the Fourteenth
Amendment, which prohibits certain restrictive legislation on the part of the
states.

The object of the [Fourteenth] Amendment was undoubtedly to enforce the

absolute equality of the two races before the law, but . . . it could not have
been intended to abolish distinctions based upon color . . . Legislation is
powerless to eradicate racial instincts or to abolish distinctions based upon
physical differences.

Excerpt from the Majority Decision of

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

To separate [children in grade and high schools] from others of similar age
and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of
inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and
minds in a way unlikely to ever be undone. . . . Whatever may have been the
extent of psychological knowledge at the time of Plessy v. Ferguson, this
finding is amply supported by modern authority . . .

We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of “separate

but equal” has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently
unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and other similarly situated . .
. are . . . deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the
Fourteenth Amendment.

—Justice Henry Brown

a. The U.S. Supreme Court occasionally changes its mind.

b. It is impossible to make laws to eliminate racial instincts.

c. Interpretive problems can be solved by returning to the actual words

of the Constitution.

d. Checks and balances has no effect on the federal system.

................................
Answer: a. Brown did overturn Plessy.

................................
Use the chart below to answer the following question.

An election is to be held on Tuesday, November 6. In which of these

states would someone who moved to the state on Monday, October 1,
and registered immediately be allowed to vote?

a. California only

b. California and Kansas only

c. all the states listed except Missouri

d. all the states listed

................................
Answer: d. None of the states in the chart has a residency requirement of
more than 30 days. The time from October 1 to November 6 is more than 30
days. If someone registered immediately, the registration requirements of
California and Missouri would have been met. Thus, choice d is the best
answer.

................................
Use this excerpt from the Declaration of Independence to answer the
following two questions.

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to
dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another . . . a
decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare
the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. . . . That
whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is
the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new
Government. . . . Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long
established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and
accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to
suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the
forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and
usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce
them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off
such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. . . .

Which best states the meaning of unalienable in the excerpt?

a. absolute

b. historical

c. resolute

d. governmental

................................
Answer: a. Unalienable rights are explained in the excerpt. Based on the
explanation, they are absolute rights to which people are entitled.

................................
Based on the excerpt, which type of government are people generally
least likely to move forward to “throw off”?

a. an oppressive government that is new to the people

b. a government that has been governing unfairly for a long time

c. an undemocratic government with self-serving motives

d. a recently formed government that commits multiple offenses against

the people

................................

Accessed through Northwestern University Library:

https://images.northwestern.edu/multiresimages/inu:dil-a77d6c09-ad92-4ffa-a762-ce918cdaca2e

Based on the details in the poster, what is referenced by the shadow in

the image?

a. Russian communism

b. Fascism in Italy

c. Japanese imperialism
d. Nazi Germany

................................
Answer: b. The excerpt states: “mankind are more disposed to suffer, while
evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to
which they are accustomed,” so people are likely to be accustomed to an
unfair government that has been governing for a long time, and they are less
likely to move forward to “throw off” this type of government.

................................

Answer: d. The shadow in the image forms the shape of a swastika, the
symbol of Nazi Germany.

................................
Use the statement below, made by Sir Winston Churchill, to answer the
following question.

“Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other
forms that have been tried from time to time.”

—Speech to House of Commons

November 11, 1947

Based on the quote, it is clear Churchill believed that

a. democracy was the worst form of government that had been practiced
by commoners.

b. improvements could be made to democracy, but it was the best form

of government to date.

c. democracy was an extremely flawed form of government that should

not be abandoned.

d. changes to democracy should not be implemented, but other known

forms of government should be implemented instead.

................................
Answer: b. Churchill stated that democracy was the worst form of
government except for earlier forms of government that had been tried.

................................
Use the information below to answer the following question.

Based ONLY on the information above, it is clear that which of the

following would not meet the requirements to serve as U.S. president?

a. a person who was born in the United States, is 41 years old, and has
lived in the United States for 41 years

b. a person who is 68 years old, was born in France to a mother who was
a U.S. citizen, and has lived in the United States for 51 years

c. a person who was born in the United States, is 34 years old, and has
lived in the United States for 34 years

d. a person who is 50 years old and was a U.S. resident for 10 years, left
the United States for 36 years, and then returned to live in the United
States for 4 years

................................
Answer: c. This person is 34, and the requirements state that a person must
be at least 35 in order to serve as U.S. president.

................................
Use the following passage to answer the question.

Article I, Section 3 of the United States Constitution

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from
each state, chosen by the legislature thereof for six years; and each Senator
shall have one Vote.

Which statement regarding election of U.S. senators is not accurate?

a. Today, senators may serve nationally, even if they lack local legislative
service.

b. Senators are chosen today in the same way as they were chosen
during the 1700s.

c. Today, each state has two senators, just as there have been since the
earliest senatorial elections.

d. Senators are elected to pass legislation today, just as they were chosen
to pass legislation during the 1700s.

................................
Answer: b. The title provides the detail that this article is part of the U.S.
Constitution; it is not an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This means it
became the law of the land in 1776. The article provides for state legislatures
to select senators, and this is not the method of selection for senators today.
Today, voters choose senators.

................................
Use the paragraph and map below to answer the following two questions.

In 1949, fear arose due to the pressure of a potential attack by the Soviet
Union after World War II. A number of countries came together with an
interest in developing military security. They formed the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO). Each nation belonging to NATO made a
promise to defend other members against an attack from a non-member
nation. Due to events that arose shortly after the formation of NATO, the
Soviet Union created alliances with other communist countries in a pact that
came to be known as the Warsaw Pact.

NATO still exists today. It works to address many difficult and complex
international issues.

NATO Members (2014)

Which question can be answered, based solely on information in the

paragraph and the map?

a. Was Russia a member of NATO in 2014?

b. During which year was the Warsaw Pact signed?

c. Which countries were the initial members of NATO in 1949?

d. How many issues were addressed by the Warsaw Pact?

................................
Answer: a. The map, key, and date in the map title make it clear that Russia
was not a member of NATO in 2014.

................................
Use the quote below to answer the following question.

Of the various forms of government which have prevailed in the world, an

hereditary monarchy seems to present the fairest scope for ridicule. Is it
possible to relate without an indignant smile, that, on the father’s decease,
the property of a nation, like that of a drove of oxen, descends to his infant
son, as yet unknown to mankind and to himself, and that the bravest warriors
and the wisest statesmen, relinquishing their natural right to empire,
approach the royal cradle with bended knees and protestations of inviolable
fidelity?

—from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1

by Edward Gibbon, Esq.

Published in London in 1862

Which phrase from the excerpt provides the clearest example of the
author’s viewpoint regarding a monarchy?

a. various forms of government

b. prevailed in the world

c. the property of a nation

d. like a drove of oxen

................................
Answer: d. The author is comparing the passage of property for a nation to
the passing down of livestock within a family. This clearly shows the
author’s point of view.

................................
GEOGRAPHY AND THE WORLD
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The ___________ is a layer of gases above the planet’s surface.

a. biosphere

b. lithosphere

c. topography

d. atmosphere

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

________ is/are opposite in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

a. The tilt of Earth

b. Earth’s orbit

c. The seasons of the year

d. Earth’s axis

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

__________ include(s) the atmosphere, oceans, freshwater systems,

geological formations, and soils of Earth.

a. Habitat
b. The biosphere

c. Biodiversity

d. Mineral resources
Answer: d. The atmosphere is a layer of gases above the planet’s surface.

................................

Answer: c. The seasons of the year are opposite in the Northern and
Southern Hemispheres.

................................

Answer: b. The biosphere includes the atmosphere, oceans, freshwater

systems, geological formations, and soils of Earth.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

_________ geography deals with Earth’s physical features like climate,

land, air, water, plants, and animal life and their relationship to each
other and humans.

a. Physical

b. Cultural

c. Human

d. Political

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

___________ is the study of population.

a. Hydrology

b. Demography

c. Climatology

d. Technology

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Oceans, rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water make up the water-
based _________.

a. water cycle

b. evaporation
c. hydrosphere

d. run-off

Answer: a. Physical geography deals with Earth’s physical features like

climate, land, air, water, plants, and animal life and their relationship to
each other and humans.

................................

Answer: b. Demography is the study of population.

................................

Answer: c. Oceans, rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water make up the
water-based hydrosphere.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

International planners use the term ____________ to describe where

freshwater needs are greatest.

a. precipitation

b. water stress

c. urban sewage

d. condensation

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The ______ is surface land including the continents and ocean floors.

a. lithosphere

b. atmosphere

c. biosphere

d. hydrosphere

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Plate ____________ created Earth’s largest features, like continents,

oceans, and mountain ranges.

a. pollution

b. irrigation
c. flooding

d. tectonics
Answer: b. International planners use the term water stress to describe
where freshwater needs are greatest.

................................

Answer: a. The lithosphere is surface land, including the continents and

ocean floors.

................................

Answer: d. Plate tectonics created Earth’s largest features, like continents,

oceans, and mountain ranges.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Water ______________ wear(s) away soil and rock.

a. desalination

b. erosion

c. valleys

d. cycles

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

___________ protect(s) soil from wind erosion.

a. Urbanization

b. Deserts

c. Glaciers

d. Plants

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

_______________, including aerial photography and satellite imaging,

is used to know more about mineral deposits and freshwater sources, as
well as to survey human activities.

a. Cartography

b. Remote sensing
c. Direct observation

d. A key

Answer: b. Water erosion wears away soil and rock.

................................

Answer: d. Plants protect soil from wind erosion.

................................

Answer: b. Remote sensing, including aerial photography and satellite

imaging, is used to know more about mineral deposits and freshwater
sources, as well as to survey human activities.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The ___________ is 0° latitude.

a. equator

b. prime meridian

c. North Pole

d. absolute location

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Most ancient civilizations began in _________________.

a. mountains

b. river valleys

c. deserts

d. plateaus

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The raising and grazing of livestock, or ____________, is a way of life

for people living on the steppes.

a. agriculture

b. aquaculture

c. pastoralism
d. terracing
Answer: a. The equator is 0° latitude.

................................

Answer: b. Most ancient civilizations began in river valleys.

................................

Answer: c. The raising and grazing of livestock, or pastoralism, is a way of

life for people living on the steppes.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Arab expansion brought _________ to North Africa, Southwest Asia,

and Central Asia.

a. Hinduism

b. Buddhism

c. Judaism

d. Islam

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

In the 1980s, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) financed

Osama bin Laden’s fight against the Russians in the mountains of
_________.

a. Iraq

b. Afghanistan

c. Iran

d. Pakistan

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

_________ is a means of managing natural resources in ways that do

not deplete them or cause more damage to ecosystems.

a. Sustainable development
b. The Green Revolution

c. Outsourcing

d. Qaqortoq
Answer: d. Arab expansion brought Islam to North Africa, Southwest Asia,
and Central Asia.

................................

Answer: b. In the 1980s, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

financed Osama bin Laden’s fight against the Russians in the mountains of
Afghanistan.

................................

Answer: a. Sustainable development is a means of managing natural

resources in ways that do not deplete them or cause more damage to
ecosystems.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The ___________, or Continental Divide, determine(s) the flow of

rivers in North America.

a. Canadian Shield

b. Great Basin

c. Appalachian Mountains

d. Rockies

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The plains of the pampas are used for ______________.

a. growing cereal grains

b. cattle ranching

c. growing ornamental plants

d. training cowboys

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

___________ is the primary language of Latin America.

a. Latin

b. English

c. French
d. Spanish
Answer: d. The Rockies, or Continental Divide, determine(s) the flow of
rivers in North America.

................................

Answer: c. The plains of the pampas are used for growing ornamental
plants.

................................

Answer: d. Spanish is the primary language of Latin America.

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Giant agricultural estates from the colonial era now disappearing in

Latin America are called __________.

a. maquiladoras

b. caudillos

c. latifundia

d. campesinos

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Most people in Russia live ______________.

a. west of the Ural Mountains

b. in Siberia

c. in the Caucasus region

d. in the Caspian Sea republics

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Since 1991, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has

expanded its ___________ economy.

a. command

b. market
c. collectivized agriculture

d. environmental degradation and

Answer: c. Giant agricultural estates from the colonial era now
disappearing in Latin America are called latifundia.

................................

Answer: a. Most people in Russia live west of the Ural Mountains.

................................

Answer: b. Since 1991, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

has expanded its market economy.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Western European industry developed out of the mineral and soil

resources of the ______________________.

a. Emerald Isle

b. Polders

c. North European Plain

d. Alps

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Natural vegetation of ________ latitudes includes deciduous and

coniferous trees.

a. very high

b. middle

c. very low

d. all

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The Romance languages of French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese

are Indo-European languages derived from _________.

a. Basque

b. Bantu
c. Latin

d. German
Answer: c. Western European industry developed out of the mineral and
soil resources of the North European Plain.

................................

Answer: b. Natural vegetation of middle latitudes includes deciduous and

coniferous trees.

................................

Answer: c. The Romance languages of French, Italian, Spanish, and

Portuguese are Indo-European languages derived from Latin.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Overfarming, removing too much vegetation, and overgrazing livestock

has led to ____________ in Europe.

a. soil erosion

b. deforestation

c. increased vegetation, including trees,

d. soil erosion and deforestation

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Fossil fuel automobile exhaust causes ______________.

a. acid rain, property damage, and environmental destruction

b. biofuel

c. natural gas

d. El Niño

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

A ___________ is a triangular section of land formed by sand and silt

carried downriver.

a. delta

b. cataract
c. harmattan

d. tornado
Answer: d. Overfarming, removing too much vegetation, and overgrazing
livestock has led to soil erosion and deforestation in Europe.

................................

Answer: a. Fossil fuel automobile exhaust causes acid rain, property

damage, and environmental destruction.

................................

Answer: a. A delta is a triangular section of land formed by sand and silt

carried downriver.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

In Africa, ______________ climate zones can be found near the

equator.

a. tropical

b. highland

c. steppe

d. altiplano

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Darfur, site of a modern refugee crisis, is located in _____________.

a. Congo

b. Rwanda

c. Sudan

d. Cambodia

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

In the colonial era, Europeans built ___________________ in Africa,

Asia, and Latin America to acquire wealth from natural resources.

a. commercial plantations

b. railroads
c. port facilities

d. commercial plantations, railroads, and port facilities

Answer: a. In Africa, tropical climate zones can be found near the equator.

................................

Answer: c. Darfur, site of a modern refugee crisis, is located in Sudan.

................................

Answer: d. In the colonial era, Europeans built commercial plantations,

railroads, and port facilities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America to acquire
wealth from natural resources.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park, Kenya’s Masai Mara, and Ghana’s

Kakum National Park are all _____________.

a. game reserves

b. poaching parks

c. game reserves and poaching parks

d. altiplanos

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

An undersea _____________ generates a tsunami, a giant wave that

gets higher as it reaches the coast.

a. tornado

b. earthquake

c. typhoon

d. archipelago

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Most of the tens of thousands of rivers in ____________ start in Tibet

and empty into the Pacific Ocean.

a. China

b. Nepal
c. Japan

d. the Philippines
Answer: a. Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park, Kenya’s Masai Mara, and
Ghana’s Kakum National Park are all game reserves.

................................

Answer: b. An undersea earthquake generates a tsunami, a giant wave that

gets higher as it reaches the coast.

................................

Answer: a. Most of the tens of thousands of rivers in China start in Tibet

and empty into the Pacific Ocean.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

A hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean is a(n) ___________ in the Pacific

Ocean.

a. avalanche

b. tsunami

c. typhoon

d. shogun

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The Dalai Lama is _____________ Buddhist spiritual leader.

a. Nepal’s

b. Japan’s

c. China’s

d. Tibet’s

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Due to _____________ control over natural resources in the Pacific,

Japan attempted in the first half of the twentieth century to take
military control of the region.

a. Western

b. Chinese
c. Arab

d. East Indian
Answer: c. A hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean is a typhoon in the Pacific
Ocean.

................................

Answer: d. The Dalai Lama is Tibet’s Buddhist spiritual leader.

................................

Answer: a. Due to Western control over natural resources in the Pacific,

Japan attempted in the first half of the twentieth century to take military
control of the region.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Chinese and Korean governments have been most influenced by

___________.

a. Taoism

b. Buddhism

c. Confucianism

d. Shintoism

................................

Which of the following is true about China?

a. It is heavily polluting the environment by rapidly burning fossil

fuels.

b. It is disposing of large amounts of cancerous industrial waste.

c. It is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

d. All of the above.

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia are all ______________.

a. landlocked in Southeast Asia

b. part of mainland Southeast Asia

c. archipelagoes in Southeast Asia

d. controlled by China
Answer: c. Chinese and Korean governments have been most influenced by
Confucianism.

................................

Answer: d. All of the above.

................................

Answer: c. The Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia are all archipelagoes

in Southeast Asia.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The ___________ can only be found in Southeast Asia.

a. rhinoceros

b. minke whale

c. silkworm

d. Komodo dragon

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The ________ first settled in Cambodia and Vietnam.

a. Mons

b. Burmans

c. Khmers

d. Thais

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The ___________ is a Chinese form of architecture also found in

Southeast Asia.

a. wat

b. pagoda

c. kabuki
d. kami
Answer: d. The Komodo dragon can only be found in Southeast Asia.

................................

Answer: c. The Khmers first settled in Cambodia and Vietnam.

................................

Answer: b. The pagoda is a Chinese form of architecture also found in

Southeast Asia.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

____________ is the largest Muslim country in the world and a site of

terrorist attacks.

a. Iraq

b. Afghanistan

c. The Philippines

d. Indonesia

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

On December 26, 2004, an earthquake in the Indian Ocean created a

___________ that left 225,000 people dead and millions homeless.

a. typhoon

b. tsunami

c. hurricane

d. tornado

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

_____________ is the only nation in the world that is a country and

continent.

a. Antarctica

b. New Zealand
c. Iceland

d. Australia
Answer: d. Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world and a site
of terrorist attacks.

................................

Answer: b. On December 26, 2004, an earthquake in the Indian Ocean

created a tsunami that left 225,000 people dead and millions homeless.

................................

Answer: d. Australia is the only nation in the world that is a country and
continent.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The lowest temperature ever recorded occurred in ______________.

a. China

b. Russia

c. Greenland

d. United States

................................

Which of the following is rich in mineral resources and grasslands for

livestock grazing?

a. Australia

b. New Zealand

c. Antarctica

d. Australia, Antarctica, and New Zealand

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The Earth’s atmosphere is made of mostly ___________.

a. oxygen

b. carbon dioxide

c. nitrogen

d. helium
Answer: b. The lowest temperature ever recorded occurred in Russia. It
was observed at –128.6°F at Vostok.

................................

Answer: a. Australia

................................

Answer: c. The Earth’s atmosphere is made of mostly nitrogen.

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The Tropic of ___________, at 23.5° N, is the northernmost point to

receive direct sunlight.

a. Cancer

b. Capricorn

c. Equinox

d. Solstice

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

A(n) ___________ is a community of plants and animals dependent on

one another and their surroundings to survive.

a. biosphere

b. resource

c. ecosystem

d. physical geographic process

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

___________ geography focuses on history, government, population

growth, urban development, economic production and consumption,
the arts, healthcare, and education.

a. Physical
b. Habitat

c. Human or cultural

d. Transitional
Answer: a. The Tropic of Cancer, at 23.5° N, is the northernmost point to
receive direct sunlight.

................................

Answer: c. An ecosystem is a community of plants and animals dependent

on one another and their surroundings to survive.

................................

Answer: c. Human or cultural geography focuses on history, government,

population growth, urban development, economic production and
consumption, the arts, healthcare, and education.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Birth rates are high in the ___________ world.

a. developed

b. industrial

c. Western

d. developing

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Seas, gulfs, and bays are small ___________ water bodies.

a. fresh

b. salt

c. lake

d. tributary

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Nearly all Earth’s surface water is ___________ water.

a. ground

b. fresh

c. salt
d. river
Answer: d. Birth rates are high in the developing world.

................................

Answer: b. Seas, gulfs, and bays are small saltwater bodies.

................................

Answer: c. Nearly all Earth’s surface water is salt water.

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The lithosphere is Earth’s ___________.

a. landforms

b. mantle

c. crust

d. core

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The ___________ of Fire is an area of earthquake and volcanic activity

that crosses continents and oceans.

a. Magma

b. Trench

c. Slope

d. Ring

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

As glaciers melt and recede, they leave large piles of rock and debris
known as ___________.

a. icebergs

b. glacial lakes
c. moraines

d. wind erosions
Answer: a. The lithosphere is Earth’s landforms.

