American Foundations 101
Practice Exam #5
Marshall - p. 1
1.
Which statement does NOT represent a “sin” of American industrialization in the late 19th and early
20th centuries?
a. Some industrialists used enormous “private wealth” to buy and manipulate public authority and
power.
b. The “iron law of wages” paid workers much more than they were worth at the time.
c. Some industrialists sought to create large monopolies to protect their own economic interests..
d. Some industrialists exploited consumers by selling products they knew to be of poor quality or
harmful.
2.
Which of the following correctly matches a specific economic, social, or political reform of the
Progressive Era with its intended result?
a. initiatives and referendums —> were used to increase the power of the state legislatures and
decrease the power of the people
b. new forms of city government —> were intended to decrease the control of political “machines”
and political “bosses” over city governments
c. 19th Amendment —> was intended to stop Americans from consuming alcohol
d. trust busting —> was intended to give more power to big businesses and monopolies
3.
Which statement correctly describes a cause of the Great Depression of the 1930s?
a. There was over production in the 1920s by some American businesses.
b. The banking system was too heavily controlled and regulated by the government.
c. Americans avoided all debts and would not invest in American business by buying stock.
d. Foreigners were buying to many American goods that caused a drain on available products in the
United States.
4.
Which statement correctly describes President Herbert Hoover’s reaction to the Great Depression?
a. He spent the government into massive debt that further hurt the struggling economy.
b. He set up government assistance programs which made him very popular with the American
public.
c. He did support a few public works projects that infused some government money into the
economy.
d. He believed that the depression would never correct itself and that the government should
interfere quickly to spend the nation out of the depression.
5.
Which option does NOT describe one of the forces that brought about the New Deal?
a. The simple desire of the American people to have some relief from the economic hard times.
b. American participation in World War I
c. the personality and political strength of Franklin D. Roosevelt
d. the depth and magnitude of the Great Depression itself
6.
Which one of the themes of the New Deal is correctly matched with its intended purpose or result?
a. Relief programs—> were designed to get business, industry, and agriculture back on their feet
b. Recovery programs—> were meant to give direct government help to the unemployed
c. Reform laws—> were intended to make fundamental changes to policy and create long-term
remedies to problems
d. All are correctly matched.
e. None are correctly matched.
7.
Which of the following New Deal programs would be correctly matched together with a theme of the
New Deal?
a. relief - Agricultural Adjustment Act which provided subsidies to reduce acreage of staple crops
b. recovery - Works Progress Administration which put 4 million men to work on public works
projects
c. reform - the Social Security Act which provided old age pensions
d. relief - National Recovery Administration which attempted to establish fair practice codes for
business and industry
American Foundations 101
Practice Exam #5
Marshall - p. 2
8.
Which statement represents a legacy of the New Deal as it was presented in class?
a. People lost faith in the government’s role as a problem solver because of the terrible failures of
the New Deal.
b. It begins America’s version of the welfare state by creating economic “safety nets” and a
philosophy supporting economic rights as well as political rights.
c. ]The Democratic Party became more committed to helping big business; the Republican Party
became more committed to creating big government.
d. Most politicians became convinced that the New Deal was a failure and that the programs of the
New Deal must be “dismantled” as quickly as possible.
9.
Which statement is true of President Lyndon Johnson or of his “Great Society” programs?
a. Although he proposed many new ideas, he could not get much of it through the Congress.
b. Because he was from the South, he did not favor the passage of any Civil Rights bills.
c. Congress created Medicare, Headstart, and the federal funding of many public education
programs (to name just a few) during his administration.
d. His program was also nicknamed the “New Frontier.”
10. Which statement does NOT correctly describe one of President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society”
programs as described in your notebook?
a. As part of his early “War on Poverty,” he asked Congress to create a program to assist middle
and upper class students with the costs of a college education.
b. He pushed Congress to create the Medicare and Medicade programs
c. He cut back funds for conservation and crime prevention so that he could concentrate on
education programs.
d. He sought income tax reductions for low income people.
11. Which statement is true of the economic or political legacies of President Johnson’s Great Society and
the period that follows it?
a. Americans became less sensitive to their economic and social problems, but more united and
clearly focused on their goals and plans for the future.
b. The powers and expectations of the president’s office, things like conducting foreign policy and
issuing executive orders, have been increased.
c. The national government makes fewer laws in areas that had earlier been left to the states, thus
changing the nature of the federal system to be more like it was in the 1790s.
d. Politicians became more committed to the idea that welfare should be given only to those who
will work for it.
