AP US History Practice Questions PDF

AP U.S. HISTORY Test Booklet Period 1-5 Practice Questions (final practice) 1. The rise in manufacturing beginning in the early 1800s eventually resulted in which of the following by 1848? (A) The emergence of a larger middle class in the North (B)...

AP U.S. HISTORY Test Booklet Period 1-5 Practice Questions (final practice) 1. The rise in manufacturing beginning in the early 1800s eventually resulted in which of the following by 1848? (A) The emergence of a larger middle class in the North (B) A decline in economic inequality in urban areas (C) An increased demand for agricultural workers in the Midwest (D) The improvement of working conditions in factories 2. Anti-immigrant nativism of the 1840s and 1850s had the most in common with which of the following earlier developments? (A) The passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts (1798), which limited rights for foreign-born residents (B) The conflict between Patriots and Loyalists during the American Revolution (C) The persecution of religious dissenters in the Massachusetts Bay Colony The signing of the Treaty of Greenville (1794) that ended wars between the United States and Native (D) Americans in the Northwest Territory 3. All of the following groups of non-English colonists migrated into the British North American colonies in large numbers throughout the eighteenth century EXCEPT (A) Germans (B) Russians (C) Scots (D) Irish (E) Dutch 4. Five of the thirteen states voted for ratification of the Constitution only after (A) slavery was allowed to continue without federal interference (B) several slave revolts rocked the Carolinas and Virginia (C) they were assured that the Supreme Court would have the power of judicial review (D) they were assured that a Bill of Rights would be added shortly after ratification (E) the other states threatened to organize the government without them 5. Before 1492, many American Indian cultures were strongly influenced by the (A) spread of corn cultivation (B) ravages of smallpox epidemics (C) regular contacts with Africa (D) invention of the spoked wheel (E) domestication of horses AP U.S. History Page 1 of 14  Test Booklet Period 1-5 Practice Questions (final practice) “You have told us that we do not know the One who gives us life and being, who is Lord of the heavens and of the earth. You also say that those we worship are not gods. This way of speaking is entirely new to us, and very scandalous. We are frightened by this way of speaking because our forebears who engendered and governed us never said anything like this.... “It would be a fickle, foolish thing for us to destroy the most ancient laws and customs left by the first inhabitants of this land.... All of us together feel that it is enough to have lost, enough that the power and royal jurisdiction have been taken from us. As for our gods, we will die before giving up serving and worshiping them. This is our determination; do what you will.” Lords and holy men of Tenochtitlan [the Aztec capital], reply to the Franciscans in 1524 after the conquest of Mexico, from a Spanish account written in 1564 6. The ideas expressed in the excerpt most directly resulted from which of the following? (A) The arrival of Christian missionaries in the Americas (B) Grants of encomiendas to Spanish colonists (C) Treaties for the purchase of Native American territory (D) Internal disputes among Native American leaders 7. Which of the following most immediately resulted from the Columbian Exchange? (A) Expansion of the trans-Atlantic slave trade (B) Growth of feudalism in Europe (C) Decline of Native American populations due to disease (D) Rise of mercantilism as an economic system 8. The encomienda and slavery systems both contributed to which of the following developments? (A) The Spanish colonies developed a social hierarchy based on economic status rather than on racial categories. The Spanish colonies experienced intermingling between European and Native American populations to such (B) an extent that racial categories ceased to be recognized. Native Americans, Africans, and Europeans were all integrated into Spanish colonial society on an equal (C) basis. The Spanish developed a race-based caste system that defined the status of Europeans, Native Americans, (D) Africans, and people of mixed race in their colonies. Page 2 of 14 AP U.S. History  Test Booklet Period 1-5 Practice Questions (final practice) “[Before European contact] Cahokia [in present-day Missouri] and such other major centers as those now known as Coosa and Etowah in Georgia, Moundville in Alabama, and Natchez in Mississippi were home to highly stratified societies, organized as chiefdoms and characterized by a sharp divide between elites and commoners.... Surrounding networks of agricultural hamlets provided food to support the urban centers.... “From the Ohio River through most of present-day Canada and down the coast to the Chesapeake were speakers of Algonquian languages.... Nearly everywhere [here], villages composed of 500 to 2,000 people were the norm.... “[This] Indian country was decentralized