................................

Answer: d. The Ring of Fire is an area of earthquake and volcanic activity

that crosses continents and oceans.

................................

Answer: c. As glaciers melt and recede, they leave large piles of rock and
debris known as moraines.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The Grand ___________ was formed by water erosion.

a. Tsunami

b. Tetons

c. Canal

d. Canyon

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Lines of ___________, or parallels, circle Earth in degrees horizontally

along the equator.

a. latitude

b. longitude

c. legend

d. meridians

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Lines of longitude, or ___________, circle Earth vertically from Pole to

Pole.

a. meridians

b. prime meridians
c. international date lines

d. time zones
Answer: d. The Grand Canyon was formed by water erosion.

................................

Answer: a. Lines of latitude, or parallels, circle Earth in degrees

horizontally along the equator.

................................

Answer: a. Lines of longitude, or meridians, circle Earth vertically from

Pole to Pole.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Southwest Asia, North Africa, and Central Asia are rich in

___________.

a. timber

b. water

c. produce

d. petroleum

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Indigenous North Africans preceding Arab invasions were

___________.

a. Maoris

b. Berbers

c. Bedouins

d. Ottoman Turks

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Judaism and Christianity were born in the ___________.

a. Eastern Mediterranean

b. Arabian Peninsula
c. Sahel of North Africa

d. Central Asian steppe

Answer: d. Southwest Asia, North Africa, and Central Asia are rich in
petroleum.

................................

Answer: b. Indigenous North Africans preceding Arab invasions were

Berbers.

................................

Answer: a. Judaism and Christianity were born in the Eastern

Mediterranean.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

___________ largest agricultural floodplain surrounds the Ganges

River.

a. India’s

b. China’s

c. Pakistan’s

d. Nepal’s

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The cities of Quebec, Montreal, and Ottawa developed along the

___________.

a. Mississippi River

b. Great Plains

c. St. Lawrence River

d. Gulf of Mexico

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Since the 1970s, the mild climates of the American ___________ and
Southwest have attracted rapid population growth.

a. Midwest

b. Northeast
c. Rust Belt

d. South
Answer: a. India’s largest agricultural floodplain surrounds the Ganges
River.

................................

Answer: c. The cities of Quebec, Montreal, and Ottawa developed along

the St. Lawrence River.

................................

Answer: d. Since the 1970s, the mild climates of the American South and
Southwest have attracted rapid population growth.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The ___________ climate zone of South America is coldest.

a. tierra helada

b. puna

c. tierra fria

d. tierra templada

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The Olmec, Maya, Inca, Maori, Australian, Native American, and

other indigenous tribes are also known as ___________ cultures.

a. aboriginal

b. mestizo

c. machismo

d. Creole

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The largest country in the world in size is ___________.

a. Russia

b. China

c. India
d. Indonesia
Answer: a. The tierra helada climate zone of South America is coldest.

................................

Answer: a. The Olmec, Maya, Inca, Maori, Australian, Native American,

and other indigenous tribes are also known as aboriginal cultures.

................................

Answer: a. The largest country in the world in size is Russia.

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Ample coniferous forests make up Russia’s largest climate zone, the

___________.

a. tundra

b. subarctic

c. taiga

d. humid continental

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Not including migration, negative population growth simply means

___________.

a. the birth rate exceeds the death rate

b. the death rate exceeds the birth rate

c. the birth rate is not recorded

d. birth rate and death rates are equal

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Glaciation formed the fjords of ___________.

a. the Mediterranean

b. Scandinavia
c. canals

d. the North Sea

Answer: b. Ample coniferous forests make up Russia’s largest climate
zone, the subarctic.

................................

Answer: b. Not including migration, negative population growth simply

means the death rate exceeds the birth rate.

................................

Answer: b. Glaciation formed the fjords of Scandinavia.

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland make up

___________.

a. the United Kingdom

b. the Celts

c. the British Isles

d. Great Britain

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The ___________ now combine(s) most of Europe into one economic

community and conduct(s) more trade by volume than any country in
the world.

a. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

b. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

c. European Union (EU)

d. guest workers

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

One positive response to deforestation is ___________.

a. replanting trees and forests

b. expanding industrial use of coal

c. replanting trees and forests and expanding industrial use of coal

d. access to fossil fuel

Answer: a. England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland make up the
United Kingdom.

................................

Answer: c. The European Union (EU) now combines most of Europe into
one economic community and conducts more trade by volume than any
country in the world.

................................

Answer: a. One positive response to deforestation is replanting trees and

forests.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The edges of African plateaus are marked by steep, jagged cliffs called
___________.

a. cataracts

b. escarpments

c. estuaries

d. kums

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

South Africa has about half the world’s ___________.

a. rice

b. gold, diamonds, and uranium

c. spices

d. bat guano

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Large parts of Africa south of the Sahara currently face ___________.

a. drought, famine, lack of clean water, inadequate sanitation, and

epidemic disease

b. corruption, civil war, and human rights violations

c. drought, famine, lack of clean water, inadequate sanitation, epidemic
disease, corruption, civil war, and human rights violations

d. tsunamis
Answer: b. The edges of African plateaus are marked by steep, jagged
cliffs called escarpments.

................................

Answer: b. South Africa has about half the world’s gold, diamonds, and
uranium.

................................

Answer: c. Large parts of Africa south of the Sahara currently face drought,
famine, lack of clean water, inadequate sanitation, and epidemic disease, as
well as corruption, civil war, and human rights violations.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Independence from European rule came most recently in ___________.

a. Latin America

b. Asia

c. Africa

d. the Middle East

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Racial segregation in South Africa was called ___________.

a. apartheid

b. Afrikaner

c. Zimbabwe

d. Angola

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Mount Fuji is in ___________.

a. the Himalayas

b. China

c. Japan
d. Taiwan
Answer: c. Independence from European rule came most recently in
Africa.

................................

Answer: a. Racial segregation in South Africa was called apartheid.

................................

Answer: c. Mount Fuji is in Japan.

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The Himalayas separate China from ___________.

a. Japan

b. Taiwan

c. South Asia

d. Mount Everest

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Seasonal monsoon winds help the major crop of ___________ to grow

in Southeast Asia’s fertile paddies.

a. rice

b. wheat

c. corn

d. livestock

................................

Where is population density lowest?

a. China

b. Japan

c. Singapore

d. Mongolia
Answer: c. The Himalayas separate China from South Asia.

................................

Answer: a. Seasonal monsoon winds help the major crop of rice to grow in
Southeast Asia’s fertile paddies.

................................

Answer: d. Population density is the lowest in Mongolia.

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

________ is the world’s most populous urban area, with more than 35
million people.

a. Beijing

b. Tokyo

c. Rio de Janiero

d. Shanghai

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Since 1945, Communist ________ Korea has sought to unify Korea and
expand its nuclear capabilities.

a. North

b. South

c. West

d. East

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Over 60% of high-tech imports to the United States come from _______
Asia.

a. South

b. Southeast
c. East

d. Central
Answer: b. Tokyo is the world’s most populous urban area, with more than
35 million people.

................................

Answer: a. Since 1945, Communist North Korea has sought to unify Korea
and expand its nuclear capabilities.

................................

Answer: c. Over 60% of high-tech imports to the United States come from
East Asia.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The ___________ Peninsula includes all of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia,

Myanmar, and part of Thailand.

a. Korean

b. Indochina

c. Hong Kong

d. Malay

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

___________ cultivates over 1,000 species of orchids.

a. Thailand

b. Vietnam

c. Indonesia

d. Laos

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

In the highland climate of Myanmar, you can find ___________.

a. mangrove trees

b. cypress trees

c. rhododendrons
d. moss
Answer: b. The Indochina Peninsula includes all of Vietnam, Laos,
Cambodia, Myanmar, and part of Thailand.

................................

Answer: a. Thailand cultivates over 1,000 species of orchids.

................................

Answer: c. In the highland climate of Myanmar, you can find

rhododendrons.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

___________ cities like Bangkok serve as a country’s port, economic

center, and often the capital.

a. Primate

b. Viceroyalty

c. Megalopolis

d. Animism

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The temple complex of Angkor Wat in Cambodia was influenced by

___________.

a. Hinduism

b. Koryoism

c. Islam

d. Roman Catholicism

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia lead the world in ___________

production.

a. tea

b. bamboo
c. rubber

d. petroleum
Answer: a. Primate cities like Bangkok serve as a country’s port, economic
center, and often the capital.

................................

Answer: a. The temple complex of Angkor Wat in Cambodia was

influenced by Hinduism.

................................

Answer: c. Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia lead the world in rubber

production.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Trawlers are used in commercial ___________.

a. cattle ranching

b. rice farming

c. timber cutting

d. fishing

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The June 1991 volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo in ___________

was one of the twentieth century’s most violent and destructive volcanic
eruptions.

a. Indonesia’s island of Bali

b. Indonesia’s island of Java

c. the Philippines

d. Japan

................................

Fill in the blank with the correct term.

The world’s largest coral reef lies off the coast of ___________.

a. New Zealand

b. South Africa
c. Australia

d. the United States

Answer: d. Trawlers are used in commercial fishing.

................................

Answer: c. The June 1991 volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the

Philippines was one of the twentieth century’s most violent and destructive
volcanic eruptions.

................................

Answer: c. The world’s largest coral reef lies off the coast of Australia.
Fill in the blank with the correct term.

Most animal life in Antarctica, such as whales, seals, and penguins, can
be found ___________.

a. in the Antarctic Ocean

b. in the Vinson Massif

c. in East Antarctica

d. at the South Pole

................................
Answer: a. Most animal life in Antarctica, such as whales, seals, and
penguins, can be found in the Antarctic Ocean.

................................
Look at the map, and then answer the following two questions.

Based on this map, which of the following can you conclude about
ancient civilizations?

a. They grew along waterways.

b. They had stable governments.

c. They traded with one another.

d. They were located in cooler climates.

................................

Which would be the best title for this map?

a. Ancient River Valley Civilizations

b. The Earliest Asian Cultures

c. Global Exploration and Trade

d. Rivers of the World

................................
Answer: a. As seen from the map, each of these civilizations grew along a
waterway.

................................

Answer: a. The map shows ancient civilizations that emerged along river
valleys.

................................
Use the maps to answer the following question.

European boundaries changed radically after World War I. The map

on the left shows the boundaries of European countries before World
War I. The map on the right shows the boundaries of European
countries after World War I.

Based on these two maps, all of the following changes took place during
World War I except:

a. Poland was reestablished as an independent nation.

b. Serbia became part of Yugoslavia.

c. Germany increased its territory.

d. Poland had no outlet to the sea.

................................
Answer: d. The Polish Corridor was created at the Treaty of Versailles to
give Poland an outlet to the sea.

................................
Use the illustration to answer the following two questions.

This illustration would be most helpful in writing a report about

a. England during the Industrial Revolution.

b. France in the Middle Ages.

c. Egypt under the Pharaohs.

d. China after the completion of the Great Wall.

................................

Which feature of this illustration best indicates that warfare was

common in this period?

a. Walls and a moat surround the town.

b. The cathedral is the largest building in the town.

c. Workers’ sickles could easily be converted to military use.

d. The workers are well-dressed and seem to be laboring effortlessly.

................................
Answer: b. This type of castle wall with crenellations (as well as the
cathedral with stained glass windows) is typical of medieval Europe, so
France in the Middle Ages is the correct answer.

................................

Answer: a. Walls are usually built around a city only if someone or

something needs to be kept out. Archaeologists and historians often use the
presence or the absence of walls to determine the social setting of a city.

................................
The eighteenth-century slave trade was a “triangular” trade. A ship
would travel from Europe to West Africa carrying cotton fabrics,
hardware, and guns. In Africa, these items would be traded for slaves.
The ship would then carry the slaves to the West Indies and the
southern American colonies. Finally, the ship would return to Europe
carrying sugar and tobacco.

Which of the following would you most likely find on board an

eighteenth-century ship sailing from the West Indies to Great Britain?

a. slaves

b. sugar

c. guns

d. textiles

................................
Answer: b. Ships sailing from the West Indies to Europe carried sugar and
tobacco.

................................
Which is the best conclusion that can be drawn from the information
below?

“We are fighting for the liberty, the self-government, and the undictated
development of all peoples. . . . No people must be forced under
sovereignty under which it does not wish to live.”

—Woodrow Wilson, 1917

a. The Treaty of Versailles honored the principle of self-determination

for all peoples.

b. Arabs preferred to live under European rule after 1920.

c. U.S. influence was limited in the Middle East.

d. The collapse of the British Empire left a power vacuum in Trans-

Jordan.

................................
Answer: c. This is the best conclusion based on the given information.

................................
The following illustration is a six-panel folding screen with ink on
paper drawn in the early 1500s by Soami (1472–1525), a famous
Japanese painter. This part of a pair of screens depicting the seasons
shows fall on the right and winter on the left.

Credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., 1941. Image © The
Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A historian could use this screen to support which of the following

positions?

a. Empty space is important in Japanese art.

b. Japan is a densely populated country.

c. Samurai used screen paintings to display their wealth.

d. Japanese art followed European traditions.

................................
Answer: a. The folding screen, known in Japanese as byobu, is one of the
most distinctive and beautiful forms of Japanese art. Screens could serve as
room partitions or settings for special events. They offered large surfaces to
paint, and many of Japan’s finest artists worked in this format. Large
patches of unpainted space indicate that this choice is correct.

................................
Use the map to answer the following question.

The area conquered by Genghis Khan is best described as

a. Persia.

b. Europe.

c. Arabia.

d. Central Asia.

................................
Answer: d. The map shows that Genghis Khan’s conquests primarily cover
the central part of the Asian continent.

................................
Which conclusion can most fairly be drawn from this map?

a. Christian armies conquered North Africa in the 200s.

b. Monastic communities were important in Spain.

c. The Crusades helped spread Christianity to the Holy Land.

d. Present-day Tunisia was a center of early monasticism.

................................
Answer: d. Tunisia is located on the part of Africa closest to Italy.

................................
What is the best conclusion based on the map and the poem?

“When in April the sweet showers fall And pierce the drought of March to
the root. . . . Then people long to go on pilgrimages And pilgrims long to
seek strange strands Of far-off shrines in distant lands.”

—Geoffrey Chaucer, Prologue to The Canterbury Tales [c. 1380s]

Medieval Trade Routes in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries

a. Religious journeys involved travel to distant places.

b. Christians and Muslims avoided trading with each other.

c. Most medieval travel was for religious reasons.

d. People rarely traveled in the Middle Ages.

................................
Answer: a. This is a virtual paraphrase of Chaucer.

................................
Use the maps and the information below to answer the following two
questions.

The maps above show the political borders of European nations before the
start of World War I (the map on the left) and after the war concluded (the
map on the right). At the end of World War I, Germany was required to sign
the Treaty of Versailles, which required Germany to accept responsibility
for causing the war. The treaty also required Germany to pay the victor
nations over 6 million pounds in reparations and to cede some of its land,
including its valuable coal mines on the German-French border. In addition,
Germany had to give up all of her colonies, which had provided her with a
steady source of income. Finally, strict limitations were placed on the size
and weaponry of the German military, and the country was forbidden from
entering into an alliance with neighboring Austria.

Which country increased in size at the conclusion of World War I?

a. Austria-Hungary

b. Norway

c. Rumania (Romania)
d. Ireland

................................
Answer: c. Of the countries listed, only Rumania increased in size,
according to the maps.

................................
Which of the following is a FACT about the Treaty of Versailles?

a. The Treaty of Versailles harmed the German economy.

b. Germany deserved the harsh terms of the treaty because Germany

started the war.

c. If the Treaty of Versailles had been fairer to Germany, the Nazis

never would have gained power.

d. The United States was the country that benefited the most from the
Treaty of Versailles.

................................

In the early 1960s, an independence movement swept across Africa. In

just a few years, colonies of European nations, such as France, the
United Kingdom, and Belgium, became independent nations with
constitutions and free elections. This movement was a clear expression
of the philosophy of

a. Divine Rights.

b. Natural Rights.

c. Manifest Destiny.

d. Religious Zealotry.

................................

According to some analysts, a temperate climate is most conducive to

human productivity. Which of the following would be the best evidence
to support this claim?

a. Many areas of the temperate region are rich in natural resources.

b. Tropical regions are most attractive to tourists and vacationers.

c. The world’s five largest economies are all located in the temperate
region.

d. The most severe damage from the two world wars was in the
temperate region.
Answer: a. According to the passage, the Treaty of Versailles imposed
huge fines on Germany and stripped the country of valuable property. These
provisions harmed the German economy by depriving it of cash and
income, which it needed to rebuild the country after an extremely costly
war. Each of the incorrect choices is an opinion, not a fact.

................................

Answer: b. This movement was a clear expression of the philosophy of

Natural Rights. The philosophy of Natural Rights claims that the right to
rule comes from the people. Transferring political power from a foreign
colonial power to an elected local government would be a real-life example
of the philosophy of Natural Rights. Divine Rights is a philosophy that
proposes the right to rule comes from a connection with God, or a “divine”
power.

................................

Answer: c. According to some analysts, the fact that the world’s five largest
economies are all located in the temperate region offers strong evidence that
a temperate climate is most conducive to human productivity.
Which of the following predictions is best supported by the world
population growth data in the chart?

a. The world population growth rate will be declining starting by 2050.

b. The less developed countries will continue to grow rapidly for the
next 150 years.

c. The developed countries will experience a population collapse in the

next century.

d. Within the next century, world population will level off and begin to
decline.

................................
Answer: a. That the world population growth rate will be declining by
2050 is the prediction best supported by the graph. While the total
population continues to increase, the slope of the line, or rate of growth, is
decreasing.

................................
Use the map to answer the following question.

Which countries lie entirely between the Tropic of Capricorn and the
Equator?

a. Namibia and Botswana

b. Angola and Malawi

c. South Africa and Kenya

d. Angola and South Africa

................................
Answer: b. Among the choices, the only two countries listed that lie
entirely between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Equator are Angola and
Malawi.

................................
Which countries belong to OPEC but not to the Arab League or
ASEAN?

a. Brunei and Myanmar

b. Iran and Iraq

c. Qatar and United Arab Emirates

d. Nigeria and Venezuela

................................
Answer: d. These are the only countries that belong to OPEC but not to the
Arab League or ASEAN.

................................
Use the chart and quote to answer the following two questions.

“The Philippines are ours forever. . . . And just beyond the Philippines are
China’s illimitable [limitless] markets. We will not retreat from either. . . .
We will not abandon our opportunity in the Orient. We will not renounce
our part in the mission of our race, trustee under God, of the civilization of
the world. The Pacific is our ocean. . . . Where shall we turn for consumers
of our surplus? Geography answers the question. China is our natural
customer. . . . The Philippines give us a base at the door of all the East. . . .
No land in America surpasses in fertility the plains and valleys of Luzon.
Rice and coffee, sugar and coconuts, hemp and tobacco. . . .”

—Albert Beveridge, U.S. Senator from Indiana, January 9, 1900

Based on his comments, all of the following factors contributed to

Senator Beveridge’s desire to annex the Philippines, except

a. he believed in the wealth of the Philippines.

b. he wanted better access to China.

c. he opposed economic imperialism.

d. he believed people to be less civilized.

................................
Answer: c. Beveridge is giving the classic justification for economic
imperialism.

................................
What is the most likely reason for the Allied retreat of November 26?

a. The arrival of Chinese troops greatly increased enemy strength.

b. Chinese forces withdrew from the Korean peninsula.

c. The UN called for a general end to the conflict.

d. The capture of Pyongyang was the only goal of the Allied alliance.

................................
Answer: a. The proximity in time between China’s entering the conflict
and the retreat of Allied troops suggests that China’s entrance into the war
was the cause for the Allied retreat.

................................
As damaging as it was in terms of American lives lost, World War II
had an even greater effect on the lives of British, French, and Soviet
soldiers and civilians. This chart compares the losses.

Which of the following most likely explains why civilian losses were so
much lower in the United States than in Europe?

a. The U.S. military was better able to protect its civilians.

b. Outside of certain Alaskan islands, no fighting took place on U.S.

soil.

c. U.S. civilians were not allowed to witness battles.

d. More U.S. civilians were drafted into the armed forces.

................................
Answer: b. During World War II, no fighting took place on U.S. soil except
in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska. No battles took place in Great Britain
either, but British soldiers fought in the major battles in Europe. So did
French and Soviet soldiers, and all these countries suffered civilian losses
from German bombing and/or occupation.

