Alabama High School Graduation Exam

(Social Studies)

Standard I: The student will understand the global influence of the pre-colonial and colonial eras of the
Western Hemisphere.

1. What European movement resulted in exposure to Middle Eastern and Asian goods (after a failed
attempt to take away the Holy Lands from Muslims? Crusades

2. What European movement resulted in new art, technology, and a return to classical thought?
Renaissance

3. What European movement resulted in the rise of the protestant religion? Reformation

4. What terms are used to describe the exchange of goods between Europe and the Americas after
Columbus's discovery? Columbian Exchange

5. What were the Spanish explorers called who searched for "God, gold, and glory"? Conquistadors

6. What was the name of the first American settlement in 16565 by Europeans? St. Augustine

7. What was the first successful English settlement in the New World (1607)? Jamestown

8. What was the legislature of the Virginia colony called (the first representative government in the New
World)? House of Burgesses

9. What was the main reason for the American colonies protestation against British rule? Taxation

10. What war put the English into debt and forced them to tax and closely monitor the troops in Boston?
French and Indian War

11. What acts were enforced by the English that were already in place? (1760's) Navigation Acts

12. What occurred in 1770 that resulted in 5 colonists being shot and killed by British troops in Boston?
Boston Massacre

13. In 1773 Bostonians protested the Tea Act by staging what famous event? Boston Tea Party

14. The first skirmishes of the Revolutionary War occurred in what two towns? Lexington and Concord

Standard II: The student will understand the formation and development of the United States.

1. What famous English document (signed in 1215 by King John I) was the beginning point for
representative government and protection of individual rights? Magna Carta
2. Jefferson used this idea (Dec. of Ind.), which allows for a people to overthrow its rulers if their natural
rights are no longer being protected. Social Contract Theory

3. Who was the English philosopher who greatly influenced Jefferson as he wrote the Declaration of
Independence? John Locke

4. What French philosopher came up with the idea of a three-branch government? Montesquieu

5. What religious movement occurred in the 1730s and 1740s in the colonies? Great Awakening

6. What was the first meeting called when 12 colonies sent delegates to Philadelphia to discuss British
tyranny (and take action)? First Continental Congress

7. What group sent the Olive Branch Petition and wrote the Declaration of Independence? Second
Continental Congress

8. What document was sent to the British informing them of colonial independence? Declaration of
Independence

9. What was the first set of laws governing the U.S.? Articles of Confederation

10. What famous convention was held to replace the Articles of Confederation with a more centralized
government? Constitutional Convention

11. What was the solution to the problem of representation at the convention called? Great Compromise

12. What was the solution to the problem of how to count slaves for representation purposes? Three-fifths
Compromise

13. The Constitution allows for power to be shared between the national government and the states. What
kind of system is this? Federalism

14. The opening paragraph of the Constitution ("We the people...") is called what? Preamble

15. The Constitution calls for a three-branch government creating a separation of what? Powers

16. What is the clause called which gives Congress broad powers? Elastic Clause

17. A word for word interpretation of the Constitution is called... Strict Construction

18. A broad interpretation of the Constitution is called... Loose Construction

19. What amendment abolished slavery? 13th

20. What amendment guarantees protection of the laws for all citizens? 14th

21. What amendment gave the vote to African American males? 15th

22. What amendment gave the vote to women? 19th

23. What papers were written by Jay, Hamilton, and Madison encouraging the passage of the
Constitution? The Federalist Papers

24. What addition was made to the Constitution giving futher protection for individual rights? Bill of
Rights

25. What two political parties emerged after the debate over ratification of the Constitution? Federalists
and Democratic-Republicans

26. Who developed the economic plan for the U.S. during the 1790's? Alexander Hamilton

27. Who warned Americans about competing political parties in his farewell address? George Washington

28. Who served as chief justice of the Supreme Court for 34 years and helped shape a powerful national
government? John Marshall

29. What famous Supreme Court ruling established judicial review? Marbury v. Madison

Standard III: The student will understand the eras of revolution, expansion, and reform prior to the U.S.
Civil War.

