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Worksheets

Historical Understandings

Total questions: 63

Worksheet time: 32mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Which of the following was the MOST common reason for people to immigrate to the United States?

a)

to learn farming methods

b)

to live in big cities

c)

to find religious freedom

d)

to ride on cattle trails

2.

What event related to the USS Maine signaled the beginning of the Spanish-American War?

a)

The ship stalled

b)

The ship exploded

c)

The ship's voyage was canceled

d)

The ship's flag was removed

3.

What two areas were of interest of Alexander Graham Bell and led him to invent the telephone?

a)

ways to earn money

b)

changing the world

c)

deaf people

d)

calling his mother

e)

how people hear

4.

Which BEST describes the treatment of African America cowboys by other cowboys?

a)

little interest

b)

concern over timeliness

c)

jealousy about work

d)

less harsh discrimination

5.

Why was George Washington Carver important in American history?

a)

He invented the airplane

b)

He created the light bulb

c)

He taught a new way to farm

d)

He figured out a new way to play music

6.

Who first developed the idea for the League of Nations

a)

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

b)

Theodore Roosevelt

c)

Woodrow Wilson

d)

William McKinley

7.

What were new technologies used during World War I? Choose 3 of the following

a)

submarines

b)

rifles

c)

mustard gas

d)

armored tanks

e)

airplanes

8.

Why did small European countries make alliances with other countries?

a)

They wanted to expand their trading opportunities

b)

They wanted to maintain their independence

c)

They wanted to share wealth with other nations

d)

They wanted to seize territory from other nations

9.

Which of the following countries was aligned with the Allied powers?

a)

Turkey

b)

Russia

c)

Germany

d)

Bulgaria

10.

Why did the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand cause World War I?

a)

The Archduke was a very popular leader

b)

Serbia was an important world power

c)

Alliances caused many countries to react

d)

Serbian nationalists opposed imperialism

11.

Why did leaders support the idea of the League of Nations?

a)

They wanted to maintain peace

b)

They wanted to end imperialism

c)

They wanted to punish Germany

d)

They wanted to respect America

12.

Why are the 1920s sometimes referred to as the "Roaring Twenties"?

a)

Immigration and foreign trade increased

b)

Reforms in government led to greater freedom

c)

Widespread social and economic changes occurred

d)

The United States began to take a more active role in world affairs

13.

Which statement is MOST LIKELY true about radio in the United States?

a)

It was not popular because Americans preferred newspapers

b)

It changed the way people got their news and were entertained

c)

It brought about the end of other forms of entertainment

d)

It was not practical because people could not afford radios

14.

Who first made the music called "jazz"?

a)

factory workers

b)

enslaved African Americans

c)

rural farmers

d)

World War I soldiers

15.

What were some effects of Henry Ford's manufacturing practices and the rise of the automobile industry? Choose two of the following

a)

a growth of other industries

b)

fewer jobs for Americans

c)

a weaker economy

d)

people traveling more quickly and easily

e)

the end of the steel industry

16.

Why was Charles Lindbergh famous?

a)

He was a baseball player who broke a record by hitting 60 home runs

b)

He was a jazz trumpeter and singer who helped make jazz popular

c)

He was one of the best known African American poets

d)

He was the first person to fly solo, nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean

17.

What is the BEST description of the Harlem Renaissance?

a)

a time when African American businesses grew

b)

a time when major works were created by African American writers and artists

c)

a time when buildings throughout Harlem were restored

d)

a time when African Americans left large cities and moved to smaller towns

18.

What were two causes of the Great Depression?

a)

the use of radio technology

b)

purchasing goods with credit

c)

the failure of the CCC

d)

the lack of stable electricity

e)

effects of the Dust Bowl

19.

What is an example of an act of charity provided during the Great Depression?

a)

credit

b)

recession

c)

shantytowns

d)

soup kitchens

20.

Which migration route did many farmers travel during the Great Depression?

a)

a move from Midwest to California

b)

a move from the Southeast to Maine

c)

a move from the Northeast to Oregon

d)

a move from the Northwest to Arizona

21.

Which statement best explains why people placed great amounts of money in the stock market in the United States shortly before 1929?

a)

They wanted to invest because they knew the stock market was safe

b)

They received information on how to profit when stocks lost value

c)

They had learned for years how the stock market worked

d)

They believed the economy would continue to grow

22.

Why were so many people unable to find a place to live by 1933?

a)

They could not find homes they liked

b)

They did not have the money to pay for homes

c)

They were not enough homes available to buy

d)

There was not enough land where homes could be built

23.

