Preparation Manual

Domain I—Historiography

Competency 001—Understand historical concepts, terms, sources, and perspectives.

1. Read the excerpt from Senator Margaret Chase Smith's 1950 speech "Declaration of Conscience" below; then answer the questions that follow.

I think that it is high time for the United States Senate and its members to do some soul-searching—for us to weigh our consciences—on the manner in which we are performing our duty to the people of America—on the manner in which we are using or abusing our individual powers and privileges. . . .

Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism in making character assassinations are all too frequently those who, by our own words and acts, ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism:

The right to criticize;

The right to hold unpopular beliefs;

The right to protest;

The right of independent thought.

The exercise of these rights should not cost one single American citizen his reputation or his right to a livelihood nor should he be in danger of losing his reputation or livelihood merely because he happens to know someone who holds unpopular beliefs. Who of us doesn't? Otherwise none of us could call our souls our own. Otherwise thought control would have set in. . . .

The American people are sick and tired of seeing innocent people smeared and guilty people whitewashed. But there have been enough proved cases, such as the Amerasia case, the Hiss case, the Coplon case, the Gold case, to cause the nationwide distrust and strong suspicion that there may be something to the unproved, sensational accusations.

A historian of the post–World War II2 anticommunist crusade in the United States would most likely use the excerpt from Senator Margaret Chase Smith's speech to help answer which of the following questions?

1. What impact did the anticommunist crusade have on everyday life in the United States?
2. How did influential figures react to the major developments of the anticommunist crusade?
3. Which constitutional rights were commonly violated during the anticommunist crusade?
4. What were the fundamental values of U.S. society that were threatened by the anticommunist crusade?

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer 1.Answer expanded

Option D is correct. This question requires the examinee to analyze important historical interpretations. Views expressed in the excerpt focus attention on the threat that abuses of power by Senator Joseph McCarthy and other anticommunist crusaders posed to basic American principles.

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Competency 002—Understand historical research skills.

2. Read the excerpt from Senator Margaret Chase Smith's 1950 speech "Declaration of Conscience" below; then answer the questions that follow.

I think that it is high time for the United States Senate and its members to do some soul-searching—for us to weigh our consciences—on the manner in which we are performing our duty to the people of America—on the manner in which we are using or abusing our individual powers and privileges. . . .

Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism in making character assassinations are all too frequently those who, by our own words and acts, ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism:

The right to criticize;

The right to hold unpopular beliefs;

The right to protest;

The right of independent thought.

The exercise of these rights should not cost one single American citizen his reputation or his right to a livelihood nor should he be in danger of losing his reputation or livelihood merely because he happens to know someone who holds unpopular beliefs. Who of us doesn't? Otherwise none of us could call our souls our own. Otherwise thought control would have set in. . . .

The American people are sick and tired of seeing innocent people smeared and guilty people whitewashed. But there have been enough proved cases, such as the Amerasia case, the Hiss case, the Coplon case, the Gold case, to cause the nationwide distrust and strong suspicion that there may be something to the unproved, sensational accusations.

Which of the following best describes the main argument of the excerpt from Margaret Chase Smith's speech?

1. Many U.S. citizens hold or know someone who holds unpopular beliefs.
2. Unfounded accusations have undermined the constitutional principles of the United States.
3. Extraordinary events justify the suspension of some civil liberties in the United States.
4. The U.S. Senate must change the manner in which it conducts its everyday responsibilities.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option B is correct. This question requires the examinee to recognize the central theses, main ideas, and supporting evidence in various sources of historical information. In this excerpt, Smith argues that labeling people "un-American" for holding or expressing unpopular beliefs is directly contrary to the rights of free expression guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

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Domain II—World History to 1450

Competency 003—Understand the development of early civilizations to 500 BCE.

Two rivers flow into the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and the Asian continent. The area around these two rivers is shaded.

3. The lightly shaded region on the map above marks the territory controlled by which of the following ancient civilizations?

1. the Hittites
2. the Babylonians
3. the Persians
4. the Phoenicians

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option B is correct. This question requires the examinee to analyze major geographic, social, political, economic, and cultural characteristics of early civilizations in Mesopotamia and the Near East. Beginning in about 1600 BCE and continuing for 400 years, the Babylonian Empire under the Kassites extended some 400 miles upstream from the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates, embracing six major cities and the rich farmlands that surrounded them on either side of the two rivers.

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Competency 004—Understand the classical Mediterranean world and the development of world civilizations from 500 BCE to 500 CE.

