U.S. History - California Standards Tests Released Items

The Great Awakening of the mid-1700s affected the British colonies by
1. decreasing the power and prestige of radical religious fi gures.
2. encouraging greater religious enthusiasm and political independence.
3. encouraging strict obedience and respect for governmental authorities.
4. discouraging individual free will in spiritual and political matters.
One goal of the Declaration of Independence was to
1. establish a new monarchy for the independent states.
2. convince the British Parliament to prevent the start of war.
3. explain why the colonists felt the need to be free from British rule.
4. outline an economic system to raise money for the revolution.
In designing the legislative branch, the writers of the Constitution mainly based their ideas on the
1. French Estates General.
2. Congress of Vienna.
3. Council of Trent.
4. English Parliament.
The Mayflower Compact (1620) was significant in the political development of the American colonies because it introduced the principle of
1. self-government.
2. separation of powers.
3. freedom of expression.
4. federalism.
Use the excerpt to answer the following question.

The Tenth Amendment was added to the Constitution to resolve which of the following topics of debate surrounding the development of the Constitution?
1. division of powers among branches of government
2. the annexation of new lands into the country
3. balance between national and state government power
4. the representation of states in the legislative houses
Which of these Founders favored a strong national government and a loose interpretation of the United States Constitution?
1. George Mason
2. Patrick Henry
3. Roger Williams
4. Alexander Hamilton
Which of these parts of the United States Constitution contains fundamental liberties of American citizens?
1. Preamble
2. Article I, Section 8 — Enumerated Powers
3. Article III — Judicial Branch
4. Amendments 1–10 — Bill of Rights
Which of these is a constitutional “check” that the executive has to “balance” the power of the legislature in the United States government?
1. dismiss Congress when it acts illegally
2. veto acts passed by Congress
3. overturn decisions made by courts
4. appoint representatives and senators
Which of these groups most likely supported the political ideas and policies of Alexander Hamilton?
1. small farmers
2. tobacco planters
3. business owners
4. frontier settlers
Thomas Jefferson and his followers opposed Alexander Hamilton’s tariff policy in part because they believed that high tariffs would cause problems for
1. rich bankers.
2. small farmers.
3. big city merchants.
4. owners of small factories.
Shays’ Rebellion of 1786 resulted in increased support for
1. creating a U.S. Bill of Rights.
2. revising the Articles of Confederation.
3. writing the Declaration of Independence.
4. approving the Missouri Compromise.
Which of the following acquisitions secured control of North America’s longest river, added substantially to the Native American, Spanish, and French populations of the country, and essentially doubled the size of the United States?
1. purchase of Alaska
2. Gadsden Purchase
3. Louisiana Purchase
4. purchase of Florida
Which president was responsible for the territorial acquisition indicated by the darker shaded area on the map above?
1. George Washington
2. John Adams
3. Thomas Jefferson
4. James Madison
In his Farewell Address, George Washington urged the American people to
1. limit a president to two terms in offi ce.
2. value and maintain a sense of national unity.
3. create a defensive alliance with European countries.
4. establish more effective political parties.
What is one reason for the dramatic decreases in exports in 1807 and from 1810 to 1812?
1. a decline in industrial output
2. competition from French merchants
3. military and economic conflicts with Great Britain
4. an increase in production and transportation costs
Conflict with Mexico became highly likely following the granting of statehood to
1. Texas.
2. Missouri.
3. Arizona.
4. Louisiana.
What was the purpose of the Monroe Doctrine (1823)?
1. to open Canada to American settlers
2. to prevent European expansion in the Americas
3. to acquire Florida for the United States
4. to end the United States’ alliance with Great Britain
Which statement best describes the location of factories in New England during the early 1800s?
1. They needed to be close to coal deposits.
2. They were located next to rivers.
3. They were located in isolated areas.
4. They needed to be close to railroads.
The timeline above represents development in the production of
1. oil.
2. glassware.
3. steel.
4. textiles.
During the 1800s, the movement of large numbers of immigrants from many different countries into large American cities resulted in the rapid growth of
1. effective public health programs.
2. ethnic neighborhoods.
3. public parks and recreation areas.
4. plentiful and affordable public housing.
What agricultural invention, designed to increase production, had the effect of increasing the number of slaves needed for labor in the Deep South?
1. the wheat reaper
2. the cotton gin
3. the steel plow
4. the rice mill
The growing importance of cotton to the South created an economy and a society dominated by
1. managers and professional people.
2. small independent farmers.
3. large landowners.
4. industrial leaders.
The slave-based agricultural system in the South encouraged the development of
1. economic self-reliance.
2. a rigid social class system.
3. an urban middle class.
4. small independent businesses.
Prior to the Civil War, which group had the most political power in the South?
1. plantation owners
2. cattle ranchers
3. urban merchants
4. religious officials
Greeley’s quotation is associated with which of these?
1. Farmers Alliance
2. Populist Party
3. Manifest Destiny
4. Temperance movement
By the mid-1800s, California was being settled mostly by people in search of
1. jobs in industrial cities.
2. wealth from the discovery of gold.
3. animal pelts for the fur trade.
4. trade with American Indians.
The quotation above describes the nineteenth-century American belief in
1. the Social Contract.
2. Manifest Destiny.
3. isolationism.
4. the Monroe Doctrine.
The Indian Removal Act (1830) relocated thousands of Cherokees from Georgia to Indian Territory for the purpose of
1. making the land available for white miners and farmers.
2. allowing the Cherokee their freedom from U.S. control.
3. obeying the Supreme Court’s order to move the Cherokee.
4. creating a wilderness area for use by white fur trappers.
While the American colonies were fighting a revolution against England and forming a new nation, New Spain was establishing new settlements in California using what type of system?
1. plantation
2. factory
3. mission
4. capitalist
Who was the most important leader of the Underground Railroad?
1. Harriet Tubman
2. William Lloyd Garrison
3. Phillis Wheatley
4. Sarah Grimké
The main goal of abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison was to
1. allow all women the right to vote.
2. establish tax-supported schools.
3. stop individuals from drinking alcoholic beverages.
4. end slavery immediately.
After the American Revolution, most Northern state constitutions called for
1. universal suffrage for citizens.
2. the gradual elimination of slavery.
3. the adoption of a state religion.
4. abolition of state property taxes.
Which area on the map above was admitted as a state as a result of the Compromise of 1850?
1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4
What led the newspapers to speak of “Bleeding Kansas” in 1856?
1. fighting between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces
2. attacks on job-seeking Irish immigrants
3. conflict between cattle ranchers and farmers
4. reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against Dred Scott
States’ rights played a major role in all of the following except the
1. Kentucky and Virginia Resolves.
2. Missouri Compromise.
3. Nullification Crisis.
4. Monroe Doctrine.
Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is similar to the Declaration of Independence in that both documents
1. include descriptions of laws which should be passed.
2. emphasize the need for effective government.
3. support the ideals of self-government and human rights.
4. justify the need for economic change.
What was the first major goal of President Abraham Lincoln’s administration?
1. to destroy the institution of slavery
2. to maintain the unity of the country
3. to expand the power of state governments
4. to industrialize the economy
Use the excerpt to complete the following statement.