1. What act of colonial protestation resulted in the Coercive (Intolerable) Acts being passed by the British
parliament? Boston Tea Party

2. What document was sent to King George III as a final attempt at peace by the colonists in 1775? Olive
Branch Petition

3. What American colonist gave the famous speech stating, "give me liberty or give me death?" Patrick
Henry

4. Who served as the commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War? George
Washington

5. Who was the leader of the Sons of Liberty? Samuel Adams

6. Who made the famous ride warning colonists that the "Redcoats were coming"? Paul Revere

7. What battle was the turning point in the Revolutionary War (resulting in France becoming our ally)?
Saratoga

8. Where were Washington's troops encamped during the harsh winter of 1777-1778? Valley Forge

9. What was the last major battle of the Revolutionary War (Cornwallis surrendered to Washington)?
Yorktown

10. What was the treaty called which gave the U.S. its independence from Great Britain? Treaty of Paris
1783

11. The U.S. fought the British again in what war? War of 1812
12. What law was passed by Jefferson that disallowed trade with other nations (including Britain) and led
to the War of 1812? Embargo Act

13. What term was used to describe the British navy forcing Americans into service? impressment

14. What ordinance was passed in 1785 that divided territory in hte old northwest into townships? Land
Ordinance of 1785

15. What ordinance passed in 1787 disallowed slavery in the old northwest? Northwest Ordinance

16. What action allowed Jefferson to double the size of the U.S. in 1803? Louisiana Purchase

17. Who did Jefferson hire to explore the west? Lewis & Clark

18. The post-War of 1812 years were called what (because of prosperity, one political party, etc.)? Era of
Good Feelings

19. What year did Alabama become a state? 1819

20. What congressional agreement allowed Missouri to become a slave state and Maine to become a free
state? Missouri Compromise

21. What famous speech outlined American foreign policy in 1823? Monroe Doctrine

22. What law forced the five civilized tribes of the southeast to evacuate? (Jackson's tenure) Indian
Removal Act

23. What event resulted in the Cherokees marching at gunpoint from GA to OK (1838)? Trail of Tears

24. List four major trails used by settlers in the western part of the U.S.. Santa Fe, Oregon, Mormon,
California

25. Describe the southern economy before the Civil War. Agriculture: mainly cotton

26. Describe the northern economy before the Civil War. Balanced: industrial and agricultural

27. What country did Texas gain its independence from in 1836? Mexico

28. What was the U.S. goal (or fate) named which called for the acquisition of territory in the west
(extending the country from sea to sea)? Manifest Destiny

29. Why did the U.S. fight Mexico (Mexican War) in 1846-1848? Land acquisition (California and New
Mexico territories)

30. What famous meeting in 1848 called for women to demand greater equality and opportunity in the
U.S.? Seneca Falls Convention

31. Who hosted this convention? Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton

32. What white abolitionist from Massachusetts produced The Liberator? William Lloyd Garrison
33. What black abolitionist from Maryland produced The North Star? Frederick Douglass

34. What was the purpose of the Underground Railroad? To aid the escaped slaves

35. What black woman used the Underground Railroad to help liberate hundreds of slaves? Harriet
Tubman

36. During the reform period of the 1830s and 1840s much of hte public called for abstinence from what?
alcohol consumption

37. What woman led reform in prisons in the U.S.? Dorothea Dix

38. Who led reform in education in the 1800s? Horace Mann

39. What religious movement in the early 1800s influenced people to help others (leading to all of these
reform movements)? Second Great Awakening

40. What were the communities called which tried to make a "perfect society"? Utopian communities

41. Who founded the Mormon faith? Joseph Smith Who led the Mormons to Utah? Brigham Young

42. What War of 1812 battle resulted in the protection of Baltimore and Francis Scott Key's inspiring "Star
Spangled Banner"? Ft. McHenry

43. What War of 1812 battle did Jackson defeat the Creek Indians in AL? Horseshoe Bend

44. What War of 1812 battle did Jackson defeat the British after a truce was called? New Orleans

45. Which Supreme Court case (under Marshall) insured that the national government controlled interstate
commerce? Gibbons v.Ogden

46. Which Supreme Court case (under Marshall) ruled that the national bank was in fact constitutional?
McCulloch v. Maryland

47. What president gets credit for establishing the spoils system? Andrew Jackson

48. South Carolina's attempt to void the Tariff of 1832 was called the... Nullification Crisis

49. Whitman, Emerson, and Thoreau were writers of what movement? Transcendentalism

Standard IV: The student will understand concepts related to the United States Civil War Era.