12. Which statement correctly describes what can happen if the ideals of multi-culturalism are
radicalized?
a. In our teaching of history, we dwell on everything good we have ever done and never discuss the
mistakes of the past.
b. We emphasize our common heritage and values rather than our differences.
c. We destroy the very values that protect our liberties by claiming that no idea or tradition or
history has any more goodness or value than any other idea or tradition.
d. We make political compromise too easy and put too much emphasis on the middle-of-the road
ideas
13. Which is the correct definition of nativism?
a. a policy which encourages pluralism and cultural diversity
b. the practice or policy of favoring early culture against foreign influence
c. a policy favoring the admitting of huge numbers of immigrants to mix with the native population
d. holding blindly or intolerantly to a particular creed or opinion
American Foundations 101
Practice Exam #5
Marshall - p. 3
14. Which statement correctly describes one reason the meaning of “democracy” changed in the early
1800s?
a. The westward movement reduced the people’s spirit of independence and self-reliance and
increased the people’s sense of inequality.
b. Americans became less and less committed to the ideals of our founding generation, particularly
the ideal of “equality.”
c. Several provisions in the Constitution made it very difficult for the common people to increase
their participation in government after 1790.
d. by the early 1800s, equality is taken more literally to mean that all should participate in the
process of governing.
15. When one considers the history of extending the right to vote to more people, which of the following
statements is true?
a. Although the 15th Amendment was meant to give black Americans the right to vote in the 1860s,
they were not really guaranteed that right until the 1960s.
b. Creating “universal manhood suffrage” meant extending the right to vote to men and women.
c. Almost all residency requirements to vote were dropped during the Progressive Era.
d. The age to vote in the United States was lowered to 18 during World War II.
16. Which statement correctly describes how opportunities for popular participation expanded over
time?
a. Fewer states have been using initiatives and referendums, methods which were used earlier in
our history to keep people from voting.
b. The use of pressure groups and interest groups has been reduced in order to give the political
parties a stronger voice in government.
c. The opportunity for people from various minority and ethnic groups to hold public office has
increased in recent years.
d. Political parties use primary elections less now than they used to, because they want more
people’s names to appear on the general election ballot in November.
17. Based on your class notes, which of the following correctly describes a positive result of increased
democracy in America?
a. Politicians are forced to make more promises and please everyone in order to get reelected.
b. Congress has attempted to take all the pain out of life by passing more and more legislation.
c. As we have become more democratic, fewer and fewer people have had to worry about the
issues and the solutions to America’s problems.
d. There seems to be evidence of a “collective wisdom” in the people — we have generally done
okay in choosing our political leaders.
18. Based on the ideas presented by Brother Marshall to answer the questions at the end of Topic 24 on
the Democratization of America, which statement is NOT true?
a. We are on the verge of becoming a “hyper-ventilated democracy” where the people want all the
problems solved and all the pain taken out of life.
b. A government that tries to respond to every whim of public opinion may be a government out of
step with the true principles of a republic.
c. A “politically correct” class of citizens may develop an ugly pessimism about the majority’s
ability to govern and try to make the government more responsive to minorities.
d. Generally, the closer government is to the people (meaning local and state government), the less
responsive it will be to the people’s will.
19. Four elements that make up America’s foreign policy dilemma were given in your notes. Which
statement correctly describes one of them?
a. Americans have never been very concerned about our sovereignty and our national self-interest.
b. Our love of liberty and freedom never created a sense of mission or idealism in relationship to
our foreign policy.
c. Because we are a republic, foreign policy must be conducted with the will of the American people
in mind.
d. As a people, we have had very little concern about ethics and morality in foreign policy.
American Foundations 101
Practice Exam #5
Marshall - p. 4
20. Which term is correctly matched with a definition?
a. nationalism—> an intense patriotism and devotion to one's country, sometimes at the expense of
international considerations
b. imperialism —> a policy of acquisition of colonies or dominating the economic and political
affairs of a weaker nation
c. militarism —> an aggressive preparedness for war and the glorification of that preparedness
d. All of the above are correctly matched.
21. Based on our discussion of foreign policy, which of the following statements is true?
a. Our idealism in World War I was evident in our willingness to join the League of Nations.
b. Between the World Wars, no effort was made to improve our relationship with Central America.
c. We had a strong desire to be the super power of the world when we entered World War II.
d. The basic mission of the U.S. during the Cold War was to contain communism.
