SAT II US History : Facts and Details in U.S. Economic History from 1899 to the Present

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II US History

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Facts And Details In U.S. Economic History From 1899 To The Present

The American inventor, Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931), was known as "The Wizard of Menlo Park" for his 1,093 US Patents.  Which of the following did Edison NOT invent?

Possible Answers:

Motion Picture Camera

The internal combustion engine

A long-lasting electric light bulb

Mimeograph

Phonograph

Correct answer:

The internal combustion engine

Explanation:

Belgian engineer, Étienne Lenoir, is generally credited with having invented the first commercially viable internal combustion engine.

Example Question #2 : Facts And Details In U.S. Economic History From 1899 To The Present

Convicted of a double-homocide during an armed robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts. in 1920,  these two anarchist Italian immigrants were executed.  In 1977, they had their reputations post-humously reformed by Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis on the grounds that their trial was marred by anti-immigrant sentiment and prejudice toward the Italians' anarchism.  Who were these anarchists?

Possible Answers:

Sacco and Vanzetti

Leopold and Loeb

Cafiero and Malatesta

Bookchin and Meltzer

Galleani and Buda

Correct answer:

Sacco and Vanzetti

Explanation:

Ferdinando Nicola Sacco (b. April 22, 1891) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (b. June 11, 1888) were convicted of murder and executed on August 23, 1927.

Example Question #3 : Facts And Details In U.S. Economic History From 1899 To The Present

Which of the following was NOT a key component of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal?

Possible Answers:
Insuring bank accounts against failures and panics.
Creating employment opportunities through programs like the Works Progress Administration
Sought protection for labor unions
Increasing the income tax rate
Lowering taxes to increase business investment.
Correct answer: Lowering taxes to increase business investment.
Explanation:

The New Deal was a widespread series of government programs undertaken by Roosevelt when he became President to boost the American economy during the depths of the Great Recession.  In general, the programs sought to expand government’s role in the economy, making the answer about lowering taxes the only answer choice that does not fit in as a New Deal program.

Example Question #4 : Facts And Details In U.S. Economic History From 1899 To The Present

In March of 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made his first radio broadcast from the White House, later known as "fireside chats," to                .

Possible Answers:

explain the New Deal programs to the public.

gain moral support of the country for his new initiatives.

explain his reasoning for closing U.S. Banks for a few days.

ask the public to refrain from turning on the lights in case of an air raid.

deliver the State of the Union.

Correct answer:

explain his reasoning for closing U.S. Banks for a few days.

Explanation:

Although many of the New Deal actions were later pushed through the fireside chats for public appeal, the original intent of the broadcast was to disseminate the panic related to the closing of the banks as the unemployment skyrocketed, and the markets crashed dramatically.  This was later dubbed the Emergency Banking act.

Example Question #5 : Facts And Details In U.S. Economic History From 1899 To The Present

The most destructive stock market crash in U.S. history, known as the Stock Market Crash of 1929, is also known by what other name?

Possible Answers:

Black Friday

Bloody Sunday

The Day of Doom

Grim Tuesday

Black Tuesday

Correct answer:

Black Tuesday

Explanation:

The Stock Market Crash of 1929, which began the 10-year Great Depression, is also known as Black Tuesday, as it happened on a Tuesday.

Example Question #6 : Facts And Details In U.S. Economic History From 1899 To The Present

Federal income tax on individuals is                .

Possible Answers:

Proportional and progressive

Fixed

Proportional and regressive

Progressive

Proportional

Correct answer:

Progressive

Explanation:

The Federal income tax is progressive for both individuals and corporations. This, essentially, means that the higher your personal income the greater percentage of that income is subject to taxation. The history of personal income tax in the United States is, perhaps, surprisingly recent. The first income tax was levied on wealthy individuals during the Civil War, but was repealed following the war’s end. Not until 1895 did the Federal government institute its first peacetime income tax. Shortly thereafter Congress passed the Sixteenth Amendment that enabled the government to levy taxes on all personal income. From that moment until now there has been a gradual trend of taxation increases and increases on the proportion of income that the wealthy are required to pay. This reflects the trends of much greater government spending and much greater social awareness in the twentieth and twenty-first Centuries.

Example Question #7 : Facts And Details In U.S. Economic History From 1899 To The Present

The Underwood Tariff Act                            .

Possible Answers:

raised the tariff rate

both raised the tariff rate and established a graduated income tax

both reduced the tariff rate and established a graduated income tax

established a graduated income tax

reduced the tariff rate

Correct answer:

both reduced the tariff rate and established a graduated income tax

Explanation:

The Underwood Tariff Act, also known as the Revenue Act of 1913, was signed into practice by President Wilson. It lowered the existing tariff rate from forty-percent to twenty-five percent, in an effort to encourage foreign trade. It also established a graduated income tax following the passage of the Sixteenth Amendment (which had established the constitutional right of the Federal government to levy income taxes).

Example Question #8 : Facts And Details In U.S. Economic History From 1899 To The Present

The Taft-Hartley Act, passed in 1947                     .

Possible Answers:

raised the income tax threshold 

restricted the authority of labor unions 

assisted American war veterans in finding work once they returned to the United States

prosecuted individuals suspected of harboring Communist sympathies

expanded Social Security 

Correct answer:

restricted the authority of labor unions 

Explanation:

The Taft-Hartley Act was passed to restrict the ability of American labor unions to organize for better wages and treatment. It was supported by the majority of Republicans in Congress and managed to pass despite President Truman’s veto attempt. Many historians believe that the Taft-Hartley Act was passed in response to the unprecedented level of strikes that the post-war United States witnessed in 1946. During, the war the vast majority of unions had agreed to refrain from strikes over wages and benefits to assist the war effort; however, with the war ended and wages falling across the country, strikes consistently broke out in almost all major American industries. 

Example Question #9 : Facts And Details In U.S. Economic History From 1899 To The Present

On March 25, 1911, one of the worst industrial disasters in American history occurred. 146 garment workers perished in a fire as a consequence of locked doors and exits.  This disaster is known by what name?

Possible Answers:

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

The Garment Workers' Tragedy of 1911

The SOHO Conflagration

The Haymarket Massacre

The Great Chicago Fire

Correct answer:

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Explanation:

The managers of The Triangle Waist Company routinely locked exit doors and doors leading to the stairwells in order to prevent thieving.  When a fire broke out at the factory, the mostly female garment workers were unable to evacuate.  146 workers died in the fire.

Example Question #10 : Facts And Details In U.S. Economic History From 1899 To The Present

John F. Kennedy’s Trade Expansion Act                .

Possible Answers:

raised tariffs to protect American business interests

removed embargoes that had been placed on many Communist nations during the previous administration

lowered tariffs to increase foreign trade 

called for the construction of internal infrastructure, roads, and railroads to improve the economy

failed to pass Congress due to Southern Democrats siding with Republicans

Correct answer:

lowered tariffs to increase foreign trade 

Explanation:

JFK launched an ambitious attempt to re-energize the economy and provide for greater social equality. Much of this New Frontier legislation met with opposition in Congress, as Republicans and Southern Democrats blocked a great deal of laws from passing; however, the Trade Expansion Act did pass Congress. It gave the executive branch the ability to lower existing tariffs by as much as fifty percent. The intention was to stimulate the economy.

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