4. Which of the following is a central belief of Buddhism?

1. The forces of good and evil are in an endless struggle for control of the universe.
2. Human beings can avoid suffering by eliminating their desire for material goods and physical pleasures.
3. The welfare of a community depends on the religious devotion of its members.
4. Salvation can be attained only through absolute obedience to an all-powerful deity.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option B is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of the principal beliefs, sacred texts, and historical development of Buddhism. According to Buddhist teachings, because all things—whether material objects or human beings—are transitory, desire for them will inevitably produce suffering. Only when human beings can rid themselves of desire can they escape discontent and suffering and attain happiness.

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Competency 005—Understand major developments in world history from 500 to 1450.

5. Which of the following was the most important factor in the growth and expansion of the West African kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai between 600 and 1600 CE?

1. the incorporation of Islamic religion and culture
2. large and well-trained military forces
3. the control of trans-Saharan trade routes
4. charismatic political and religious leaders

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option C is correct. This question requires the examinee to examine the geographic, political, economic, and cultural characteristics of major civilizations in Africa. Control of trans-Saharan trade routes enabled major West African kingdoms to obtain the wealth needed to support government officials and maintain armies in their expanding empires.

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Domain III—World History 1450 to the Present

Competency 006—Understand major developments in world history from 1450 to 1750.

6. Which of the following best describes a major incentive for European exploration of the world during the late fifteenth century?

1. the strategic advantage of introducing military forces into the Pacific
2. the new markets to be created by establishing colonies outside of Europe
3. the social benefits of settling excess population in the Americas
4. the profits to be made by importing costly luxury goods from India and China

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option D is correct. This question requires the examinee to analyze European expansion between 1450 and 1750. Europeans launched their voyages of exploration in part to circumvent the Muslim monopoly on trade between the Indian Ocean and Europe. So great was the demand for scarce luxury goods such as spices, sugar, and silk from India and China that a single shipload was worth a fortune in European ports.

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Competency 007—Understand major developments in world history from 1750 to 1900.

7. Simón Bolívar played which of the following roles in the Latin American wars of independence?

1. He financed many of the early revolutionary organizations in Latin America.
2. He organized and led an army that freed parts of South America from Spanish rule.
3. He formed a union of independent states that extended from Mexico to Argentina.
4. He secured vital military and economic aid from Spain's European adversaries.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option B is correct. This question requires the examinee to analyze significant individuals and events in the wars for independence in Latin America. Simón Bolívar formed and commanded an army that defeated Spanish forces from Venezuela to Peru and ended Spain's efforts to retain its empire in the Americas.

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Competency 008—Understand major developments in world history from 1900 to 1945.

8. Which of the following correctly lists two related events of the twentieth century in the order in which they occurred?

1. 1. World War I1
   2. the growth of European imperialism
   
2. 1. the Chinese civil war
   2. the fall of the Qing dynasty
   
3. 1. the Cold War
   2. the Russian Revolution
   
4. 1. the start of the Great Depression
   2. the rise of Nazism in Germany
   

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option D is correct. This question requires the examinee to recognize chronological relationships between major global events and developments of the period. The Great Depression began in 1929, creating massive unemployment and economic distress. The economic hardships produced new recruits for the Nazi Party in Germany and led to Adolf Hitler's election as chancellor in 1933.

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Competency 009—Understand major developments in the modern world from 1945 to the present.

9. The Chinese Cultural Revolution (1965– to 1976) can best be described as:

1. a religious movement to revive ancient Confucian values in China.
2. a popular movement to modernize the Chinese economy.
3. a political movement to revitalize the communist revolution in China.
4. a nationalist movement to expand Chinese territory.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option C is correct. This question requires the examinee to examine major political, social, economic, and cultural developments in East Asia. A central objective of leaders of the Chinese Cultural Revolution was to revive the original enthusiasm and spirit of the communist revolution by purging the nation of what Mao Zedong called the "Four Olds": old thoughts, old customs, old habits, and old culture.

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Domain IV—U.S. History Precontact to 1877

Competency 010—Understand major developments in early U.S. history from the precontact period to 1763.

10. One important difference between Virginia and Massachusetts during the late seventeenth century was that colonists in Virginia:

1. governed themselves through a representative assembly.
2. permitted the practices of slavery and indentured servitude.
3. relied heavily on the production of cash crops for export to Europe.
4. engaged frequently in armed conflicts with Native Americans.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option C is correct. This question requires the examinee to compare similarities and differences between the New England, mid-Atlantic, and southern colonies. Unlike the more diversified but less prosperous economy of late seventeenth-century New England, in which trade, fishing, and general agriculture all had an important share, Virginia's economy relied heavily on the sale of a single crop, tobacco, in European markets.

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Competency 011—Understand the origins and events of the American Revolution and major developments of the early national period to 1801.