1. What congressional solution made California a free state and gave popular sovereignty to the New
Mexico and Utah territories? Compromise of 1850

2. What part of the solution in the Compromise of 1850 upset many northerners (there were five parts of
this solution)? Fugitive Slave Law
3. What act supported by Stephen Douglas gave popular sovereignty to two territories just west of
Missouri? Kansas-Nebraska Act

4. What political party was formed in the 1850's that supported the anti-slavery platform (also, it is known
as the party of Lincoln)? Republican

5. What famous court case upheld the right of slave owners as property holders and disallowed slaves to
file court cases? Scott v. Sanford (Dred Scott decision)

6. Who led the massacre at Pottawatomie Creek, NE and led the raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's
Ferry? John Brown

7. Who won the presidential election in 1860? Abraham Lincoln

8. What state was the first to secede from the Union in 1860? South Carolina

9. What county in Alabama never seceded from the Union? Winston County

10. What state was actually split over the decision to secede and eventually became two states? Virginia
(West Virginia)

11. What was the most famous of the Black military units to fight in the Civil War? 54th Massachusetts

12. What act passed by the Republican dominated congress (during the Civil War) gave large land grants to
states from the federal government? Homestead Act

13. What act passed by the Republican dominated congress (during the Civil War) gave large land grants to
states from the federal government? Morill Land Grant Act

14. What did Lincoln pass on Jan. 1, 1863 granting freedom to slaves in the Confederate states in
rebellion? Emancipation Proclamation

15. What did Lincoln suspend during the Civil War, depriving many citizens of their civil rights? Writ of
Habeas Corpus

16. What was the first major battle of the Civil War? First Bull Run

17. What battle resulted in the single bloodiest day of the Civil War? Antietam

18. What major three-day battle did the Confederates (under Lee) lose in Pennsylvania? Gettysburg

19. What battle in Mississippi resulted in a complete blockade of the south by the Union? Vicksburg

20. What Union general captured Atlanta and continued southeast to Savannah destroying everything in his
path? General Tecumseh Sherman

21. What famous speech was given by Lincoln at a consecration ceremony where he reminded Americans
of the basic ideal, "All men are created equal?" Gettysburg Address

22. Where did Robert E. Lee surrender to Grant in 1865? Appomattox Courthouse
23. What was the program called that returned southern states to the Union, rebuilt the South's
infrastructure, and attempted to protect the rights of free blacks? Reconstruction

24. What were the laws called passed by southern states attempting to control freedmen and keeping them
in a subservient position? Black Codes

25. What were northerners called who moved to the South, voted Republican, and were scorned by
southerners after the Civil War? Carpetbaggers

26. What were southerners called who voted Republican after the Civil War? Scalawags

27. What southern secret society emerged during the Reconstruction that harassed, tormented, and killed
blacks demanding equality? Ku Klux Klan

28. What man served as president during Reconstruction and whose legacy (as president) is remembered as
being very corrupt? President Grant

29. What congressional solution resulted in Hayes winning the presidential election in 1876 and
Reconstruction ending? Compromise of 1877

30. What were the laws called passed in southern states after Reconstruction that stripped African
Americans of basic rights like voting? Jim Crow Laws

31. What type of farming existed in the south after the war where farmers rented land to grow crops?
Tenant farming

32. What type of farming existed in the south after the war where farmers were forced to share crops with
landowners? Sharecropping

Standard V: The student will understand the concepts and developments of the late 19th to the early 20th
centuries.

1. What animal was hunted and heavily relied upon by Plains Indians? buffalo

2. What 19th century technological innovation led to the rapid settlement of the western territories?
railroads

3. Many Native Americans were forced to live on... reservations

4. What great Apache leader surrendered to the U.S. in 1886? Geronimo

5. Custer and his cavalry were destroyed by the _____ at the Battle of _______________. Sioux, Little
Big Horn

6. Who was the leader of the Sioux nation at the above battle? Sitting Bull

7. The United States government attempted to settle Indians on plots of land to farm with what act? Dawes
Act
8. What event resulted in over 200 unarmed Sioux being massacred by U.S. troops in 1890? Massacre at
Wounded Knee

9. What were the settlers called who staked legal claims to land in Oklahoma? Boomers Illegal
claims? Sooners

10. How as the plow improved during the late 1800s? Plowed several furrows at once.

11. Why did the open ranges used by cattle disappear? Barbwire

12. How did cattle ranchers move their beef back to eastern markets? long drives, train

13. What types of new equipment was developed for farming in the late 1800s? cornhuskers, cornbinders,
steam powered threshers

