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US HISTORY 1 CLEP EXAM 2025
UPDATED QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED 100% CORRECT ANSWERS
"A direct result of the dumping of precious metals from the Americas into European markets? (4)
- CORRECT ANSWER 1) The Commercial revolution.
- Widespread Inflation
- Lower standard of living for most Europeans.
- Increased Profits for Merchants"
"Puritanism - CORRECT ANSWER based on a set of religious, political, and social values."
"The first published poet in the North American colonies - CORRECT ANSWER Anne
Bradstreet"
"William Penn called his colony a "Holy Experiment" because he - CORRECT ANSWER
wanted to establish a self-governing colony with political and religious freedom"
"The Bodies of Liberty, the first set of laws in the English colonies, was passed by the - CORRECT
ANSWER Massachusetts General Court"
"Life in the English Colonies (5) - CORRECT ANSWER 1) Large Families
- Women crucial in home but limited opp outside.
- Open immigration policies.
- Colonial culture similar to England.
- Many Colleges (Harvard, Yale)"
"The British government did not enforce the Proclamation of 1763 - CORRECT ANSWER to
the benefit of the British empire to have the colonists move West."
"During the French and Indian War most of the Native Americans were allies to the - CORRECT
ANSWER British"
"British policy toward its colonies in the 1600s and 1700s was based on the principle of -
CORRECT ANSWER Merchantillism"
"Idea of Mercantilism - CORRECT ANSWER Colonies exist for the benefit of the home
country."
"The British government's attitude toward enforcing economic laws related to the colonies prior
to the 1760s - CORRECT ANSWER Salutary neglect."
"The colonists' argument against Parliament's attempt to tax the colonies. - CORRECT
ANSWER Direct representation."
"Occurred in Europe in the 1500s as money poured into circulation and goods became scarce in
relation to available money. - CORRECT ANSWER The Price Revolution"
"The "power of the purse," colonial legislatures' ability to influence the actions of royal officials in
the colonies, was eliminated by the - CORRECT ANSWER Townshend Acts"
"A Direct Tax on Documents - CORRECT ANSWER Stamp Act"
"Required colonists to provide housing for British troops - CORRECT ANSWER Quartering
Act"
"The laws passed to punish Boston and Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. - CORRECT
ANSWER Intolerable Acts"
"Passed by Parliament reasserting its authority to make laws for the colonies. - CORRECT
ANSWER Declaratory Act"
"Examples of the influence of Enlightenment thinking (4) - CORRECT ANSWER 1) Benjamin
Franklin's scientific experiments
- John Locke's social contract theory
- The Declaration of Independence.
- The use of inoculations against smallpox"
"The basic premise of the Enlightenment was - CORRECT ANSWER The natural world was
governed by certain rules that were knowable by humans through observation"
"The Enlightenment encouraged - CORRECT ANSWER Scientific Experimentation"
"The religious belief that people were either saved or damned by God and that their own good
works were of no value in determining their salvation - CORRECT ANSWER Predestination"
"Who Wrote - "Of more worth is one honest man to society, and in the sight of God than all the
crowned ruffians that ever lived." - CORRECT ANSWER Thomas Paine. (Common Sense)"
"Results of the Louisiana Purchase - CORRECT ANSWER 1) Doubled size of U.S
- Removed french threat
- permanently opened new orleans for trade.
- increased tensions over slavery."
"Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, this ended the hope of a Northwest Passage. -
CORRECT ANSWER The Lewis and Clark expedition"
"The purpose of the Embargo Act of 1807 was to - CORRECT ANSWER preserve the neutrality
of the United States"
"What group lost significant influence as a result of the War of 1812? - CORRECT ANSWER
Federalists"
"The War of 1812 was significant because - CORRECT ANSWER the new United States fought
Great Britain to a standoff" "Between 1780 and 1830, the population of the United States grew from 2.7 million to 12 million
chiefly as a result of - CORRECT ANSWER natural increase"
"The Monroe Doctrine was a bold statement by the United States because - CORRECT
ANSWER the nation did not have the power to back it up"
"Henry Clay's plan to finance a national bank, levy a protective tariff, and use federal funds to
finance internal improvements is known as - CORRECT ANSWER American System"
"The term given to the administrations of James Monroe. - CORRECT ANSWER Era of Good
Feelings"
"The name given to the Monroe's warning to European nations to stay out of the Americas. -
CORRECT ANSWER Monroe Doctrine"
"Banned slavery below the 36th parallel in states made from territory acquired in the Louisiana
Purchase. (AKA. Missouri Compromise) - CORRECT ANSWER Compromise of 1820"
"A meeting called in New England to denounce the War of 1812. - CORRECT ANSWER
Hartford Convention"
"The Missouri Compromise was important because - CORRECT ANSWER it established a
boundary line for the expansion of slavery"
"The Kansas-Nebraska Act. - CORRECT ANSWER established the principle of popular
sovereignty as law."
"The Democratic Party of Andrew Jackson attracted - CORRECT ANSWER Southerners,
Westerners, and Northern urban workers."
"When you think Andrew Jackson you should think - CORRECT ANSWER West and
"Common man""
"The election of 1824 resulted in - CORRECT ANSWER the House of Representatives' deciding
the election"
"The election of 1800 resulted in - CORRECT ANSWER A president from one party and a vice
president from another PLUS the 12 Ammendment"
"What transformed the economy of the Southern states? - CORRECT ANSWER the invention
of the cotton gin"
"Jackson's Specie Circular resulted in - CORRECT ANSWER an economic depression"
"An order issued by President Andrew Jackson that required that all federal lands be paid for in
gold or silver (specie). - CORRECT ANSWER The Specie Circular"
"Who said "John Marshall has made his decision. Now let him enforce it." - CORRECT
ANSWER Andrew Jackson"
"Supreme Court decision in Worcester v. State of Georgia stated - CORRECT ANSWER Georgia
could not take Cherokee lands."
"Associated with the underground railroad (4) - CORRECT ANSWER 1) Quakers
- Sojourner Truth
- the spiritual "Follow the Drinking Gourd"
- Canada"
"Who was known as "Moses" for helping so many of her fellow African Americans escape. -
CORRECT ANSWER Sojourner Truth"
"Americans who settled in Texas under Mexican rule plotted rebellion when Mexico tried -
CORRECT ANSWER to enforce its ban on slavery."
"The Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 took up the issue of - CORRECT ANSWER Womens
Rights"
"Folk artists tended to use the theme of? - CORRECT ANSWER Portraits and scenes of family
life"
"Romantic style artists tended to use the theme of? - CORRECT ANSWER Scenes from
nature" ""East by sunrise, West by sunset, North by the Arctic Expedition, and South as far as we darn
well please." - CORRECT ANSWER Manifest destiny (1845)"
"Those most likely to move into the class of Southern elite were - CORRECT ANSWER middle-
class professionals"
"What does Carpetbaggers mean? - CORRECT ANSWER a negative term used to describe
Northerners who moved South after the Civil War to make their fortunes at the expense of Southerners" "What was the name given to the first Mormon state in what would become Utah Territory (NOT
UTOPIAN community) - CORRECT ANSWER Deseret"
"Oberlin College is credited with being - CORRECT ANSWER the first coeducational college."
"What were anti-immigrant feelings in the 1800s? (4) - CORRECT ANSWER 1) take jobs away
- weaken the nation
- they were Roman Catholic rather than protestant
- might be revolutionaries from Europe fleeing failure"
"Describe the growth of cities by the mid- 1800s - CORRECT ANSWER Cities were becoming
separated into neighborhoods based on socioeconomic levels."
"The Whig Party was replaced by? - CORRECT ANSWER The Republican Party"
"Andrew Jackson was a - CORRECT ANSWER Democrat"
"The major goal of the Confederacy's foreign policy was to - CORRECT ANSWER gain
recognition as an independent nation from foreign governments."