Which statement best explains the purpose of President Roosevelt's New Deal?

a)

it was intended to help the American people

b)

it would help Americans start new businesses

c)

it would supply electricity to the Tennessee River Basin

d)

it would help the U.S. government lower its costs

24.

Why did the United Stated enter World War II ?

a)

Japan attacked Pearl Harbor

b)

Germany invaded Czechoslovakia and Poland

c)

The Allied forces asked for help to land at Normandy

d)

Germany broke its agreement with the Soviet Union

25.

Which event in World War II helped lead to an end in the conflict?

a)

the bombing of Pearl Harbor

b)

the trials of Nuremburg

c)

the invasion of Czechoslovakia

d)

the landing at Normandy

26.

Which group of people did the Nazis most target during the Holocaust?

a)

the Jewish people

b)

the Gypsy people

c)

people with disabilities

d)

the Polish people

27.

Which two of these statements are reasons why the German people wanted Hitler as their leader?

a)

Hitler was a hero of World War I

b)

Germany was suffering from a severe economic depression

c)

Hitler had signed a peace treaty with Russia

d)

They believed Hitler would make Germany strong again

e)

Germany has won World War I, and they wanted it to become even more powerful

28.

Which statement was true of the Tuskegee Airmen?

a)

They served in the same U.S. Army Air Corps as white troops

b)

They worked in airplane factories before the war

c)

They repaired U.S. Army Air Corps planes

d)

They received the right to fly military planes

29.

After Franklin Roosevelt died, what responsibility was left to President Truman?

a)

setting up trials at Nuremburg

b)

taking in victims of the Holocaust

c)

getting Japan to surrender

d)

stopping discrimination of American troops

30.

What did President Truman do after he became President?

a)

sent representatives to Germany

b)

outlined a refugee program

c)

ordered the dropping of the atomic bomb

d)

called on General MacArthur to plan a defense

31.

According to Winston Churchill, what was dividing Europe between the communist East and the democratic West?

a)

The Truman Doctrine

b)

The Warsaw Pact

c)

an iron curtain

d)

a nuclear weapon

32.

What was the main cause of the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union after World War II?

a)

the Soviet Union's support of Germany

b)

differences in government and economic beliefs

c)

rivalry for control of nuclear missiles

d)

the conflict between North and South Korea

33.

What two messages did the Berlin Airlift send?

a)

The United States was concerned about the nuclear arms race

b)

The Soviet Union was not interested enough to continue to divide Berlin

c)

Berlin was able to get through conflict without outside help

d)

Western Allies were not willing to allow the Soviet Union to have Berlin

e)

The United States was determined to stop the spread of communism

34.

Which statement best explains the reason the United States became involved in the Vietnam War?

a)

The United States wanted to prevent other countries from becoming Communist

b)

The United States hoped to convince North Vietnam and its allies to join NATO

c)

The American military was already training forces to fight Communist troops

d)

The American people wanted to protest actions that harmed South Vietnamese people

35.

Why was the Berlin Wall built?

a)

to keep Americans from entering the U.S.S.R

b)

to keep East Germans from entering West Germany

c)

to keep Germany from invading Great Britain

d)

to keep the U.S.S.R from invading West Germany

36.

What was the Truman Doctrine?

a)

a policy to contain the spread of communism

b)

the space race

c)

a program to develop the hydrogen bomb

d)

the antiwar movement

37.

What was the main purpose of NATO?

a)

to stop the Red Scare in the United States

b)

to respond to the Warsaw Pact

c)

to defend member countries from the threat of communism

d)

to end the construction of nuclear missiles

38.

What were Jim Crow laws?

a)

laws that were struck down during the Reconstruction

b)

laws that forced black people to stay separated from white people

c)

laws that allowed employers to pay black workers less than white workers

d)

law that discriminated against migrant workers

39.

What was the March on Washington?

a)

a march for space exploration

b)

a march for equality

c)

a march through the state of Washington

d)

a march against high taxes

40.

Who was Rosa Parks?

a)

a bus driver

b)

a speaker at the March on Washington

c)

a congresswoman from Mississippi

d)

a woman who refused to give up her seat on a bus

41.

Which two were direct results of the Brown v. Board of Education?

a)

troops sent to protect the little Rock Nine

b)

the Civil Rights Act

c)

the end of "separate but equal"

d)

the Montgomery bus boycott

e)

the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

42.

Which of these states the most likely reason for the three assassinations in the 1960s?

a)

All three men were well known and admired by the country

b)

All three men made great promises to oppressed people

c)

All three men believed that the United States should set an example for the world

d)

All three men wanted to make big changes in society

43.

