Representative Viewpoints in U.S. Social History from 1899 to the Present

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AP U.S. History › Representative Viewpoints in U.S. Social History from 1899 to the Present

Questions 1 - 5
1

Which First Lady was behind the sexual and drug abstinence campaign called Just Say No?

Nancy Reagan

Lady Bird Johnson

Hilary Clinton

Barbara Bush

Jacqueline Kennedy

Explanation

The Just Say No campaign was a reaction to the growth of drug use and the emergence (into public knowledge) of sexually transmitted diseases—most notably HIV—in the 1980s and 1990s. It aimed to prevent young people from experimenting with drugs or engaging in unprotected sex. The campaign was created and championed by First Lady Nancy Reagan.

2

. . . But the great glory of American democracy is the right to protest for right. My friends, don’t let anybody make us feel that we \[are\] to be compared in our actions with the Ku Klux Klan or with the White Citizens Council. There will be no crosses burned at any bus stops in Montgomery. There will be no white persons pulled out of their homes and taken out on some distant road and lynched for not cooperating. There will be nobody amid, among us who will stand up and defy the Constitution of this nation. We only assemble here because of our desire to see right exist. . .

— Martin Luther King, Jr., December 1955

What is the main idea of this quotation by MLK Jr?

Sometimes, civil disobedience is a necessity to create change

Violence is how to create change

The Ku Klux Klan will keep attacking black people who protest

In every society, there is and will always be revolution

The government will protect the black protesters from the Ku Klux Klan

Explanation

MLK was a supporter of civil disobedience and acts of nonviolence to bring about change. He is advocating assembling nonviolently to gain rights. Dr. King's fundamental argument expressed in this passage, was that to disobey and unjust and inhumane law was not to be socially disruptive, but socially progressive.

3

What did Samuel Gompers hail as “the working man’s Magna Carta”?

The Clayton Anti-Trust Act

The repeal of prohibition

The passage of the Seventeenth Amendment

Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points

William Jennings Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” speech

Explanation

The Magna Carta is a famous document from English history, written in 1215. It helped ensure limited democratic participation for a collection of prominent English barons against the tyrannical rule of King John. It is often hailed as one of the earliest assurances of democratic process in western history; however, it applied only to a very slim percentage of the population—only the highest of the upper classes. When Samuel Gompers called the Clayton Anti-Trust Act “the working man’s Magna Carta” he was echoing a commonly held belief that, after the passage of the Act, the working man was finally as free and enfranchised as the wealthy class. The Clayton Anti-Trust Act was designed to ensure fair competition in the workplace and marketplace, along with competitive wages and benefits for the working class. Whether or not it achieved this in practice is up for debate, as many businesses fused into a single corporations and were able to derive the benefits of a cartel in a legal fashion. What is certain, however, is that the Clayton Anti-Trust Act was a significant event in the correcting of social and economic injustices in early twentieth-century America.

4

In the Supreme Court case Muller v. Oregon,the Court ruled that __________.

women could not work excessively long hours for fear they might damage their bodies for motherhood

the United States judicial system can hear cases regarding polygamy, even if it is a feature of religious belief

individual rights in the Constitution do not apply to tribal governments

the Eleventh Amendment prevents a citizen of a U.S. state from suing that state in Federal court

None of those mentioned represent the decision of the Court in Muller v. Oregon.

Explanation

The Supreme Court case of Muller v. Oregon upheld the state law of Oregon to limit the number of hours women could work, in order to protect their health. In the majority verdict the court stated that the physical well-being of women was an object of public interest, in order that the strength and vigor of the American people should be sustained.

5

Marcus Garvey __________.

sponsored a movement to encourage the return of Blacks to Africa

advocated for the end of alcohol prohibition

successfully argued for the protection of Native American land

was the first African-American Supreme Court Justice

helped ensure the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, granting women the right to vote

Explanation

Marcus Garvey was a prominent member of the movement to advance the status of blacks in America, and indeed the world. He believed strongly in Black Nationalism and advocated for the return of America’s black population to Africa, as well as the removal of European colonial influence on that continent. Garvey was a controversial figure throughout his political life—he staunchly opposed W.E.B. Dubois and the NAACP, once meeting with the leader of the Ku Klux Klan: calling the Klan’s racism the most honest form of white supremacy.

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