"The main goal of Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction was to - CORRECT ANSWER restore the
Union as quickly as possible"
"Four parts of Johnson's Reconstruction plan - CORRECT ANSWER 1)states could hold
constitutional conventions without set number of voters or allegiances to u.s.
- Pardonds for those who took oath
- ratification of the 13 Amendment
- Repeal Secession" "After the Civil War, women were told to put aside their demand for voting rights and to work
instead for - CORRECT ANSWER voting rights for African American men"
"What amendment granted voting rights to African American men? - CORRECT ANSWER
the 15th"
"Andrew Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 because he believed - CORRECT
ANSWER It was unconstitutional and it violated states' rights."
"The most important goal for freed slaves was - CORRECT ANSWER to acquire land, a house,
and a means of making a living"
""Seward's Folly" refers to - CORRECT ANSWER Purchase of Alaska from Russia"
"Redeemers were so-called because they - CORRECT ANSWER were white Southern
politicians who restored white supremacy in the South"
"Reconstruction ended in 1877 because - CORRECT ANSWER a deal was reached to name
Hayes the winner of the presidential election of 1876 in exchange for an end to Reconstruction"
"What replaced the plantation system of agriculture in the South? - CORRECT ANSWER
ShareCropping"
"After the Civil war, white southerners had (5) - CORRECT ANSWER 1) Higher taxes
- more money for education
- improved transportation
- more democratic state constitutions
- more industry"
"The ______ __________had emerged from the ruins of the National Republicans and other groups
who opposed President Jackson's policies. - CORRECT ANSWER Whig Party"
"What was the purpose of the Tuskegee Institute? - CORRECT ANSWER To provide teaching
and vocational education for African Americans"
"Who wrote the pamphlet "Common Sense"? Why was it so important? - CORRECT ANSWER
I) Thomas Paine
- It was widely sold and had a great deal of influence in urging Americans to achieve independence from Britain." "In 1620, before going ashore, the Pilgrims drew up the _____ ________ which established an orderly
government based on the consent of the governed. - CORRECT ANSWER Mayflower
Compact"
"What was the Wilmot Proviso? \What was its effect? - CORRECT ANSWER I) The Wilmot
Proviso prohibited slavery in any territory that might be acquired from Mexico.
- Although it was rejected in the Senate, it aroused emotions in southerners who felt it was unfair and northerners who argued the Mexican War was about extending slavery."
"What event inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner"? - CORRECT
ANSWER The holding firm of Fort McHenry against British bombardment during the invasion
of Chesapeake Bay" "The ______ movement of the nineteenth century emphasized the emotions and feelings over
rationality. - CORRECT ANSWER Romanticism"
"The first document that devised a framework for the national government ofthe United States
was known as the ______ ________. - CORRECT ANSWER Articles of Confederation"
"What was the Lancastrian System? - CORRECT ANSWER The Lancastrian System was an
educational system in which older students tutored younger ones. The New York Free School experimented with this method for a time."
"_______ _________ wrote of Puritan bigotry in The Scarlet Letter. - CORRECT ANSWER
Nathaniel Hawthorne"
"Who authored "The Raven" and other tales of terror and darkness? - CORRECT ANSWER
Edgar Allan Poe"
"What did Shays's Rebellion indicate to many Americans? - CORRECT ANSWER Shays's
Rebellion alerted Americans that a stronger central government was needed to control violent uprisings."
"Who were the 'carpetbaggers"? - CORRECT ANSWER Northerners who came to the South to
take part in Reconstruction governments"
"What did the Transcendentalists believe? - CORRECT ANSWER Their objective was to
transcend the intellect and strive for emotional understanding to attain unity with God." "Who authored Walden and Civil Disobedience, rejected the repression of society, and preached
civil disobedience to protest unjust laws? - CORRECT ANSWER Henry David Thoreau"
"Which abolitionist started the newspaper The Liberator and gave new life to the abolitionist
movement? - CORRECT ANSWER William Lloyd Garrison"
"Who escaped from his owner and established his own newspaper, the North Star? - CORRECT
ANSWER Frederick Douglass"
"Who wrote Uncle Tom s Cabin? What effect did it have? - CORRECT ANSWER 1) Harriet
Beecher Stowe
- It made many northerners active opponents of slavery and created sympathy for the North with the British public."
