Part 2 — Answer key

Compare your answers after you have finished Part 1.

1. In the early 1600s, why was the Mayflower Compact an important development in colonial America?
   It helped establish a tradition of self-government among the colonists
2. The completion of the transcontinental railroad made it harder for farmers and ranchers to ship goods to national markets.
   False
3. A British official in the 1700s argues that the American colonies should supply raw materials to Britain and buy finished goods only from British manufacturers. Which economic policy is he describing?
   Mercantilism
4. What is the main purpose of the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution?
   To protect individual liberties from government abuse
5. During Reconstruction, the Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to formerly enslaved people and promised them equal protection of the laws.
   True
6. Which term was often used to describe powerful industrial leaders like John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie when critics accused them of using ruthless tactics to crush competition?
   Robber barons
7. Which Supreme Court case is most closely associated with the idea that racial segregation was legal as long as facilities were "separate but equal"?
   Plessy v. Ferguson
8. The Nineteenth Amendment guaranteed voting rights for African American men immediately after the Civil War.
   False
9. The Proclamation of 1763 was intended in part to reduce conflicts between colonists and Native American groups by limiting colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.
   True
10. A student argues that vetoes, Senate confirmation of appointments, and judicial review all show how the Constitution prevents any one branch of government from becoming too powerful. Which constitutional principle is the student describing?
    Checks and balances
11. Under the Articles of Confederation, the national government had a strong executive branch that could enforce its laws on the states.
    False
12. In the years just before the Civil War, a person who helped capture an escaped enslaved person in a free state was enforcing which controversial law?
    Fugitive Slave Act
13. A reformer in the early 1900s investigates crowded tenements, unsafe factories, and unfair business practices in a rapidly growing city. Which movement is this reformer most likely a part of?
    Progressivism
14. In the early 1800s, U.S. leaders warned European nations that the Western Hemisphere was closed to new colonization and that European interference there would be viewed as a threat. Which policy statement expressed this idea?
    Monroe Doctrine
15. During the Cold War, the main goal of the U.S. policy of containment was to prevent the spread of communism to additional countries.
    True
16. In the 1950s, African American parents challenge segregated public schools, arguing that their children should be allowed to attend the local school for white students. Which Supreme Court decision most directly supports their case?
    Brown v. Board of Education
17. A historian argues that President Abraham Lincoln's main goal at the start of the Civil War was to keep the Union together, not to immediately end slavery everywhere. Which of Lincoln's actions best supports this interpretation?
    Stating in his first inaugural address that he would not interfere with slavery where it already existed
18. A Progressive reformer in the early 1900s is concerned about the impact of rapid industrialization on children and immigrants in crowded cities. Which reforms would this person most likely support? Select all that apply.
    Settlement houses in urban neighborhoods; Workplace safety regulations; Child labor restrictions
19. After World War I, a U.S. senator argues that joining the League of Nations would drag the country into future foreign wars and limit Congress's power to declare war. Which part of the federal government ultimately refused to approve the Treaty of Versailles for these reasons?
    Senate
20. Arrange these U.S. foreign policy events in chronological order from earliest to latest.
    Correct order: Announcement of the Monroe Doctrine → The Spanish-American War → The Truman Doctrine → U.S. military escalation in Vietnam
21. An activist in the early 1960s organizes bus boycotts, lunch counter sit-ins, and peaceful marches to challenge segregation. These tactics are most closely associated with which civil rights leader's approach?
    Martin Luther King Jr.
22. A state passes a law that directly conflicts with a federal law. When the case reaches the Supreme Court, the justices rule that the state law is invalid because it contradicts federal authority. Which constitutional principle did the Court apply?
    Supremacy of national law
23. In the 1850s, a politician argues that new western territories should prohibit slavery to protect opportunities for free white labor and to limit the political power of slaveholding states. This position most closely reflects the views of which political party at that time?
    Republican Party
24. One purpose of checks and balances in the U.S. Constitution is to prevent any one branch of government from dominating the others.
    True