AP US History Practice Questions, Examples, and FRQ Samples

Which factor most directly shaped the economies of the Southern colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries?

• AThe development of industrial manufacturing
• BReliance on cash-crop plantation agriculture and enslaved labor
• CThe dominance of small yeoman family farms
• DTrade with New England's fishing economy

The Articles of Confederation were replaced largely because

• Athey gave the federal government too much power
• Bthey lacked the authority to tax, regulate commerce, or enforce federal law effectively
• Cthey abolished slavery, angering Southern states
• Dthey were written in French

"Our federal Union - it must be preserved." - Andrew Jackson, 1830

Jackson's statement was made in the context of

• Athe Louisiana Purchase debate
• Bthe Nullification Crisis over South Carolina's challenge to federal tariffs
• Cthe Missouri Compromise
• Dthe War of 1812

Which was the MOST IMMEDIATE cause of Southern secession in 1860–1861?

• AThe Mexican-American War
• BThe election of Abraham Lincoln without Southern electoral votes
• CThe Emancipation Proclamation
• DThe firing on Fort Sumter

The rise of large industrial corporations in the late 19th century (like Standard Oil and US Steel) most directly led to

• Athe decline of railroad expansion
• Bfederal antitrust regulation beginning with the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)
• Cthe end of immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe
• Dthe dissolution of national political parties

The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920,

• Agranted women the right to vote in federal elections
• Bprohibited the sale of alcohol
• Cestablished a federal income tax
• Dlimited presidents to two terms

Which BEST characterizes the New Deal's long-term impact on the relationship between citizens and the federal government?

• AIt reduced federal involvement in everyday economic life.
• BIt expanded federal responsibility for social welfare and economic regulation.
• CIt was entirely reversed after World War II.
• DIt applied only to agriculture and not to industrial workers.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 did all of the following EXCEPT

• Aprohibit racial discrimination in public accommodations
• Bban employment discrimination based on race, color, sex, or religion
• Cguarantee the right to vote by ending literacy tests and poll taxes
• Dauthorize federal enforcement of desegregation

The Marshall Plan (1948) is best understood as

• Aa plan to rebuild the US military after WWII
• BUS economic aid to Western European nations to rebuild after WWII and contain Soviet influence
• Cthe formal declaration of the Cold War
• Da nuclear weapons treaty with the USSR

Which development most directly reshaped the US economy in the final decades of the 20th century?

• AThe return of agricultural production as the leading employer
• BDeindustrialization, growth of the service and technology sectors, and globalization
• CWidespread nationalization of major industries
• DThe abolition of the federal income tax