and diverse, but not disconnected.... Routes of trade and communication, most of them millennia old and following the great river systems, crisscrossed the continent. The goods that moved along them were, for the most part, few and rare.... Some closely neighboring people might exchange crucial resources—corn, for instances, for meat or fish.” Daniel K. Richter, historian, Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America, 2001 9. Which of the following best describes the economic system that supported the Native American villages discussed in the second paragraph of the excerpt? (A) Seminomadic hunting (B) Settled subsistence farming (C) Trade and manufacturing of luxury goods (D) Migration and colonization of new territories 10. By the 1750’s, the British colonies on the North American mainland were characterized by all of the following EXCEPT (A) disdain for British constitutional monarchy (B) many religious denominations (C) a society without a hereditary aristocracy (D) a growing number of non-English settlers (E) acceptance of slavery as a labor system 11. Settlers who established the British colony in Virginia during the seventeenth century were primarily seeking to (A) recreate an Old World feudalistic society in the New World (B) create a perfect religious commonwealth as an example to the rest of the world (C) create a refuge for political dissidents (D) profit economically (E) increase the glory of Great Britain 12. Colonial cities functioned primarily as AP U.S. History Page 3 of 14  Test Booklet Period 1-5 Practice Questions (final practice) (A) mercantile centers for collecting agricultural goods and distributing imported manufactured goods (B) places were most poor immigrants settled and worked as independent artisans (C) centers where large scale financial and banking operations were conducted (D) places to which wage earners commuted from numerous surrounding communities (E) centers of light manufacturing 13. In the seventeenth century, the earliest British colonies in Virginia were saved from economic ruin by (A) the introduction of price controls on agricultural commodities (B) the introduction of tobacco cultivation (C) formal trade treaties with American Indians (D) the extension of the western frontiers (E) increased reliance on indentured servitude 14. In the eighteenth century, colonial Virginia and colonial Massachusetts were most alike in that both (A) relied on the marketing of a single crop (B) were heavily dependent on slave labor (C) had an established Anglican church (D) were royal colonies (E) administered local government through justice of the peace 15. The Dutch settled New Netherland primarily to (A) secure a refuge for the persecuted (B) check the growth of English colonies in North America (C) expand their commercial and mercantile network (D) gain colonies to produce agricultural surpluses (E) secure naval supplies 16. Which of the following explains the most likely reason why English colonists wanted to come to North America? (A) To put distance between themselves and the English monarchy (B) To exercise their strong belief in natural rights and liberty for all (C) To seek economic opportunity and improved living conditions (D) To form alliances with French and Dutch settlers already present 17. Which of the following statements about Africans brought as slaves to the British North American colonies is true? (A) They were the primary labor source for plantations in the Chesapeake by 1630. (B) They had a much lower life expectantly in the Chesapeake than in South Carolina or the West Indies. (C) They greatly outnumbered Europeans in every colony south of the Mason-Dixon Line by 1776. (D) They maintained cultural practices brought from Africa. (E) They were the primary labor source in Pennsylvania until 1720. Page 4 of 14 AP U.S. History  Test Booklet Period 1-5 Practice Questions (final practice) 18. Which of the following groups was LEAST likely to respond with enthusiasm to the religious fervor of the Great Awakening in the 1730s and 1740s? (A) Established merchants in cities like Boston and Philadelphia (B) Presbyterians in the southern colonies (C) Backwoods farmers isolated on the colonial frontier (D) Landless sons in New England communities (E) Itinerant preachers unable to find permanent parishes for themselves 19. Which of the following was true of the first Great Awakening? (A) It primarily affected church congregations in towns and cities. (B) Cotton Mather was one of its most famous preachers. (C) It was denounced by Jonathan Edwards. (D) It was primarily a southern phenomenon. (E) It resulted in divisions within both the Congregational and Presbyterian churches. “I... longed to see and hear him, and wished he would come this way. And I soon heard he was [to] come to New York and [New Jersey] and great multitudes [began] flocking after him under great concern for their souls which brought on my concern more and more hoping soon to see him.... “Then one morning all of a sudden, about 8 or 9 o'clock there came a messenger and said Mr. Whitefield... is to preach at Middletown this morning.... I