AP US History 🇺🇸
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Answers and Review for Multiple Choice Practice on the Beginning of Modern American Democracy
⛔STOP ⛔ Before you look at the answers, make sure you gave this practice quiz a try so you can assess your understanding of the concepts covered in Unit 4. Click here for the practice questions: AP US History Unit 4 Multiple Choice Questions.
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Facts about the test: The AP US History exam has 55 multiple choice questions and you will be given 55 minutes to complete the section. That means it should take you around 1 minute per question.
The following questions were not written by College Board and, although they cover information outlined in the AP US History Course and Exam Description, the formatting on the exam may be different.
1. What was an effect of the purchase of the Louisiana Territory?
A. The early United States had to engage in deficit spending for the first time
B. American Natives attempted to purchase land directly from France as well
C. It ignited questions about the extent of presidential powers
D. The Congress decided to veto a presidential action for the first time
Answer: The Louisiana Purchase was controversial because Jefferson never inteded to buy so much land - he only wanted the port city of New Orleans - and was only given $10 million to do so. But when France offered the entire Louisiana Territory for $15 million, it was too good a deal to pass up. But he wasn't granted enough funds to do it, and the Constitution doesn't the give the president power to spend money freely (that's Congress' job). A Constitutional Conundrum indeed!
📄 Study AP US History, Unit 4.2: The Rise of Political Parties and the Era of Jefferson
2. The United States attempted to distance itself and all of the Americas from the political system of Europe through which policy?
A. The Louisiana Purchase
B. The Roosevelt Corollary
C. The Dawes Act
D. The Monroe Doctrine
Answer: With plenty of revolutions in the New World taking place, there was a fear that Europe might try to reassert its power in the Western Hemisphere. President James Monroe made clear his foreign policy objectives - Europe would not be permitted to colonize or establish puppet monarchies in this hempishere or face the wrath of the United States.
📄 Study AP US History, Unit 4.4: America on the World Stage
3. What was the most important effect of the Supreme Court case Marbury vs. Madison?
A. The establishment of Judicial Review, or interpreting the constitutionality of laws, as the function of the court
B. It developed a system whereby American Natives would be allowed to freely move through the states
C. It established the supremacy of the federal government over the states
D. It established that the congress would be solely in charge of contracts that spanned multiple states
Answer: Marbury vs Madison was a landmark case that established what the Supreme Court would actually do - decide if laws that are passed are permissible under, or conflict with, the constitution. The decision would vault the court system into extreme national importance that remains today.
📄 Study AP US History, Unit 4.2: The Rise of Political Parties and the Era of Jefferson
4. Temperance, Universal Public Education, Asylum Reform, and Women's Rights movements were all closely tied to which religious movement that developed in the 19th century?
A. The Second Great Awakening
B. The Enlightenment
C. The Spoils System
D. Existentialism
Answer: The Second Great Awakening, while firmly a religious movement, had some revolutionary ideas about the human condition that lent itself to reform movements in American society - primarily that human beings are imperfect, but can be molded toward perfection. Thus, society should continuously strive to be more perfect - including embracing movements toward education and pious citizenship.
📄 Study AP US History, Unit 4.10: The Second Great Awakening
5. Which of these was NOT an effect of the Market Revolution?
A. Typical gender roles were challenged due to an increase in working women
B. American Natives gained more access to the American workforce
C. Families began to rely more on wage labor in factories to provide a living than subsistence farming
D. A middle class emerged, but so did a growing gap between the wealth and the poor
Answer: The Market Revolution transformed American society. Due to more factory work becoming available, more opportunities to leave subsistence farming and work for wages caused a disruption in the typical pattern of life for most families. More women joined the workforce, people began to move to cities, and a middle class emerged for the first time.
📄 Study AP US History, Unit 4.6: Market Revolution: Society and Culture
6. Why is the Monroe era referred to as the "Era of Good Feelings"?
A. This era was characterized by no political in-fighting whatsoever
B. Because it was the only period in American history without military conflict
C. The United States signed more peace treaties in that period than any other
D. Because only one political party, the Democratic-Republicans, were in power
Answer: The Era of Good Feelings is so-called because the collapse of the Federalist party led to an essentially one-party period. However, the period was not without tumult - as politicians domestic and abroad had plenty of disagreements and ugly fights.
