GED Social Studies - Ss01

The following table provides information on Irish immigration during the mid-19th century:

Year	Number of Irish Immigrants
1841	37,772
1847	105,536
1848	112,934
1849	159,938
1850	164,004
1851	221,253
1852	159,548
1853	162,649
1854	101,606

Which of the following statements most accurately describes patterns of Irish immigration in the mid-19th century ?

It remained relatively unchanged. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

It continually increased between 1847 and 1854. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

It continually declined between 1847 and 1854. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

It peaked in approximately 1851. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!

It is readily seen that the number of immigrants drastically changed from 1841 to 1847, so the first answer choice cannot be correct. From the years 1850 to 1854, the number of immigrants increased and decreased, so the second and third answer choices are not correct. The largest number of immigrants occurred in the year 1851.

The following excerpt is from a speech by President Woodrow Wilson in 1918 endorsing the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote:

“I regard the concurrence of the Senate in the constitutional amendment proposing the extension of the suffrage to women as vitally essential to the successful prosecution of the great war of humanity in which we are engaged…It is my duty to win the war and to ask you to remove every obstacle that stands in the way of winning it.”

How does the constitutional amendment process begin ? (Select ALL that apply)

The President can introduce proposed amendments. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Congress can introduce an amendment by a 2/3rds vote in both the House and the Senate. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!

A constitutional amendment may be proposed either by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures. Thus far, the states have never convened a constitutional convention. Instead, every amendment has been introduced through a Congressional vote.

Two-thirds of the states may convene a constitutional convention and introduce amendments. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!

A constitutional amendment may be proposed either by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures. Thus far, the states have never convened a constitutional convention. Instead, every amendment has been introduced through a Congressional vote.

Citizens can collect enough signatures to get an amendment on the ballot. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following excerpt is from President Thomas Jefferson’s first inaugural address in 1801:

“Still one thing more, fellow-citizens—a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government.”

What ideology best describes Jefferson’s political philosophy ?

Federalism 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Republicanism 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!

Jefferson was a key leader in the Republican Party, which emphasized individual freedom and state’s rights, and sought to minimize government control. This was in opposition to the Federalist Party which argued that a strong central government was necessary.

Because Jefferson describes good government as one that “leave[s] [men] free to regulate their own pursuits of industry,” he can be described as Republican; he clearly favors a government with minimal involvement in citizen affairs.

Fascism 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Anarchism 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following table contains information on urbanization rates in the United States between 1790 and 2010:

Year	Percent of Total Population Living in Urban Areas
1790	5
1810	7
1830	9
1850	15
1870	25
1890	35
1910	45
1930	55
1950	65
1970	75
1990	77
2010	80

Which of the following statements most accurately describes urbanization patterns in the United States between 1790 and 2010 ?

Until about 1930, less than half of Americans lived in cities.🤔

✅✅ Correct !!

Until about 1930, most Americans lived in rural areas. Urbanization increased steadily throughout the late 19th during the Industrial Revolution and early 20th century but began to slow after 1970.

Urbanization rates stopped increasing after 1970. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The urbanization rate peaked in 1970. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The urbanization rate increased quickly between 1790 and 1830. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following scenario describes an economic decision:

After graduating from high school, Juan applies to several job advertisements and receives an offer to work as a clerk in a retail store for $8 per hour. However, Juan decides to enroll in a community college and after two years he completes a technical training program that prepares him to become a welder.

After completing the program, he finds employment as an apprentice welder and earns $20 per hour.

Which was the opportunity cost in Juan’s decision ?

The cost of tuition at the community college. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

$12 — The difference between Juan’s wages as a welder and a retail clerk. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

$20 — Juan’s wages as an apprentice welder. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The total wages he would have earned in two years while working as a retail clerk. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!

The opportunity cost of an economic decision is the gain that an individual loses when choosing an alternative. In this case, the opportunity cost is the total wages Juan could have earned while working at the retail job instead of going to school.

The following is an excerpt from the Triple Alliance Treaty signed between Germany, Austria, and Italy in 1881:

“Article 1: The… Contracting Parties mutually promise peace and friendship… and they further promise one another mutual support…

Article 3: If one, or two, of the…Contracting Parties, without direct provocation on their part, should chance to be attacked and to be engaged in a war with two or more Great Powers … the [case for the alliance] will arise simultaneously for all the… Contracting Parties.

