Praxis 5089 - Middle School Social Studies

Which two of the following were part of the New Deal in the US during the 1930s?

• Establishing a progressive income tax.

• Recognizing the right of workers to bargain collectively.

• Guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race.

• Creating aid programs for tenant farmers and migrant workers.

Christopher Columbus was:

• Born in Italy

• King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain funded his plan. Set out in 1492

• Had a set of five ships.

• Was in search of gold & tabacco.

• They enslaved and cruelly treated native people.

Triangular Trade was with American Colonies, West Indies, and Africa what did they supply to one another?

• West Indies = Sugar & Mollasses

• American Colonies = Rum & Iron

• Africa = Slaves & Gold

• American Colonies = Textiles, furs and tabacco

In response to the spread of Soviet influence during the Cold War, the U.S.:

• Adopted a policy of isolationism and refused to form alliances with other countries.

• Declared that it would forcibly overthrow communist governments in Eastern Europe

• Canceled all economic aid to Europe to fund increases in military spending.

• Armed and aided local anticommunist movements in foreign countries.

The expansion of tobacco cultivation in colonial Virginia encouraged which of the following developments?

• An increase in the demand for cheap labor.

• A transition from commercial farming to subsistence farming.

• The expansion of urban metropolitan areas funded by taxes on agricultural exports.

• An increased dependence on domestic markets for the sale of agricultural goods.

Which of the following was a direct cultural consequence of the 1st WW in Europe?

• The continuing dominance of imperial ruling elites in Germany, Austria, Russia, and Turkey.

• The creation of a disillusioned, lost generation that questioned the progress of modernity.

• The rejection of nationalism and racism is Europe because they had only fostered war.

• The rapid decline of American cultural influence around the world.

Answer explanation

The generation that came to age during the First World War questioned the ideals of modernity, progress, and technology as tools that had also led to mass violence and suffering during the war. Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway popularized the term "Lost Generation."

Which of the following was a direct effect of the Meiji Restoration in Japan?

• Adoption of constitutional democracy.

• Reestablishment of samurai political power and social status.

• Elimination of the position of emperor from the Japanese political hierarchy.

• Promotion of rapid industrialization and military expansion.

Answer explanation

The Meiji Restoration of 1868 replaced the samurai-dominated Tokugawa Shogunate and established the Meiji emperor as the central political power in Japan. This led to the industrialization of Japan and its expansion as an imperialist power in the early 20th century.

Which of the following was the most direct political result of the Protestant Reformation?

• Revitalized Christain states resisted the Ottoman Empire's advance.

• The Spanish and Portuguese colonized the Americas.

• Catholic crusaders sacked the Greek Orthodox capital of Constantinople.

• Wars of religion fractured the ideal of Christian unity.

Answer explanation

Between the 1520's to 1640's, Roman Catholic and Protestant princes, nobles, and monarchs frequently fought one another in the European wars of religion. The Peace of Westphalia ended these conflicts in Europe by establishing the right of princes to choose which religious denominations their subjects could follow.

In which of the following ways did the Black Death most directly affect economic development in medieval Europe?

• It strengthened the dominance of landed elites.

• It introduced the need for slavery.

• It inflated the value of laborers' wages and many commodities.

• It sparked ideas of class-based equality and utopian socialism.

Answer explanation

High mortality and mobility from the Black Death led directly to scarcity of food and labor, which caused inflation in wages and commodity prices. In Western Europe this contributed to the decline in serfdom and feudalism by 1500.

Which of the following best describes the major significance of the 1648 treaty known as the Peace of Westphalia?

• It centralized the governance of the Holy Roman Empire.

• It led to a century of Habsburg domination of European affairs.

• It cemented the nation-state as the source of collective security and international law.

• It reaffirmed the central role played by the Vatican in international affairs.

Answer explanation

The Peace of Wstphalia brought an end to the 30 Wars (1618-1648) within the Holy Roman Empire and Eighty Years' War (1568-1648) between Spain and the Netherlands.