................................
A civil war is defined as a war between factions or regions of the same
country. Based on this definition, which of these is NOT a civil war?

a. the 1642 struggle between supporters of the king and

parliamentarians in England

b. the 1918 conflict between the anticommunist White Army and the
Red Army of the Soviets in Russia

c. the war between the Hutu and Tutsi peoples in present-day Rwanda

d. the 1904 conflict between Russia and Japan over control of

Manchuria and Korea

................................

Please use the chart to answer the following question.

Which of the following most likely explains why the Norwegian

explorers traveled west whereas the Italian explorers traveled east?

a. The Italians were looking for wealth, but the Norwegians were
looking for land.

b. Geography made it easier to travel eastward from Italy and

westward from Norway.

c. Italian explorers had already visited North America.

d. Norwegian explorers had nothing to trade with the people of Asia.

................................
Answer: d. The only conflict between two different countries is the one
between Russia and Japan.

................................

Answer: b. The difference in the geography of these two countries most

likely explains why Norwegians sailed west and Italians sailed east.

................................
Use the chart below to answer the following three questions.

The Neolithic Era saw significant climatic changes that allowed for the
beginning of farming in many parts of the world.

How did people’s lives change when they began cultivating cereal
crops?

a. They stopped being afraid of wild animals.

b. They started painting on the walls of caves.

c. They started using fire to cook their food.

d. They started settling down in villages.

................................
Answer: d. According to the time line, the cultivation of cereal crops
occurred around 8000 b.c. At that time, the most significant development
was the appearance of villages in which people settled.

................................
Is it reasonable to conclude that cattle were used for plowing before
horses were?

a. No, because horses were domesticated before cattle were.

b. No, because cattle were still wild when plowing was introduced.

c. Yes, because horses were not yet domesticated when plowing was
introduced.

d. Yes, because cattle were more common than horses were.

................................

Which statement based on the diagram is an opinion rather than a

fact?

a. The wheel was invented long after people settled down in villages.

b. Dugout canoes preceded sailboats by thousands of years.

c. Olive trees and fruit trees were first cultivated around 5000 b.c.

d. Irrigation was the Neolithic era’s most important innovation.

................................
Answer: c. The time line makes it clear that plowing occurred before the
domestication of the horse, so it is reasonable to conclude that cattle were
used for plowing.

................................

Answer: d. Choice d is the only opinion among the five choices. The words
most important give a clue that the statement is a value judgment, not a fact.

................................
Use the map to answer the following question.

Based on the map, Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Diaz, on his voyage

of 1486–87

a. purchased spices and jewels in India and brought them back to

Portugal.

b. proved the existence of a sea route around southern Africa to the

Indian Ocean.

c. managed to reach Calicut in India in only two years.

d. circled the globe and proved once and for all that the world was
round.

................................
Answer: b. The map shows that Diaz sailed south from Portugal, rounded
the southern tip of Africa, and entered the Indian Ocean. This choice is the
only conclusion that can fairly be drawn from the information in the map:
Diaz’s voyage proved that there is a sea route around southern Africa to the
Indian Ocean.

................................
“The history of the world is the record of a man in quest of his daily bread
and butter.”

—Hendrik Willem van Loon

Which of these methods of looking at history would van Loon find most
valuable?

a. gender studies

b. historical geography

c. autobiography

d. economic history

................................

What do the Loire and Garonne rivers have in common?

a. They both flow from west to east.

b. They both flow from north to south.

c. They both empty into the Atlantic Ocean.

d. They both empty into the Mediterranean Sea.

................................
Answer: d. The quotation implies that the most important aspect of history
is economic history, “the record of man in quest of his daily bread and
butter.”

................................

Answer: c. The map shows that the Loire and Garonne rivers both flow
into the Atlantic Ocean.

................................
Please use the table to answer the following question.

Which country belongs to OPEC and ASEAN but not the Arab
League?

a. Indonesia

b. Algeria

c. Iraq

d. Kuwait

................................
Answer: a. The only country that belongs to OPEC and ASEAN but not to
the Arab League is Indonesia.

................................
Which conclusion is best supported by the information presented in the
chart?

a. All early civilizations were monarchies.

b. Egypt is the oldest of the world’s civilizations.

c. Many of the world’s earliest civilizations developed in river valleys.

d. All early civilizations used a type of writing called hieroglyphics.

................................
Answer: c. Many of the world’s earliest civilizations developed in river
valleys.

................................
Which of the following conclusions can you make from the chart?

African-American Slaves in the United States, 1790–1860

a. Slavery became a greater part of the economy of the South than of

the North.

b. Slaves lived a more difficult life in the South than in the North.

c. More slaves in the North fought for their freedom.

d. About one of every five African Americans was free by 1860.

................................
Answer: a. The statistics show that slavery became a part of the southern
economy.

................................
Use the map to answer the following two questions.

The Expansion of Islam, 600 to 750 c.e.

During the time on the map, the Islam religion had expanded to
encompass the entire area of all of the modern-day countries except

a. Portugal.

b. Saudi Arabia.

c. Turkey.

d. Iraq.

................................
Answer: c. Parts of modern-day Turkey remained under Byzantine
Christian control until 1453. The map shows that the other four nations had
been conquered by 750 c.e.

................................
Based on this map, which of the following conclusions is most
reasonable?

a. The Mediterranean Sea ceased to be an important trade route in the

Middle Ages.

b. Islam expanded outward from its starting place in Egypt.

c. No part of Europe was ever occupied by an Islamic army.

d. Christian control of the Mediterranean coast of North Africa had

ceased by 750.

................................

Read the passage below and answer the following question.

The eighteenth-century slave trade was a “triangular” trade. A ship would

travel from Europe to West Africa carrying cotton fabrics, hardware, and
guns. In Africa, these items would be traded for slaves. The ship would then
carry the slaves to the West Indies and the southern American colonies.
Finally, the ship would return to Europe carrying sugar and tobacco.

Which of the following would you most likely find on board an

eighteenth-century slave ship sailing from the West Indies to Great
Britain?

a. slaves

b. cotton fabrics

c. sugar

d. guns

................................
Answer: d. This is the only choice illustrated on the map.

................................

Answer: c. Ships sailing from the West Indies to Europe carried sugar and
tobacco.

................................
Use the graphs below to answer the following three questions.

Rate of population growth = birth rate – death rate

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Data Base 10-2002.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Data Base 10-2002.

The greatest increase in the population growth rate between 1950 and
2000 occurred in
a. 2001–2002.

b. 2000–2001.

c. 1990–2000.

d. 1962–1963.

................................
Answer: d. The first graph shows the highest point in population growth
rate between 1962 and 1963.

................................
The world population growth rate dropped one percentage point
between the mid-1950s and 1960. Which of the following best explains
this occurrence?

a. The ratio of births to deaths was higher in the mid-1950s than it was
in 1960.

b. A baby boom in the decade after World War II caused a spike in the
birth rate.

c. The introduction of the birth control pill in 1960 in the United States
helped to slow the birth rate.

d. There were more births in 1960 than there were in the mid-1950s.

................................

Which of the following statements is proved by the information in the

two graphs?

a. The population will reach its limit by 2050.

b. When the rate of population growth decreases, so does the

population.

c. When the rate of population growth increases, so does the

population.

d. Even though the rate of population growth is decreasing, the

population is increasing.

................................
Answer: a. The population growth rate increases when the ratio of births to
deaths increases.

................................

Answer: d. Using the two graphs, you can compare the rate of population
growth with the growth of the population. The growth rate is decreasing,
while the population is increasing.

................................
In 150 a.d. the Greek astronomer Ptolemy taught that the solar system
was structured as shown in Figure 1. Much later, in the 16th century,
the Polish astronomer Nicolai Copernicus proposed the structure
shown in Figure 2.

The biggest difference between Ptolemy’s and Copernicus’s ideas is

a. Ptolemy thought that Mars and Venus were comets, but Copernicus
said they were planets.

b. Ptolemy thought that Earth was at the center of the solar system, but
Copernicus said that the sun was at the center.

c. Ptolemy thought that Saturn was the most distant planet, but
Copernicus said that there was another planet beyond Saturn.

d. Ptolemy thought that the orbits of the planets were circular, but
Copernicus said they were oval in shape.

................................
Answer: b. It is the only statement that is true about the Ptolemaic and
Copernican views of the solar system.

................................
Which conclusion is best supported by the information presented in the
chart?

a. All early civilizations were monarchies.

b. China is the oldest of the world’s civilizations.

c. Many of the world’s earliest civilizations developed in river valleys.

d. Civilization began in China and spread westward across Asia.

................................
Answer: c. This is the only statement that is true.

................................
Source: Data derived from Hugh Thomas, The Slave Trade. Simon & Schuster, 1997.

According to the information given in the map, which of the following

conclusions can be drawn?

a. The British colonies were the main destination of African slaves.

b. South America did not allow the importation of slaves.

c. Most slaves were sent to work on sugar plantations in Brazil and in

the Caribbean.

d. South America has a large population of African origin today.

................................
Answer: c. According to the map, 36% of slaves went to the Caribbean and
35% went to Brazil, far more than other destinations in the Americas.

................................
Use the map to answer the following question.

Ancient Egypt

Credit: The Making of the West, Vol. 1: to 1740, by Lynn Hunt et al., Copyright © 2001 by
Bedford/St. Martin’s. Reproduced by permission of Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Which conclusion can most fairly be drawn from the map?

a. Egyptian civilization predated Chinese civilization.

b. More than two-thirds of Egypt’s population lived along the

Mediterranean Sea.

c. The Nile Delta was one of the last areas settled by the Egyptians.

d. Palestine served as a potential route for Asian invasion into Africa.

................................
Answer: c. The Hyksos were among the first of several invaders to attack
Africa through Palestine.

................................
Which conclusion can most fairly be drawn from the following chart?

a. The Chinese successfully prevented the spread of paper for more

than 600 years.

b. The Chinese had no use for paper, so they sold the formula to the
Uzbeks.

c. Medieval Europe was technologically superior to anywhere else in

the world.

d. Paper was produced in England more than a millennium after its

production in China.

................................
Answer: d. According to the chart, paper was first produced in China. The
information on the chart will not, by itself, substantiate any of the other
conclusions.

................................
Read the passage and answer the following two questions.

Mohandas Gandhi, also known as Mahatma Gandhi, developed a policy of

passive resistance in his civil rights struggle for Indian immigrants in South
Africa and later in the campaign for Indian independence from British rule.
The writings of the Russian author Leo Tolstoy and the essay “Civil
Disobedience” by nineteenth-century American Henry David Thoreau
inspired Gandhi. Gandhi called acts of nonviolent resistance satyagraha, a
Sanskrit term meaning “truth and firmness.” The Salt Satyagraha of 1930
exemplified his policy. In protest to the British government’s salt tax,
Gandhi led tens of thousands of Indians on a 200-mile march to the Arabian
Sea, where they made salt from evaporated sea water. Thousands, including
Gandhi, were arrested. When the British conceded to his demands, Gandhi
stopped the campaign. When he was released from prison in 1931, he
traveled to London as a representative of the Indian National Congress to
negotiate reform measures.

Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

a. The Salt March of 1930

b. How to Lead an Effective Protest

c. Gandhi’s Acts of Nonviolent Resistance

d. Free India

................................

Which of the following conclusions can be drawn from the passage?

a. Gandhi’s nonviolent protests were effective political tools.

b. The British did not respond to the Salt Satyagraha.

c. Satyagraha means “truth and firmness” in Sanskrit.

d. Gandhi refused to support the British government in World War II
until it granted India its independence.

................................
Answer: c. Choice c is general enough to encompass the main ideas of the
passage.

................................

Answer: a. The British concession to Gandhi’s demands shows that his use
of nonviolent protest was an effective political tool.

................................
Use the chart to answer the following two questions.

Which statement best explains the statistics on the chart?

a. The Nazi government carried out a program to exterminate Jews.

b. The accuracy of census counts was undermined by World War II.

c. Most Jews moved to Israel during World War II.

d. After 1940, census takers did not ask residents about religion.

................................

What would be the best title for this chart?

a. European Race and Ethnicity

b. Mass Migration

c. The Holocaust

d. A Decade of Homicide

................................
Answer: a. This is the only possible answer based on the statistics in the
chart.

................................

Answer: c. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic attempt to destroy a

racial, religious, national, or ethnic group. The word was first used in 1944
in relation to the German attempt to exterminate the Jews of Europe.

................................
What is the main idea of the following cartoon?

a. The League of Nations failed to work even after the United States
joined it.

b. Most people in the United States wanted the League of Nations to

fail.

c. The U.S. Congress saved the country from involvement in the affairs
of Europe.

d. Public opinion in the United States opposed the Treaty of Versailles.

................................
Answer: c. This is the correct answer. The cartoonist clearly feels that the
Senate—carrying its constitutional rights—is within its rights in objecting
to Uncle Sam’s involvement in foreign entanglements (on the bride’s dress).

................................
Credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of
Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1965. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The kingdom of Benin, in the area around present-day Nigeria,

produced remarkable brass (often called bronze by Europeans)
artwork from the twelfth century to the seventeenth century. On this
plaque, the king (oba) rides sidesaddle. He is supported by the hands of
two servants and protected from the sun by their shields.

Based on this bronze, which conclusion can be made most fairly?

a. Draft animals were nonexistent in West Africa.

b. West Africans understood principles of metallurgy.

c. Benin artists did not comprehend the difference between bronze and
brass.
d. Civilization in Benin was far more advanced than in the rest of West
Africa.

................................
Answer: b. Metallurgy relates to the science and technology of working
with metals and alloys. Benin artists knew what they were doing.

................................
Use the chart to answer the following question.

How would a list of today’s top ten cities compare to this list from
1790?

a. All of the cities listed would be the same.

b. Some of the cities would be the same, but the list would include cities
in the South and West.

c. Some of the cities would be the same, but there would be more cities
in New England.

d. None of the cities would be the same.

................................
Answer: b. In 1790, the United States extended only as far as the
Mississippi River, and the largest cities hugged the Atlantic Coast. Today’s
population has moved west and south.

................................
Read the passage and answer the following two questions.

From 2000 b.c. until the twentieth century, a succession of dynasties ruled
China. The word China comes from the Ch’in Dynasty (221–206 b.c.),
which first unified the country by conquering warring land-owning feudal
lords. King Cheng named himself Shih Huang-ti, or first emperor, and
consolidated his empire by abolishing feudal rule, creating a centralized
monarchy, establishing a system of laws and a common written language,
and building roads and canals to the capital. Scholars speculate that
construction of the Great Wall or chang cheng, meaning “long wall,” began
during the Ch’in Dynasty in order to protect China’s northern border from
invaders. Shih Huang-ti ruled with absolute power, imposing strict laws and
heavy taxes and doling out harsh punishments. He also is reputed to have
burned books on topics that he did not consider useful. Shih Huang-ti died
in 210 b.c. His son succeeded him but soon peasants and former nobles
revolted and overthrew the dynasty. The Han Dynasty replaced it, ruling
China until a.d. 220.

Which of the following is NOT a contribution of the Ch’in Dynasty?

a. unification of territory

b. feudal aristocracy

c. road construction

d. standardized written script

................................

Which of the following conclusions can you make based on the

passage?

a. The Ch’in Dynasty enjoyed a stable and long-lasting rule.

b. By abolishing feudalism, Ch’in Shih Huang-ti promoted democracy

in China.
c. The Ch’in Dynasty was popular among peasants and displaced
nobles.

d. The Ch’in Dynasty had long-lasting influence.

................................
Answer: b. Ch’in Shih Huang-ti abolished the aristocracy of feudalism,
instead appointing officials to carry out his rules in all of China’s provinces.

................................

Answer: d. The Ch’in Dynasty introduced a centralized government ruled

by a monarchy—a form of government that lasted in China until 1911,
when revolutionaries overthrew the last dynasty.

................................
Read the passage and answer the following question.

Machu Picchu is an ancient stone city situated on a mountain ridge high in

the Peruvian Andes, above the Sacred Valley. The Incas built the city
around 1450, at the height of their empire. The city follows a strict plan in
which agricultural and residential areas are separated by a large square.
Most archeologists believe that Machu Picchu served as a religious and
ceremonial center of the Incan Empire.

The Incas chose Machu Picchu for its unique location and features. Getting
to Machu Picchu requires a journey up a narrow path. This makes it easily
defended, as no one could approach without being spotted.

Machu Picchu was abandoned shortly after Spanish conquistadors

vanquished the Incan Empire. Over the next several centuries, the jungle
reclaimed the site on which Machu Picchu lay. The site was once again
“discovered” by an American historian and explorer in 1911. Since then,
archeologists have flocked to the site to see what they can learn about the
Incas. Today, Machu Picchu—the Lost City of the Incas—is the most
visited site in Peru.

Which hypothesis is supported by the evidence in this passage?

a. The Incas would have expanded their empire had Columbus not
discovered the Americas.

b. If Machu Picchu had not been discovered in 1911, we would not

know anything about the Incas.

c. Machu Picchu would have survived many more years had Columbus
not discovered the Americas.

d. If the Incas had built fortified centers on lower ground, they would
have been able to beat the Conquistadors.

................................
Answer: c. This is the only hypothesis that is supported by evidence from
the passage. Columbus’s discovery led to the Spanish conquest of the New
World and the decline of the Incan Empire.

................................
Read the passage and answer the following question.

German printer Johannes Gutenberg is often credited with the invention of

the first printing press to use movable type. He used hand-set type to print
the Gutenberg Bible in 1455. Although his invention greatly influenced
printing in Europe, similar technologies were used earlier in China and
Korea. Chinese printers used movable block prints and type made of clay as
early as 1040, and Korean printers invented movable copper type about
1392.

What is the purpose of the paragraph?

a. to praise the advances of printing technology

b. to connect the early advances in printing with today’s technological

advances

c. to show that technological advances can develop in different

geographical areas over periods of time

d. to give credit to Gutenberg for the first movable-type printing press

................................
Answer: c. Although Gutenberg is given credit for the invention of
movable type, others in different parts of the world at different time periods
had used a similar technique. This does not lessen the great effect that
Gutenberg’s invention had on European culture.

................................
Read the passage and answer the following three questions.

Even though acid rain looks, feels, and even tastes like clean rainwater, it
contains high levels of pollutants. Scientists believe car exhaust and smoke
from factories and power plants are the main causes of acid rain, but natural
sources like gases from forest fires and volcanoes may also contribute to the
problem. Pollutants mix in the atmosphere to form fine particles that can be
carried long distances by wind. Eventually they return to the ground in the
form of rain, snow, fog, or other precipitation. Acid rain damages trees and
causes the acidification of lakes and streams, contaminating drinking water
and damaging aquatic life. It erodes buildings, paint, and monuments. It can
also affect human health. Although acid rain does not directly harm people,
high levels of the fine particles in acid rain are linked to an increased risk
for asthma and bronchitis. Since the 1950s, the increase of acid rain has
become a problem in the northeastern United States, Canada, and western
Europe. Some believe it is the single greatest industrial threat to the
environment, although most feel that the emission of greenhouse gases is a
far larger problem.

Which of the following natural resources is least likely to be affected by

acid rain?

a. animal life

b. plant life

c. coal reserves

d. water

................................

Which of the following is NOT a cause of acid rain?

a. human activity

b. natural phenomena
c. volcanoes

d. lakes and streams

................................
Answer: c. All of these natural resources are negatively affected by acid
rain except coal reserves. The passage identifies coal burning as a source of
acid rain. It does not say that coal reserves are harmed by acid rain.

................................

Answer: d. Lakes and streams are affected by acid rain but do not cause it.

................................
Which of the following is an OPINION stated in the passage?

a. Acid rain is formed when pollutants mix in the atmosphere.

b. Acid rain damages trees, lakes, and streams.

c. Acid rain cannot be distinguished from unpolluted rain by sight,

smell, or taste.

d. No industrial pollutant causes more damage to the environment than

acid rain.

................................

Use the map to answer the following four questions.

A battle took place along what river in 54 b.c.?

a. Rhine

b. Seine

c. Meuse

d. Marne
................................
Answer: d. Only choice d is an opinion; it draws a comparison that can be
reasonably argued. In fact, the passage notes that choice d is the subject of
some debate. According to the final sentence of the passage, many people
believe that greenhouse gas emissions, not acid rain, are the greatest source
of concern.

................................

Answer: c. According to the map of the Roman conquest of Gaul, a battle

took place in 54 b.c. along the Meuse River in the region then called
Belgica.