Article 6: The… Contracting Parties mutually promise secrecy as to the contents and existence of the present Treaty.”

In what way, if at all, did the Triple Alliance Treaty influence World War I ?

None — the treaty had no relationship to World War I because it was signed after the war occurred. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The treaty helped prevent or delay World War I because countries around the world knew about the agreement and were reluctant to attack Italy, Germany, or Austria. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The treaty made it difficult to avoid a large conflict because it required several countries to assist each other in case one member was attacked. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!

The Triple Alliance Treaty made it more likely that a small conflict would become a global war because it bound several nations together into a secret military alliance. If one member was attacked, the other members had to help defend each other.

Thus, World War I quickly engulfed most of Europe because the Triple Alliance, and other similar agreements, obligated many countries to join the conflict.

The treaty helped prevent or delay World War I because every country in Europe signed the agreement. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following excerpt is from the 1803 Supreme Court decision Marbury v. Madison, which established the concept of judicial review:

“It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases, must of necessity expound and interpret that rule. If two laws conflict with each other, the courts must decide on the operation of each.”

This ruling is an example of which of the following concepts ?

Checks and balances. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!

Judicial review allows the Supreme Court to determine whether or not a law is constitutional. This serves as a check on the authority of Congress because the Supreme Court can strike down laws that conflict with the Constitution.

Federalism. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Natural rights. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Reserved powers. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following excerpt is from the Warsaw Security Pact which was signed in 1955 by the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia:

“The Contracting Parties… mindful, at the same time, of the situation created in Europe by the… formation of a new military alignment in the shape of [the North Atlantic Treaty Organization] which increased the danger of another war and constitutes a threat to the national security of the peaceable states… have agreed as follows…

Article 4: in the event of armed attack in Europe on one or more of the Parties to the Treaty… shall immediately… come to the assistance of the state or states attacked with all such means as it deems necessary, including armed force.”

The following map, created by Alphathon, depicts Europe during the Cold War. Members of NATO are in blue while members of the Warsaw Pact are in Red:

Which of the following statements best describes the motives for creating the Warsaw Security Pact ?

The Soviet Union was an aggressive and hostile adversary bent on using military force to invade Western Europe. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The Soviet Union wanted to take the moral high ground in the Cold War by renouncing the use of force. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The Soviet Union wanted to create an agreement that would peacefully unite all of Europe. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The Soviet Union felt threatened by the creation of NATO and responded by forming its own
collective security agreement. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was a collective security agreement between the United States and many countries in Western Europe. It was created in 1949, and in 1955, the Soviet Union and its allies in Eastern Europe signed the Warsaw Pact.

The Warsaw Pact was a direct response to NATO based on the concept of collective security. The two military alliances divided Europe into hostile camps during the Cold War.

The following map and table depicts the 1960 presidential election:

Democrat — John F. Kennedy — 49.72 percent of the popular vote with 303 electoral votes.

Republican — Richard Nixon — 49.55 percent of the popular vote with 219 electoral votes.

Why did Kennedy become president if he received less than 50 percent of the popular vote ?

Kennedy won because he had the more popular votes than Nixon, even though this accounted for less than 50 percent. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

When no candidate receives more than 50% of the popular vote,
the Supreme Court picks the winner (in this case Kennedy). 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Kennedy won a majority in the Electoral College. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!

The Electoral College selects the president, not the popular vote. Kennedy won the 1960 election, even though he did not receive a majority of the popular vote, because he won the Electoral College. Kennedy needed 269 votes in the Electoral College to win the presidency and he exceeded that by winning 303 votes.

Kennedy carried more states than Nixon. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following excerpt is from a speech by President Harry Truman in 1947:

“The very existence of the Greek state is today threatened by the terrorist activities of several thousand armed men, led by Communists, who defy the government’s authority at a number of points, particularly along the northern boundaries…

Meanwhile, the Greek Government is unable to cope with the situation. The Greek army is small and poorly equipped… Greece must have assistance if it is to become a self-supporting and self-respecting democracy.”

What prompted President Truman to provide aid to the Greek government ?

Internal conflict within Greece between Communists and the government. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!

This speech introduced the Truman Doctrine, in which the United States promised to assist countries threatened by Communism. The idea became a cornerstone of US policy during the Cold War as a way to contain Soviet influence without using direct military intervention.

Instead, the US government would provide economic and military assistance.