14. List three complaints of farmers in the late 1800s. decline in crop prices, tariffs, deflation

15. How did the farmers organize themselves to fight big business? Farmer's Alliance

16. What was the name given to the farmers who organized themselves politically during this period? The
Grange

17. Who was the presidential candidate in 1896 for the Populists? James Weaver

18. What two energy sources were used to power factories in the late 1800s? Westinghouse and
Alternating currents

19. Who invented the light bulb and electric generators? Thomas Edison

20. Who invented the telephone? Alexander Graham Bell

21. What types of industry was Alabama involved in during the late 1800s? steel

22. What were the captains of industry referred to during the late 1800s? Robber Barons

23. List three important captains of industry during this time period. Carnegie, Rockefeller, Samuel Dodd

24. What theory was used to promote competition in the marketplace? Social Darwinism

25. What idea was promoted by Andrew Carnegie that stated the wealthy should give back riches to the
community? Gospel of Wealth

26. What novelist wrote many fictional stories promoting hte "rags to riches" theme? Horatio Alger

27. What types of labor problems did early unions try and cofrect? unsafe working conditions, low wages,
shorter working hours

28. What was the movement called which promoted change in government, business, and social welfare?
Progressivism
29. What did Theodore Roosevelt call journalists who were intent on exposing corruption at the turn of the
century? Muckrakers

30. What novel was highly acclaimed for exposing problems in the meatpacking industry? The Jungle

31. What journalist wrote an expose on Standard Oil? Ida Tarbell

32. Who was the African-American who encouraged blacks to seek social justice and equality and was an
early leader of the NAACP? W.E.B. DuBois

33. What was the movement called that DuBois lead? Niagara Movement

34. Who was the African American who encouraged blacks to learn a trade and also founded the Tuskegee
Institute in 1881? Booker T. Washington

35. What African American man was famous for his work as an agricultural scientist? George Washington
Carver

36. What famous Supreme Court decision upheld segregation in 1896? Plessy v. Ferguson

37. What amendment to the Constitution introduced an income tax? 16th

38. What amendment made the election of senators by popular vote? 17th

39. What amendment introduced prohibition as a national law? 18th

40. What president introduced important conservation methods to preserve millions of acres of western
lands? Theodore Roosevelt

41. What act was passed during Wilson's tenure that was intended to break up monopolies? Clayton Anti-
Trust Act

42. How did Wilson change the banking system in the United States in 1913? Established the Federal
Reserve System

43. What commission was set up by Wilson to monitor the practices of businesses? Federal Trade
Commission

44. What three parties entered a candidate for president in 1912? Republicans, Progressive, Democrats
Who won? Woodrow Wilson (Democrat)

Standard VI: The student will understand the causes and effects of World War I.

1. The United States joined European nations in a race to conquest smaller, "uncivilized" nations and to
gain access to their resources and markets. This was known as _________. Imperialism

2. What territory was annexed by the U.S. in the Pacific Ocean in 1898? Hawaii

3. What war did the U.S. become involved in in 1898? Spanish-American War
4. What name was given to the sensationalistic journalism that served as a major cause of the Spanish-
American War? yellow journalism

5. What group of volunteers did T. Roosevelt lead in the famous charge at the Battle of San Juan Hill?
Rough Riders

6. What group of islands in the south Pacific did the U.S. gain control over as a result of the defeat of the
Spanish? Philippines

7. President Roosevelt led the movement to build what canal in Central America? Panama Canal

8. What addendum to the Monroe Doctrine was made by Roosevelt justifying American intervention in the
South American nations in trouble? Roosevelt Corollary

9. How did Taft's foreign diplomacy differ from Roosevelt's? Dollar Diplomacy

10. What were the long term causes of the first World War? Imperialism, Militarism, Nationalism,
Alliances

11. What was the immediate cause of WWI? The assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand

12. Why did the U.S. enter the war? Sinking of the Lusitania and the Zimmerman Note

13. What types of technological innovations were used in WWI? Tank and submarine

14. What treaty ended WWI? Treaty of Versailles

15. What was the purpose of imperialism? To expand your country

Standard VI (continued)

1. What type of fighting took place in World War I? trench warfare

2. Who came up with the idea of the tank? British

3. What type of technological innovation did the Germans bring to WWI? Submarine

4. Who were the Central Powers? Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire

5. Who were the Allied Powers? France, Britain, U.S., Russia, Italy

6. What acts contributed to the Nativist hatred of immigrants especially during and after WWI? espionage
and sedition

7. Name several groups of people who benefited from the diminished workforce during WWI. Women,
African-Americans, Mexican Americans