"What was the first representative assembly in the New World? - CORRECT ANSWER The
House of Burgesses" "What immigrant group was the target of job discrimination during the first half of the
nineteenth century? - CORRECT ANSWER Irish Catholics"
"What was the Judiciary Act of 1789? - CORRECT ANSWER The Judiciary Act of 1789 provided
for n federal court system and a Supreme Court consisting of six justices, and created jurisdictions for the federal courts." "Why did Thomas Jefferson object to Alexander Hamilton's funding of the national debt at face
value? - CORRECT ANSWER Jefferson believed that Hamilton's proposal would benefit
speculators who had bought up state and confederation obligations at depressed prices."
"What was the "Kitchen Cabinet"? - CORRECT ANSWER The Kitchen Cabinet was a group of
partisan supporters from whom President Andrew Jackson took counsel instead of relying on the advice of his appointed cabinet officers." "True or False: President , Jackson vetoed granting a federal subsidy to the Maysville Road project in Kentucky because he stated that the road would exist only within the boundaries of a single
state. - CORRECT ANSWER True"
"What three groups formed the Republican Party? What was their unifying principle? -
CORRECT ANSWER I) Northern Democrats, former Whigs, and Know -Nothings
- All three groups believed slavery should be banned from the territories." "What was the reason for the election of a pro-slavery territorial government in Kansas? How did
free-soil Kansans respond? - CORRECT ANSWER l) A pro-slavery government was elected
due to large-scale election fraud by "border ruffians" who entered Kansas from Missouri and voted often.
- Free-soil Kansans denounced it and elected their own free-soil territorial government."
"What was the Lecompton Constitution? - CORRECT ANSWER The Lecompton Constitution
was a pro-slavery constitution for Kansas that was written by a fraudulent constitutional convention."
"What were the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858? - CORRECT ANSWER They were a series of
seven debates held between Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas, who argued that , popular sovereignty should dictate the slavery issue, and his electoral opponent, Abraham Lincoln, who argued that slavery was a moral wrong."
"What was the "Freeport Doctrine"? - CORRECT ANSWER The "Freeport Doctrine" was an
argument by Senator Douglas in one of his debates with Abraham Lincoln. He argued that a territory could get around the Dred Scott decision by not passing the special laws that slave jurisdictions usually passed to support slavery."
"What was Senator John Crittenden's proposal to preserve the Union? - CORRECT ANSWER
He proposed an extension of the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific and prohibition of federal interference with slavery where it already existed. It was defeated due to President Lincoln's stance against the spread of slavery."
"What bills did the U.S. government pass during the Civil War to assist western farmers
economically? - CORRECT ANSWER I) Homestead Act of 1862: Granted 160 acres to anyone
who would farm it for five years
- Morrill Land Grant Act of l862: Offered large amounts of land to states to set up "agricultural and mechanical" colleges"
"What was the Wade-Davis Bill? - CORRECT ANSWER The Wade-Davis Bill stated that a loyal
state government could be established if a majority of voters swore they had never been disloyal to the Union. President Lincoln "pocket vetoed" the bill."
"What was Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan? - CORRECT ANSWER The Ten Percent Plan said that
as soon as 10 percent of the voters of a state had taken a loyalty oath to the Union and agreed to the abolition of slavery, a loyal state government could be formed."
"What did the Thirteenth Amendment do? - CORRECT ANSWER The Thirteenth
Amendment abolished slavery."
"Why did Congress create the Freedman's Bureau? - CORRECT ANSWER To provide food,
clothing, and education, and generally look after the interests of former slaves" "How did Congress respond to the refusal of southern states to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment,
which would give the vote to blacks? - CORRECT ANSWER Congress passed a Civil Rights Act
and extended the powers of the Freedman's Bureau."
