GED U.S. History Practice Questions, Set 2

1.In 1681, William Penn, a Quaker, received a charter for Pennsylvania. His government promised freedom of worship to all who believed in God and advertised the colony in several European countries. What was the most likely result of this policy?

1. A.Only Quakers from England were allowed to settle there
2. B.Settlers of many faiths and nations moved to the colony
3. C.The colony banned all trade with other English colonies
4. D.Most settlers left for Virginia to find religious freedom

2.In the early 1800s, British warships stopped American merchant ships at sea and forced thousands of American sailors to serve in the British navy, a practice called impressment. This practice was one of the main causes of which conflict?

1. A.The Civil War
2. B.The Revolutionary War
3. C.The War of 1812
4. D.The Mexican-American War

3.The first transcontinental railroad was completed at Promontory Summit, Utah, in 1869. The Central Pacific line, built eastward from California, relied heavily on thousands of Chinese immigrant workers. What was the most important effect of the completed railroad?

1. A.It allowed slavery to spread into the western territories
2. B.It replaced the Erie Canal as the only way to ship goods
3. C.It moved the nation’s capital to a more central city
4. D.Travel across the country took about a week, not months

4.In 1889, Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr opened Hull House in a crowded immigrant neighborhood of Chicago. It offered English classes, child care, a kindergarten, and job training to neighborhood residents. What was the main purpose of settlement houses like Hull House?

1. A.To help immigrants and poor families adapt to city life
2. B.To keep new immigrants from settling in large cities
3. C.To house factory owners close to their busy city plants
4. D.To train immigrants to become soldiers in the army

5.In March 1941, Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act. It let the president send weapons, ships, food, and other supplies to Britain and other nations fighting the Axis powers. At the time, the United States had not yet entered World War II. What does the Lend-Lease Act show about U.S. policy in early 1941?

1. A.It stayed fully neutral and traded with no side
2. B.It had already declared war on Germany and Japan
3. C.It aided the Allies while staying out of combat
4. D.It sent supplies to the Axis powers and the Allies

6.The Civilian Conservation Corps, created in 1933, hired millions of unemployed young men over its nine years. They planted trees, built trails and parks, and fought soil erosion, and most of their pay was sent home to their families. Which two goals did the program serve?

1. A.Training soldiers and building new military bases
2. B.Creating jobs and conserving natural resources
3. C.Lowering taxes and reducing federal spending
4. D.Insuring bank deposits and regulating stocks

7.In October 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth. Within a year, Congress created NASA and passed the National Defense Education Act, which funded science, math, and foreign language education. Why did Congress act so quickly?

1. A.Sputnik had damaged several American satellites in orbit
2. B.The Soviet Union had asked for joint space projects
3. C.Schools had requested funds to teach space history
4. D.Leaders feared losing the science race to the Soviets

8.On February 1, 1960, four Black college students sat down at a whites-only lunch counter in a Woolworth’s store in Greensboro, North Carolina, and politely asked to be served. They returned day after day, and the protest spread to other cities. Which tactic were the students using?

1. A.A peaceful sit-in
2. B.A consumer boycott
3. C.A federal lawsuit
4. D.A labor strike

9.On November 4, 1979, students in Tehran, Iran, took over the U.S. embassy and held 52 Americans hostage. A rescue mission failed in April 1980 when helicopters crashed in the desert. The hostages were released on January 20, 1981, minutes after Ronald Reagan took office, after 444 days in captivity. How did the crisis most likely affect President Jimmy Carter?

1. A.It led Congress to impeach and remove him from office
2. B.It ended the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviets
3. C.It caused him to win reelection by a record margin
4. D.It hurt his standing with voters in the 1980 election

10.In August 1990, Iraq invaded and took over its small, oil-rich neighbor Kuwait. The United Nations demanded that Iraq withdraw. In January 1991, a coalition of more than 30 nations led by the United States began Operation Desert Storm, and within about six weeks Kuwait was freed. What was the main goal of the coalition in this war?

1. A.To take control of Iraq’s government and its oil fields
2. B.To force Iraq out of Kuwait and restore its independence
3. C.To stop the Soviet Union from invading Kuwait in 1990
4. D.To respond to terrorist attacks on the United States

11.In October 1777, an entire British army of about 6,000 soldiers surrendered to American forces at Saratoga, New York. Months later, in February 1778, France signed a treaty of alliance with the United States and began sending troops, ships, and money. Why is the Battle of Saratoga called a turning point of the Revolutionary War?

1. A.The victory convinced France that the Americans could win
2. B.The British surrendered and signed a peace treaty there
3. C.It was the first battle fought in the Revolutionary War
4. D.Spain and France joined the war on the side of Britain

12.Beginning in January 1917, members of Alice Paul’s National Woman’s Party stood silently outside the White House holding signs that asked President Wilson how long women must wait for liberty. Many were arrested and jailed. Some went on hunger strikes and were force-fed, and news of their treatment spread across the country. What goal were these protesters working toward?

1. A.A law ending child labor in mills and factories nationwide
2. B.A ban on the sale of alcohol throughout the United States
3. C.A constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote
4. D.An end to the U.S. role in fighting World War I in Europe

13.In the 1730s and 1740s, traveling preachers such as George Whitefield drew huge outdoor crowds across the colonies. They taught that each person could have a direct experience of God, and some told listeners they could question ministers who seemed cold or unworthy. New churches and colleges formed as congregations split. Which long-term effect did this religious movement, called the Great Awakening, most likely have?