was in my field at work. I dropped my tool that I had in my hand and ran home and... bade my wife get ready quick to go and hear Mr. Whitefield preach at Middletown, and [ran] to my pasture for my horse with all my might, fearing that I should be too late to hear him. “.... When we got to the old meeting house there was a great multitude; it was said to be 3 or 4,000... people assembled together.... “When I saw Mr. Whitefield... he looked almost angelical... and my hearing how God was with him everywhere as he came along it solemnized my mind, and put me into a trembling fear before he began to preach... and my old foundation was broken up, and I saw that my righteousness would not save me....” Nathan Cole, farmer, describing going to hear Reverend George Whitefield preach in Middletown, Connecticut, 1740 20. The events described in the excerpt most directly reflected which of the following developments? (A) The exchange of Enlightenment ideas between Europe and the Americas (B) Concerns about political corruption among colonial officials (C) The spread of the First Great Awakening from Britain to North America (D) Efforts across New England to convert Native Americans 21. Which of the following most profoundly transformed the lives of slaves in the South in the mid-1700s? AP U.S. History Page 5 of 14  Test Booklet Period 1-5 Practice Questions (final practice) (A) The reluctance of White slaveholders to move west and settle in the Ohio River valley (B) The growing popularity of antislavery sentiment among White Americans (C) The growth of a native-born African American population (D) The prevalence of slave rebellions on large plantations (E) The passage of gradual emancipation laws in the upper South 22. Life in the Jamestown Colony in the early seventeenth century was difficult for all of the following reasons EXCEPT: (A) The colonists suffered from malnutrition due to a poor diet. (B) Some colonists believed that farming was beneath their social standing. (C) None of the expected gold or silver was found. (D) A severe outbreak of disease occurred. (E) The Spanish conducted frequent raids. “Be it enacted... That after the five and twentieth day of March, 1698, no goods or merchandizes whatsoever shall be imported into, or exported out of, any colony or plantation to his Majesty, in Asia, Africa, or America... in any ship or bottom, but what is or shall be of the built of England, Ireland, or the said colonies or plantations... and navigated with the masters and three fourths of the mariners of the said places only... under pain of forfeiture of ships and goods.” — English Parliament, Navigation Act, 1696 23. One direct long-term effect of the Navigation Act was that it (A) promoted commercial treaties with Spain and France throughout the 1700s (B) contributed to the rise of opposition that ultimately fostered the independence movement (C) encouraged colonists in North America to expand trade agreements with American Indians (D) led to the imposition of heavy taxes on the North American colonists in the early 1700s “[In Virginia] the Negroes live in small cottages called quarters... under the direction of an overseer, who takes care that they tend such land as the owner allots and orders.... Their greatest hardship [is] consisting in that they and their posterity are not at their own liberty or disposal, but the property of their owners.... The children belong to the master of the woman that bears them.... “[The] abundance of [the] English entertain... that they are all fools and beggars that live in any [other] country but theirs. This home fondness has been very prejudicial [harmful] to the common sort of English, and has in a great measure [slowed] the plantations from being stocked with such inhabitants as are skillful, industrious, and laborious.... “These [English] servants are but an insignificant number, when compared with the vast shoals [mass] of Negroes who are employed as slaves there to do the hardest and most part of the work.” Hugh Jones, The Present State of Virginia, 1724 Page 6 of 14 AP U.S. History  Test Booklet Period 1-5 Practice Questions (final practice) 24. The economy of the Middle Colonies differed from the economy of Virginia described in the excerpt in that the Middle Colonies more often (A) relied on enslaved labor in cities (B) imported enslaved Africans (C) engaged in trans-Atlantic commerce (D) purchased land from Native Americans “What do we mean by the Revolution? The war? That was no part of the Revolution; it was only an effect and consequence of it. The Revolution was in the minds of the people, and this was effected from 1760 to 1775, in the course of fifteen years, before a drop of blood was shed at Lexington.” John Adams, former president of the United States, letter to Thomas Jefferson, former president of the United States, 1815 25. Which of the following factors most directly contradicted Adams’ theory about the Revolution? (A) The existence of considerable Loyalist opposition to the Patriot cause (B) The existence of significant social and economic divisions within the colonies (C) The importance of