................................
Which of the following lists battles in order from earliest to latest?

a. Gergovia, Quiberon Bay, Lugdunum

b. Alesia, Lugdunum, Quiberon Bay

c. Quiberon Bay, Agedincum, Bibracte

d. Bibracte, Quiberon Bay, Gergovia

................................

Which conclusion is best supported by the information presented in the

map?

a. The Romans conquered Aquitania and Belgica.

b. The Romans began their war of conquest in the north and worked
their way south.

c. The battle at Lugdunum lasted several months.

d. Following the conquest of Gaul, the Romans planned to cross the

Pyrenees.

................................

What do the Loire and Garonne rivers have in common?

a. They both flow from west to east.

b. They both flow from north to south.

c. They both empty into the Atlantic Ocean.

d. They both empty into the Mediterranean Sea.

Answer: d. According to the map of the Roman conquest of Gaul, various
battles were fought between 58 and 51 b.c. Keep in mind that b.c. dates run
“backwards”; for example, 58 b.c. came seven years before 51 b.c. This
choice does not list the battles in proper order.

................................

Answer: a. The only conclusion that it is fair to draw from the map is that
the Romans conquered Aquitania and Belgica.

................................

Answer: c. The map shows that the Loire and Garonne rivers both flow
into the Atlantic Ocean.
Use the graphic to answer the following two questions.

According to the map, what is the primary climate of the northern

third of Africa?

a. tropical wet

b. steppe

c. subtropical humid

d. desert

................................

It can be inferred from the map that the Mediterranean Sea borders
a. the west coast of Africa.

b. the southern tip of Africa.

c. the southeastern coast of Africa.

d. the northern coast of Africa.

................................
Answer: d. The northern third of Africa appears at the top of the map of
Africa. It is made up primarily of desert; more specifically, the Sahara
Desert.

................................

Answer: d. The northern tip of the African continent has a Mediterranean

climate. No other part of the continent has such a climate. Therefore, it is
reasonable to conclude that the northern coast of the African continent
borders the Mediterranean Sea.

................................
Use the photograph and map to answer the following two questions.

The photograph and map depict the Great Wall of China, built during
the late 1400s and early 1500s.
What is the approximate total length of all segments of the Great Wall
of China?

a. 600 miles

b. 1,000 miles

c. 3,000 miles

d. 6,000 miles

................................
Answer: c. Use the scale to approximate the length of the Great Wall as
shown on the map to determine a total length of 3,000 miles.

................................
For what purpose was the Great Wall of China most likely built?

a. to provide protection from military invaders from the north

b. to provide protection from military invaders from the south

c. to create a tourist attraction that would bring international travelers

to China

d. to protect Beijing from flooding rivers

................................

Read the passage and answer the following two questions.

The Aztec empire of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was based on an
agricultural economy. The Valley of Mexico—a fertile basin with five lakes
in its center—provided land for farming. However, as the population of the
empire grew, the Aztecs needed to make more land suitable for agriculture.
To do this, they developed irrigation (a system that carries water through
dams and canals to use for farming) and formed terraces (a process that cuts
“steps” into hillsides to make flat surfaces for farming). They also practiced
land reclamation, turning swamps and wet areas into land that can be
cultivated.

What factor caused the Aztecs to develop agricultural innovations?

a. The empire shifted from an agriculture-based economy to an

industrial one.

b. Annual flooding created rich soil, but the lakes could not sustain
crops the rest of the year.

c. An increase in population created a need for land for more housing.

d. A growing population resulted in increased food demands.

................................
Answer: a. The most likely explanation for building the Great Wall was to
provide protection. The photograph shows that the wall was tall and sturdy
and would thus have presented a formidable obstacle to an invading army.
Because the Great Wall is built along the northern portion of China (with
the city of Beijing to the south of the wall), it is most likely that the wall
was built to stop invaders from the north.

................................

Answer: d. The Aztecs needed more land for farming to produce enough
food for the growing population.

................................
An island in Southern Indonesia, Bali has a hot and humid climate and
volcanic soil that is good for farming rice, but much of the island is
hilly. To solve this problem, Balinese rice farmers use which of the
techniques also employed by the Aztecs?

a. land reclamation

b. land terracing

c. irrigation

d. landfill

................................

All of the following might explain the change in India’s population

from 1950 to 2000 EXCEPT

a. advances in healthcare.

b. improvements to national sanitation services.

c. a dramatic increase in per capita income.

d. a series of severe weather events, such as earthquakes and

hurricanes.

................................
Answer: b. Terracing solves the problem because it creates flat surfaces out
of hillsides for farming.

................................

Answer: d. The population of India began a rapid increase in 1950 that

continued through 2000. Choice d describes events that would reduce the
population; each of the incorrect choices describes conditions that would
promote population growth.

................................
Use the map and paragraph to answer the following three questions.

Map of the United States of America

Determining Location

Absolute location and relative location are important in determining where

a specific place is located. The term absolute location refers to the exact
location of a place. To determine absolute location, it is necessary to note
lines of latitude and longitude. This is accomplished by first noting which
line of latitude runs nearest the location and then noting which line of
longitude runs nearest the location. The term relative location refers to a
place’s location in relation to another place. For example, Ohio is located to
the northwest of Louisiana. Indiana is located at the most southern point of
Lake Michigan.

The relative location of Austin, Texas can be described as

a. 30.25° N, 97.75° W.

b. east of the most western point of the Rio Grande River.

c. 33.75° N, 84.39° W.

d. west of the most eastern point of Sacramento, California.

................................
Answer: b. Austin’s relative location can be described as being to the east
of the most western point of the Rio Grande River.

................................
Fill in the blank with either absolute location or relative location.

Maria is discussing directions to her office with a business client who

has just arrived from a nearby city. Since the client’s last visit, Maria’s
office has relocated to a location several miles away from the former
office location. Maria’s client will be driving to the new location. The
term that identifies the most effective type of location Maria should be
discussing with the client is _____________.

................................

Which city is located nearest 35° N, 105° W?

a. Atlanta

b. Des Moines

c. Jefferson City

d. Santa Fe

................................
Answer: relative location. The paragraph provides terms that describe
location: “The term relative location refers to a place’s location in relation
to another place.” Absolute location provides latitude and longitude, which
would not be the most effective way to communicate the location to the
client, who will be driving to Maria’s office.

................................

Answer: d. Locating the specified lines of latitude and longitude leads to

Santa Fe, New Mexico.
ECONOMICS
Use the pie chart to answer the following two questions.

President’s Proposed Federal Budget, 2008

Which of the following statements is a FACT found in the pie chart?

a. The United States spends too much on Social Security.

b. National defense is the single largest expense in the federal budget.

c. The federal government spends more on health than it spends on

education.

d. Increased spending on public transportation would benefit the

environment.

................................
Answer: c. The pie chart shows that the government spends 10% of its
budget on health and 3% of its budget on education.

................................
The data in the pie chart does NOT support which of the following
conclusions?

a. “Other” expenses include spending on interest on the national debt.

b. Transportation constitutes a relatively small portion of the federal

budget.

c. National defense is an important priority for the federal government.

d. The federal government spends more on income security than it

spends on net interest.

................................

“You shall not deduct interest from loans to your countryman, whether in
money or food or anything else that can be deducted as interest.”

—Deuteronomy, 23:20

“That which you seek to increase by interest will not be blessed by God; but
the alms you give for his sake shall be repaid to you many times over.”

—Koran

“If indeed someone has fallen into the error of presuming to stubbornly
insist that the practice of interest is not sinful, we decree that he is to be
punished as a heretic.”

—Canon 29 of the Roman Catholic Council of Vienne (1311), 30:39

What is the best conclusion that can be drawn from the three
quotations?

a. Judeo-Christian law is the basis of modern economic theory.

b. Many religious precepts are at odds with banking.

c. Money lending was an honored position in medieval Europe.

d. The Catholic Church reversed its ban on usury.

................................
Answer: a. The pie chart includes a section for Net interest. That is the
portion of the budget dedicated to paying interest on the national debt.

................................

Answer: b. All three quotations condemn the practice of charging interest,

which is at the heart of modern banking and economics.
Use the information to answer the following two questions.

The law of supply and demand is a basic economic principle. Demand

refers to how much of a product or service is desired by consumers at a
certain price. Supply refers to the quantity producers are willing to
provide at a certain price. The point at which the supply and demand
curves meet dictates the price. This is sometimes called the equilibrium.

What can you conclude from this information?

a. Supply stays the same regardless of the price.

b. When the price is higher, supply will be lower.

c. Demand stays the same regardless of the price.

d. When the price is higher, demand will be lower.

................................
Answer: d. When a product costs more, fewer people will want to buy it.

................................
In this excerpt, a producer refers to:

a. a seller of a product or service

b. a buyer of a product or service

c. a creator of a movie or recording

d. a person or company that decides the price of a product

................................

The following chart reveals the demand for pizza at a local restaurant.
What is the best generalization based on the data in the chart?

a. Advertising has no effect on the price of an object.

b. The highest profit can be made by selling pizza at $2.00 a slice.

c. Price has little effect on the demand for an object.

d. Demand for an object rises as the price falls.

................................
Answer: a. Producers include the manufacturers and the sellers of a
product.

................................

Answer: d. The chart reveals that more people buy slices of pizza when the
price declines.

................................
Use the information below to answer the following question.

The consumer price index (CPI) is an indicator of the general level of

prices. It measures the average change of prices over time. The CPI
consists of a set market basket of typical goods and services such as
energy, food, housing, clothes, transportation, medical care, and
entertainment. When the CPI goes down, consumers have to pay less
for the same amount of goods and services. The CPI for all urban
consumers covers about 80 percent of the total population.

Based on the data in the chart, what is the most likely prediction for
2016?

a. The U.S. trade deficit will worsen.

b. Inflation will continue.

c. Unemployment will rise.

d. Americans will be able to afford more goods.

................................
Answer: b. CPI is a measure of inflation, and it has been rising consistently
for the past 50 years.

................................
Use the information below to answer the following two questions.

The World’s Child Laborers

Of the world’s 250 million child laborers, 186 million are under age five,
and 170 million perform hazardous work. Most working children in rural
areas labor in agriculture, while urban children work in trade and services,
with a smaller percentage working in manufacturing, construction, and
domestic service.

Source: Data from the International Labor Organization (ILO), www.ilo.org.

Based on the graph and passage, where would child-labor reform

measures be the most effective?

a. in Europe

b. in rural areas

c. in the developing world

d. in areas where children are employed to work in mines

................................
Answer: c. The majority of child labor takes place in the developing world,
of which Africa, Asia, and Latin America are a part. You can theorize that
the most effective reform measures would target the areas where most
working children live.

................................
Which conclusion can be made using the details provided in the chart?

a. Eighty million African children work.

b. Child labor is a worldwide problem.

c. The problem of child labor has grown substantially in recent

decades.

d. If children work, they are most likely not attending school.

................................
Answer: b. Choice b is the only valid conclusion that can be made based on
the chart.

................................
Use the chart to answer the following question.

Which of the following statements is supported by the information

presented?

a. The largest number of jobs in the United States will be computer-

related in the decade 2000–2010.

b. Computer-related jobs are the best paying in the nation.

c. Of the ten fastest growing jobs, the lowest paying is medical assistant.

d. Of the ten fastest growing jobs, the best paying require the most
education.

................................
Answer: d. Choice d is the only one supported by the details of the chart.
Although the chart offers the rate of growth of occupations, it does not give
the overall number of jobs available.

................................
What is the best conclusion based on the two pie graphs?

a. The service industry became more important to the U.S. economy

toward the end of the twentieth century.

b. The U.S. economy shrank under Republican presidents.

c. The construction industry followed the housing boom toward the end
of the twentieth century.

d. The U.S. economy stagnated between 1950 and 1990.

................................

Which conclusion can most fairly be drawn from this chart?

a. The UAW has failed to help its members.

b. There has been a decline in the number of automobiles on American

roads.

c. Automobile manufacturing has declined in the United States.

d. U.S. labor laws have made it more difficult for workers to join a
union.

................................
Answer: a. Use the process of elimination. A service economy consists of
those economic sectors not involved in the production or processing of
goods and energy. In the United States, service and finance sectors
increased from 19.2% in 1950 to 29.7% in 1990.

................................

Answer: c. Automobile manufacturing has moved from the United States to

other countries in recent decades, contributing to a decline in the number of
U.S. auto workers.

................................
The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the
government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities;
that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the
protection of the state. The expense of government to the individuals of a
great nation is like the expense of management to the joint tenants of a great
estate, who are all obliged to contribute in proportion to their respective
interests in the estate.

—Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, Book V, Chapter 2

Based on this quotation, Adam Smith would most likely support which
of the following?

a. anti-trust legislation

b. a flat tax

c. a graduated income tax

d. parliamentary government

................................

Use the passage below to answer the following two questions.

Laissez-faire economics refers to the idea that people are most productive
when governments leave them alone to do whatever they please. The term
was coined by the Physiocrats, a group of eighteenth-century French
thinkers. The Physiocrats believed that the government should do nothing to
hinder free competition among producers and sellers. They also thought that
there should be no restrictions on foreign trade, and that countries that
practiced free trade would grow rich. However, other economists, called
Mercantilists, believed just the opposite. The Mercantilists thought that the
government should try to control foreign trade to make it more profitable.
Of course, neither the Physiocrats nor the Mercantilists ever imagined
today’s world of multinational corporations. Today, laissez-faire can
sometimes mean leaving corporations free to form unfair monopolies.
Nevertheless, free trade remains popular in major exporting countries such
as the United States.

What is the author’s attitude toward laissez-faire economics?

a. It is the most useful economic policy ever invented.

b. It was wrong from the start.

c. It should immediately be applied in the United States.

d. It is not always the best policy in today’s world.

................................
Answer: c. In the selection, Adam Smith supports “taxes in proportion to
the revenue which they respectively enjoy. . . .”

................................

Answer: d. The last two sentences in the passage suggest that laissez-faire
economics can lead to problems such as unfair monopolies that hinder
competition.

................................
How did the Physiocrats differ from the Mercantilists?

a. The Mercantilists favored farming; the Physiocrats favored industry.

b. The Physiocrats favored government regulation; the Mercantilists

did not.

c. The Physiocrats favored the wealthy; the Mercantilists favored the

poor.

d. The Mercantilists favored government regulation; the Physiocrats

did not.

................................

Use the passage to answer the following two questions.

A standard of living is essentially the minimum of the necessities or

luxuries of life to which a person or a group is accustomed. The average
standard of living in a country may be measured by first determining the
country’s gross national product, or GNP (the value of the goods and
services produced in the national economy in a given year), and then by
calculating per capita GNP (the GNP divided by the number of people in
the country). Per capita GNP tells how much each person would receive if
all the goods and services produced in the country during the year were
divided equally.

An individual’s standard of living, of course, may improve or decline

depending on circumstances. Retirement from employment, for instance,
often leads to a decline in the standard of living as retirees attempt to live
on a percentage of their former income. The average standard of living in a
country may be subject to change due to political upheaval, forces of
nature, or global economics.

Which of these circumstances would almost certainly improve a

person’s standard of living?
a. divorcing a spouse

b. having a child

c. receiving a college diploma

d. filing tax forms on time

................................
Answer: d. The only choice that correctly states the difference between the
Physiocrats’ and Mercantilists’ views is choice d. Mercantilists favored
government regulation in trade; Physiocrats favored government
noninterference.

................................

Answer: c. The passage says that an individual’s standard of living may

improve or decline depending on personal circumstances, such as
retirement. However, divorcing a spouse is no guarantee of improvement; in
fact, many divorced people experience a decline in living standards.

................................
Country X has a larger gross national product than Country Y. To find
out whether the standard of living is higher in Country X, what else
would you need to know?

a. the number of school-age children in Countries X and Y

b. the size of the populations of Countries X and Y

c. the number of retirees in Countries X and Y

d. the number of unemployed workers in Countries X and Y

................................
Answer: b. According to the passage, the average standard of living in a
country may be measured by first determining the country’s gross national
product (GNP) and then by calculating per capita GNP. The way to
calculate per capita GNP is to divide the GNP by the number of people in
the country. So to compare the standards of living in Country X and
Country Y, you would need to know the GNP of each country and also the
number of people in each country so that you could calculate and compare
per capita GNP.

................................
Use the information below to answer the following question.

Euro Conversion Rates

On January 1, 1999, 11 European countries began phasing in the “euro” to

replace their national currencies. The following table shows a value of one
euro in each of the 11 countries’ currencies.

Which conclusion is best supported by the information in the table?

a. A German mark is worth less than a Finnish markka.

b. An Irish punt is the currency with the greatest value of the euro.

c. Belgium and Luxembourg share a government.

d. It takes more than 200 euros to equal one Portuguese escudo.

................................
Answer: b. One euro is worth about 4/5 of an Irish punt.

................................
Please use the graphic to answer the following question.

According to the graphic, which of the following items, if found in a

store in the United States, would most likely be entirely American
made?

a. copper tubing

b. a platinum wedding band

c. a package of frozen corn

d. a can of coffee

................................
Answer: c. The graphic shows that the United States imports large
quantities of coffee, copper, platinum, and watches and clocks. It also
shows that the United States exports only very small amounts of these same
commodities. These two facts suggest that the United States does not
produce large amounts of these particular items. The United States exports a
great deal of corn, however, and imports very little; therefore, it is
reasonable to conclude that the United States produces most of the corn
available on its domestic market. And it follows that if you bought a
package of frozen corn in a store in the United States, that corn would likely
be American made. Therefore, choice c is the best answer. All of the other
choices are incorrect based on the information in the graphic.

................................
Please use the chart below to answer the following four questions.

What was Canada’s approximate rate of unemployment in 1995?

a. 40%

b. 25%

c. 10%

d. 3%

................................
Answer: c. In the circle graph for Canada, the shaded portion is about 10%
of the whole. Therefore, unemployment was about 10%.

................................
Which two countries had about the same unemployment rate?

a. Chile and Mexico

b. Canada and Argentina

c. Chile and Argentina

d. Argentina and Mexico

................................

High unemployment is generally associated with a low growth rate and

a low level of inflation. Based on the graphs, which country would you
expect to have the lowest level of inflation?

a. Argentina

b. Chile

c. Honduras

d. Mexico

................................

Which conclusion can you fairly draw from these data?

a. Workers travel to Chile from Mexico to earn higher wages.

b. A laborer from Honduras could easily find work in Argentina.

c. Honduras is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere.

d. Chile and Argentina, though neighbors, have different economic

conditions.
Answer: a. In the circle graphs for Chile and Mexico, the shaded portions
are about the same; each is about 5%.

................................

Answer: a. If high unemployment is associated with low inflation, then the

country with the highest unemployment rate is likely to have the lowest
level of inflation. Of the countries shown, Argentina has the highest
unemployment rate.

................................

Answer: d. The circle graphs show similar unemployment rates in Chile

and Mexico, so there is no reason to think that demand for workers is any
higher in Chile than it is in Mexico. Thus, it is unlikely that workers from
Mexico could earn higher wages in Chile.
Review the chart and answer the following two questions.

Which of the following conclusions can you draw from the information
in the chart?

a. The United States trades the most with the countries that are
geographically closest to it.

b. Geographic location does not influence international trade.

c. There is a relationship between the size of a country and its economic

status.

d. There is a relationship between the population density of a country

and its economic status.

................................
Answer: a. The countries that the United States trades the most with—
Canada and Mexico—are also its geographic neighbors.

................................
Which of the following statements is best supported by the chart?

a. The level of goods and services imported to the United States has
increased in the past decade.

b. Policies that restrict international trade do not have any effect on the
U.S. economy.

c. Japan imports and exports more than any other country in the
world.

d. The most important U.S. trade partners are industrialized,

developed nations.

................................
Answer: d. Most of the countries listed as the United States’ top trade
partners are industrialized, developed nations.

................................
Use the chart to answer the following two questions.

The inflation rate peaked in 1920 following World War I. What other
time period was marked by a high inflation rate?

a. the years immediately following the stock market crash of 1929

b. the year following the oil crisis of 1979

c. the recession of 1990

d. the years preceding the U.S. entry into World War II

................................

Based on the information given, which decade experienced a decrease

in the cost of living?
a. 1930–1940

b. 1940–1950

c. 1950–1960

d. 1970–1980

................................
Answer: b. The second highest inflation rate listed on the chart is 13.5% in
1980, the year following the oil crisis of 1979.

................................

Answer: a. The CPI decreased from 17.5 in 1930 to 14 in 1940.

................................
The following chart depicts crude oil prices between 1970 and 2012.

