USH Benchmark #1 Topics 1-4

Why is the Bill of Rights an important part of the U.S. Constitution?

• It defines the role of the courts.

• It protects Americans’ personal freedoms.

• It explains how congressional seats are to be allocated.

• It discusses the role the new country will have in international affairs.

During the nullification crisis, South Carolina claimed it could void or nullify laws that it considered unconstitutional. This crisis was an early example of what kind of conflict that recurs throughout American history?

• tension between the industrial North and agrarian South

• conflict between tariffs and free trade

• conflict between states' rights and federal government

• tension between the three branches of government

Free soil, Free speech, Free labor, and Free men

Which part of this motto, adopted by the Free-Soil party of the 1840s, reflects one of the founding principles preserved in the Bill of Rights?

• Free Soil

• Free men

• Free labor

• Free speech

Which of the following was an advantage for the Confederacy in the Civil War?

• a larger population

• an extensive railroad network

• more experienced officers

• a large, well-organized navy

How did the decision in Plessy v. Ferguson affect both the North and the South?

• It supported the Reconstruction amendments.

• Segregation on public transportation was ended.

• The basis for separate but equal legislation was established.

• It dismantled Jim Crow laws.

The author of this quotation would most likely support which of these economic approaches?

• Building more textile mills in the South

• Planting more cash crops for overseas export

• Developing more farm cartels for economies of scale

• Shipping more raw materials to the North for processing

The point of view expressed in this political cartoon is sympathetic to which of the following groups?

• Workers

• Capitalists

• Entrepreneurs

• Business owners

The outcome of the Pullman strike set an important trend because —

• courts ruled in favor of the right of unions to strike

• courts limited the right of the government to regulate unions

• employers began using collective bargaining to prevent strikes

• employers began using the Sherman Antitrust Act against labor unions

One of the consequences of the adoption of mass transit in cities during the late 1800s was the —

• growth of streetcar suburbs

• rise of ethnic neighborhoods

• use of more coal-driven steam engines

• replacement of subways with overhead lines

During the Gilded Age, technological innovations led to greater wealth and more leisure time, resulting in a notable —

• increase in the standard of living

• decrease in conspicuous consumerism

• decrease in the size of the middle class

• increase in court cases protecting property rights