colonial military victories in bringing about independence (D) The importance of support from European allies in defeating the British 26. Which of the following contributed most to the American Victory in the Revolution? (A) French military and financial assistance (B) The failure of Loyalists to participate in military action (C) A major American military victory at Valley Forge (D) Support the French Canadians (E) The British failure to capture Philadelphia 27. The government of the Articles of Confederation was successful in resolving the problem of how to (A) open British Caribbean ports to American trade (B) enable American citizens to trade through the port of New Orleans (C) overcome state-imposed tariff barriers to interstate commerce (D) provide for statehood for western territories (E) secure sufficient funds for payment of the national debt 28. The Sons of Liberty initiated the Boston Tea Party in direct response to AP U.S. History Page 7 of 14  Test Booklet Period 1-5 Practice Questions (final practice) (A) the removal of British troops from Massachusetts during the French and Indian War (B) Parliament’s passage of the Intolerable Acts (C) British efforts to protect the East India Company from bankruptcy (D) British attacks on colonial troops at Lexington and Concord (E) Lord Hillsborough’s decision to dissolve the Massachusetts Assembly 29. The Declaration of Independence did all of the following EXCEPT (A) appeal to the philosophy of natural rights (B) call for the abolition of the slave trade (C) appeal to the sympathies if the English people (D) criticize the provisions of the Quebec Act of 1774 (E) accuse George III of tyranny 30. The Federalist papers were written in order to (A) mobilize popular support for keeping the Articles of Confederation (B) persuade voters to support Thomas Jefferson in the election of 1800 (C) frustrate Spanish efforts to sway the political loyalty of the Southwest (D) persuade the Continental Congress to declare independence (E) attain ratification of the Constitution 31. After the French and Indian War, British political leaders were determined to (A) require the North American colonies to pay a greater share of the empire’s administrative expenses (B) end slavery in the North American colonies (C) encourage colonial expansion into the Ohio Valley by moving all American Indian peoples further west (D) strengthen the French colonial holdings in Canada and the northwest to discourage Spanish expansion (E) convert all Catholic colonists to the beliefs of the Anglican Church 32. In the United States, the Haitian rebellion of the 1790’s prompted (A) the acquisition of Puerto Rico for colonization by emancipated slaves (B) a movement of free African American’s to Haiti (C) the passage of a federal law increasing the severity of punishments for slave rebellions (D) an increased fear of slave revolts in the South (E) a military expedition of southern slaveholders to restore French rule in Haiti 33. Thomas Jefferson disagreed with Alexander Hamilton’s economic plan primarily because he feared that it would Page 8 of 14 AP U.S. History  Test Booklet Period 1-5 Practice Questions (final practice) (A) make the new nation dependent on foreign markets for its exports (B) prevent the expansion of slavery to new states (C) lead to a military alliance with Great Britain against revolutionary France (D) lead to heavy taxes on whiskey producers in Pennsylvania (E) promote urban mercantile interests at the expense of agricultural interests 34. President Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation of 1793 was issues in response to (A) Spanish expansion in the Southeast (B) Dutch economic activity in the mid-Atlantic states (C) Canadian alliances with northern American Indians (D) French diplomatic overtures to invoke the Franco-American Alliance (E) English boycotts of selected American manufactures “Mr. Jay’s treaty [which reestablished trade and diplomatic relations between the United States and Great Britain following the Revolutionary War] has at length been made public. So general a burst of dissatisfaction never before appeared against any transaction. Those who understand the particular articles of it, condemn these articles. Those who do not understand them minutely, condemn it generally as wearing a hostile face to France. This last is the most numerous class, comprehending the whole body of the people, who have taken a greater interest in this transaction than they were ever known to do in any other. It has in my opinion completely demolished the monarchical party here.” Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Monroe, September 6, 1795 35. Which of the following was a reason the United States government believed it necessary to negotiate a treaty with Great Britain following the American Revolution? British activities and landholdings in North America were an impediment to western settlement and peace (A) along the frontier. (B) Northerners hoped that Britain’s antislavery position would pressure southern states to abolish slavery. The Washington administration wanted to improve relations to encourage France to sell the Louisiana (C) Territory. The government wanted to mediate a better relationship between France and Britain to help bring peace to (D) the European continent. 