President Truman was embarrassed by the weakness of the Greek army. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The USSR had invaded and defeated the Greek government. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The Greek army needed weapons to defend the country’s northern border. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following excerpt is from a speech by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933:

“We had a bad banking situation. Some of our bankers had shown themselves either incompetent or dishonest in their handling of the people’s funds… It was the Government’s job to straighten out this situation and do it as quickly as possible—and the job is being performed…

Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan. You people must have faith; you must not be stampeded by rumors or guesses. Let us unite in banishing fear.”

Based on the excerpt, how did historical circumstances shape President Roosevelt’s point of view ?

He felt government regulation was necessary because many citizens lacked faith in the banking system. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!

During the Great Depression, many banks collapsed because borrowers began to withdraw their money which caused others to panic and do the same thing. President Roosevelt hoped a bank holiday would show that banks were sound and would help restore confidence in the banking system.

He felt government regulation was necessary in order to punish incompetent or dishonest bankers. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

He felt government regulation would help prevent another stock market crash. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

He felt government regulation was unnecessary because it would spark only rumors and fear. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following excerpt is from a speech by Congressman James Madison in 1789 on the introduction of the Bill of Rights:

“There have been objections of various kinds made against the constitution… but I believe that the great mass of the people who opposed it, disliked it because it did not contain effectual provision against encroachments on particular rights, and those safeguards which they have been long accustomed to have interposed between them and the magistrate who exercised the sovereign power… it will be practicable on that ground… to satisfy the public mind that their liberties will be perpetual.”

Why did Madison, and many other Americans, feel that the Bill of Rights was necessary ?

To protect the US government from foreign powers. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

To prevent a rebellion against the Constitution. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

To grant the US government additional powers. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

To protect individual rights and liberties. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!

Many Americans criticized the Constitution because it did not do enough to protect individual rights. The Bill of Rights was presented as a solution and included 10 amendments that specifically limited the government’s power regarding issues like religion, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press.

The following is an excerpt from a speech by President Barack Obama in 2015:

“Nearly 200 nations have assembled here this week—a declaration that for all the challenges we face, the growing threat of climate change will define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other…

Fourteen of the fifteen warmest years on record have occurred since the year 2000—and 2015 is on pace to be the warmest year of all… This summer, I saw the effects of climate change firsthand in our northern-most state, Alaska, where the sea is already swallowing villages and eroding shoreline.”

Which of the following is an opinion and not a fact ?

“Nearly 200 nations have assembled here this week.” 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

“The growing threat of climate change will define the contours of this century more dramatically
than any other.” 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!

President Obama expresses his opinion in the second statement—climate change could be the most defining phenomenon of the 21st century, but it is not certain. Other people may reasonably disagree with him because it is his subjective opinion.

“Fourteen of the fifteen warmest years on record have occurred since the year 2000.” 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

“2015 is on pace to be the warmest year of all.” 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following cartoon is from Harpers Weekly:

How did the cartoon reflect historical circumstances during Reconstruction in the South ?

African Americans and Caucasians could only legally vote
for the Democratic Party during Reconstruction. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

African Americans immediately exercised full civil and
political rights in the South after the abolition of slavery. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

African Americans were still subject to harassment and intimidation in
the South after the Civil War. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!

Although several constitutional amendments were passed that were intended to give African Americans equal political and civil rights, these efforts largely failed in the South during Reconstruction.

Southern states passed laws which prevented African Americans from exercising their rights, such as poll taxes and literacy tests. When that failed, armed vigilantes such as the Ku Klux Klan, used violence and threats to intimidate African Americans, especially during elections, as depicted in the cartoon.

White southerners were forced to defend themselves when African Americans
took up arms against their former masters. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following excerpt is a speech by President Franklin Roosevelt on Dec. 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor:

“Yesterday… the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan… As Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense…

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.”

Under the US Constitution, which body has the sole authority to declare war ?

The President. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The U.S. Congress. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!

In the above example, Congress immediately approved President Roosevelt’s request and declared war against Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, only Congress has the authority to declare war; it is the president who directs the conduct of the war. This is another example of the separation of powers in the US Constitution.

The Secretary of Defense. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Arrange the following in correct chronological order from oldest to most recent.

- American Revolution
- Classical Greek Democracy
- Roman Republic
- Magna Carta
- Modern Democracy

- American Revolution
- Classical Greek Democracy
- Roman Republic
- Magna Carta
- Modern Democracy 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

- Classical Greek Democracy
- Roman Republic
- Magna Carta
- American Revolution
- Modern Democracy 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!