1. A.It encouraged colonists to question established authority
2. B.It made the Church of England the only church in the colonies
3. C.It caused most colonists to return to live in Great Britain
4. D.It ended religious differences among the thirteen colonies

14.In 1865 and 1866, several Southern state legislatures passed laws called Black Codes. Mississippi required Black workers to show written proof of a job each January or risk arrest for vagrancy. Other codes limited where Black citizens could own or rent land. In 1866, Congress passed a Civil Rights Act and proposed the Fourteenth Amendment. What was the main purpose of the Black Codes?

1. A.To give formerly enslaved people land taken from planters
2. B.To control the labor and freedom of formerly enslaved people
3. C.To let Black citizens vote in state and federal elections
4. D.To carry out the Freedmen’s Bureau’s education programs

15.The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 set rules for the land north of the Ohio River. It said a territory could apply to become a state once it had 60,000 free inhabitants, and new states would be equal to the original thirteen. It also said, “There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory.” Which statement about the ordinance is accurate?

1. A.It gave the land north of the Ohio River back to Britain
2. B.It allowed slavery in every new territory in the West
3. C.It made new states smaller partners of the first thirteen
4. D.It set a process for new states and banned slavery there

16.The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War in 1848. Mexico gave up about half its territory, including present-day California, Nevada, and Utah and parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. The United States paid Mexico $15 million. Which problem did this land gain soon make worse in the United States?

1. A.Conflict with Britain over the border of the Oregon Country
2. B.Shortages of farmland for settlers moving to the West
3. C.Debate over whether slavery would spread into the new land
4. D.Disputes over buying Louisiana from the French government

17.In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon led poor white farmers and indentured servants, along with some enslaved Africans, in a revolt against Virginia’s governor. They were angry about land shortages and the governor’s refusal to back attacks on Native peoples on the frontier. The rebels burned Jamestown before the revolt collapsed. In the decades that followed, Virginia planters relied more and more on enslaved African labor instead of indentured servants. Which conclusion do many historians draw from these events?

1. A.The revolt ended slavery in Virginia for most of the next century
2. B.Virginia’s governor welcomed the rebels and shared power with them
3. C.The revolt led Britain to give up its claim to the whole Virginia colony
4. D.Planters feared unrest among poor free laborers and turned to slavery

18.In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the newly purchased Louisiana Territory and the lands beyond it. Over more than two years, they traveled up the Missouri River, crossed the Rocky Mountains, and reached the Pacific Ocean, mapping rivers and recording plants, animals, and Native nations. What was one main purpose of the expedition?

1. A.To fight Spain for control of the Florida peninsula
2. B.To learn about the land the nation had just acquired
3. C.To build railroads linking the East and West coasts
4. D.To move Native nations onto western reservations

19.In How the Other Half Lives (1890), photographer and reporter Jacob Riis showed dark, crowded tenement apartments in New York City, where immigrant families of eight or more shared one or two rooms with little light or fresh air. What was one result of works like this?

1. A.A sharp drop in immigration to New York in the 1890s
2. B.The end of factory work in large American cities
3. C.Public pressure for laws to improve city housing
4. D.New laws that moved immigrants to western farms

20.In 1941, labor leader A. Philip Randolph planned a march on Washington by as many as 100,000 Black Americans to protest being shut out of jobs in booming defense plants. A week before the march, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, banning discrimination based on race, creed, color, or national origin in defense industries and the federal government. Randolph called off the march. What does this episode best show?

1. A.The threat of mass protest pushed the government to act
2. B.Defense plants had already hired workers of every race
3. C.Congress passed a civil rights law to stop the march
4. D.Roosevelt ended segregation in the armed forces that year

21.The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, called the Wagner Act, guaranteed most private-sector workers the right to form unions and bargain collectively. It created a federal board to hold union elections and stop unfair labor practices by employers. A line graph shows union membership rising from about 3 million in 1933 to more than 10 million by 1941. Which explanation best fits the graph?

1. A.Factories closed, so fewer people held jobs to unionize
2. B.New federal protections made it easier to organize unions
3. C.Congress banned all strikes during the late 1930s
4. D.Most workers were required by law to join a union

22.In August 1964, President Lyndon Johnson reported that North Vietnamese boats had attacked U.S. Navy ships in the Gulf of Tonkin. Congress quickly passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, allowing the president to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack” and prevent further aggression. Within a few years, more than 500,000 U.S. troops were in Vietnam, though Congress never formally declared war. What was the main effect of the resolution?

1. A.It formally declared war on North Vietnam
2. B.It required all U.S. troops to leave Vietnam
3. C.It created a national military draft for the first time
4. D.It gave the president broad power to expand the war

23.In August 1963, about 250,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, describing a nation where his children would be judged by their character rather than the color of their skin. Which major law were the march’s organizers most hoping to push through Congress?

1. A.The Civil Rights Act of 1964
2. B.The Voting Rights Act of 1965
3. C.The Fair Housing Act of 1968
4. D.The Social Security Act of 1935

24.In 1965, Filipino and Mexican American farmworkers in Delano, California, went on strike against grape growers for higher pay and better conditions. The union led by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta asked Americans across the country to stop buying table grapes. By 1970, many growers had signed union contracts. Which strategy was most important to the workers’ success?

1. A.Armed resistance against the growers
2. B.A lawsuit decided by the Supreme Court
3. C.A nationwide consumer boycott of grapes
4. D.A constitutional amendment on farm labor