What was the "Space Race"?

a)

the launch of two rockets at the same time to see which could reach orbit first

b)

the contest between the United States and the USSR to put human beings into space

c)

several different nations wanting to be the first to manufacture space rockets

d)

experiments by NASA to find out which type of satellite could reach space the fastest

44.

Which nation collapsed because its economy was failing?

a)

the U.S.S.R

b)

the U.S

c)

Ukraine

d)

Estonia

45.

What happened in New York City on September, 11 2001?

a)

U.S. borders were permanently closed

b)

A plane crashed into the Pentagon

c)

Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center

d)

A plane crashed into a field

46.

Which of the following is a fact that tells why Apple is important to the history of computers?

a)

it built the first computer to use MS-DOS

b)

it invented the internet

c)

it built the first digital computer

d)

it invented the first personal computer

47.

How did Ronald Reagan's actions affect the Soviet economy?

a)

The Soviets decided to pay Eastern European armies to protect the Iron Curtain

b)

The trade war Reagan started ended Soviet exports to the U.S.

c)

The Soviets felt they needed to spend more money expanding their military

d)

Reagan's SDI challenged the Soviets to an expensive Space Race

48.

How did Congress change the U.S. government to fight terrorism?

a)

It went to war to fight Al-Qaeda

b)

It passed the Patriot Act

c)

It said that Iraq had nuclear weapons

d)

It declared war on terrorism

49.

Which statement adds details that tell more about the Patriot Act?

a)

Al-Qaeda was responsible for the September 11 attacks

b)

The monitoring of the American people was allowed

c)

Weapons of mass destruction were never found

d)

Troops were sent to both Iraq and Afghanistan

50.

Which trails were used to get cattle to Eastern markets? Choose two of the following

a)

Great Western Cattle Trail

b)

Goodnight-Loving Trail

c)

Chisholm Trail

d)

Cherokee Trail

e)

Klondike Trail

51.

Which country funded the completion of the Panama Canal?

a)

France

b)

United States

c)

Panama

d)

Spain

52.

What was one condition of the Treaty of Versailles?

a)

Germany had to promise to become a neutral nation

b)

Germany had to pay the Allied powers for the cost of the war

c)

All countries had to join the League of Nations

d)

All countries had to adopt isolationist policies

53.

During the 1920s Louis Armstrong emerged as a talented artist. What was his profession?

a)

poet

b)

movie actor

c)

jazz musician

d)

painter

54.

Which programs were part of Roosevelt's New Deal? Choose three of the following;

a)

Works Progress Administration

b)

Internal Revenue Service

c)

New York Stock Exchange

d)

Civilian Conservation Corps

e)

Tennessee Valley Authority

55.

The D-Day attack began on the beaches of France. What is the most likely reason that the Allies chose this location?

a)

it was the center of the war

b)

The Nazis were not expecting an there

c)

The Nazis were ready and waiting on the beach

d)

Spied told them that Adolf Hitler would be there

56.

Who was asked to lead the committee that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

a)

Eleanor Roosevelt

b)

Franklin D. Roosevelt

c)

Harry S. Truman

d)

Winston Churchill

57.

The United States and its allies fought communism in Korea in the mid-1950s. Why was Korean Conflict fought?

a)

because of the Marshall Plan

b)

because of the war between the states

c)

because of isolationism

d)

because of the policy of containment

58.

What movement did Senator Joseph McCarthy lead?

a)

the fight to go to war in Vietnam

b)

the fight to defeat Nikita Khrushchev in Cuba

c)

the fight to find communists in America

d)

the fight to reelect President Kennedy

59.

In his lifetime, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led many protests and marches. Against what idea was King fighting?

a)

communism

b)

secession

c)

confederacy

d)

segregation

60.

Which term best describes the types of protests Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led?

a)

violent

b)

destructive

c)

peaceful

d)

joyful

61.

How did television change American life in the 1950s? Choose three of the following

a)

People rearranged their homes to make room for television

b)

People only watched television when their kids were asleep

c)

People began to eat dinner in front of the television

d)

People watched television 24 hours a day

e)

People watched television with their families

62.

The use of terrorism has become more common around the world. What is the purpose of using terrorism?

a)

to control people with fear

b)

to work together towards peace

c)

to start wars

d)

to help people in poor countries

63.

Which of the following is an example of terrorism?

a)

the breakup of the Soviet Union

b)

the September 11 attacks

c)

the assassination of President Kennedy

d)

the Cuban Missile Crisis