Since 1970, the price of oil has fluctuated. According to the chart, what
is the most common cause of increases in oil prices?

a. the manipulations of oil speculators

b. the control of the market by OPEC

c. conflict in the Arab World and Middle East

d. shocks to the world economy

................................
Answer: c. The graph shows that conflicts in the Arab World and Middle
East are the most common causes of price increases. Rapidly rising prices
all occurred during a number of these conflicts, including the Libyan
Revolution.

................................
John Maynard Keynes was an economist whose prescriptions for
managing a national economy included increasing public spending and
public employment during economic downturns when the private
sector has cut back on its spending. President Franklin Roosevelt’s New
Deal included many programs that followed the advice of Keynes. One
part of the New Deal that would not fall under the above Keynesian
recommendation was

a. the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built hydroelectric dams along

the Tennessee River.

b. the Works Progress Administration, which provided jobs to the

unemployed.

c. the Social Security System, which provided pensions to millions of

the elderly and the disabled.

d. the Glass-Steagall Banking Act, which separated commercial

banking from investment banking.

................................

Monetary policy is the control of the supply of money and interest rates
by the monetary authority of a country. Which of the following controls
monetary policy in the United States?

a. the president

b. the Congress

c. the Supreme Court

d. the Federal Reserve

................................
Answer: d. The Glass-Steagall Banking Act, which separated commercial
banking from investment banking, addressed an inherent conflict of interest
in the banking system but did not directly increase investment during
economic downturns.

................................

Answer: d. The Federal Reserve controls monetary policy in the United

States.

................................
Which of the following is the most reasonable explanation for a
shortage of a product?

a. Customers found the product overpriced.

b. The producers overestimated the demand for the product.

c. The producers underestimated the demand for the product.

d. A rival company produced a cheaper version of the product.

................................

Cyclical unemployment is job loss that is caused by a recession or by

fluctuations in the economy. Which of the following is an example of
cyclical unemployment?

a. construction workers in the Northeast who are out of work during

cold months

b. agricultural workers who are unemployed during non-growing

seasons

c. employees who quit their jobs because they are dissatisfied

d. airline employees who are laid off because slow economic times have
discouraged people from traveling

................................

By 1878, the Standard Oil Company, owned by John D. Rockefeller,

had bought out most of its business rivals and controlled 90% of the
petroleum refineries in the United States. Which of the following was a
likely effect of Standard Oil’s business practices?

a. The company set limits on its prices.

b. The company increased oil prices.

c. Competition in the oil market flourished.

d. Standard Oil increased its efforts to attract needed customers.

Answer: c. If the product were overpriced, overproduced, or had few uses,
there would likely be a surplus of the product rather than a shortage.

................................

Answer: d. Employees who are laid off because of the effects of a

recession are an example of cyclical unemployment.

................................

Answer: b. By eliminating its competitors, Standard Oil controlled most of

the production of oil and could artificially drive up prices.
Use the graph and text to answer the following question.

Each year the federal government collects revenues in the form of taxes and
other fees. It also spends money on such necessary functions as national
defense, education, and healthcare. When the government collects more
than it spends, it operates at a surplus. In the graph, the government
operated at a surplus for every year in which the line is above 0%. When
the government spends more than it collects, it operates at a deficit. In the
graph, the government operated at a deficit for every year in which the line
is below 0%.

In what year between 1930 and 2002 did the federal government
operate with the greatest budget deficit?

a. 1930

b. 1945

c. 1951

d. 1994

................................
Answer: b. The graph shows that the federal government operated at
approximately a 30% deficit in 1945. This is by far the largest deficit shown
on the graph.

................................
Use the chart to answer the following four questions.

In Argentina, roughly how many people were unemployed in 2012?

a. Fewer than 1 of every 100 people

b. About 1 of every 10 people

c. About 7 of every 100 people

d. More than 7 of every 10 people

................................

Which two countries had roughly the same unemployment rate in

2012?

a. Argentina and Brazil

b. Brazil and El Salvador

c. Guyana and Paraguay

d. El Salvador and Paraguay

................................
Answer: c. Argentina has an unemployment rate of 7.2%, meaning that
roughly 7 of every 100 people are unemployed.

................................

Answer: d. In the pie charts for El Salvador and Paraguay, the shaded
portions are about the same.

................................
High unemployment is generally associated with a low growth rate and
a low level of inflation. Based on the graphs, which country would you
expect to have the lowest level of inflation?

a. Argentina

b. Brazil

c. Guyana

d. Paraguay

................................

Which conclusion can you fairly draw from the data on the pie charts?

a. Guyana is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.

b. Workers travel from Brazil to Paraguay to earn higher wages.

c. Unemployment is directly tied to a country’s level of education.

d. The neighboring countries of Brazil and Guyana have different

economic conditions

................................
Answer: c. Guyana has the highest level of unemployment, which is
associated with low levels of inflation.

................................

Answer: d. As shown in the pie charts, Brazil and Guyana have vastly
different unemployment rates.

................................
In 1932, while campaigning for president, Franklin D. Roosevelt said
the following:

“If the Nation is living within its income, its credit is good. If, in some
crises, it lives beyond its income for a year or two, it can usually borrow
temporarily at reasonable rates. But if, like a spendthrift, it throws
discretion to the winds, and is willing to make no sacrifice at all in
spending; if it extends its taxing to the limit of the people’s power to pay
and continues to pile up deficits, then it is on the road to bankruptcy.”

In 1981, Ronald Reagan made the following statement during his

Inaugural Address:

“For decades, we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and
our children’s future for the temporary convenience of the present. To
continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social, cultural,
political, and economic upheavals.”

Roosevelt was president from 1932 to 1945. Reagan was president from
1981 to 1988.

Which of the following conclusions is supported by the quotations?

a. All presidential candidates make promises they do not intend to

keep.

b. If a president cares enough about federal deficits, he or she can force

the government to operate on a surplus.

c. Ronald Reagan and Franklin Roosevelt pursued virtually identical

agendas during their presidencies.

d. Despite their best intentions, it is often difficult for presidents to

control federal deficits.

................................
Answer: d. Both Roosevelt and Reagan promised to avoid deficit spending,
yet both generated budget deficits throughout their presidencies. Thus, the
quotes support the conclusion that presidents have a hard time controlling
federal deficits.

................................
Use the table and text to answer the following three questions.

Economists use several measures to calculate the income of the average

citizen of each country. Data documenting each citizen’s personal income is
rarely available, unfortunately, so economists must estimate personal
income by dividing gross domestic product (GDP)—the value of all the
goods and services produced in a country—by the number of citizens. This
figure gives an inaccurate picture of how citizens live, however, because it
fails to take into account the cost of goods and services in a country. A
second measure, called purchasing power parity (PPP), adjusts for the
domestic cost of goods to provide a more accurate picture of what each
citizen’s money will buy him or her. For the sake of comparison, both
measures are calculated in U.S. dollars. The table shows the figures for ten
of the world’s wealthiest nations in 2006.

Which of the following would best explain the difference between per
capita income and PPP income in Norway?

a. Consumer goods are extremely costly in Norway.

b. Many consumer goods are available in Norway.

c. Norway must import most of its consumer goods from Asia.

d. Services are relatively cheap in Norway.

................................
Answer: a. According to the passage, PPP income adjusts for the cost of
living in a given country. The lower the PPP is relative to per capita
income, the more expensive it is to live in that country. In Norway, PPP is
much lower than per capita income; therefore, it is reasonable to conclude
that consumer goods are extremely costly in Norway.

................................
Which of the following would be an effect of listing nations in
descending order by PPP income rather than by per capita income?

a. Luxembourg would no longer be at the top of the list.

b. It would be more difficult to determine where citizens can buy the

most goods and services with their income.

c. Countries not currently on the list would have to be included.

d. The United States would move from eighth on the list to a higher
position.

................................

What is the most likely reason that the author finds it “unfortunate”
that “data documenting each citizen’s personal income is rarely
available”?

a. The author believes that such data should be private and should
never be available.

b. The author believes that estimates based on gross domestic product

are extremely accurate.

c. The author believes that such data would demonstrate that citizens
of the United States are the wealthiest in the world.

d. The data would provide a more accurate picture of personal income

in each country.

................................
Answer: d. If the countries in the table were rearranged by PPP, the United
States would move to third on the list, right behind Luxembourg and
Norway.

................................

Answer: d. The author’s purpose is to measure personal income in various

countries in order to compare the countries. The reason he thinks it is
unfortunate that personal income data is rarely available is because such
data would provide more accurate information on the subject of the table
and passage.

................................
Capital gains tax is money paid to the federal government out of profits
from the sale of financial assets, like property (land or buildings) or
stocks. For which of the following would you need to pay capital gains
tax?

a. cigarettes

b. groceries

c. your mortgage

d. a profitable real estate sale

................................
Answer: d. A capital gains tax does not apply to your income, a home that
you own, or goods and services. It does apply to the profit from the sale of
property or other financial assets.

................................
Use the excerpt below, from 15 U.S. Code 1692c: Communication in
Connection With Debt Collection, to answer the following three
questions.

a) Communication with the consumer generally

Without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt
collector or the express permission of a court . . . a debt collector may not
communicate with a consumer in connection with the collection of any
debt––

(1) at any unusual time or place or a time or place known or which should
be known to be inconvenient to the consumer . . . a debt collector shall
assume that the convenient time for communicating with a consumer is
after 8 o’clock antemeridian [a.m.] and before 9 o’clock postmeridian
[p.m.], local time at the consumer’s location;

(2) if the debt collector knows the consumer is represented by an attorney

with respect to such debt . . . or

(3) at the consumer’s place of employment if the debt collector knows or

has reason to know that the consumer’s employer prohibits the consumer
from receiving such communication.

(b) Communication with third parties

Except as provided in [another] section of this title, without the prior

consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector, or the express
permission of a court . . . or as reasonably necessary to effectuate a . . .
judicial remedy, a debt collector may not communicate, in connection with
the collection of any debt, with any person other than the consumer, his
attorney, a consumer reporting agency if otherwise permitted by law, the
creditor, the attorney of the creditor, or the attorney of the debt collector.

(c) Ceasing communication

If a consumer notifies a debt collector in writing that the consumer refuses
to pay a debt or that the consumer wishes the debt collector to cease further
communication with the consumer, the debt collector shall not
communicate further with the consumer with respect to such debt, except—

(1) to advise the consumer that the debt collector’s further efforts are being
terminated;

(2) to notify the consumer that the debt collector or creditor may invoke
specified remedies which are ordinarily invoked by such debt collector or
creditor; or

(3) where applicable, to notify the consumer that the debt collector or
creditor intends to invoke a specified remedy.

If such notice from the consumer is made by mail, notification shall be

complete upon receipt.
Based on the law, it is clear that unless notified not to make contact, a
creditor is legally permitted to call a consumer at the consumer’s home
regarding a debt at what time?

a. 7:00 a.m. consumer’s time

b. 9:00 a.m. creditor’s time

c. 7:30 p.m. consumer’s time

d. 9:30 p.m. creditor’s time

................................

Pat is a consumer who has sent a certified letter to notify a creditor as

follows: “Do not contact me again regarding this debt.” Pat has
followed all legal requirements for the notice to the creditor. After the
creditor receives this letter, which of the following actions does the
creditor have the legal right to take?

a. call Pat’s boss to ask the boss to discuss the debt with Pat

b. send one more letter to Pat to demand payment of the debt

c. call Pat to demand payment of the debt

d. send a letter to Pat to state that the collection agency will be taking
no further action

................................

A third party is someone other than the consumer or the debt collector.
Information related to communication with third parties can be found
in which section(s)?

a. Section a only
b. Section b only

c. Section a and Section b

d. Section b and Section c

Answer: c. The excerpt states that a creditor may call a consumer after 8:00
a.m. and before 9:00 p.m., local time at the consumer’s location. So, 7:00
a.m., consumer’s time, would be too early, and 9:30 p.m., consumer’s time,
would be too late. Based on the information provided, it’s not possible to
know whether the creditor’s time and the debtor’s time are the same, so this
rules out the response 9:00 a.m. creditor’s time, and while 9:30 p.m.,
creditor’s time, could be earlier at the consumer’s location, it is not possible
to know this based only on the information provided in the question.

................................

Answer: d. The excerpt states that after a consumer properly notifies a

creditor to demand that the creditor stop communication with the consumer,
the creditor is allowed to communicate with the consumer only to advise
that the creditor will cease action or to advise that the creditor will be
pursuing other remedies.

................................

Answer: c. Section a references the employer, who would be a third party,

and section b focuses entirely on third parties.
Use the information below, from 15 U.S. Code 1692c: Communication in
Connection With Debt Collection, to answer the following two questions.

In 2010, the Affordable Care Act was signed into law in the United States.
The act is often referenced as “Obamacare.” Great controversy existed
before the law was passed, and great controversy has continued since its
passage, with Democrats generally being favor of the act and Republicans
generally being opposed to it.
After a positive U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding the Affordable Care
Act, Senator John Cornyn made this statement: “If Obamacare is allowed to
stand––and Congress is allowed to make the purchase of government-
endorsed health insurance compulsory––there will be no meaningful limit
on Washington’s reach into the lives of the American people.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stated, “Unfortunately Republicans in

Congress continue to target the rights and benefits guaranteed under this
law. They’d like to give the power back to the insurance companies, the
power of life and death back to the insurance companies. But our Supreme
Court has spoken. The matter is settled.”
For a household of three people to qualify for lower premiums and
lower out-of-pocket costs on a marketplace Insurance plan, the
maximum income is $_____.

................................

Based on the tables and paragraph, which of these claims is strongly

supported?

a. John Cornyn is likely a Republican.

b. People who do not own homes will likely fail to qualify for health-
care coverage.

c. Harry Reid is likely a primary author of the Affordable Care Act.

d. Households without children are more likely to apply for health-care

coverage than households with children.

................................
Answer: 48,825. The question does not ask the maximum income for a
household of three to qualify for lower premiums alone, which would be
$78,120; rather, the questions asks the maximum income for a household of
three to qualify for lower premiums and lower out-of-pocket costs, which is
$48,825.

................................

Answer: a. The paragraph states that Republicans generally oppose the

Affordable Care Act, and Cornyn’s statement makes it clear that he opposes
the act, so this evidence supports the claim that he is likely a Republican.

................................
“Every nation on the Earth that embraces market economics and the free
enterprise system is pulling millions of its people out of poverty. The free
enterprise system creates prosperity, not denies it.”

—Marco Rubio

U.S. Senator from Florida

August 24, 2011

Based on the quote, which inference could most clearly and reasonably
be drawn regarding Rubio’s opinion insofar as the free enterprise
system?

a. Poverty causes the existence of the free enterprise system.

b. Without prosperity, poverty and the free enterprise system would be

stronger.

c. Poverty in nations is caused by prosperity in the free enterprise

system.

d. Without the free enterprise system, many more people would be

experiencing poverty.

................................
Answer: d. Rubio states that the free enterprise system is pulling millions
of people out of poverty, so it is reasonable to infer that he believes that
without the free enterprise system, many more people would be
experiencing poverty, as they would not be pulled out of poverty.

................................
Accessed through Northwestern University Library https://images.northwestern.edu/multiresimages/
inu:dil-ca604a87-3606-41e8-abf8-4d52e19d8768

Which statement best describes the intent of the poster?

a. motivating people to invest in bonds so that the war effort will be

successful

b. influencing airlines to provide planes that will help in creating a

strong defense

c. stimulating the economy through Uncle Sam’s plea to buy plane

tickets more often

d. encouraging Americans to move to smaller homes so that they may

purchase bonds

................................
Answer: a. The purchase of bonds provides money to the government. The
government could, in turn, utilize the funds to make certain that planes––an
essential component of the World War II effort––were available and could
be fueled, flown, and repaired.

................................
U.S. HISTORY
“The United States was born in the country and moved to the city in the
nineteenth century.”

—Anonymous

To what great movement does this quotation refer?

a. western expansion

b. colonization

c. industrialization

d. imperialism

................................
Answer: c. The United States was indeed “born in the country” in the sense
that, at its start, the nation was overwhelmingly rural. However, the
nineteenth century in the United States was the time of the Industrial
Revolution. During this period, factories were built in the cities, and great
numbers of people left the farms and small towns to become city-dwelling
factory workers. This is the movement to which the quote refers.

................................
Please use the passage below to answer the following three questions.

The core of the Iroquois empire extended from the Hudson River to the
Genesee River in present-day central New York State and from Lake
Ontario to what is now the Pennsylvania–New York border. By 1700, the
Iroquois had extended their territory westward, spreading some 800 miles
between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River.

The power of the Iroquois began in the 1500s, when Hiawatha brought
together the Five Iroquois Nations of the New York valley and formed the
Iroquois League to try and keep the peace. Although the league lasted 300
years, the so-called “Great Peace” would not last. One important reason for
the destruction of the peace was the fur trade.

As the French began systematic fur trading, the Algonquians became their
main suppliers of beaver pelts. Meanwhile, Dutch traders created a similar
pact with the Iroquois. In a short time, both Algonquian and Iroquois
territories were denuded of wildlife, and a struggle for trapping grounds
ensued. The Iroquois routed the Algonquians, who fled eastward to the
seashore. The French turned to the Hurons to replace the Algonquians as
trading partners, but the Dutch urged their Iroquois allies to break the
Huron monopoly. By the mid-1600s, the Iroquois had succeeded in
destroying the Huron civilization and sending the survivors west to the
plains.

According to this passage, why did Hiawatha create the Iroquois

League?

a. to secure a lasting peace among the Five Iroquois Nations

b. to strengthen his bargaining position in negotiations with the Dutch

c. to form a buffer against invasion by the Algonquians

d. to extend the boundaries of the Iroquois empire

................................
Answer: a. The passage says that Hiawatha brought together the Five
Iroquois Nations in a league “designed to keep the peace.”

................................
Which conclusion about the fur trade is best supported by the
information presented?

a. The fur trade built friendship among the tribes.

b. European traders were generous to their American Indian partners.

c. The fur trade improved the standard of living for all.

d. The fur trade was a negative influence on tribal life.

................................

According to this passage, why did the Iroquois make war on the
Hurons?

a. They wanted the Hurons’ land to use for farming.

b. They had been attacked by the Hurons’ French partners.

c. They feared that the Hurons would join forces with the Algonquians.

d. They were encouraged to do so by the Dutch.

................................

According to the respected American historian Frederick Jackson

Turner, America’s western frontier finally closed in the year 1890.
Which of the following facts from the 1890 census is the best evidence
for Jackson’s statement?

a. In 1890, 35% of Americans lived in cities.

b. In 1890, there was no longer any single large area in the West
without settlers.

c. In 1890, the population of Los Angeles reached 50,000.

d. In 1890, Chicago had become the second largest city in the United
States.
Answer: d. Competition for the fur trade caused war among the Iroquois,
Algonquians, and Hurons, so that “the fur trade was a negative influence on
tribal life” is a fair conclusion to draw from the passage.

................................

Answer: d. According to the passage, the Dutch urged their Iroquois allies
to attack the Hurons to break the Huron monopoly over the fur trade.

................................

Answer: b. The frontier referred to the hypothetical boundary between

settled areas of the United States and open territory that had not yet been
settled by people. With no single area in the West without settlers in 1890,
the frontier, in effect, no longer existed.
Use the photograph and passage to answer the following two questions.

After 72 years of campaigning and protest, women were granted the right to
vote in 1920. Passed by Congress and ratified by 36 of the then 48 states,
the Nineteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states: “The right of
citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the
United States or by any State on account of sex.”

Source: National Archives and Record Administration.

Who are the women in this photograph addressing?

a. other women who say they don’t want the right to vote

b. President Woodrow Wilson

c. abolitionists

d. suffragettes

................................

With which of the following statements would the photographer most

likely agree?

a. Women should behave in a dignified and orderly manner even if they

are protesting.
b. Women stand outside the gates of governmental power.

c. The suffragettes would be more effective if they had more powerful

slogans.

d. Demonstrations are the most effective ways to influence lawmaking.

................................
Answer: b. The women in the photograph hold posters that ask, “MR.
PRESIDENT HOW LONG MUST WOMEN WAIT FOR LIBERTY.”
Their protest is directed at President Wilson.

................................

Answer: b. By portraying the women picketing outside the tall gates of the
White House, the photographer is making a visual statement that concurs
with choice b.

................................
Use the map to answer the following two questions.

