Exam
HIST 1302 – U.S. History II
Example Assessment
This is an example of an assessment for HIST 1302. It will be completed in approximately 1 ½
hours.
ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS IN A BLUE BOOK. PLEASE DO NOT WRITE ON
THIS EXAM PAPER. Make any notes or outlines in the blue book.
PART I – Essay
Choose one of the following two essays to answer for 50 points. Be detailed and
use historical evidence to back up your thoughts. Answer only one essay.
Discuss the reasons for America's new involvement in world affairs in the 1890s. How
did the United States become involved with Cuba's quest for independence from Spain?
Why does this American stance on behalf of "independence and national autonomy"
seem, in hindsight, rather hypocritical?
OR
Discuss the events that propelled the United States into World War I. How did German
submarine warfare result in American involvement in this war? How did events in
Russia in 1917 affect Wilson's decision to go to war? What was Wilson's rationale for
United States’ involvement?
PART II – Identification
Choose four of the following to fully identify. Be sure that your answer includes a
historical significance.
Each identification is worth 5 points, for a total of 20 possible points. (You may answer an additional identification for up to
5 points extra credit.)
Sedition Act of 1918
Plessy v. Ferguson
Omaha Platform
Grandfather clause
The gospel of wealth
Article 10
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HIST 1302 Example Assessment
PART III – Multiple Choice
Two (2) points each for a total of 30 points.
Answer in the blue book.
1.
Choose the one BEST answer for each question.
The first “big business” in the United States was:
a) The textile industry
b) The railroad industry
c) The steel industry
d) The defense industry
2.
In the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson the Supreme Court ruled that:
a) African-Americans could be denied the right to vote
b) Segregation was unconstitutional
c) “Separate but equal” facilities were constitutional
d) The fourteenth amendment was invalid
3.
The national government helped to finance transcontinental railroad
construction in the late 19th century by providing railroad companies with:
a) Cash grants from new taxes
b) Land grants
c) Both cash and land grants
d) Reduced priced for iron and steel
4.
The Knights of Labor union was weakened by:
a) Its refusal to endorse the concept of the 8-hour day
b) Stiff competition from other unions
c) Its association in the public mind with anarchists
d) Its failure to allow unskilled workers to join the union
5.
According to Senator Albert Beveridge, the United States should acquire the
Philippines because:
a) The Philippines had huge deposits of silver
b) The Philippines could provide a large offshore labor force to the United States
c) The Filipino people were unable to govern themselves
d) The Filipino people wanted to become a part of the United States
6.
Southerners used all of the following tactics to deny African-Americans the
right to vote except:
a) The poll tax
b) The grandfather clause
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c) The peonage system
d) Literacy tests
7.
A major factor in the shift in American foreign policy toward world
involvement in the late 19th century was:
a) The need for additional population
b) The desire for more farmland
c) The construction of a canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans
d) The need for new overseas markets
8.
Which of the following men published a book arguing for the American
acquisition of bases in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea?
a) Alfred Thayer Mahan
b) Theodore Roosevelt
c) William McKinley
d) William Jennings Bryan
9.
The battleship Maine was sunk by:
a) The Spanish
b) An explosion on the ship
c) Cuban rebels
d) Reporters working for William Randolph Hearst
10. Theodore Roosevelt received the Republican nomination for vice president
in 1900 because:
a) He purchased it with his family’s wealth
b) His presence on the ticket would appeal to western voters
c) President McKinley would accept no other nominee
d) The vice-presidency would remove him from a position of power within the party
11. Progressive reformers were primarily men and women from the:
a) Middle class
b) Lower class
c) Upper class
d) Ranks of the “new” immigrants
12. Woodrow Wilson’s primary goal at the Paris Peace Conference was to:
a) Stop the spread of communism
b) Blame no one for starting the war
c) Force Germany to pay reparations to the allies
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HIST 1302 Example Assessment
d) Establish the League of Nations
13. In the United States, the most controversial part of the Treaty of Versailles
concerned:
a) Arms limitations
b) Open diplomacy
c) Collective security
d) Freedom of the seas
14. Who was most responsible for the Senate defeat of the Treaty of Versailles?
a) Henry Cabot Lodge
b) Woodrow Wilson
c) Isolationists
d) Republicans
15. At the end of World War I, the United States gained which territories?
a) The Philippines and Puerto Rico
b) Cuba
c) No territory was gained by the United States
d) The Panama Canal Zone
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