11. The French and Indian War most contributed to growing tensions between Great Britain and its North American colonies during the 1760s by:

1. prompting royal governors to increase the size of colonial militias.
2. provoking calls for the reorganization of colonial governments.
3. hindering economic development in British North America.
4. increasing Great Britain's already sizable national debt.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option D is correct. This question requires the examinee to analyze the causes of the American Revolution. Although Great Britain eventually prevailed in the French and Indian War, the cost was substantial. The various taxes that Parliament imposed after the war in an effort to reduce the national debt provoked first intermittent and then sustained resistance in the colonies and led ultimately to open rebellion against the Crown.

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Competency 012—Understand major developments in U.S. history from 1801 to 1850.

12. In the decisions he wrote as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, John Marshall made a major effort to:

1. strengthen the authority of the central government.
2. support the economic development of the nation.
3. expand the personal liberties of U.S. citizens.
4. increase popular participation in the political process.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option A is correct. This question requires the examinee to examine major political and constitutional developments of the period from 1801 to 1850. A major effect of important decisions of the Marshall Court, such as McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) and Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), was to expand the "implied powers" of the federal government at the expense of the states.

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Competency 013—Understand similarities and differences among art forms or artworks from various cultures and historical periods.

13. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 contributed to the growing sectional conflicts that culminated in the Civil War by provoking national debate over which of the following issues?

1. the emancipation of slaves in the northern states
2. the prohibition of the internal slave trade
3. the expansion of slavery into the western territories
4. the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option C is correct. This question requires the examinee to examine major developments of the 1850s that contributed to the sectional polarization leading to the Civil War. The Kansas-Nebraska Act provoked a storm of controversy by opening up the possibility of allowing slavery in western territories that had been declared free states as part of the Missouri Compromise 34 years earlier.

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Domain V—U.S. History 1877 to the Present

Competency 014—Understand major developments in U.S. history from 1877 to 1914.

14. Electric power most influenced developments in which of the following components of the U.S. economy during the late nineteenth century?

1. the distribution of consumer goods
2. agricultural production
3. the consolidation of large industries
4. long-distance communication

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option D is correct. This question requires the examinee to analyze the growth of the industrial economy in the United States. The electronic transmission of clear speech via telephones revolutionized communication in the United States by reducing the need for face-to-face conversations. At the same time, continuing improvements in telegraphic technology contributed to further advances in long-distance business communication.

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Competency 015—Understand major developments in U.S. history from 1914 to 1945.

15. Examining which of the following features of the U.S. economy during the 1920s would be most helpful in analyzing the causes of the Great Depression?

1. interest rates on business loans
2. wages and purchasing power
3. tariffs on manufactured goods
4. government regulation and taxes

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option B is correct. This question requires the examinee to evaluate the causes of the Great Depression. One cause of the Great Depression was underconsumption. During the 1920s, as wage increases lagged behind advances in industrial productivity, consumers reached a point where they lacked the purchasing power to absorb the vast flow of goods pouring off the assembly lines of manufacturing firms. Without continuing consumer demand, inventories choked business growth and set in motion a chain of events that led to economic collapse.

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Competency 016—Understand major developments in U.S. history from 1945 to 1970.

16. Which of the following statements best describes the significance of the Supreme Court's 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education?

1. It overturned the doctrine of "states' rights" that had sanctioned discriminatory voting qualifications.
2. It outlawed the use of racial quotas in employment.
3. It overturned the doctrine of "separate but equal" that had sanctioned segregation in public education.
4. It outlawed the use of race as a qualification for public office.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option C is correct. This question requires the examinee to examine the aims, activities, strategies, and achievements of the struggle for African American civil rights. In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Supreme Court declared that "[s]eparate educational facilities are inherently unequal," thereby overturning the legal basis for racial segregation established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).

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Competency 017—Understand major developments in U.S. history from 1970 to the present.

17. Which of the following best describes a goal of U.S. foreign policy in both the Gulf War and the Iraq War?

1. to install democratically elected governments in the Middle East
2. to prevent the production and proliferation of biological and nuclear weapons in the region
3. to expel Iraqi military forces from other Middle Eastern nations
4. to stabilize the region and secure the continued flow of oil to the United States and Europe

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option D is correct. This question requires the examinee to analyze major issues and developments in U.S. foreign policy since 1970. Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 directly threatened the uninterrupted flow of Middle East oil to the world's industrial nations. Twelve years later, disputes between the Iraqi government and the United Nations over international inspections for weapons of mass destruction led to Iraqi threats to cut off oil shipments to Europe and the United States, while the removal of Hussein from power offered the possibility of greater access for the United States to Iraq's vast oil reserves.

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