US History Test for STAAR Prep

Sandra Day O'Connor was appointed to the Supreme Court by Ronald Reagan in 1981, becoming the first woman to serve on the bench.

Mendez v. Westminster (1947) was a landmark case that ruled the segregation of Mexican-American students in California schools was unconstitutional, setting a precedent for Brown v. Board of Education.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established in 1949 to provide collective security against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

The Iran Hostage Crisis began in 1979 and lasted for 444 days, ending with the release of the American hostages on the day Ronald Reagan was inaugurated.

Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda and the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, was killed during a U.S. military operation in Pakistan in 2011.

Al Qaeda, led by Osama Bin Laden, was the terrorist organization responsible for the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

George H.W. Bush famously promised 'Read my lips: No new taxes' during his 1988 presidential campaign, a pledge he later broke, which affected his 1992 reelection bid.

The Persian Gulf War (1990-1991) was initiated by a U.S.-led coalition to liberate Kuwait after it was invaded by Iraq.

Phyllis Schlafly was a conservative activist who led the 'STOP ERA' campaign, successfully preventing the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s.

Manifest Destiny was the 19th-century belief that the United States was destined by God to expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism across the entire North American continent.

The Pendleton Act of 1883 established the merit-based civil service system, which required government jobs to be awarded based on competitive exams rather than political patronage. This effectively ended the spoils system where candidates gave jobs to political supporters.

The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed any adult citizen to claim 160 acres of surveyed government land. Settlers were required to improve the land by building a dwelling and cultivating crops.

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first significant law restricting immigration into the United States, specifically banning Chinese laborers from entering the country.

The Gilded Age occurred in the late 19th century, followed by the Progressive Era (early 20th century), WWI (1914-1918), and finally the Roaring 20s (1920s).

WWI (1914-1918) occurred before WWII (1939-1945), the Vietnam War (1955-1975), and the Modern Era. Therefore, WWI is the earliest event among the choices provided.

The Korean War (1950-1953) ended with the armistice that left Korea divided along the 38th parallel, essentially where the war began. Vietnam ended with unification, WWI ended with treaties, Spanish-American War ended with US victory and territorial gains.

In the 1912 election, the Republican vote was split between incumbent William Howard Taft and the Progressive candidate Theodore Roosevelt. This split allowed the Democratic candidate, Woodrow Wilson, to win the presidency.

The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) in the United States during the 1930s to provide relief, recovery, and reform during the Great Depression.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America.

The Dawes Act of 1887 authorized the federal government to break up tribal lands by partitioning them into individual plots, with the goal of assimilating Native Americans into mainstream American society.

The Great Migration was the movement of 6 million African Americans out of the rural Southern United States to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West that occurred between 1916 and 1970.

W.E.B. Du Bois was a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909.

The Marshall Plan was a U.S. program providing aid to Western Europe following the devastation of World War II to rebuild economies and prevent the spread of communism.

Senator Joseph McCarthy was the primary figure behind the anti-communist 'witch hunts' of the early 1950s, a period often referred to as McCarthyism.

The Battle of Midway, fought in June 1942, was a decisive naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that halted Japanese expansion.

In 1972, President Richard Nixon made a historic visit to China, which opened diplomatic relations and initiated a period of detente between the two nations.

The Iran-Contra affair was a political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of the Reagan Administration, involving the secret sale of arms to Iran to fund the Contras in Nicaragua.

The Affordable Care Act, often referred to as Obamacare, was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010 to expand health insurance coverage.

President Harry S. Truman made the decision to use atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 to bring a swift end to World War II.

Theodore Roosevelt earned the nickname 'Trustbuster' for his aggressive use of the Sherman Antitrust Act to break up large corporate monopolies.

Horizontal integration is the process of a company increasing production of goods or services at the same part of the supply chain, often by buying out competitors.

Vertical integration is a strategy where a company owns or controls its suppliers, distributors, or retail locations to control its value or supply chain.

The Populist Party (or People's Party) was an agrarian-based political movement in the late 19th century that advocated for the free coinage of silver and the direct election of senators.

The 17th Amendment, ratified in 1913, established the direct election of United States Senators by popular vote. Previously, Senators were chosen by state legislatures.

The 16th Amendment granted Congress the power to lay and collect taxes on incomes without apportionment among the states. This was a key part of the Progressive Era tax reforms.

The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, guaranteed that the right of citizens to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

The 18th Amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within the United States. It was later repealed by the 21st Amendment.

Recall, referendum, and initiative were all democratic reforms designed to increase citizen participation in government. Patronage, or the spoils system, was a corrupt practice that Progressives sought to eliminate.

Yellow journalism refers to sensationalist, exaggerated, or outright false reporting designed to attract readers and influence public opinion. Muckrakers were investigative journalists who sought to expose corruption.

The Bill of Rights consists of the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, which protect individual liberties and limit government power.

Andrew Carnegie was a steel tycoon who advocated for the 'Gospel of Wealth,' which argued that the wealthy had a moral obligation to use their money for the public good, aligning with Social Gospel ideals.

Susan B. Anthony was a prominent leader in the women's suffrage movement and co-founded the National Woman Suffrage Association.

Bank failures, stock speculation, and buying on credit were all major contributors to the Great Depression. Cash purchases were not a cause of the economic collapse.

William M. 'Boss' Tweed was the leader of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party political machine that dominated New York City politics in the late 19th century.

John D. Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company and gained a near-monopoly on the oil industry during the Gilded Age.

George Washington was the first President of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797.