22. In which of the following options is a president's doctrine or policy correctly matched with a
description of that policy?
a. The Truman Doctrine - helping nations to resist subjugation from outside influences and to
contain communism
b. The Nixon Doctrine - Americanizing the Vietnam War with a troop buildup, unilateral use of
American troops in foreign lands to stop communist aggression
c. Jimmy Carter's Doctrine - nations would have to help and protect themselves, “Vietnamization”
of the Vietnam War, opening relations with China
d. Lyndon Johnson’s foreign policy - the U.S. would repel by any means necessary any attempts to
control the Persian Gulf region
23. Which statement correctly describes how the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s sets the
stage for the cultural revolutions of the 1960s?
a. It really closes the door on political participation for other minority groups and makes it more
difficult for them to get their voices heard.
b. It creates an atmosphere of dissent, civil disobedience, and protest that spils over into white,
mainstream America.
c. It helped people realize that political gains (like getting the right to vote) are all that minorities
want—translating those political gains into social and economic gains is not necessary.
d. Young northern students on college campuses become determined to stop the civil rights
movement because of its excesses.
24. Which statement correctly describes some of the legacies the 1960s?
a. Americans reject the culture of “political correctness” and increased their commitment to
majority rule.
b. All Americans became more determined to stop the ideals of liberty and democracy from being
“radicalized.”
c. Americans have become increasingly fascinated with things that are extremely violent and
absurd.
d. Americans became more deeply committed to the traditional family values that seemed quite
evident in the 1950s.
25. Jacob Riis, in How the Other Half Lives, argues that
a. the great oil companies are destroying America.
b. it is absolutely necessary to have a rich class of people who create jobs for the working class.
c. the tenement houses of America’s big cities were terrible places to live, particularly for the
children.
d. politicians like Teddy Roosevelt have done more to save America from its own greed than any
other class of men.
American Foundations 101
Practice Exam #5
Marshall - p. 5
26. Harry Hopkins, who administered many relief programs during the Great Depression, had some
strong opinions regarding those programs. Which of the following statements represents his ideas
and feelings as given in the article “18,000,000 on Relief” or in the video clips shown in class?
a. It is important for people to work because it strengthens morale, continues the development of
skills, and serves society.
b. Straight relief (without requiring people to work) should be used because it is less costly for the
government.
c. The one thing that America is doing well during the Depression is providing comfortable and
adequate housing for all of its citizens.
d. Most people who receive welfare are chiselers who are lazy and will not work.
27. Based on Chapter 9 of Standing for Something (Chapter 9 is entitled “Optimism in the Face of
Cynicism”), which of the following was NOT said by President Hinckley?
a. I am an optimist! What a wonderful time it is to be alive.
b. I do recommend that all criticism in our society be silenced once and for all.
c. A sustained diet of a negative point of view will have serious repercussions on the nation.
d. People must bear each other’s burdens, encourage and strengthen one another, and look for the
e. good in one another if we are to live in a peaceful and orderly society.
28. Which of the following statements represents something President Hinckley wrote in the Epilogue,
entitled “The Loneliness of Moral Leadership.” of his book?
a. We must be leaders, because it takes away all loneliness from life.
b. It is easiest to be virtuous and honest when everyone else around us is not virtuous and honest.
c. No nation can rise above the strength of its homes or the virtue of its people.
29. Which of the following statements does NOT represent the ideas John F. Kennedy set forth in his
inaugural speech of 1961?
a. It is now obvious, that the same generation of Americans who have governed us for the last forty
years will continue to govern us into the near future.
b. Let all nations know that the United States will pay any price and bear any burden to assure the
survival and success of liberty in the world.
c. Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.
d. In matters of nuclear weapons and arms control, never let us negotiate out of fear, but never let
us fear to negotiate.
30. Which of the following statements was NOT made by President Lyndon Johnson in his speech on
“The Great Society” at the University of Michigan in 1964?
a. “Your imagination, your initiative, and your indignation will determine whether we build a
society where progress is the servant of our needs.”
b. “So I want to talk to you today about three places where we begin to build the Great Society—in
our cities, in our countryside, and in our classrooms.”
c. “So will you join in the battle to give every citizen the full equality which God enjoins and the
law requires, whatever his belief, or race, or the color of his skin?”
d. “All we need to provide better education are more teachers and more classrooms.”
1. b
2. b
3. a
4. c
5. b
6. c
7. c
8. b
9. c
10. c
11. b
12. c
13. b
14. d
15. a
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
c
d
d
c
d
d
a
b
c
c
a
b
c
a
d