36. Which of the following statements best characterizes the activists who attended the Seneca Falls Convention? (A) They advocated better working conditions for children. (B) They called for expanded women’s rights. (C) They supported Theodore Roosevelt for president. (D) They advocated the conservation of natural resources. (E) They endorsed assimilation of American Indians into White society. 37. An important consequence of the “tariff of abominations” (1828) is that it led to the AP U.S. History Page 9 of 14  Test Booklet Period 1-5 Practice Questions (final practice) (A) taxation of consumer items (B) reelection of Andrew Jackson (C) enunciation of the doctrine of nullification (D) alliance of Southern planters and Western farmers (E) expansion of the New England textile industry 38. The most important factor in Andrew Jackson’s successful bid for the presidency in 1828 was his (A) choice of John C. Calhoun as his running mate (B) reputation as a hero of the War of 1812 (C) commitment to broad-based social reform (D) reputation as an intellectual thinker and writer (E) extensive experience in elective office 39. In addition to the cotton gin, Eli Whitney’s major contribution to American Technology was his (A) introduction of interchangeable parts (B) development of the first practical locomotive (C) invention of the mechanical reaper (D) installation of the first textile mill (E) development of steam power Question refers to the excerpt below. “Few historians would dispute that the market revolution brought substantial material benefits to most northeasterners, urban and rural.... Those who benefited most from the market revolution—merchants and manufacturers, lawyers and other professionals, and successful commercial farmers, along with their families—faced life situations very different from those known to earlier generations. The decline of the household as the locus of production led directly to a growing impersonality in the economic realm; household heads, instead of directing family enterprises or small shops, often had to find ways to recruit and discipline a wage-labor force; in all cases, they had to stay abreast of or even surpass their competitors.” Sean Wilentz, historian, “Society, Politics, and the Market Revolution, 1815–1848,” published in 1997 40. Which of the following cultural and social shifts resulted most directly from the trends described in the excerpt? (A) A sharp decline in regional differences (B) The emergence of new ideas about the proper roles of husbands and wives (C) A decline in the income gap between those in the wealthiest class and those in the working class (D) An increase in the importance placed on extended family relationships 41. Which of the following pieces of historical evidence from the United States census could best be used to support the argument in the excerpt? Page 10 of 14 AP U.S. History  Test Booklet Period 1-5 Practice Questions (final practice) (A) Data showing changes in the number of textile mills (B) Data showing population growth in the West (C) Data showing the growth of the slave population (D) Data showing changes in cotton production and price 42. Which of the following historical developments contributed most directly to the market revolution? (A) The emergence of new forms of transportation (B) The increased number of women in the paid workforce (C) The emergence of southern opposition to tariffs (D) The decline of slavery in the Northeast 43. Jefferson’s purchase of Louisiana had its origins in his desire to (A) remove the French from forts along the Mississippi valley (B) acquire a port to provide an outlet for western crops (C) acquire territory for the expansion of slavery (D) oppose New England Federalism (E) demonstrate friendship for the French in the Napoleonic Wars 44. The Louisiana Purchase proved politically troubling for Thomas Jefferson because of his (A) previous support for a strict interpretation of the Constitution (B) veto of funding for Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s expedition (C) admiration of France’s military power (D) devotion to new methods of cartography (E) disdain for involvement in a foreign country’s affairs 45. President Monroe articulate the Monroe Doctrine in his 1823 address to Congress primarily in order to (A) respond positively to the recent Latin American revolutions (B) rule out United States involvement in South America (C) provide a rationale for United States intervention in the Isthmus of Panama (D) warn European nations against further colonial ventures in the Western Hemisphere (E) encourage Britain to help the fledging Latin American states 46. The Second Great Awakening did which of the following? (A) It resulted in a sharp decline in church membership. (B) It increased Protestant toleration for Catholics and Jews. (C) It produced increased respect for civil authority. (D) It emphasized reason and logic over emotionalism