"What was the Military Reconstruction Act of 1866? - CORRECT ANSWER The Military
Reconstruction Act of 1866 divided the South into five military districts to be ruled by military governors."
"What was the Tenure of Office Act? - CORRECT ANSWER The Tenure of Office Act
established that federal officials whose appointment required Senate approval could not be removed from office without the Senate's consent. Congress passed the law in order to prevent President Andrew Johnson from dismissing any of any of his cabinet members, specifically Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton." "How did Congress respond when President Andrew Johnson fired his secretary of war, Edwin M.
Stanton, from his cabinet? - CORRECT ANSWER The House of Representatives impeached
Johnson, and the Senate came within one vote of removing him from office."
"What four policies did the Fourteenth Amendment establish? - CORRECT ANSWER I) The
Fourteenth Amendment forbade states to deny various rights to citizens.
- It forbade the paying of the Confederate debt.
"What three economic proposals did Alexander Hamilton endorse in The Report on Public Credit
to handIe the economic crisis faced by the government of the United States? - CORRECT
ANSWER l) Funding of the national debt at face value
- Federal assumption of the states' debt
- The establishment of a national bank"
"Why was a protective tariff passed in 1816? - CORRECT ANSWER To slow the flood of cheap
British manufactures in the United States"
"What two factors contributed to a postwar boom following the War of 1812? - CORRECT
ANSWER High foreign demand for American cotton, tobacco, and grain, and the Second
National Bank's overly liberal credit policies"
"What major factors led to the Depression of 1819? - CORRECT ANSWER A major influx of
British goods at cut-rate prices hurt American manufacturers."
"What were the main industries in the Northeast? - CORRECT ANSWER Fishing, deep-sea
whaling, lumbering, and shipbuilding"
"In 1830, which city was America's largest city and primary trade center? - CORRECT
ANSWER New York City"
"In what industry did the factory system in the United States start? - CORRECT ANSWER The
textile industry"
"What was the Lowell System? - CORRECT ANSWER The Lowell System (first developed in
Lowell, Massachusetts) was a popular way to staff New England Factories. Young farm women were recruited to work in the factories in mill towns and were provided dormitory housing as part of their employment. They worked for short periods of time before getting married." "Why was the new tariff bill of 1828 known as the "Tariff of Abominations" by Southern planters?
- CORRECT ANSWER The finished bill included higher import duties for many goods that were bought by Southern planters." "During the Jacksonian era, why did northeasterners oppose the government's disposal of lands
at cheap prIces? - CORRECT ANSWER The policy would lure away their labor supply and
drive up wages. I"
"Why did President Andrew Jackson issue the Specie Circular? - CORRECT ANSWER He
wanted to slow down the inflationary spiral, and this required that public and be paid for in hard money, not paper money or credit."
"What did President Jackson do to destroy the Bank of the United States? - CORRECT
ANSWER Jackson removed federal deposits from the Bank of the United States and
redistributed the money into his "pet banks" (various state and local banks)."
"What professional occupation was dominated by women in the 1830s and 1840s? - CORRECT
ANSWER School teaching"
"By 1850, over one-half of the manufacturing plants established were located in the ________
states. - CORRECT ANSWER northeastern"
"What product replaced water as a major source of industrial power? - CORRECT ANSWER
Coal"
"Which new industry was the largest consumer of iron in the nineteenth century? - CORRECT
ANSWER The railroad industry"
"Why did the influx of immigrants weaken the bargaining position of the early labor union? -
CORRECT ANSWER Immigrants were willing to work for low wages and provided an
available labor supply."
"[n the second quarter of the nineteenth century, the South had an ____________economy. -
CORRECT ANSWER agrarian"
"Prior to the Civil War, what was the occupation of most southern whites? - CORRECT
ANSWER They were yeoman farmers who mostly grew corn."
"Why were southerners so wedded to the plantation system? - CORRECT ANSWER Cotton
was profitable, and planters had most of their money invested in land and slaves. Planters did not have the capital to invest in manufacturing or commerce."