The United States maintained its neutrality in the war until Germany
announced its intention to use unrestricted submarine warfare in the
seas. The U.S. Congress declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. By
doing so, with what other nations was it siding?

a. Bulgaria and Turkey

b. Greece and Sweden

c. Denmark and Sweden

d. Russia and Italy

................................
Answer: d. By declaring war on Germany, the United States joined forces
against the Central Powers and thus with the Allied Powers, which included
Russia and Italy.

................................
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson called the war one “to make the world
safe for democracy.” Based on the map and this quotation, what
conclusion can be drawn?

a. Communist Russia was a threat to democracy in 1917.

b. In 1917, Italy had become a fascist state that threatened democracy.

c. Spain did not have a representative government in 1917.

d. Germany and Austria-Hungary were not democracies in 1917.

................................

Read the passage and answer the following three questions.

In January 1863, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln’s

Emancipation Proclamation freed more than three million slaves who lived
in the Confederate states. Lincoln stated: “And by virtue of the power and
for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as
slaves within said designated states and parts of states are, and
henceforward shall be, free; and that the Executive Government of the
United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will
recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons. And I hereby enjoin
upon the people so declared to be free and abstain from all violence, unless
in necessary self-defense; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when
allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages. And I further declare
and make known that such persons, of suitable condition, will be received
into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions,
stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.”

Source: HistoryCentral.com.

According to the passage, which of the following was NOT one of

Lincoln’s expectations for the former slaves?

a. to fight for the Union army

b. to become free citizens

c. to join the paid workforce

d. to incite a rebellion among slaves in states that were loyal to the

Union

................................
Answer: d. Because Wilson allied the United States against the Central
Powers, you can infer that the Central Powers were not democracies. Only
choice d names Central Powers.

................................

Answer: d. Lincoln stated that freed slaves should “abstain (withhold) from
all violence, unless in necessary self-defense.” He most likely did not want
freed slaves to begin rebellions in areas where states loyal to the Union still
held slaves.

................................
Based on the values expressed in the Emancipation Proclamation, which
of the following groups would have DISAPPROVED of it?

a. nations like Great Britain and France where there was strong anti-
slavery sentiment

b. Confederate leaders

c. abolitionists

d. Union armed forces

................................

Which of the following is the most likely reason that Lincoln did not
emancipate all slaves?

a. Lincoln did not want to appease radical abolitionist groups.

b. He believed slavery was an economic necessity.

c. He did not want to upset the slaveholding states that were loyal to the
Union—Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri.

d. Lincoln did not believe that the complete abolition of slavery was
possible.

................................
Answer: b. The basic value expressed by the proclamation is liberty for
enslaved people. Although it had limitations—it freed only slaves in states
that had seceded—the proclamation marked a shift in Lincoln’s policy.
Slavery was completely abolished in 1865 with the Thirteenth Amendment.
Pro-slavery Confederate leaders had the most reason to dislike the
proclamation. They feared it would cause rebellion.

................................

Answer: c. Lincoln was reluctant to issue an order that abolished slavery

throughout the nation out of loyalty to the four slaveholding border states
that stayed with the Union.

................................
Use the map to answer the following four questions.

The Earth is divided into 24 time zones. The Earth rotates 15 degrees in one hour, so each time zone
equals 15 degrees of longitude. The map illustrates the four time zones across the continental United
States.

According to the map, what time is it in Dallas when it is noon in

Sacramento?

a. 2:00 p.m.

b. 3:00 p.m.

c. 2:00 a.m.

d. 1:00 a.m.

................................

What time is it in Sacramento, California, when it is midnight in

Tampa, Florida?

a. 1:00 a.m.
b. 12:00 p.m.

c. 9:00 a.m.

d. 9:00 p.m.

................................
Answer: a. Dallas falls in the Central time zone, which is two hours ahead
of Sacramento, located in the Pacific time zone.

................................

Answer: d. Sacramento falls in the Pacific time zone, which is three hours
behind Tampa, located in the Eastern time zone.

................................
As a traveler moves west, she can expect to

a. change time zones.

b. move into an earlier time zone for every 15 degrees of latitude she
travels.

c. experience jet lag.

d. move into an earlier time zone for every 15 degrees of longitude she
travels.

................................

In presidential elections, polling places typically close at 8 p.m. local

time. In past elections, television networks have made predictions about
which candidate is likely to win as soon as polls closed on the East
Coast.

Which of the following statements explains why this would anger some
voters?

a. The polls close later in New York than in Chicago.

b. Voters in the Central time zone want to know who won in the eastern
states before they cast their ballots.

c. Polls in the Pacific time zone should open earlier if voters want their
votes to matter.

d. Predictions based on voting in the Eastern time zone may influence

those who have not yet voted in the Pacific time zone.

................................
Answer: d. As illustrated on the map, a traveler would enter an earlier time
zone as he or she moves west. According to the caption, each time zone
“equals 15 degrees of longitude.”

................................

Answer: d. Some voters in the Pacific time zone have not yet cast their
votes when the polls close in the east. Critics feel that early predictions can
affect elections in this time zone.

................................
Read the passage and answer the following question.

The First Amendment to the U.S.Constitution states the following:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or
of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Which of the following situations is NOT protected by the First

Amendment?

a. A New York Times editorial criticizes the government’s foreign policy.

b. A neo-Nazi group applies for a permit and stages a rally in a public

square.

c. A criminal threatens to kill his victim if the victim does not forfeit his
wallet.

d. A group meets in a chapel to worship.

................................
Answer: c. The First Amendment protects political and religious speech. It
does not give someone the right to threaten another person.

................................
Read the excerpt below and answer the following two questions.

Beginning in 1958 . . . local NAACP [National Association for the

Advancement of Colored People] chapters organized sit-ins, where African
Americans, many of whom were college students, took seats and demanded
service at segregated all-white lunch counters. It was, however, the sit-in
demonstrations at Woolworth’s store in Greensboro, North Carolina,
beginning on February 1, 1960, that caught national attention and sparked
other sit-ins and demonstrations in the South. One of the four students in
the first Greensboro sit-in, Joe McNeil, later recounted his experience: “. . .
we sat at a lunch counter where blacks never sat before. And people started
to look at us. The help, many of whom were black, looked at us in disbelief
too. They were concerned about our safety. We asked for service, and we
were denied, and we expected to be denied. We asked why we couldn’t be
served, and obviously we weren’t given a reasonable answer and it was our
intent to sit there until they decided to serve us.”

Source: www.congresslink.org and Henry Hampton and Steve Fayer (eds.), Voices of Freedom: An
Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s through the 1980s. Vintage Paperback,
1995.

The writer has not directly stated, but would support, which of the
following statements?

a. Without the sit-in in Greensboro, NC, the civil rights movement

would never have started.

b. Woolworth’s served affordable lunches.

c. Local NAACP chapters were causing trouble and upsetting citizens.

d. The college students showed courage when they participated in the

Greensboro sit-in.

................................
Answer: d. Although the author does not state that the college students
were brave, the firsthand account notes that the African-American
Woolworth’s employees “were concerned” about the students’ safety. This
implies that the students could not be sure of what consequences they
would face.

................................
What is the author’s purpose in including Joe McNeil’s quotation?

a. to show that young people are the most likely to push for societal
change

b. to demonstrate that everyone has a different point of view

c. to give a firsthand account of what has become a historic event

d. to discount the importance of the civil rights movement

................................
Answer: c. The author uses Joe McNeil’s account to give a first-hand
description of what it was like to be a part of a significant event in the civil
rights movement.

................................
Use the engraving below to answer the following two questions.

Paul Revere made and sold this engraving depicting the “Boston Massacre,”
a pre-Revolutionary encounter between British troops and American
colonists, in which five colonists were killed.

Source: HistoryCentral.com.

Which of the following messages did Paul Revere most likely want to
convey in his engraving?

a. American colonists should not protest the presence of British troops

in Boston.

b. The British troops were defending themselves against rowdy gangs of

colonists.

c. British troops savagely killed unarmed citizens.

d. Americans should willingly pay the British taxes on imports of glass,

paper, paint, and tea.

................................
Answer: c. By depicting the British troops firing into an unprotected
crowd, Revere most likely wanted to show them as savage killers.

................................
What can you infer was Revere’s purpose in creating and selling the
engraving?

a. to make a large profit for himself

b. to calm the rebellious spirit of Boston citizens

c. to create support for the British empire

d. to fuel the revolutionary cause

................................
Answer: d. Revere most likely made and distributed this powerful image to
further incite American colonists against the British.

................................
Use the campaign poster and paragraph to answer the following three
questions.

In 1872, Ulysses S. Grant ran for the presidency as the incumbent. Grant
was the leader of the Radical Republicans, a faction of the Republican Party
that felt the South should continue to be punished for its rebellion during
the Civil War. His opponent, Horace Greeley, was also a Republican.
Greeley believed that the South had suffered enough for the war and that
Congress should end Reconstruction, a program under which federal troops
occupied the South. Greeley formed the Liberal Republican Party; the
Democratic Party also adopted Greeley as its candidate. Greeley’s
campaign attempted to paint the first Grant administration as deeply
corrupt; this strategy failed with voters, and Grant won the election of 1872
in a landslide.
The campaign poster suggests that voters in 1872 were most concerned
about

a. the corruption of the first Grant administration.

b. Grant’s record as a Civil War hero.

c. whether Reconstruction should continue.

d. which candidates could best relate to their concerns.

................................
Answer: d. This campaign poster portrays Grant and Wilson as working
people. The subtext of the poster is that Grant and Wilson understand the
common American and will represent his or her interests. It also implies
that Grant’s opponent, Greeley, does not understand the common American,
because a campaign poster tries to persuade voters to choose one candidate
over another based on the candidate’s perceived advantage in a particular
area.

................................
Greeley’s campaign accused Grant of corruption. Based on the
campaign poster, how did Grant respond to these accusations?

a. He accused Greeley of making dishonest accusations.

b. He argued that he could not be corrupt because he had once been a

tanner.

c. He chose not to address the accusations.

d. He refuted Greeley’s accusation point by point.

................................

People who voted for Grant in 1872 almost certainly expected that a
Grant victory would have which of the following results?

a. Reconstruction would continue.

b. Grant and Wilson would rebuild the White House.

c. Horace Greeley would be offered a position in the Grant

administration.

d. The Radical Republicans and Liberal Republicans would split

permanently.

................................
Answer: c. The poster does not address the issue of corruption, suggesting
that Grant’s strategy for dealing with the accusations was to ignore them.

................................

Answer: a. Grant was the candidate of the Radical Republicans, a faction

of the Republican Party that supported the continuation of Reconstruction.
Thus, voters who chose Grant in 1872 would have expected Reconstruction
to continue into his second term.

................................
Use the photograph and quote to answer the following question.

“Following evacuation orders, this store was closed. The owner, a

University of California graduate of Japanese descent, placed the I AM AN
AMERICAN sign on the storefront after Pearl Harbor.”

—Dorothea Lange, Oakland, CA, April 1942

Source: National Archives and Records Administration.

Which of the following statements would the photographer most likely

support?

a. People of Japanese descent feel loyal to Japan first and the United
States second.

b. The store owner felt that his rights as an American citizen were
denied.

c. The security of the majority outweighs the rights of a minority.

d. Japanese Americans were not established members of the

community.
................................
Answer: b. Lange’s image draws a powerful contrast between the grocery
owner’s proud statement “I AM AN AMERICAN” and the “SOLD” sign
above. It is likely that she felt he was being “sold out” by his country and
that his rights as an American citizen were denied.

................................
Use the table to answer the following question.

The data in the table supports which of the following conclusions?

a. By 1820, there were no more slaves in the North.

b. Between 1820 and 1860, millions of freed slaves emigrated from the
South to the North.

c. Prior to the Civil War, there were no free African Americans in the
South.

d. Between 1820 and 1860, there were many more African Americans
in the South than in the North.

................................
Answer: d. According to the table, there were more free African Americans
in the South than in the North. In the South, free African Americans made
up only a small portion of the total African American population; according
to the table, over 90% of southern African Americans were slaves. This
means that there were well over 1 million African Americans in the South
between 1820 and 1860. Therefore, the table supports the conclusion that
there were many more African Americans in the South than in the North
between 1820 and 1860.

................................
Read the passage and answer the following question.

When European settlers arrived on the North American continent at the end
of the fifteenth century, they encountered diverse American Indian cultures
—as many as 900,000 inhabitants with over 300 different languages. These
people, whose ancestors crossed the land bridge from Asia in what may be
considered the first North American immigration, were virtually destroyed
by the subsequent immigration that created the United States. This tragedy
is the direct result of treaties, written and broken by foreign governments,
of warfare, and of forced assimilation.

Source: The Library of Congress, American Memory.

What does the author of this passage believe?

a. The U.S. government was faithful to its treaties with American

Indians.

b. American Indians made up a homogenous group.

c. The European settlers were responsible for the decimation of native

people.

d. Native cultures were unsophisticated.

................................
Answer: c. The author states that American Indians “were virtually
destroyed by the subsequent immigration that created the United States.”
Choice c is a good paraphrase of that excerpt from the passage.

................................
Use the graph to answer the following two questions.

Which of the following conclusions is supported by the data in the

graph?

a. Americans are less healthy in 2000 than they were in 1900.

b. The age of the average American has increased since 1900.

c. The average American earns more in 2000 than he or she did in 1900.

d. The number of Americans under the age of 24 has decreased since

1900.

................................
Answer: b. The graph provides data about Americans by age group, so it
can only support conclusions about the ages of Americans.

................................
Which of the following is an opinion based on the data in the graph?

a. About 40 percent of all Americans were between the ages of 25 and

54 in 1930.

b. In 1950, the number of Americans under the age of 25 was roughly

equal to the number of Americans between the ages of 25 and 54.

c. The current trend suggests that the population of the United States is
growing old too quickly.

d. More than half of all Americans were under the age of 25 in 1900.

................................

Read the passage and answer the following two questions.

Like so many other exploration stories, the Lewis and Clark journey was
shaped by the search for navigable rivers, inspired by the quest for Edens,
and driven by competition for empire. Thomas Jefferson was motivated by
these aspirations when he drafted instructions for his explorers, sending
them up the Missouri River in search of a passage to the Pacific. Writing to
William Dunbar just a month after Lewis and Clark left Fort Mandan,
Jefferson emphasized the importance of rivers in his plan for western
exploration and national expansion.“We shall delineate with correctness the
great arteries of this great country.” River highways could take Americans
into an Eden, Jefferson’s vision of the West as the “Garden of the World.”
And those same rivers might be nature’s outlines and borders for empire.
“Future generations would,” so the president told his friend, “fill up the
canvas we begin.”

Source: Library of Congress, Exhibits, “Rivers, Edens, Empires: Lewis & Clark and the Revealing of
America.”

Which of the following was NOT one of Jefferson’s goals in sponsoring

the Lewis and Clark expedition?
a. finding a waterway to the Pacific Ocean

b. mapping uncharted territory

c. setting aside vast tracts of land for native people

d. discovery of unspoiled plant and animal life

................................
Answer: c. Each of the incorrect choices is a fact that can be confirmed in
the graph. Choice c is an opinion because it is a point that can be reasonably
debated. Some people may reasonably believe that the United States is
aging too quickly while others may reasonably believe that not to be the
case.

................................

Answer: c. Remember that correct answers must be supported by details

from the passage. The passage never states that Jefferson had a plan for
setting aside land for native people, so choice c does not describe one of
Jefferson’s goals in sponsoring the Lewis and Clark expedition, according
to the passage.

................................
Which historical idea best summarizes Jefferson’s attitude toward the
West?

a. Separation of Powers

b. Manifest Destiny

c. Pursuit of Happiness

d. Good Neighbor Policy

................................

Read the passage and answer the following two questions.

About the time of World War I, sharp-eyed entrepreneurs began . . . to see

ways to profit from the motorist’s freedom. . . . Shops could be set up
almost anywhere the law allowed, and a wide variety of products and
services could be counted on to sell briskly in the roadside marketplace. A
certain number of cars passing by would always be in need of gas. Travelers
eventually grew hungry, tired, and restless for diversions. Soon gas stations,
produce booths, hot dog stands, and tourist camps sprouted up along the
nation’s roadsides to capitalize on these needs. As competition increased,
merchants looked for new ways to snag the new market a wheel. Each sign
and building had to visually shout: “Slow down, pull in, and buy.” Still
more businesses moved to the highway—supermarkets, motor courts,
restaurants, miniature golf courses, drive-in theaters. By the early 1950s,
almost anything could be bought along the roadside.

Source: Chester H. Liebs, excerpt from Main Street to Miracle Mile. Little, Brown and Company,
1985.

What is the main idea of the passage?

a. Miniature golf was a very popular sport in the 1950s.

b. Travelers were looking for sources of entertainment.

c. Some highway businesses were more successful than others.

d. Flashy commercial enterprises sprouted along highways, eager to

profit from travelers.

................................
Answer: b. Manifest destiny is a belief that the United States had a
mandate to expand its civilization westward. Jefferson’s vision of an empire
with future generations filling up “the canvas we begin” most closely
resembles the idea of manifest destiny.

................................

Answer: d. Each of the incorrect choices identifies a detail from the

passage. The main idea summarizes the entire passage; a detail does not.

................................
Given the information in this passage, what appeared to be an
important post–World War II trend in the United States?

a. train travel

b. car culture

c. historic preservation

d. downtown renewal

................................

Read the passage and answer the two questions that follow.

The Cuban Missile Crisis began in 1962 when U.S. spy planes spotted
Soviet missile installations under construction in Cuba. The missiles were
capable of carrying nuclear weapons and were within range of major U.S.
cities. A 13-day standoff began, during which President Kennedy imposed a
naval blockade of Cuba and demanded that the Soviets remove the
weapons. Kennedy stated that any missile attack from Cuba would be
regarded as an attack from the Soviet Union and would be responded to
accordingly. Khrushchev later conceded, agreeing to remove the weapons
if, in return, the United States pledged not to invade the island. Details from
U.S. and Soviet declassified files and participants in the crisis have surfaced
since the incident. Unknown to the U.S. government at the time, 40,000
Soviet soldiers were stationed in Cuba and armed with nuclear weapons.
Although Khrushchev’s actions helped to avert nuclear war, they made him
appear weak to younger Soviet leaders who ousted him from power.
Historians regard the crisis as the world’s closest brush with the threat of
nuclear war.

According to the information given in this passage, it is most likely that

President Kennedy
a. viewed this as a regional crisis solely between the United States and
Cuba.

b. trusted Soviet officials who said there weren’t any missiles in Cuba.

c. believed that the conflict was principally between the United States
and the Soviet Union.

d. viewed the situation as serious but felt it could be managed with

diplomacy.

................................
Answer: b. Roadside commercial enterprises flourished with highway
construction and car travel.

................................

Answer: c. Kennedy proclaimed that any nuclear missile attack from Cuba
would be regarded as an attack by the Soviet Union; thus, it is reasonable to
conclude that he saw the Cuban Missile Crisis as a conflict between the
United States and the Soviet Union.

................................
Which of the following conclusions can you make based on the
passage?

a. Kennedy’s first concern during the crisis was the appeal of

Communist ideas.

b. Nuclear war is the only way to win a cold war.

c. Kennedy knew that Khrushchev would back down.

d. The U.S. government did not know the full extent of the Soviet threat
at the time.

................................
Answer: d. According to the passage, the United States did not know how
many Soviet troops were present in Cuba. Therefore, the United States did
not know the full extent of the Soviet threat at the time.

................................
Use the illustration and text to answer the following two questions.

In 1754, representatives of the American colonies met to discuss their

common defense and strategies for improving relations with American
Indian tribes. At the meeting, Benjamin Franklin proposed closer relations
among the colonies. His proposal called for a single executive and a
colonial legislature to handle such matters of mutual interest as taxes,
defense against the French, and American Indian relations. To promote his
plan, Franklin printed the illustration in his newspaper, The Pennsylvania
Gazette. In an accompanying editorial, he complained about “the present
disunited State of the British Colonies, and the extreme Difficulty of
bringing so many different Governments and Assemblies to agree in any
speedy and effectual Measures for our common Defence and Security;
while our Enemies have the very great Advantage of being under one
Direction, with one Council, and one Purse. Hence, and from the great
Distance of Britain, they presume that they may with Impunity violate the
most solemn Treaties subsisting between the two Crowns . . . murder and
scalp our Farmers, with their Wives and Children . . . which if they are
permitted to do, must end in the Destruction of the British Interest, Trade
and Plantations in America.” Franklin’s plan was rejected by both the King
and the American colonies.

In Franklin’s cartoon, the pieces of the snake represent

a. the French army.

b. various American Indian tribes.

c. the English King and Parliament.

d. the British colonies.