The origins of modern democracy began in ancient Greece which gave birth to direct democracy, and then the Romans created a republic. In 1215 the Magna Carta guaranteed a number of basic rights in England. All three of these events influenced the American Revolution, which has lead to the creation of the modern democracy.

-Roman Republic
- Classical Greek Democracy
- American Revolution
- Magna Carta
- Modern Democracy 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

- Magna Carta
- Classical Greek Democracy
- Roman Republic
- American Revolution
- Modern Democracy 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following is a timeline of historical events in the early American republic:

- 1781: Ratification of Articles of Confederation
- 1786–1787: Shay’s Rebellion
- 1788: Ratification of the US Constitution
- 1789: George Washington becomes President

The following excerpt is from a letter written by George Washington to Secretary of War Henry Knox about Shay’s rebellion, an insurrection in western Massachusetts, in 1787:

“If government shrinks, or is unable to enforce its laws; fresh maneuvers will be displayed by the insurgents—anarchy and confusion must prevail… for if three years ago any person had told me that at this day, I should see such a formidable rebellion against the laws… of our own making… I should have thought him… a fit subject for a madhouse.”

Which of the following statements best describes the impact Shay’s Rebellion had on American government?

It drove Washington insane because it ruined his presidency. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

It made it apparent that the Articles of Confederation were inadequate. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!

Shay’s Rebellion uncovered weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation. The articles had created a fragile central government that was ill-equipped to deal with insurrections. Shay’s Rebellion highlighted the need to create a new form of government, which resulted in the ratification of the US Constitution, which created a stronger central government.

It had little impact because it was quickly suppressed. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

It undermined the US Constitution. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following quotes are from John Nance Garner who served as vice president during the first two FDR administrations:

“[Becoming vice president] was the worst thing that ever happened to me.”
“[The vice presidency was] a no man’s land somewhere between the legislative and executive branch.”
“I’ll tell you… the vice presidency isn’t worth a pitcher of warm spit.”

What is the vice president’s primary responsibility ?

To oversee the day to day operations of the White House. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

To assume the presidency should the office become vacant due to death, resignation, or illness. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!
As Garner described, the vice president has few official duties. The vice president is mainly responsible for leading the country should the President become incapacitated for some reason.

To manage the day to day operations of Congress. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

To lead US foreign policy. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following graph portrays a hypothetical model for US demand of Brazilian coffee. It portrays demand before and after the passage of a $1 tariff (tax) on imported Brazilian coffee.

What impact, if any, would the tariff have on US demand for Brazilian coffee ?

None — US consumers would continue to buy Brazilian coffee in the same amounts. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

US consumers would buy more Brazilian coffee after enforcement of the tariff. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

US consumers would buy less Brazilian coffee after enforcement of the tariff. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!
US consumers would buy less Brazilian coffee after enforcement of the tariff. The tariff would effectively raise the cost of imported Brazilian coffee by $1. Typically, as price of a certain good or service increases, demand will decrease.

Consumers would buy more Columbian coffee. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following quote is an excerpt from a speech by Senator Olympia Snowe in 2012:

“You can never solve a problem without talking to people with whom you disagree. The United States Senate is predicated and based on consensus building. That was certainly the vision of the founding fathers.”

The US Senate possesses which of the following powers ?

It can ratify treaties. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

It can confirm appointments to the US Supreme Court. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

It can conduct impeachment trials. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

All of the above. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!
The US Senate has all of the above powers. A two-thirds majority is required to ratify treaties, whereas a simple majority is required to confirm Supreme Court nominees. The Senate also conducts impeachment trials although the House initiates proceedings.

The Senate has conducted impeachment trials of 17 federal officials, including three Presidents—Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1999, and Donald Trump in 2019.

The following image is a political cartoon from the Columbus Dispatch in February 1937:


Listen—I don’t like your “DECISIONS”—From now on, you’re going to have to work with someone who can see things MY WAY!

The cartoon criticized President Franklin Roosevelt’s efforts to expand the Supreme Court from 9 to 15 justices and thus appoint 6 new members himself. The cartoon depicts this attempt as a violation of which of the following principles ?

