STAAR EOC US History — Practice Test 1

Gilded Age, Progressive Era & Imperialism

Choose the best answer.

1. The Bessemer process, developed in the mid-1800s, contributed MOST directly to American industrialization by —

2. The completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 had which major effect on the United States?

3. The American Federation of Labor (AFL), founded by Samuel Gompers in 1886, differed from the Knights of Labor primarily because the AFL —

4. The Populist (People's) Party of the 1890s called for which major reform?

5. Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel The Jungle exposed unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry. The book contributed MOST directly to passage of —

6. President Theodore Roosevelt earned a reputation as a "trust-buster" because he —

7. Which set of constitutional amendments — all ratified during the Progressive Era — established the federal income tax, direct election of senators, prohibition of alcohol, and women's suffrage?

8. Sensational "yellow journalism" by newspapers and the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana harbor in 1898 helped push the United States into which conflict?

9. The Open Door Policy (1899-1900) and the construction of the Panama Canal (completed 1914) BOTH reflect —

WWI, 1920s, Great Depression & New Deal

Choose the best answer.

10. Historians often summarize the long-term causes of World War I with the acronym MAIN. The four letters stand for —

11. Two events that pushed the United States to enter World War I in 1917 were —

12. President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points (1918) called for the creation of —

13. The U.S. Senate refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles in 1919-1920 mainly because many senators —

14. Which development is MOST associated with the "Roaring Twenties"?

15. The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s is BEST described as —

16. Which of the following BEST describes a combination of causes of the Great Depression?

17. Which group of programs were ALL parts of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal?

18. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), created in 1933, helped restore public confidence in the banking system by —

WWII & Cold War

Choose the best answer. Some questions refer to a primary-source excerpt.

19. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, had which immediate effect?

20. The Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 — D-Day — is significant because it —

21. The Holocaust refers to the systematic, state-sponsored killing of approximately six million European Jews, along with millions of other targeted civilians, by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II. American forces encountered direct evidence of these crimes when they —

22. Executive Order 9066, issued in 1942, led to the —

23. The Manhattan Project was a secret American effort during World War II that —

Excerpt: The Truman Doctrine, 1947

"At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The choice is too often not a free one. One way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression. The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. ... I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures."

— President Harry S. Truman, address to a joint session of Congress, March 12, 1947 (paraphrased excerpt)

24. The policy outlined in this excerpt is BEST known as —

25. Truman's commitment in this speech most directly led the United States to —

26. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), formed in 1949, was created mainly to —

27. The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) is generally remembered as —

Civil Rights & Modern Era

Choose the best answer.

28. In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that —

29. The Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956) was sparked when —

30. In his "I Have a Dream" speech delivered at the 1963 March on Washington, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. expressed his hope that one day his children would, in his words, "not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." This speech is BEST described as —

31. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is BEST known for —

32. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 had which primary effect?

33. Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers (UFW) are best known for —

34. The Watergate scandal of 1972-1974 is significant because it —

35. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 are usually identified as —

36. The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks led MOST directly to —

Geography & Culture

Choose the best answer.

37. During the 1930s, severe drought, over-farming, and high winds turned much of the southern Great Plains into the Dust Bowl. A common response by affected families was to —

38. After World War II, the population of the "Sun Belt" — states across the South and Southwest such as Texas, Arizona, Florida, and California — grew rapidly. A major reason was —

39. The growth of suburbs in the 1950s was driven MOST directly by —

40. The Great Migration of African Americans during and after World War I refers to the movement of —

41. Jazz, rock and roll, and hip-hop are American musical styles that —

42. Between roughly 1892 and 1954, Ellis Island in New York Harbor served primarily as —

43. The Bracero Program (1942-1964) brought hundreds of thousands of workers to the United States from —

44. American demographic patterns in the late 20th and early 21st centuries have shifted toward —

Government & Citizenship

Choose the best answer.

45. The 14th Amendment (1868) is most important because it —

46. Match each amendment with what it primarily did.

47. The 24th Amendment (1964) prohibited —

48. In Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court ruled that —

49. In Miranda v. Arizona (1966), the Supreme Court held that —

50. When the federal government and a state government share authority over a policy area such as transportation or education, this arrangement is an example of —

51. During the Watergate investigation, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered President Nixon to turn over secret White House tape recordings, and Congress prepared articles of impeachment. These actions illustrate —

52. Which is an example of a citizen's RESPONSIBILITY (rather than a right) under the U.S. system of government?

Economics

Choose the best answer. One question refers to a data table.

U.S. Real GDP Growth, Selected Years

Year	Annual Real GDP Growth
1929	+6.7%
1932	−12.9%
1937	+5.1%
1941	+17.7%

— Approximate values, based on U.S. Department of Commerce historical estimates

53. Based on the table, which year shows the United States economy in its DEEPEST contraction?

54. The pattern of growth from 1932 to 1941 in the table is BEST explained by —

55. The Federal Reserve System, created in 1913, has the primary responsibility of —

56. The American economy in the 1970s experienced "stagflation," a combination of —

57. Supply-side ("Reaganomics") economic policies of the 1980s emphasized —

58. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which took effect in 1994, was designed to —

59. The 2008 financial crisis was triggered MOST directly by —

60. Match each entrepreneur with what they are best known for in U.S. economic history.

Social Studies Skills (source analysis)

Read or examine each source, then choose the best answer.

Political Cartoon: "The Trust Giant," 1903 (described)

(Cartoon description.) A huge figure labeled "TRUSTS" sits on top of a building labeled "U.S. CAPITOL." Smoke rising from factories in the background is shaped into the words "MONOPOLY" and "HIGH PRICES." A small figure at the base of the building, labeled "THE PEOPLE," holds up a sign that reads "REGULATE." A second small figure, labeled "CONGRESS," looks up at the giant nervously.

— Cartoon in the style of Puck magazine, 1903 (paraphrased description)

61. The MAIN message of this cartoon is that —

62. The cartoonist's point of view BEST aligns with which historical movement?

Excerpt: Eisenhower's Farewell Address, 1961

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. ... Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals."

— President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Farewell Address to the Nation, January 17, 1961

63. By the term "military-industrial complex," Eisenhower is warning against —

64. Eisenhower argues that the BEST safeguard against this danger is —

Timeline: Selected Cold War Events

Year	Event
1947	Truman Doctrine announced
1948	Marshall Plan signed
1949	NATO formed
1962	Cuban Missile Crisis
1989	Berlin Wall falls

65. Which generalization is BEST supported by the timeline?

66. Which event on the timeline marks a major SYMBOLIC end to the division between Eastern and Western Europe?

67. Which of the following statements is a FACT rather than an opinion?

68. When evaluating a primary source for bias, a historian should FIRST consider —

69. A textbook chapter, written 60 years after the Cuban Missile Crisis and citing many other authors' research, is BEST classified as —

Gilded Age, Progressive Era & Imperialism

WWI, 1920s, Great Depression & New Deal

WWII & Cold War

Excerpt: The Truman Doctrine, 1947

Civil Rights & Modern Era

Geography & Culture

Government & Citizenship

Economics

U.S. Real GDP Growth, Selected Years

Social Studies Skills (source analysis)

Political Cartoon: "The Trust Giant," 1903 (described)

Excerpt: Eisenhower's Farewell Address, 1961

Timeline: Selected Cold War Events

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