................................
Answer: d. The snake represents “the disunited State of the British
Colonies.” Note that the individual colonies are represented by letters (N.C.
for North Carolina, N.J. for New Jersey, etc.).

................................
In his editorial, Franklin makes all of the following criticisms of the
system under which American colonies governed themselves EXCEPT
which?

a. The system makes it impossible for the colonies to rebel against

British rule.

b. The system is inefficient.

c. The system makes it difficult for the colonies to defend themselves.

d. It is too easy for the French to take advantage of weaknesses in the

system.

................................
Answer: a. Franklin never mentions rebelling against the British. This
cartoon first appeared in 1754, long before there was any serious feeling
among the colonists that the colonies should declare independence from
Great Britain. Each of the other answers is identified in the passage.

................................
Use the information below to answer the following two questions.

In 1972, Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and put
it to the states for ratification. This map shows ratification in 1979.

In which region of the country did the ERA receive the least support?

a. New England

b. the Southeast

c. the Midwest

d. the Far West

................................
Answer: b. Most of the states that did not ratify the ERA are located in the
Southeast.

................................
What happened to the ERA?

a. It was passed by a majority of states and became a constitutional

amendment.

b. It was no longer needed because women had made significant strides

forward.

c. It did not receive the votes needed in Congress to become a

constitutional amendment.

d. It did not receive the support needed by states to become a

constitutional amendment.

................................

The cartoon below was drawn in the nineteenth century during a strike
by the American Railway Union that called for a boycott of all trains
with Pullman cars. Which of the following is most likely the point of
view of the cartoonist?

a. Workers needed to be squeezed to get any useful work out of them.

b. The workers were being crushed by the greedy robber baron

Pullman.
c. The workers needed to end their strike in order to save the train
industry.

d. Pullman was a tough boss who knew how to punish lazy workers.

................................
Answer: d. A proposal to amend the Constitution needs to be ratified by
three-quarters of the states. There are 50 states, so this means 38 states
would need to ratify the amendment. As shown on the map, the ERA fell
short of this number.

................................

Answer: b. This is the correct answer. The workers were being crushed by
the greedy robber baron Pullman. In the cartoon, the employee is being
attacked by Pullman, who is drawn as very fat in fancy clothes to
emphasize how rich and powerful he was.

................................
“The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the
same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-
appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of
tyranny. . . .”

—James Madison

The framers of the U.S. Constitution addressed Madison’s concern by

incorporating which of the following into the Constitution?

a. the Bill of Rights

b. checks and balances

c. due process

d. the two-party system

................................

Read the excerpt from the Declaration of Independence and answer the
question that follows.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that
among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. . . .”

What did the Founding Fathers mean by “inalienable rights”?

a. inherent rights that were given by God

b. any rights that were granted by the king

c. natural rights protected by English documents

d. the citizenship rights that Parliament had revoked

................................
Answer: b. The system of checks and balances was intended to avoid
having any one person or faction gain too much power.

................................

Answer: a. Inalienable rights, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of

happiness, cannot be taken away by anyone because they are natural rights
as a human.

................................
In 1770, outside the State House in Boston, Massachusetts, British
soldiers shot and killed five colonists in an event still known as the
Boston Massacre. When the soldiers were brought to trial, their lawyer
was the colonist patriot John Adams. Which of the following
foundational principles was most likely the key reason Adams took on
this case?

a. defending the underdog

b. individual rights

c. right to bear arms

d. rule of law

................................

In 1734, the governor of New York, William Cosby, had the printer
Peter Zenger arrested and tried for libel for accusing Cosby of
corruption in the newspaper the New York Weekly Journal. The
governor ordered copies of the newspaper burned. At the trial, the
judge, who owed his job to the governor, instructed the jury that they
must determine only whether the criticism was printed. They were told
that it did not matter if it was true or not. The jury disagreed and
found Zenger not guilty. This case was a landmark in the development
of

a. governmental corruption.

b. freedom of the press.

c. book burning.

d. separation of powers.

................................
Answer: d. The rule of law would dictate that every accused person is
entitled to a competent defense and a fair trial.

................................

Answer: b. The case was a landmark in the freedom of the press because
the jury ignored the corrupt judges and ruled that the printer had the right to
print criticism of the governor.

................................
In order to finance the American Revolution, the Continental Congress
issued paper money that became known as Continentals. During the
war, this currency was referred to by colonists in the popular phrase
“worthless as a Continental,” which meant that

a. they considered Continentals to be priceless.

b. they could not use Continentals as money.

c. Continentals would regain their value at the end of the war.

d. Continentals would become a sought-after collectible.

................................

On September 22, 1862, President Lincoln declared:

“That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or
designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion
against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free;
and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military
and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of
such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of
them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.”

The primary motivation for the president in this statement, whose core
ideas were finalized a few months later in the Emancipation
Proclamation, was most likely

a. moral outrage at the dehumanization of slavery.

b. to increase the chances of the Union winning the Civil War.

c. to confirm his legacy as one of our greatest presidents.

d. the need to recruit former slaves into armed forces.

................................
Answer: b. They expected that they could not use Continentals as money or
for anything else.

................................

Answer: b. Lincoln’s motivation, according to most analysis, was to

increase the chances of the Union winning the Civil War, since slaves
would be freed only in those areas in armed rebellion.

................................
At the heart of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s was
the use of nonviolent direct-action protest, including student sit-ins at lunch
counters. Inspired by the example of Jesus, and the teachings of Mahatma
Gandhi during India’s struggle for independence, black church and
community leaders in the United States began advocating the use of
nonviolence in their own struggle. Beyond spontaneous and planned student
sit-ins, several organizations were formed to fight for civil rights using
Gandhi’s model of nonviolent dissent and action. Three of the most
influential groups—the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and the Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC)—were pivotal in bringing about social
change in America.

Source: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/februaryone/civilrights.html

What is the main idea of this passage?

a. The use of nonviolent direct-action protest was at the heart of the

Civil Rights Movement.

b. Nonviolent protest, as developed by Mahatma Gandhi, is a powerful

instrument for gaining rights.

c. Black church and community leaders supported the use of

nonviolence in the struggle for Civil Rights.

d. CORE, SCLC, and SNCC were civil rights organizations that

provided leadership for the movement.

................................

The signers of the Mayflower Compact agreed to “covenant and combine

ourselves together into a civil Body Politick. . . . And by Virtue hereof do
enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts,
Constitutions, and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most
meet and convenient for the general Good of the Colony; unto which we
promise all due Submission and Obedience. . . .”

Which principal of American government was first implemented in the

writing and signing of the Mayflower Compact?

a. authority based on a written constitution

b. system of checks and balances

c. protection of individual freedoms

d. guarantee of equal rights for all

................................
Answer: a. That the use of nonviolent direct-action protest was at the heart
of the Civil Rights Movement is the main idea of the passage.

................................

Answer: a. By signing the Compact, every adult male agreed to abide by

whatever laws were made and to submit to whatever government was
established based on a written constitution.

................................
While we are now familiar with political campaigns, the first modern-style
political campaign for the presidency occurred in 1840 when William
Henry Harrison defeated Martin Van Buren. The campaign featured the
candidate touring the country repeating his stump speech wherever he went,
a smear campaign and other dirty tactics, misrepresentation of the
candidates, and the first catchy campaign slogan, “Tippercanoe and Tyler,
Too,” which referred to Harrison’s war victory over the Indian Tecumseh
and to the vice presidential candidate, John Tyler. Harrison was portrayed as
a man of the people while Van Buren was portrayed as an aristocrat, which
was the opposite of the truth. Harrison was born into wealth while Van
Buren worked his way up from humble beginnings to become vice
president of the United States. The Whigs, Harrison’s party, also had a great
understanding of how to get out the vote and how to work the electoral
college, which allocates votes to candidates based on the states they win by
popular vote, to their advantage. The percentage of turnout was much
higher than it is today. Even though Harrison narrowly won the popular
vote, he won the electoral vote in a landslide.

According to this passage, the main cause of Harrison’s victory in the

1840 presidential election was

a. lack of interest of the voters.

b. the appeal of a catchy slogan.

c. a coordinated modern campaign.

d. the lack of experience of his opponent.

................................

Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?

................................

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

Answer: c. Taken together, all the components typical of a modern
campaign were the main cause of Harrison’s victory.

................................

Answer: Native Americans lived in America before the Europeans arrived.

................................

Answer: Thomas Jefferson

When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?

................................

What are the 13 original states?

................................

When was the Constitution written?

Answer: July 4, 1776

................................

Answer: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New

Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, South Carolina, and Virginia.

................................

Answer: The Constitution was written in 1787.

What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?

................................

Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.

................................

Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.
Answer: The United States bought the Louisiana Territory from France in
1803.

................................

Answer: Possible answers include the War of 1812, the Mexican-American

War, the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War.

................................

Answer: The Civil War

What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

................................

Who was president during the Great Depression and World War II?

................................

Read the passage and answer the following question.

Friends and Citizens:

The period for a new election of a citizen to administer the executive

government of the United States being not far distant, and the time actually
arrived when your thoughts must be employed in designating the person
who is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me proper . . .
that I should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline
being considered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be
made.

Based on the excerpt, when did George Washington make this speech?

a. during his tenure as general of the Continental Army

b. at the Constitutional Convention

c. prior to his first presidential nomination

d. during his second term as president

Answer: Possible answers include freed the slaves and helped preserve the
Union.

................................

Answer: Franklin Roosevelt

................................

Answer: d. Nothing in the speech says specifically where or when it

occurs, so you need to look for clues—the facts or details from which you
can make an inference. As you probably know, Washington was the first
president. That means he did accept a nomination at some point, but at the
time he is giving the speech, he does not want the nomination. So the only
answer choice that makes sense by logical inference is during his second
term as president.
Read the passage and answer the following two questions.

When Christopher Columbus landed in the New World, he brought with

him horses, cattle, and seeds for planting. Over the next decades, European
explorers and settlers brought to the New World other domesticated animals
and plants. Wheat and other grains soon became staple crops in North
America. Meanwhile, from the New World to the Old went corn, squash,
turkeys, tomatoes, and the ever-important potato. This transfer of plants,
animals, and diseases, known as the Columbian Exchange, transformed the
diets and lifestyles of people on both sides of the Atlantic.

Which sentence represents the main idea of the passage?

a. When Christopher Columbus landed in the New World, he brought

with him horses, cattle, and seeds for planting.

b. Over the next decades, European explorers and settlers brought to

the New World other domesticated animals and plants.

c. Wheat and other grains soon became staple crops in North America.
Meanwhile, from the New World to the Old went corn, squash, turkeys,
tomatoes, and the ever-important potato.

d. This transfer of plants, animals, and diseases, known as the

Columbian Exchange, transformed the diets and lifestyles of people on
both sides of the Atlantic.

................................

What title would best fit this passage?

a. Trading Wheat for Corn

b. The Columbian Exchange

c. Diets on Both Sides of the Atlantic

d. Christopher Columbus Discovers a New World

................................
Answer: d. This sentence is the main idea of the paragraph. The other
sentences provide details to support this main idea.

................................

Answer: b. All of the sentences in this paragraph lead up to the Columbian

Exchange, which would be the best title for this passage.

................................
Use the excerpt below, from the 1954 Supreme Court Decision Brown et
al v. Board of Education of Topeka et al, to answer the following four
questions.

In each of these cases, minors of the Negro race, through their legal
representatives, seek the aid of the courts in obtaining admission to the
public schools of their community on a non-segregated basis. In each
instance, they had been denied admission to schools attended by white
children under laws requiring or permitting segregation according to race.
This segregation was alleged to deprive the plaintiffs of the equal protection
of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment.

[…] A three-judge federal district court denied relief to the plaintiffs on the
so-called “separate but equal” doctrine announced by this court in Plessy v.
Ferguson, 163 U.S.537. Under that doctrine, equality of treatment is
accorded when the races are provided substantially equal facilities, even
though these facilities be separate.

[…] The plaintiffs contend that segregated public schools are not “equal”
and cannot be made “equal,” and that hence they are deprived of the equal
protection of the laws.

[…] We come then to the question presented: Does segregation of children

in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical
facilities and other “tangible” factors may be equal, deprive the children of
the minority group of equal educational opportunities? We believe that it
does.

[…] Segregation of white and colored children has a detrimental effect

upon the colored children. […] We conclude that in the field of public
education the doctrine of “separate but equal” has no place. Separate
educational facilities are inherently unequal.

[by Chief Justice Earl Warren, writing for the majority of the Court]
According to Justice Warren, what is the question the Court must
answer?

a. Is segregation by race in public schools unfair to minority children?

b. Should the Court demand equal facilities in segregated schools?

c. Does the Court have authority over public school systems?

d. Does the Constitution give control of education to the states?

................................
Answer: a. The question the court must answer in this case, according to
Justice Warren, is whether or not segregation by race in public schools is
unfair to minority children.

................................
The majority on this Court would most likely approve of which of the
following?

a. creating “minorities-only” seating sections in theaters and sports

arenas

b. passing laws that give majority racial groups special rights in the
field of education

c. making sure that public colleges do not bar minority students on the
basis of race

d. creating separate voting districts for minorities

................................

According to the passage, the Fourteenth Amendment

a. authorizes the separation of races in public schools.

b. provides for the establishment of a nationwide public school system.

c. specifies standard nationwide voting procedures.

d. requires that people receive the equal protection of the laws.

................................

What reason did the Court give for rejecting the doctrine of “separate
but equal”?

a. Federal district courts have no power over public school systems.

b. Schools can be segregated but still have equal facilities.

c. Segregated schools are unequal by their very nature.

d. Educational achievement is difficult to measure.

Answer: c. Justice Warren, writing for the Court majority, says, “In the
field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place.”
His argument is that segregation of schoolchildren by race is inherently
unfair to minority children. It is logical to conclude that the Court would
approve of extending this principle to public colleges by ensuring that these
institutions too do not bar minority students on the basis of race.

................................

Answer: d. The passage says, “This segregation was alleged to deprive the
plaintiffs of the equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth
Amendment.” It is thus logical to conclude that the Fourteenth Amendment
requires that people receive the equal protection of the laws.

................................

Answer: c. The Court concluded that the doctrine of “separate but equal”
should be rejected because “segregation of white and colored children has a
detrimental effect upon the colored children,” and as a result, “separate
educational facilities are inherently unequal.” In other words, segregated
schools are unequal (and harmful to minority children) by their very nature.
Use the chart to answer the following two questions.

U.S. presidential terms last for four years. In 1951, the Twenty-second
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution became law. The amendment
mandated a maximum of two four-year terms for service as U.S.
President.

Based solely on information provided, which of the following

statements can accurately be made?

a. The end of the Federalist and Whig parties caused the creation of the
Republican party.

b. The Whig and Democratic-Republican parties shared the same

philosophy about serving the presidency and the nation.

c. Since the initial establishment of the U.S. presidency, equal numbers

of Republicans and Democrats have served as president.
d. Events occurring during the Harrison and Garfield presidencies
must have led to their leaving the presidency before their terms ended.

................................
Answer: d. While it is not possible to determine exactly what the events
were, it is clear that they left prior to serving an entire four-year term.

................................
Which president’s term of office would have been unconstitutional
under the Twenty-second Amendment?

a. William Henry Harrison

b. James Abram Garfield

c. Grover Cleveland

d. Franklin Delano Roosevelt

................................

Which conclusion regarding immigration to the United States is

supported by information in the graph?

a. The Italians were the largest immigrant group during this period.
b. Italians and Poles immigrated because of religious persecution.

c. During this period, the population of Italy was greater than that of
Poland.

d. Most immigrants during this period were Jews.

................................
Answer: d. The paragraph explains that a presidential term is four years.
The paragraph further explains that the Twenty-second Amendment
mandated a maximum of two terms. Roosevelt served three full terms, and
was elected to a fourth term, but died shortly after.

................................

Answer: a. About 4.5 million Italians immigrated to the United States

during that period.

................................
Which item on the list does not fit with the others?

• Monroe Doctrine, 1823: The United States vows to oppose any attempt
by European countries to establish colonies in Latin America or elsewhere
in the Western Hemisphere.

• Good Neighbor Policy, 1933: The United States and Latin American
countries pledge not to interfere in each other’s internal affairs.

• Marshall Plan, 1948: The United States helps European countries to

recover from the destruction of World War II.

• Alliance for Progress, 1961: The United States vows to help promote
economic and social development in Latin America.

a. The Good Neighbor Policy, because it involved the United States

b. The Monroe Doctrine, because it involves Latin America

c. The Alliance for Progress, because it did not have warlike aims

d. The Marshall Plan, because it did not involve Latin America

................................
Answer: d. The Marshall Plan is the only policy listed that does not deal
with Latin America.

................................
Use the passage to answer the following two questions.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure
these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed,—That whenever any Form of
Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People
to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its
foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to
them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness . . . when a
long train of abuses . . . evinces a design to reduce them under absolute
Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government,
and to provide new Guards for their future security.

—excerpt from the Declaration of Independence

Which of the following is a central idea of the Declaration of

Independence?

a. Governments are stronger than the will of the people.

b. Governments are unnecessary if the people are virtuous.

c. Governments draw their legitimate power from the people.

d. Governments should have the unwavering support of the people.

................................

To gain respect for their opinions, the writers of the Declaration of

Independence called on

a. an appeal to reason.

b. a plea for emotional connection.

c. a request for partisan feeling.

d. a demand for religious faith.

................................
Answer: c. The Declaration of Independence states that “governments are
instituted among men to secure inalienable rights.” The last sentence makes
it clear that even when a government is overthrown, a new one must be
formed to “provide new Guards for their [the people’s] future security.”

................................

Answer: a. The Declaration of Independence reads like a logical treatise.

................................
Use the information below to answer the following two questions.

“[W]ould any sane nation make war on cotton? Without firing a gun,
without drawing a sword, should they make war on us we could bring the
whole world to our feet. . . . What would happen if no cotton was furnished
for three years? I will not stop to depict what every one can imagine, but
this is certain: England would topple headlong and carry the whole civilized
world with her, save the South. No, you dare not make war on cotton. No
power on earth dares to make war upon it. Cotton is king.”

—James Henry Hammond, U.S. senator from South Carolina, March 4,

1858

Based on this excerpt, Hammond believed

a. cotton was becoming less important to the U.S. economy.

b. the Southern states had no chance of winning a civil war.

c. a cotton embargo was the best way to avoid civil war.

d. European countries would defend their ability to obtain cotton from

the South.
................................
Answer: d. Southern strategy was based on the supposition that the country
you threaten to blackmail will eventually come to your aid.

................................
What modern example is similar to the South’s position regarding
cotton during the Civil War?

a. the United States and wheat

b. Greenland and ice

c. OPEC and oil

d. The United Nations and health care

................................

Use the cartoon to answer the following two questions.

(The caption of this cartoon reads, The Constitution gives the Negro the right to vote—but what care
we for the Constitution.)

What is the main idea represented by this political cartoon?

a. Southern whites did not think voting was important.

b. Southern whites kept African Americans from voting.

c. The national government protected African Americans who wanted

to vote.
d. Slaves had trouble voting in the 1840s in the Deep South.

................................
Answer: c. OPEC stands for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries. This group attempted (and attempts) to use the availability and
price of oil to control world politics, most notably regarding Middle Eastern
politics. Oil is the closest late-twentieth-century equivalent to cotton
production in the early/mid-1800s.

................................

Answer: b. The cartoon depicts a courageous, handsome, and unarmed

African-American male attempting to vote. An angry-looking group of
scraggly whites, including two wearing hoods to hide their identity,
confronts him. The group is preventing the man from reaching the polls.

................................
Based on the political cartoon, which 1960s law would probably be
most important to the cartoonist?

a. Civil Rights Act

b. Voting Rights Act

c. Nationality and Immigration Act

d. Freedom of Information Act

................................

Use the passage to answer the following question.

We meet in the midst of a nation brought to the verge of moral, political,

and material ruin. Corruption dominates the ballot box, the legislatures, the
Congress, and touches even the ermine of the bench. The people are
demoralized. . . . The newspapers are largely subsidized or muzzled; public
opinion silenced; business prostrated; our homes covered with mortgages;
labor impoverished; and land concentrating in the hands of capitalists. The
urban workmen are denied the right of organization for self-protection. . . .
The fruits of the toil of millions are boldly stolen to build up colossal
fortunes for a few, unprecedented in the history of mankind; and the
possessors of those, in turn, despise the republic and endanger liberty.