Federalism 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Popular sovereignty🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Checks and balances 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!
The cartoon points out that several key parts of President Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation have been struck down by the Supreme Court. The cartoon depicts FDR’s efforts to “pack the court” with more supportive justices as an attempt at changing the umpire in a baseball game.

This is analogous to violating the system of checks and balances—FDR’s “court packing” undermines the Supreme Court’s independence and would remove a check on legislative and executive authority.

Natural Rights 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following passage is a reproduction of the 10th Amendment:

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”

In the above passage, the word reserved most closely means which of the following ?

Quiet 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Prohibited 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Assigned 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!
The US Constitution provides the federal government with certain powers. It also specifically prevents the states from exercising other powers. The 10th Amendment says any powers that are not explicitly addressed in the Constitution are reserved, or assigned, to the states or the people.

Unavailable 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following excerpt is from the majority decision of the US Supreme Court in the 1896 decision Plessy v. Ferguson:

“We consider the underlying fallacy of the plaintiff’s argument to consist in the assumption that the enforced separation of the two races stamps the colored race with a badge of inferiority… The argument also assumes… that equal rights cannot be secured to the negro except by an enforced commingling of the two races. We cannot accept this proposition.”

The following excerpt is from the majority decision of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954:

“To separate them [children in grade and high schools] from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely to ever be undone… We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”

Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between the Brown and Plessy decisions ?

Both cases supported equal rights for African Americans. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Both cases rejected equal rights for African Americans. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Brown rejected equal rights for African Americans while Plessy supported it. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Brown supported equal rights for African Americans while Plessy rejected it. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!
The Plessy decision established the concept of “separate but equal” under which whites and blacks had different schools that were supposed to be equal in quality. However, the black schools were always inferior.

The Brown decision overruled the “separate but equal” precedent established by Plessy and ruled that separate schools for blacks and whites inherently stigmatized black students. The Brown decision supported equal rights for African Americans by requiring integrated schools.

The following excerpt is from Federalist 46 written by James Madison in 1788:

“The federal and State governments are in fact but different agents and trustees of the people, constituted with different powers, and designed for different purposes… the powers proposed to be lodged in the federal government are as little formidable to those reserved to the individual States, as they are indispensably necessary to accomplish the purposes of the Union.”

The above excerpt is an example of which of the following concepts ?

Federalism. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!
Federalism is the form of government employed in the United States in which central and state governments are part of one system. The US Constitution divides the powers by specifically granting some powers to the national government and granting other powers to the states.

Natural Rights. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Separation of Powers. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Checks and Balances. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following data refers to results from the 1912 presidential election:

- Democrat — Woodrow Wilson — 41.8% (6.3 million votes)
- Progressive — Teddy Roosevelt — 27.4% (4.1 million votes)
- Republican — William Howard Taft — 23.2% (3.5 million votes)
- Socialist — Eugene Debs — 6.0% (900,000 votes)

Which of the following statements is supported by the data in the above table ?

Wilson won more than half of the popular vote. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Wilson received more than double the amount of votes Roosevelt received. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Roosevelt could have been the candidate with the most popular votes
if he had received all of Taft’s support. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!
Roosevelt could have had the highest popular vote if he had received the support of the Republican Party. Roosevelt had previously run as a Republican and had been an ally of Taft. However, a disagreement split the Republican Party and virtually ensured that Wilson would win the election.

Wilson would have won more than half of the popular vote
if he had received all of Debs’ support. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following excerpt is from a letter written in August 1944 by A. Leon Kubowitzki, head of the rescue program at the World Jewish Congress to the US War Department:

“I believe that destruction of gas chambers and crematoria in [Auschwitz] by bombing would have a certain effect now…[the] Germans might possibly stop further mass exterminations especially since so little time is left to them. Bombing of railway communications in this same area would also be of importance.”

The second excerpt is the War Department’s response issued a few days later:

“After a study it became apparent that such an operation could be executed only by the diversion of considerable air support essential to the success of our forces now engaged in decisive operations elsewhere and would in any case be of such doubtful efficacy that it would not warrant the use of our resources.”

The third excerpt comes from a report by the US consulate in Switzerland in 1942:

“Informer reported to have close connections with highest German authorities who has previously generally reliable reports says that in Fuehrer’s [sic] headquarters plan under consideration to exterminate at one blow this fall three and half to four millions Jews following deportation from countries occupied, controlled by Germany and concentration in east.”

What do the excerpts reveal about the role the Holocaust played in the American war effort in World War II ?