This ending to Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Speech indicates that his vision for the future after the Civil War was for
1. peacemaking and rebuilding the Union.
2. resolving differences through armed action.
3. providing pensions to Confederate veterans.
4. punishing the South for its actions during the war.
What is one reason that the Union strategy for defeating the South included a naval blockade of Southern ports?
1. to cut the South off from its supply lines in the countries of Latin America
2. to stop Southern attempts to establish slave plantations in Cuba and Mexico
3. to prevent Southern efforts to sell cotton in Europe in exchange for war supplies
4. to deprive the South of fishing and whaling as a primary source of food
One goal of post–Civil War Congressional Reconstruction was to
1. repay Confederate war debts.
2. ensure civil rights for former slaves.
3. preserve the plantation system.
4. rebuild the Southern naval system.
During Reconstruction, the Freedmen’s Bureau
1. relocated many former slaves to the North.
2. created a system for tenant farming.
3. gave forty acres and a mule to former slaves.
4. established schools for former slaves.
One of the functions of the Freedmen’s Bureau was to
1. discourage segregation in the South.
2. relocate former slaves to urban areas.
3. provide assistance to former slaves.
4. reward veterans with land and money.
The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States were intended to solve problems relating to
1. government organization.
2. civil rights.
3. checks and balances.
4. rapid economic change.
The above poster suggests that 19th-century industrialization was often accompanied by
1. labor strife.
2. farm protests.
3. technological progress.
4. political stability.
Which of these is the best explanation for the trend shown in the bar graph above?
1. availability of industrial jobs in Chicago
2. Chicago’s location on an important river
3. Chicago’s nearness to the gold fi elds
4. lack of regulation in the banks of Chicago
What did the American Federation of Labor try to achieve in the late 1800s?
1. control of decision making in the market
2. higher wages and better working conditions
3. employee ownership of factories and mines
4. elimination of racial discrimination in the workplace
A large percentage of the immigrants who came to the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries settled in large cities because
1. most of them had lived in cities in their homelands.
2. there were fewer and fewer farms in the United States.
3. the growing industries were usually located in cities.
4. the government encouraged immigrants to settle in big cities.
Which of these groups most favored immigration to the United States between 1880 and 1910?
1. unskilled workers
2. rural farmers
3. urban nativists
4. factory owners

U.S. History - California Standards Tests Released Items

Choose the correct answer for each question.