—“Populist Party Principles” from the “Omaha Platform,” 1892

Which of the following does NOT deal with one of the issues addressed
by the Populists?

a. the institution of a national income tax

b. the prohibition of alcohol

c. the power of unions

d. foreign affairs and the war in Europe

................................
Answer: b. The Voting Rights Act was passed specifically to guarantee
minority voting rights in the South.

................................

Answer: d. This ringing primary source excerpt is from the platform of the
Populist Party, an important third party of the Gilded Age. Although
unsuccessful at the ballot box, many of its ideas eventually were adopted by
the Republican and Democratic parties. The Populists (and the early
Progressives) were generally disinterested in foreign policy.

................................
Answer the question based on the following excerpt from Babbitt, by
Sinclair Lewis.

Just as he was an Elk, a Booster, and a member of the Chamber of

Commerce, just as the priests of the Presbyterian Church determined his
every religious belief and the senators who controlled the Republican Party
decided in little smoky rooms in Washington what he should think about
disarmament, tariff, and Germany, so did the large national advertisers fix
the surface of his life, fix what he believed to be his individuality. These
standard advertised wares—toothpastes, socks, tires, cameras, instantaneous
hot-water heaters—were his symbols and proofs of excellence; at first the
signs, then the substitutes, for joy and passion and wisdom.

Which aspect of American life is NOT one of Sinclair Lewis’s targets in

this passage from Babbitt?

a. American democracy

b. American foreign policy

c. American conformity

d. American consumerism

................................
Answer: b. Although Lewis mentions disarmament, tariff, and Germany, he
does not specifically say these policies are incorrect.

................................
What is the best conclusion based on these two songs?

“I Didn’t Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier” (1915)

Lyrics by Al Bryan, music by Al Piantadosi

“I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier, I brought him up to be my pride and

joy. Who dares to place a musket on his shoulder To shoot some other
mother’s darling boy? Let nations arbitrate their future troubles, It’s time to
lay the sword and gun away; There’d be no war today if mothers would all
say, ‘I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier.’”

“Over There” (1917)

Music and Lyrics by George M. Cohan

Johnnie get your gun, get your gun, get your gun. Take it on the run, on the
run, on the run. Hear them calling you and me, every son of liberty; Hurry
right away, no delay, go today. Make your daddy glad to have had such a
lad. Tell your sweetheart not to pine; to be proud her boy’s in line.

a. Americans were proud to have their children join World War I.

b. American soldiers in World War I fought for liberty.

c. Most Americans believed World War I was unnecessary.

d. Americans had different opinions about World War I.

................................
Answer: d. The two songs take opposed views as to the value of enlisting
and fighting in World War I.

................................
Which is the best conclusion that can be drawn from the information
below?

“Economic depression cannot be cured by legislative action or executive

pronouncement. Economic wounds must be healed by the action of the cells
of the economic body—the producers and consumers themselves. . . . The
best contribution of government lies in encouragement of this voluntary
cooperation in the community. The government—national, state, and local
—can join with the community in such programs and do its part.”

—President Herbert Hoover, Annual Message to the Congress on the State

of the Union, Dec. 2, 1930

a. Deficit spending contributed to increasing public debt in the 1930s.

b. The federal government should not be allowed to have deficit

spending.
c. The public debt grew despite annual surpluses in the government’s
treasury.

d. The downward economic spiral was resolved only through

significant expenditures of the federal government.

................................
Answer: a. The government had a deficit from 1931 to 1941, which
contributed to its debt.

................................
Which conclusion can fairly be drawn from the graphic?

a. Southern cities had grown faster than Northern cities in the

eighteenth century.

b. Immigrants were attracted to the largest cities in the newly formed

United States.

c. Access to ports contributed to the growth of U.S. cities in the

eighteenth century.

d. The Proclamation of 1763 prevented Americans from moving West

in the newly formed United States.

................................
Answer: c. The largest cities were port cities.

................................
Use this passage to answer the following question.

President Lyndon Johnson is known for his efforts in fostering The Great
Society. He instigated many U.S. programs focused on social reforms;
however, some believed that his foreign policy conflicted with his goals at
home. Military personnel from the United States were already stationed in
Vietnam when Johnson came to the presidency, and U.S. involvement in the
Vietnam War gave rise to great controversy.

During the Vietnam War, the total death toll exceeded 2 million, including
approximately 58,000 Americans. In 1963, shortly after becoming U.S.
president, Lyndon Johnson said, “I will not lose in Vietnam.” In 1966,
Johnson said, “I know we oughtn’t to be there, but I can’t get out . . . I just
can’t be the architect of surrender.” Johnson’s presidency ended in 1969. In
1973, under the presidency of Richard Nixon, U.S. troops were withdrawn
from Vietnam.

Based on the evidence in this passage, which claim can reasonably be

made?

a. Johnson’s Great Society gave rise to his position regarding the

Vietnam War.

b. Johnson was working to figure out a way for the United States to
surrender in Vietnam.

c. Johnson’s outlook regarding the Vietnam War changed as the years

passed.

d. Johnson believed that architecture of buildings in Vietnam was

important to the United States.

................................
Answer: c. In 1963, Johnson makes this bold statement: “I will not lose in
Vietnam.” By 1966, however, Johnson states: “I know we oughtn’t be
there.” This shows that his outlook has changed. He is commenting on the
need to get out, rather than boldly stating that he will not lose.

................................
Use the excerpt below, from the U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v.
Board of Education (1954), to answer the following question.

Where a State has undertaken to provide an opportunity for an education in

its public schools, such an opportunity is a right which must be made
available to all on equal terms. . . . Segregation of children in public schools
solely on the basis of race deprives children of the minority group of equal
educational opportunities, even though the physical facilities and other
“tangible” factors may be equal. . . .

The legal doctrine struck down by the decision in

Brown v. the Board of Education was the

a. separate but equal doctrine

b. right to be made available doctrine

c. physical and tangible doctrine

d. public school or minority group doctrine

................................
Answer: a. The excerpt states that segregation solely on the basis of race
deprives children of equal educational opportunities. Segregated facilities
are separate facilities, and the excerpt makes it clear that even though
physical facilities may be equal, students are still deprived of equal
opportunities when separation through segregation exists.

................................
Use the excerpt below, from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
(1863), to answer the following question.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this
continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the
proposition that “all men are created equal.”

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any
nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a
great battle field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a
final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This
we may, in all propriety do. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate––we
can not consecrate––we can not hallow, this ground––The brave men, living
and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power
to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say
here; while it can never forget what they did here. . . .

Abraham Lincoln begins the Gettysburg Address by referencing 1776,

a pivotal year in American history, through “four score and seven years
ago.” The word score means a group or set of how many years?

a. 5

b. 10

c. 15

d. 20

................................
Answer: d. Noting the year of the Gettysburg Address, 1863, is important
in determining the answer to this question. The question explains that
Lincoln is referencing 1776, so:

4 × 20 = 80

80 + 7 = 87

1863 (the year of the Gettysburg Address) – 87 = 1776.

................................
Use the information and timeline below, which depicts significant dates
related to African-American Voting Rights in the United States, to answer
the following three questions.

African-Americans Voting Rights in the United States

Excerpt from the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state
wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor
shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws. . . .
Excerpt from the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or
previous condition of servitude. . . .

Excerpt from the 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution

The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other
election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice
President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied
or abridged by the United States or any state by reason of failure to pay any
poll tax or other tax. . . .
Based on the information provided, which best states the relationship
between the 1866 U.S. Civil Rights Bill and the amendments shown?

a. The 1866 U.S. Civil Rights Bill was relatively unimportant to the
development of the Twenty-Fourth Amendment.

b. The amendments would not have applied to African Americans if

they had not been determined to be citizens.

c. The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were major contributors

to the development of civil rights legislation prior to 1950.

d. The Fifteenth Amendment is not related in any way, but the

Fourteenth Amendment and the 1866 U.S. Civil Rights Bill are related.

................................

Place the following events in the correct chronological order, from

earliest to latest.

I. Civil Rights Act of 1957

II. 15th Amendment

III. Guinn v. United States

IV. Civil Rights Bill of 1866

a. I, II, III, IV

b. II, I, III, IV

c. IV, II, III, I

d. III, IV, I, II

................................
Based on the information provided, which conclusion regarding voting
after 1964 by African Americans in the United States is logical?

a. It decreased.

b. It remained about the same.

c. It increased.

d. It stopped abruptly.
Answer: b. The amendments apply to citizens; without the status of
citizens, African Americans would not have been entitled to these rights.

................................

Answer: c. This is the correct chronological sequence of events.

................................

Answer: c. All of the identified events are related to legislative and judicial
strides in voting rights for African Americans. It is logical to conclude that
after all these strides had been made, substantially more African Americans
would have the right to vote and would utilize this right.
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These types of stamps were common during World War II, as many
items were rationed. Based on the image, what is the best definition of
the word ration, as used on the stamp?

a. “preferred quota”

b. “fixed amount”

c. “passage fare”

d. “acceleration scale”

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Answer: b. The ration is the fixed amount people were entitled to obtain.

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Use the excerpt below to answer the following question.

The 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous

crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual
service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for
the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be
compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be
deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall
private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

When a person has been charged with a crime and claims due process
rights, refusing to testify, this relates most closely to which part of the
Fifth Amendment?

a. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise

infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury

b. nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put
in jeopardy of life or limb

c. nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against

himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law

d. nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just
compensation

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Answer: c. A defendant in a criminal case may decide not to testify in the
case. This is the legal right of the defendant.

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Use the excerpts below, taken from the inaugural addresses of President
Barack Obama, to answer the following two questions. Note that
President Obama references many issues, including the economy and war
in the Middle East.

Excerpt from President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address, 2009

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at
war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is
badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of
some but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the
nation for a new age.

Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is
too costly, our schools fail too many, and each day brings further evidence
that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our
planet . . .

Excerpt from President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address, 2013

This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our
resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. An
economic recovery has begun. America’s possibilities are limitless, for we
possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth
and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for
reinvention. My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we
will seize it––so long as we seize it together . . .

In these two inaugural addresses, some statements express optimism,

while others do not. Which of these statements expresses the greatest
optimism?

a. That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood.

b. Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and

hatred.
c. This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled
our resolve and proved our resilience.

d. America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities

that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive;
diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for
reinvention.

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Answer: d. After events during President Obama’s first term in office, he
expressed great optimism in this excerpt from the second address. Phrases
such as “possibilities are limitless” and “endless capacity” provide guides to
recognize Obama’s optimism.

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In 2009, Obama stated: “A decade of war is now ending.” Select the
part of the world where this war had been fought.

a. Africa (sub-Sahara)

b. East Asia and the Pacific

c. Middle East

d. South and Central Asia

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Answer: c. The introduction to the excerpt explains that President Obama
referenced the war in Iraq, which is located in the Middle East.

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Use the information below to answer the following question.

During the 1950s and 1960s, a space race developed between the United
States and the Soviets. The Soviets launched Sputnik in 1957. It was the
first satellite launched into space. Implications of potential impact on the
Cold War and the conflict between democracy and communism became
clear. The United States forged ahead to take its place in the space race.

“First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal,
before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him
safely to the earth. . . . “

—President John F. Kennedy

Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs

May 25, 1961

“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

—Neil Armstrong from the surface of the moon

July 16, 1969

“Yes, I thought about it after landing, and because we had a lot of other
things to do, it was not something that I really concentrated on but just
something that was kind of passing around subliminally or in the
background. But it, you know, was a pretty simple statement, talking about
stepping off something. Why, it wasn’t a very complex thing. It was what it
was.”

—Neil Armstrong

Interview in Houston, Texas, when asked about the statement “That’s one
small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

September 19, 2001

Which statement accurately describes the relationship among events
and the three quotes?

a. Armstrong carefully crafted the statement for his first step on the
moon.

b. The United States urgently needed materials from other planets.

c. Armstrong planned to explore Earth for humankind.

d. President Kennedy’s goal was realized.

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Answer: d. In 1961, President Kennedy stated that his goal was to put a
man on the moon and return him safely to Earth. In 1969, before the decade
had ended, Neil Armstrong had set foot on the moon, and as Armstrong was
interviewed in 2001, it is clear that he returned safely to Earth.

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Use the excerpts below, taken from the Constitution of the United States
and the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, to
answer the following two questions.

The Constitution of the United States (1787)

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty
to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for
the United States of America.

Article I. Section. 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in

a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House
of Representatives.

Amendment I (1791)

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or

prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or
of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the Government for a redress of grievances.

These excerpts are taken from the public domain.

Based on the excerpts, which of the following has the right to establish
laws to insure [ensure] domestic tranquility, provide for the common
defence [defense], and promote the general welfare of and for people in
the United States?

a. unions in the United States

b. Congress of the United States

c. citizens of the United States

d. Supreme Court Justices in the United States

................................
Answer: b. Article I states that legislative powers, which are powers to
make laws, are vested in Congress.

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Based on information in the excerpts, which statement can be clearly
inferred?

a. Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution is not as important as the First

Amendment to the Constitution.

b. Amendments, including the First Amendment, were needed to

address issues that were not specifically addressed in the Constitution.

c. The Constitution was initially written to provide individual rights

and liberties; however, the First Amendment did not address individual
rights and liberties.

d. From a historical perspective, it appears that the First Amendment

was an afterthought of lawmakers in the United States and was not
considered to be of great significance.

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Answer: b. It is clear that the First Amendment addresses issues that are
not specifically addressed in the Constitution.

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Use the excerpt and quote below to answer the following two questions.

Emancipation Proclamation

January 1, 1863

By the President of the United States of America:

A Proclamation.

Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord

one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by
the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the
following, to wit:

That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or
designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion
against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free;
and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military
and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of
such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of
them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom. . . .

By the President: ABRAHAM LINCOLN

WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.

“Until justice is blind to color, until education is unaware of race, until

opportunity is unconcerned with the color of men’s skins, emancipation will
be a proclamation but not a fact. To the extent that the proclamation of
emancipation is not fulfilled in fact, to that extent we shall have fallen short
of assuring freedom to the free . . . ”

—President Lyndon B. Johnson

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
May 30, 1963
As used in the passage, the two words that have almost the same
meaning are

a. proclamation and rebellion

b. repress and maintain

c. freedom and emancipation

d. military and rebellion

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Answer: c. The slaves’ freedom and their emancipation are the same. A
proclamation is an official statement, and a rebellion is an open resistance
to an existing government. To repress is to subdue or restrain, and to
maintain is to allow a condition to continue. While repression of slaves
would have meant maintaining the existing conditions, repressing and
maintaining are not synonymous.

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Based on the excerpts, which statement regarding the viewpoints of
Lincoln and Johnson is accurate?

a. Johnson’s statements indicate that he believed in the philosophy of

Lincoln’s emancipation proclamation, but that more work toward
emancipation needed to be done.

b. While Lincoln was in favor of emancipation of slaves, Johnson

opposed emancipation of slaves.

c. Lincoln’s statements in the Emancipation Proclamation were based

on analysis of Johnson’s statements.

d. While Johnson believed that justice should be blind to color, Lincoln

believed that color was important in determining justice.

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Answer: a. Johnson’s initial statements provide evidence to show that he
believes that opportunities should be available, regardless of skin color; this
indicates that he agrees with Lincoln. Johnson also states that people have
fallen short of assuring freedom to the free, which provides evidence to
show that he believes more work needs to be done.

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Use the excerpts below to answer the following three questions.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) focused on a

man described as “of mixed descent, in the proportion of seven-eighths
Caucasian and one-eighth African blood; that the mixture of colored blood
was not discernible in him . . . ” The man boarded a train in Louisiana and
sat in “a vacant seat in a coach where passengers of the white race were
accommodated . . . ” When asked to move to a different location on the
train, a location designated for “persons not of the white race,” the man
refused. A police officer forcibly removed him from the train, and the man
was charged with a crime.

Majority Opinion, delivered by Justice Brown

. . . 2. By the fourteenth amendment, all persons born or naturalized in the

United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are made citizens of
the United States and of the state wherein they reside; and the states are
forbidden from making or enforcing any law which shall abridge the
privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, or shall deprive
any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or deny
to any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

So far, then, as a conflict with the fourteenth amendment is concerned, the

case reduces itself to the question whether the statute [law] of Louisiana is a
reasonable regulation, and with respect to this there must necessarily be a
large discretion on the part of the legislature. In determining the question of
reasonableness, it is at liberty to act with reference to the established
usages, customs, and traditions of the people, and with a view to the
promotion of their comfort, and the preservation of the public peace and
good order. Gauged by this standard, we cannot say that a law which
authorizes or even requires the separation of the two races in public
conveyances . . . is unreasonable, or more obnoxious to the fourteenth
amendment than the acts of congress requiring separate schools for colored
children in the District of Columbia, the constitutionality of which does not
seem to have been questioned, or the corresponding acts of state
legislatures.

Dissent by Justice Harlan

. . . If evils will result from the commingling of the two races upon public
highways established for the benefit of all, they will be infinitely less than
those that will surely come from state legislation regulating the enjoyment
of civil rights upon the basis of race. We boast of the freedom enjoyed by
our people above all other peoples. But it is difficult to reconcile that boast
with a state of the law which, practically, puts the brand of servitude and
degradation upon a large class of our fellow citizens,-our equals before the
law. The thin disguise of ‘equal’ accommodations for passengers in railroad
coaches will not mislead any one, nor atone for the wrong this day done . . .

I am of opinion that the state of Louisiana is inconsistent with the personal

liberty of citizens, white and black, in that state, and hostile to both the
spirit and letter of the constitution of the United States . . . Slavery, as an
institution tolerated by law, would, it is true, have disappeared from our
country; but there would remain a power in the states, by sinister
legislation, to interfere with the full enjoyment of the blessings of freedom,
to regulate civil rights, common to all citizens, upon the basis of race, and
to place in a condition of legal inferiority a large body of American citizens
...
In his dissent, Justice Harlan compares the results of the majority
opinion to what?

a. some blessings of freedom

b. established usages, customs, and traditions of the people

c. a brand of servitude and degradation

d. the personal liberty of citizens, white and black

................................

The opinion that reflects the law of the present day is the opinion of
Justice ______.

................................

Which best states the meaning of institution in the excerpt?

a. beginning

b. practice

c. society

d. university
Answer: c. Harlan references the law made by the majority opinion when
he states that it is difficult to reconcile the boast of freedom for people with
the state of the law that puts a brand of servitude and degradation upon
fellow citizens. While Harlan does reference blessings of freedom, he does
not reference blessings of freedom as resulting from the majority opinion.
While Harlan references the personal liberty of citizens, white and black, he
does not state that this liberty is a result of the majority opinion. Established
usages, customs, and traditions of the people are referenced in the majority
opinion, not Harlan’s dissent.

................................

Answer: Harlan. Harlan believes that separate facilities are not equal
facilities. The decision in Plessy v. Ferguson was later struck down by the
Supreme Court when the court held that separate facilities are not equal
facilities; this later decision correlates to Justice Harlan’s dissenting
opinion.

................................

Answer: b. The excerpt states the following: “Slavery, as an institution

tolerated by law, would, it is true, have disappeared from our country. . . .”
The excerpt is referencing the practice of slavery being tolerated.
Use the excerpts below to answer the following question.

Franklin Roosevelt’s Statement on Signing the Social Security Act

(1935)

Today a hope of many years’ standing is in large part fulfilled. The

civilization of the past hundred years, with its startling industrial changes,
has tended more and more to make life insecure. Young people have come
to wonder what would be their lot when they came to old age. The man
with a job has wondered how long the job would last.

This social security measure gives at least some protection to thirty million
of our citizens who will reap direct benefits through unemployment
compensation, through old-age pensions and through increased services for
the protection of children and the prevention of ill health.

We can never insure one hundred percent of the population against one
hundred percent of the hazards and vicissitudes of life, but we have tried to
frame a law which will give some measure of protection to the average
citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden
old age. . . .

“Should any political party attempt to abolish social security,

unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you
would not hear of that party again in our political history.”

—Dwight D. Eisenhower

written in a letter to his brother

1954

As expressed in the speech excerpt and statement from Eisenhower,

how do the viewpoints of Roosevelt and Eisenhower regarding social
security compare?
a. Neither has a strong opinion regarding social security.

b. Both believe in the importance of social security in the country.

c. Neither thinks social security will survive into the future.

d. Both anticipate constitutional amendments to strengthen social

security.

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Answer: b. Roosevelt speaks of the hope and protection provided by social
security. Eisenhower states that a political party attempting to abolish social
security would essentially disappear from the political landscape.

................................