Ending the Holocaust was an important military priority
because the US government agreed to divert significant resources to stop mass extermination. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Ending the Holocaust was not an important military priority
because the US government refused to divert significant resources to stop mass extermination. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!
The US government did not consider using military force to end the Holocaust a priority during World War II. Although the US government knew about the Holocaust as early as 1942, the focus was on winning military engagements.

Ending the Holocaust was not an important military priority
because the US government was unaware that mass extermination was occurring. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Ending the Holocaust was not an important military priority
because only the US government only learned in 1944 near the end of World War II that mass exterminations were occurring. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following excerpt is a quote by President Theodore Roosevelt:

“In the Grand Canyon, Arizona has a natural wonder which is in kind absolutely unparalleled throughout the rest of the world. I want to ask you to keep this great wonder of nature as it now is. I hope you will not have a building of any kind, not a summer cottage, a hotel or anything else, to mar the wonderful grandeur, the sublimity, the great loneliness and beauty of the canyon. Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it.”

What attitude did President Roosevelt have towards preservation efforts ?

He supported them because he thought natural beauty should be protected. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!
President Roosevelt was a leading preservationist who felt that natural resources should be used wisely and preserved for future generations. He wanted the Grand Canyon to be protected from construction and preserved in its natural state.

He supported them because he thought Arizona could build hotels
or cottages and attract tourists. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

He opposed them because he thought man could improve natural beauty. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

He opposed them because he thought people would be too lonely
when they visited the Grand Canyon if there were no hotels or cottages. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following quote is an excerpt from President James K Polk’s inaugural address in 1848:

“Under the benignant providence of Almighty God the representatives of the States and of the people are again brought together to deliberate for the public good.”

The US House of Representatives possesses which of the following powers ?

To initiate impeachment proceedings. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

To propose and introduce legislation for raising revenue. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

To ratify treaties. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Both A and B. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!
The House of Representatives is the only chamber that can propose revenue bills, although the Senate must concur for it to become law. The House also initiates impeachment proceedings, but the Senate conducts the trial.

The following is an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, written in 1776:

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The above passage incorporates which of the following concepts ?

Federalism 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Constitutionalism 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Natural rights 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!
The Declaration of Independence was based on the idea of natural rights, which asserts that people have rights that cannot be revoked. Today, this concept would be referred to as human rights.

Separation of powers 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following excerpt is from a letter written in 1846 by William Dunne in Ireland to his nephew John Curtis, who had immigrated to America:

“I was and am very glad to here how well you have got on in America I think it was A good job that your father Mother and family went the time they did for there is nothing here but hardship and starvation…

I suppose you have herd of it there was not one steme of potatoes in my house this three months it is very seldome that there does one come to market at all and what comes in not worth buying they cant be eat… Everyday went for the poor and bad wages the people are starving in the west of Ireland and turning out for something to eat we think that there will be a rebellion if there is not something done.”

How did historical events in the 1840s influence Irish immigration to the United States ?

Starvation and poor living conditions in Ireland led to increased immigration to the US. 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!
A potato blight ruined crops for several years in Ireland and caused widespread starvation. More than a million died and two million immigrated to America in search of a better life. The large number of immigrants had a lasting impact on both Ireland and the United States.

A revolution occurred in America which led to decreased Irish immigration to the US. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Poor wages in America discouraged immigration from Ireland to the US. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

Irish immigrants moved to America in search of better and cheaper potatoes. 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

The following excerpt is from a speech by U.S. Senator Daniel Webster expressing opposition to a veto by President Andrew Jackson in 1832:

“Mr. President, no one will deny the high importance of the subject now before us. Congress, after full deliberation and discussion, has passed a bill, by decisive majorities, in both houses, for extending the duration of the Bank of the United States.

It has not adopted this measure until its attention had been called to the subject, in three successive annual messages of the President. The bill having been thus passed by both houses, and having been duly presented to the President, instead of signing and approving it, he has returned it with objections.”

It takes a majority of _____ in both chambers of Congress to override a presidential veto.

six-tenths 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

two-thirds 🤔

✅✅ Correct !!
This is an example of the checks and balances in the US Constitution. The Constitution enables the President to veto legislation, but the veto may be overridden by a majority vote of 2/3rds in both the House and the Senate.

seven-tenths 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌

three-fourths 🤔

❌❌ Incorrect ❌❌