Facts and Details in U.S. Social History from 1790 to 1898
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AP U.S. History › Facts and Details in U.S. Social History from 1790 to 1898
Who famously tried to incite a slave rebellion at Harper’s Ferry?
Daniel Shays
John Brown
Robert E. Lee
Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson
William Tecumseh Sherman
Explanation
John Brown devised a plan to raid an arsenal and arm slaves. His attempt was ill-conceived, and he was arrested by Robert E. Lee, tried for treason, and sentenced to death.
He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light--
One if by land, and two if by sea--
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."
American Poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, wrote the poem from which this excerpt is taken in 1860. About which famous Revolutionary War patriot was Longfellow writing?
Paul Revere
John Adams
Patrick Henry
Alexander Hamilton
George Washington
Explanation
The first stanza of Longfellow's poem "Paul Revere's Ride" famously reads,
"Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year."
The largest influx of German immigrants to America came during the time period of __________.
1850–1900
1700–1750
1750–1800
1900–1950
1950–2000
Explanation
Immigration to the United States in total was at its highest peak in the late-nineteenth century. While German immigration was always high from the colonial period, it too peaked in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Whereas most earlier German immigrants were Protestants from Northern Germany, Southern German Catholics added to the immigration numbers in the late-nineteenth century.
From the early-to-mid-nineteenth century, this wagon route from the Missouri River to Oregon permitted hundreds of thousands of immigrants to settle the West. What was its name?
The Oregon Trail
The Northwest Passage
The Oregon Valley
The Appalachian Trail
The Western Route
Explanation
Before the Transcontinental Railroad, the Oregon Trail from the Missouri River to Oregon permitted hundreds of thousands of immigrants to settle the West.
In 1859, abolitionist John Brown led an armed slave revolt by seizing a federal armory in which modern day American town?
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Springfield, Massachusetts
Lawrence, Kansas
Lake Placid, New York
Charleston, South Carolina
Explanation
Famed abolitionist John Brown led an armed slave revolt known as the Raid on Harpers Ferry, named after the town in which the raid occurred. Harpers Ferry, then in Virginia, is now located in modern day West Virginia.
Unitarianism is characterized by __________.
the rejection of the Trinity
the rejection of the divinity of Christ
the belief in predestination
the belief in the universal salvation of man
atheism
Explanation
Unitarianism is a religious belief, a branch of Christianity that is known for its understanding of God as one person. As such, it is a direct rejection of the Holy Trinity. Unitarianism first took hold in America in the 1780s in New England. The American Unitarian Association was founded in Boston in 1825.
On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which did ALL of the following EXCEPT:
Free the slaves in the five Union states
Allow black soldiers to fight for the Union
Tie the slavery issue directly with the Civil War
Maintain the institution of slavery in the Union
Declare free only those slaves in Confederate states
Explanation
The Emancipation Proclaimation did not abolish slavery in the Union; there were 5 slave states (Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri and West Virginia) that fought for the preservation of the United States.
Which technological military innovation did not occur during the American Civil War?
Nerve Gas
Machine Guns
Ironclad Battleships
Deployment of troops by train
None of the other answers
Explanation
The American Civil War saw a large increase in technological innovations related to warfare. In particular, train travel, ironclad ships, and machine guns were all first used in warfare during the American Civil War. Nerve gas, however, was not even discovered until the 1930s.
- Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst used this style of writing to increase newspaper readership which increased public sentiment to start a war with Spain.
Nationalism
Sensationalism
Tabloid Journalism
Investigative Journalism
Objective Journalism
Explanation
Sensationalism. This exaggeration tactic was used to make everyday news more interesting and therefore increase readership for their respective newspapers.
Who among the following led the American Federation of Labor?
Samuel Gompers
Terrence Powderly
Eugene Debbs
None of these
Kurt Vonnegut
Explanation
Samuel Gompers was the leader of the American Federation of Labor—what ended up being the largest labor union (or federation of unions) in the late 19th/early 20th century. The AFL was more exclusive (and more realistic) than any of its contemporaries (like the “Wobblies”).
The AFL only allowed skilled workers within their ranks, and they struck (or agitated for) simple, everyday issues of their members—so-called “bread and butter” issues (like better hours and higher wages).