📄 Study AP US History, Unit 4.2: The Rise of Political Parties and the Era of Jefferson
7. How did the Jacksonian era alter suffrage in the United States?
A. Property requirements were removed for white males, ensuring universal suffrage in that group
B. The right to vote was expanded to women in almost every state
C. The voting age was changed from 21 to 18, causing an influx of new voters who overwhelmingly voted democrat
D. Jackson took steps to disenfranchise as many poor voters as possible
Answer: The property requirement had limited the "common man's" access to voting for generations - but in this era, those requirements were stripped away. Allowing all white men, including the poor (who overwhelmingly supported Jackson and the Democrats), changed the electorate and the philosophy of the political campaign to be more targeted and inclusive (again, to white males).
📄 Study AP US History, Unit 4.7: Expanding Democracy
8. What effect did Nat Turner's Rebellion have on slaveholders' behaviors?
A. It led to 30% of slaves across the south being freed
B. It caused many slaveowners to see their slaves' humanity for the first time
C. They tightened restrictions and increased violence toward their slaves
D. It led to the successful establishment of the colony of Liberia
Answer: Nat Turner's Rebellion was one of the most deadly slave revolts in American History. While unsuccessful, it still led to the deaths of 55 whites. The slaveholding community responded by increasing their strangle on slave freedoms for fear of anything slave revolt.
9. How did the Underground Railroad affect slavery in the early United States?
A. It created an economic engine for black agriculture to sell goods legally in the North
B. It provided a secret path for slaves in the South to flee to the North
C. It was one of the most successful educational programs for Black students in the South
D. It created hundreds of jobs for slaves through federal construction projects
Answer: The Underground Railroad provided a path for slaves to flee the South to the North through a network of 'conductors' aiding in their escape. While the Underground Railroad was limited in its scope, it vaulted Harriet Tubman to national prominence. She would later go on to champion women's rights.
10. Of which of the following groups would a Nativist have been most distrustful of?
A. German Protestants
B. Dutch Baptists
C. English Anglicans
D. Irish Catholics
Answer: The Nativist movements in the United States and associated with several political parties (including the major Whig party) were focused on resisting the immigration that was increasing in the mid-1800s. In particular, the groups were fearful that immigrants would come and steal their jobs and change the national culture. Even more particularly, much of these anti-immigrant sentiments were directed toward Catholics (Irish and Germans being amongst the largest groups).
11. Self-reliance, internal-connectedness with God, and isolation are all associated with which 19th-century philosophical movement?
A. Existentialism
B. Nativism
C. Transcendentalism
D. The Enlightenment
Answer: The Transcendentalists of the mid-1800s included the famous authors Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. In their (and others) writing they stressed that a human's connection with God is internal, and thus the old ideas of the Puritanical exhibitionist workshop were not necessary and should be dismantled.
12. Which of these was NOT part of Henry Clay's American System?
A. An increase in estate taxes
B. Federal funding of infrastructure projects
C. A protective tariff to boost domestic manufacturing
D. The reestablishment of the National Bank
Answer: Henry Clay's American System stressed the importance of a national, federal program of support rather than leaving states to their own devices. It evoked much of the old Hamiltonian financial plan plus the idea that any infrastructure project that benefitted some states inevitably helped all states through increased national revenue.
13. Why did the Missouri Compromise succeed while the Tallmadge Amendment failed?
A. It admitted Maine in addition to Missouri, keeping the balance between slave and free states
B. It abolished the Fugitive Slave Law which was so hated in the North
C. It banned slavery in the Northwest Territory in exchange for Missouri's entrance to the Union
D. It provided funding for the railroad project through Illinois
Answer: The Missouri Compromise allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state - however, it also created a balance in the Senate (remember, each state gets 2 reps regardless of size) between slave states and free states through the creation of Maine (which was part of Massachusetts).
14. Andrew Jackson made sure to take care of his supporters, regardless of their qualifications, in his new government. What is that called?
A. The Great Divide
B. The Spoils System
C. The Compromise of 1850
D. The Trail of Tears
Answer: Andrew Jackson had many supporters, but also had many enemies. He made sure to reward those who had supported his contentious presidential campaigns with high-level appointments - even though many of those he appointed had no experience of qualifications for the job.
15. How did President Jackson respond to the results of Cherokee vs. Georgia?
A. He issued an apology to the Cherokee Nation for his actions and granted them citizenship in the United States
B. He stepped down as president
C. He issued a writ of mandatus and successfully overturned the decision through executive action
D. He disregarded the decision, and moved the Cherokee anyway.
Answer: The Cherokee resisted the Indian Removal Act through legal means in the US Supreme Court. One of the cases, Cherokee vs. Georgia established that Jackson did not have the authority to remove the group as they were an independent territory within the borders of the United States. Jackson challenged the Supreme Court to actually try and stop him - which they could not. Thus, Jackson did it anyway.
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