The Great Awakening of the mid-1700s affected the British colonies by

One goal of the Declaration of Independence was to

In designing the legislative branch, the writers of the Constitution mainly based their ideas on the

The Mayflower Compact (1620) was significant in the political development of the American colonies because it introduced the principle of

Use the excerpt to answer the following question.

The Tenth Amendment was added to the Constitution to resolve which of the following topics of debate surrounding the development of the Constitution?

Which of these Founders favored a strong national government and a loose interpretation of the United States Constitution?

Which of these parts of the United States Constitution contains fundamental liberties of American citizens?

Which of these is a constitutional “check” that the executive has to “balance” the power of the legislature in the United States government?

Which of these groups most likely supported the political ideas and policies of Alexander Hamilton?

Thomas Jefferson and his followers opposed Alexander Hamilton’s tariff policy in part because they believed that high tariffs would cause problems for

Shays’ Rebellion of 1786 resulted in increased support for

Which of the following acquisitions secured control of North America’s longest river, added substantially to the Native American, Spanish, and French populations of the country, and essentially doubled the size of the United States?

Which president was responsible for the territorial acquisition indicated by the darker shaded area on the map above?

In his Farewell Address, George Washington urged the American people to

What is one reason for the dramatic decreases in exports in 1807 and from 1810 to 1812?

Conflict with Mexico became highly likely following the granting of statehood to

What was the purpose of the Monroe Doctrine (1823)?

Which statement best describes the location of factories in New England during the early 1800s?

The timeline above represents development in the production of

During the 1800s, the movement of large numbers of immigrants from many different countries into large American cities resulted in the rapid growth of

What agricultural invention, designed to increase production, had the effect of increasing the number of slaves needed for labor in the Deep South?

The growing importance of cotton to the South created an economy and a society dominated by

The slave-based agricultural system in the South encouraged the development of

Prior to the Civil War, which group had the most political power in the South?

Greeley’s quotation is associated with which of these?

By the mid-1800s, California was being settled mostly by people in search of

The quotation above describes the nineteenth-century American belief in

The Indian Removal Act (1830) relocated thousands of Cherokees from Georgia to Indian Territory for the purpose of

While the American colonies were fighting a revolution against England and forming a new nation, New Spain was establishing new settlements in California using what type of system?

Who was the most important leader of the Underground Railroad?

The main goal of abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison was to

After the American Revolution, most Northern state constitutions called for

Which area on the map above was admitted as a state as a result of the Compromise of 1850?

What led the newspapers to speak of “Bleeding Kansas” in 1856?

States’ rights played a major role in all of the following except the

Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is similar to the Declaration of Independence in that both documents

What was the first major goal of President Abraham Lincoln’s administration?

Use the excerpt to complete the following statement.

This ending to Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Speech indicates that his vision for the future after the Civil War was for

What is one reason that the Union strategy for defeating the South included a naval blockade of Southern ports?

One goal of post–Civil War Congressional Reconstruction was to

During Reconstruction, the Freedmen’s Bureau

One of the functions of the Freedmen’s Bureau was to

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States were intended to solve problems relating to

The above poster suggests that 19th-century industrialization was often accompanied by

Which of these is the best explanation for the trend shown in the bar graph above?

What did the American Federation of Labor try to achieve in the late 1800s?

A large percentage of the immigrants who came to the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries settled in large cities because

Which of these groups most favored immigration to the United States between 1880 and 1910?

**Which statement best describes the location of factories in New England during the early 1800s?**

**Prior to the Civil War, which group had the most political power in the South?**

**By the mid-1800s, California was being settled mostly by people in search of**

**Who was the most important leader of the Underground Railroad?**

**States’ rights played a major role in all of the following except the**

**Which of these is the best explanation for the trend shown in the bar graph above?**

**Which of these groups most favored immigration to the United States between 1880 and 1910?**