in religious matters (E) It encouraged conversion to evangelical Christianity. AP U.S. History Page 11 of 14  Test Booklet Period 1-5 Practice Questions (final practice) 47. When Thomas Jefferson said in 1801, “We are all republicans – we are all federalists,” he meant that (A) Americans would never ally themselves with monarchial governments (B) federalists would be appointed to his cabinet (C) the two parties’ platforms were identical (D) the principles of American government were above party politics (E) he admired Hamilton’s policies 48. The Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862, is considered pivotal to the outcome of the Civil War because it (A) represented the Union’s deepest thrust into southern territory (B) forestalled the possibility of European intervention (C) resulted in the border states joining the Confederacy (D) marked the first use of Black troops by the Union army (E) confirmed George McClellan’s status as the leading Union general 49. Historians have argued that all of the following were causes of the Civil War EXCEPT (A) the clash of economic interests between agrarian and industrializing regions (B) the actions of irresponsible politicians and agitators in the North and the South (C) differences over the morality and future of slavery (D) the growing power of poor Southern Whites who resisted planter dominance and sought to abolish slavery (E) a constitutional crisis pitting states’ rights against federal power 50. The Supreme Court’s decision in the Dred Scott case in 1857 effectively repealed the (A) Missouri Compromise (B) Fugitive Slave Act (C) Ostend Manifesto (D) Wilmot Proviso (E) Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution 51. When the Emancipation Proclamation was issued at the beginning of 1863, its immediate effect was to (A) end the Civil War (B) abolish slavery (C) free slaves held in the border sates (D) alienate Britain and France (E) strengthen the moral cause of the Union 52. The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established Page 12 of 14 AP U.S. History  Test Booklet Period 1-5 Practice Questions (final practice) (A) the freedom of all slaves not emancipated under Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation (B) federal protection for African Americans from Ku Klux Klan terrorism (C) the right of citizenship for any person born in the United States (D) that suffrage cannot be denied based on race, color, or previous servitude (E) the power of the federal government to intervene in state affairs to protect individual liberties 53. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The provision above overturned the (A) Alien and Sedition Acts (B) Chinese Exclusion Act (C) Supreme Court ruling in Dred Scott v. Sandford (D) Supreme Court ruling in McCulloch v. Maryland (E) Supreme Court ruling in Worcester v. Georgia 54. The Republican Party of the 1850s took which of the following positions on slavery? (A) Residents of territories could decide on the basis of popular sovereignty whether to have slavery. (B) Slavery could remain where it existed but should not be extended into territories or new states. (C) The federal government should abolish slavery. The federal government should purchase slaves from their masters and relocate them to the west coast of (D) Africa. (E) Slavery was a state issue, and the federal government should play no role in its regulation. 55. Of the following, the most threatening problem for the Union from 1861 through 1863 was (A) possible British recognition of the Confederacy (B) Spanish intervention in Santo Domingo (C) French objections to the Union blockade (D) British insistence on the abolition of slavery (E) British objections to the Union position on “continuous voyage” 56. The Union’s victory at Gettysburg was significant because it (A) prevented Britain and Russia from intervening in the Civil War (B) prompted Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation (C) halted the last major Confederate invasion of the North (D) gave the Union control over the Mississippi River (E) caused the Confederacy to surrender AP U.S. History Page 13 of 14  Test Booklet Period 1-5 Practice Questions (final practice) 57. Which of the following states the principle of “popular sovereignty?” (A) Congress has the right to decide where slavery shall and shall not exist. (B) The settlers in a given territory have the sole right to decide whether or not slavery will be permitted there. (C) Individual citizens can decide for themselves whether or not to hold slaves. (D) The American people shall decide where slavery will exist through a national plebiscite. (E) Individual states have the right to reject congressional decisions pertaining to slavery. 58. Which of the following was a serious constitutional question after the Civil War? (A) The restoration of the power of the federal judiciary (B) The legality of the national banking system (C) The political and legal status of the former Confederate states (D) The relationship between the United States and Britain (E) The proposed annexation of Columbia Page 14 of 14 AP U.S. History