"What were the three basic causes of the Panic of 1857? - CORRECT ANSWER I)
Overspeculation in railroads and land
- Faulty banking practices
- An interruption in the flow of European capital into the United States because of the Crimean War"
"How did the North and South interpret the Panic of 1857? - CORRECT ANSWER The North
blamed it on low tariffs. However, the South believed it showed the strength of "King Cotton" and
"In 1818 the_ ______ ________ om Wheeling, Virginia, to Cumberland, Maryland, linking the
Potomac with the Ohio River, was completed. - CORRECT ANSWER National Road"
"What major waterway system linked the Hudson River at Albany, New York, with Lake Erie? -
CORRECT ANSWER The Erie Canal"
"What three epidemics were prevalent in urban areas of the 1830s and 1840s? - CORRECT
ANSWER l) Typhoid fever
- Typhus
- Cholera"
"Who discovered a process for vulcanizing rubber? - CORRECT ANSWER Charles Goodyear"
"Who invented the sewing machine? - CORRECT ANSWER Elias Howe"
"What invention by Samuel Morse was first used in 1840 to transmit business news and
information? - CORRECT ANSWER The electric telegraph"
"How did Cyrus McCormick's mechanical reaper benefit the wheat farmers? - CORRECT
ANSWER The mechanical reaper enabled a crew of six men to larvest as much wheat in one day
as fifteen men using older methods." "Prior to the advent of the railroad, which commercial transportation system dominated
domestic trade? - CORRECT ANSWER Coastal sailing ships"
"What were the revenue-producing crops produced by the southern plantation system-cotton,
tobacco, and so on-collectively known as? - CORRECT ANSWER Cash crops"
"What did the phrase "manifest destiny" mean? - CORRECT ANSWER Manifest destiny was a
bel i ef that it was the destiny of the United States to expand its territory over the whole North American continent."
"What was the starting point of the Oregon Trail'? - CORRECT ANSWER Independence,
Missouri"
"What was "Oregon Fever" of the 1840s? - CORRECT ANSWER Thousands of settlers trekked
across the Great Plains md the Rocky Mountains to settle in what they considered to be a new Shangri-la."
"Why did Great Britain want the Puget Sound area north of the Columbia River in the Oregon
Territory? - CORRECT ANSWER Because Puget Sound is one of only three natural harbors on
the Pacific Coast"
"What were the terms of the Gadsden Purchase? What was its purpose? - CORRECT ANSWER
l) The United States bought from Mexico a strip of land along the Gila River in what is now southern New Mexico and Arizona.
- Its purpose was to provide a good route for a transcontinental railroad across the southern part of the United States."
"What territory did President Franklin Pierce try to purchase in the Ostend Manifesto? -
CORRECT ANSWER He tried to purchase Cuba from Spain."
"What were three effects of the rise of the railroads in the 1840s and 1850s? - CORRECT
ANSWER I) Big-business techniques spread.
- A nationwide market developed.
- The Midwest became linked to the North rather than to the South."
"What were the main products of midwestern family farms in the 1850s? - CORRECT
ANSWER Grain and livestock"
"Why was John C. Fremont known as "the Pathfinder"? - CORRECT ANSWER Because of his
explorations in the Rockies and the Far West"
"What major technological innovation in naval warfare took place during the Civil War? -
CORRECT ANSWER The development of the ironclad ship"
"Who was Alexander Graham Bell? - CORRECT ANSWER The inventor of the telephone"
"Nhy did Spain and Portugal decide to draw up the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1493? - CORRECT
ANSWER Spain wanted to confirm its ownership of New World lands but feared interference
from Portugal, a powerful seafaring nation that had been active in overseas exploration."
"Who were the conquistadors? - CORRECT ANSWER Independent Spanish adventurers who
led their country's army into the New World, seeking wealth, glory, and to spread the Roman Catholic faith"
"Which conquistador conquered the Aztec Empire'? - CORRECT ANSWER Hernando Cortes"