8. Which country refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles because the League of Nations was included in
it? United States
9. Name the organization in which the nations of the world would join together to ensure security and
peace for all members. League of Nations

10. Which president supported the League of Nations? Woodrow Wilson

11. Which political party rejected the League of Nations? Republicans

12. An intense fear of communism and other extreme ideas that gripped the U.S. during the 1920s. Red
Scare

13. Trial in which two immigrants were given an unfair trial due to their ethnic background and were
eventually put to death. Sacco and Vanzetti

14. Name of the summer in 1919 in which race riots erupted in about 25 cities nationwide. Red Summer

15. By 1922, this organization's membership had grown to about 100,000 and by 1924 to 4 million. Ku
Klux Klan

16. Migration of blacks from the South to the North for jobs. Great Migration

17. A number limit set up by laws to limit annual immigration. Quota

18. This type of immigration was banned altogether in the 1920s. Asian immigration

19. List several technological innovations in the 1920s. Cars, planes, home appliances

20. African American literary awakening of the 1920s. Harlem Renaissance

21. African American author of "Their Eyes were Watching God", Zora Neale Hurston

22. List three leading poets/writers of the Harlem Renaissance. Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, Langston
Hughes

23. This type of music grew out of African American music in the south, especially ragtime and blues.
Jazz

24. What type of age is the 1920s referred to as? Jazz Age

25. Illegal bars that flourished during prohibition. Speakeasies

26. Case over the teaching the theory of evolution in the classroom. Scopes Trial

Standard VII: The student will understand the Great Depression and World War II.

1. During the Great Depression, this made farmers unable to repay their debts for land and machinery.
Falling farm prices

2. Allowed investors to purchase a stock for only a fraction of its price (10-15%) and borrow the rest.
Buying on margin
3. The severe economic decline that lasted from 1929 until the U.S.'s entry into WWII in 1941. Great
Depression

4. Houses made out of cardboard paper or scrap metal. Hoovervilles

5. A region in the Great Plains where drought and dust storms took place for much of the 1930s. Dust
Bowl

6. During his first 100 days Franklin D. Roosevelt pushed this program. The New Deal

7. This New Deal program insured bank deposits up to $5,000. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC)

8. This public works project was created in 1933 to help farmers and create jobs and hydroelectric power.
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

9. This program put over 2.5 million unmarried men to work. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

10. This program gave jobs building or improving roads, parks, airports, and other facilities to the
unemployed. Civil Works Administration

11. This program provided old-age pensions, disability payments and unemployment benefits. Social
Security

12. FDR created this in response to critics who said he was not doing enough for ordinary Americans. The
Second New Deal

13. Name the Axis Powers in WWII. Germany, Italy, Japan

14. Name the Allies. U.S., Britain, France, USSR

15. Giving in to someone's demands in order to keep peace. Appeasement

16. Conference in which Britain and France agreed to let Hitler have the Sudetenland. Munich Conference

17. On Sept. 1, 1939, Hitler invaded this country creating WWII. Poland

18. A German tactic in which tanks, soldiers, and moving trucks rapidly attack and are there before the foe
has time to react. Blitzkrieg

19. This country began to expand in the Pacific, controlling most of China by 1940. Japan

20. On Dec. 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked.... Pearl Harbor

21. Women participated in the military during the war by belonging to which organizations? WASPS,
WAVES, and WAC's

22. This battle was the turning point of the war in the east. Stalingrad

23. Leader of the U.S. during the war. F. Roosevelt

24. Leader of the USSR during the war. Stalin

25. Leader of Germany during the war. Hitler

26. Leader of Great Britain during the war. Churchill

27. Leader of Italy during the war. Mussolini

28. After this battle, Japan was unable to launch any more offensive operations in the Pacific. Midway

29. Japanese suicide planes. Kamikazes

30. Top secret project to create the atomic bomb. Manhattan Project

31. U.S. military leader in Europe. Eisenhower

32. U.S. military leader in the Pacific. McArthur

33. Places where prisoners of war and political prisoners are confined, usually under harsh conditions.
Concentration camps

34. Where did the U.S. drop the atomic bomb? Hiroshima and Nagasaki