Regents Exam U.S. History and Government

1. Regents Exam U.S. History and Government Tuesday June 16, 2009 1:15 PM

2. The exam has three parts. Part 1-50 Multiple Choice Questions Part 2-Thematic Essay Part 3-Document-Based Question with Scaffolding

3. There are seven required units that all questions will be derived from. • 1-Geography • 2-Constitutional Foundations for the United States Democratic Republic • 3-Industrialization of the United States • 4-The Progressive Movement: Responses to the Challenges Brought About by Industrialization and Urbanization

4. 5- At Home and Abroad: Prosperity and Depression, 1917-1929 • 6- The United States in an Age of Global Crisis: Responsibility and Cooperation • 7- World in Uncertain Times: 1950-Present

5. Specifications Grid Number of multiple-choice items by unit • 1/ 0-2 • 2/ 10-14 • 3/ 4-8 • 4/ 4-8 • 5/ 4-8 • 6/ 4-8 • 7/ 4-8 (2-6 questions from 1980-present)

6. The 2 required essays are chosen from themes in U.S. History • At least one essay must have a government theme. Some possible topics are: • 1. Laws and social change • 2. Roles of the Supreme Court • 3. Checks and Balances • 4. Citizenship • 5. Equal Rights

7. 6. Presidential Decisions • Throughout United States history, presidents have made decisions which have had significant impacts on American society. • Choose 3 of these decisions and: • 1. Describe the problem which led him to the decision. • 2. Discuss an impact of the decision on American society.

8. Other themes to consider as possible essay topics. • 1. Geographic Factors • 2. Intellectual Life and Reform • 3. Technology • 4. Twentieth Century Problems • 5. Tradition Versus Change • 6. Economic Policies and Systems • 7. Environmental Issues

9. Other themes to consider as possible essay topics. • 8. Factors of Production and Growth • 9. Foreign Policies • 10. Human Rights • 11. Migration and Immigration • 12. Individuals and Groups • 13. Minorities • 14. Diversity and Intolerance • 15. Territorial Expansion

10. Sample Document Multiple Choice Questions • Judicial review, as practiced by the federal courts, resulted directly from • 1. the decisions of colonial governors • 2. the Articles of Confederation • 3. the Bill of Rights • 4. a Supreme Court decision

11. Sample Document Multiple Choice Questions • During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the Great Compromise resolved a conflict over • 1. presidential power • 2. the issue of nullification • 3. representation in Congress • 4. taxes on imports

12. Sample Document Multiple Choice Questions • John Locke’s theory of natural rights, as reflected in the Declaration of Independence, states that • 1. government is the source of all individual rights • 2. power should be concentrated in the monarchy • 3. power to govern belongs to the people • 4. individual liberties are best protected by a strong government

13. Geography-Unit One Topics • A. The Physical / Cultural Setting in the Americas • B. Role/ Influence of Geography on Historical/ Cultural Development • C. Geographic Issues Today • D. Demographics

14. Geography Multiple Choice Questions • Prior to 1850, what was the main reason the North developed an economy increasingly based on manufacturing while the South continued to rely on an economy based on agriculture? • 1. Protective tariffs applied only to northern seaports. • 2. Geographic conditions supported different types of economic activity. • 3. Slavery in the North promoted rapid economic growth. • 4. Manufacturers failed to make a profit in the South.

15. Geography Multiple Choice Questions • Acquiring New Orleans as part of the Louisiana Purchase was considered important to the development of the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys because the city • 1. provided protection from attacks by the Spanish • 2. provided migrant workers for river valley farms • 3. served as a port for American agricultural goods • 4. served as the cultural center for the nation

16. Geography Multiple Choice Questions • Which geographic factor had the greatest influence on early patterns of industrialization in the United States? • 1. scarcity of flat land on which to build factories • 2. shortages of timber and coal • 3. desire of workers to live in mild climates • 4. availability of waterpower to operate machines

17. Industrialization-Unit Three Topics • A. The Reconstructed Nation • B. The Rise of American Business, Industry, and Labor • C. Adjusting Society to Industrialism: American People and Places

18. Industrialization Multiple Choice Questions • The growth of big business in the late 1800’s resulted in • 1. a reduction in child labor • 2. the elimination of the middle class • 3. the widening of the economic gap between rich and poor • 4. a shift in transportation investment from railroads to canals

19. Industrialization Multiple Choice Questions • Constitutional amendments adopted during Reconstruction were intended to • 1. provide legal and political rights for African Americans • 2. end property and religious qualifications for voting • 3. correct problems with the electoral college system • 4. limit the number of terms of the president

20. Industrialization Multiple Choice Questions • After 1880, a major new source of labor for American factories was • 1. western farmers who moved back to eastern cities • 2. young women who worked until they married • 3. formerly enslaved persons fleeing from the South • 4. immigrants from southern and eastern Europe

21. Reform-Unit 4 Topics • A. Reform in America • B. America Reaching Out

22. Reform Multiple Choice Questions • The photographs of Jacob Riis are most closely associated with the • 1. battlefields of the Civil War • 2. living conditions of the urban poor • 3. plight of sharecroppers in the South • 4. victims of the Dust Bowl on the Great Plains

23. Reform Multiple Choice Questions • Progressive Era reforms such as the initiative, referendum, and recall attempted to • 1. increase the power of citizens in state and local government • 2. reestablish the system of checks and balances • 3. provide low-interest loans to farmers • 4. expand voting rights to Native Americans

24. Reform Multiple Choice Questions • The Federal Reserve System helps to regulate • 1. the annual federal budget • 2. state sales tax rates • 3. Social Security payments • 4. the nation’s money supply

25. 1917-1940: Unit 5 Topics • A. War and Prosperity : 1917-1929 • B. The Great Depression

26. 1917-1940 Multiple Choice Questions • The march of the “Bonus Army” and referring to shantytowns as “Hoovervilles” in the early 1930’s illustrate • 1. growing discontent with Republican efforts to deal with the Great Depression • 2. state projects that created jobs for the unemployed • 3. federal attempts to restore confidence in the American economy • 4. the president’s success in solving social problems

27. 1917-1940 Multiple Choice Questions • The changing image of women during the 1920’s was symbolized by the • 1. passage of an equal pay act • 2. drafting of women into the army • 3. popularity of the flappers and their style of dress • 4. appointment of several women to President Calvin Coolidge’s cabinet

28. 1917-1940 Multiple Choice Questions • In the years before the U.S. entered World War 1, President Woodrow Wilson violated his position of strict neutrality by • 1. secretly sending troops to fight for the democratic nations • 2. openly encouraging Mexico to send troops to support the Allies • 3. supporting economic policies that favored the Allied nations • 4. using U.S. warships to attack German submarines

29. 1917-1940 Multiple Choice Questions • The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s can best be described as: • 1. an organization created to help promote African-American businesses • 2. a movement that sought to draw people back to the inner cities • 3. a relief program to provide jobs for minority workers • 4. a period of great achievement by African-American writers, artists, and performers

30. Global Crisis: Unit 6 Topics • A. Peace in Peril : 1933-1950 • B. Peace With Problems : 1945-1960

31. Unit 6 Multiple Choice Questions • A main purpose of government-ordered rationing during World War 2 was to • 1. increase foreign trade • 2. limit the growth of industry • 3. conserve raw materials for the war effort • 4. encourage women to enter the workforce

32. Unit 6 Multiple Choice Questions • The U.S. began a trade embargo against Cuba in the 1960’s to • 1. encourage political change in Cuba • 2. promote domestic industries in Cuba • 3. motivate Cubans to immigrate to the U.S. • 4. end the domination of the banana industry by Cuba

33. Unit 6 Multiple Choice Questions • A goal of the Marshall Plan (1948) was to • 1. rebuild Japan after World War 2 • 2. provide military aid to the Warsaw Pact • 3. establish a Pan-American military alliance system • 4. provide economic aid to European nations threatened by communism

34. 1950 – Present: Unit 7 Topics • A. Toward a Postindustrial World: Living in a Global Age • B. Containment and Consensus: 1945-1960 • C. Decade of Change: 1960’s • D. The Limits of Power: Turmoil at Home and Abroad, 1965-1972 • E. The Trend Toward Conservatism, 1972-1985 • F. Approaching the Next Century 1986-

35. Unit 7 Multiple Choice Questions • A major goal of President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society program was to • 1. control economic inflation • 2. end poverty in the U.S. • 3. repeal several New Deal social programs • 4. return the responsibility for welfare programs to the states

36. Unit 7 Multiple Choice Questions • In Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) and Miranda v. Arizona (1966), the Supreme Court ruled that persons convicted of crimes had been • 1. denied due process of law • 2. denied a speedy and public trial • 3. victimized by illegal search and seizure • 4. sentenced to cruel and unusual punishment

37. Unit 7 Multiple Choice Questions The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed in an effort to correct: • racial and gender discrimination 2. limitations on freedom of speech 3. unfair immigration quotas 4. segregation in the armed forces

38. Unit 7 Multiple Choice Questions • Population increases that resulted from the baby boom of the 1950’s and 1960’s contributed to a • 1. housing surplus • 2. drop in immigration • 3. reduction in government services • 4. rise in the demand for consumer goods