History final test – 45 minutes

Use the image below for question 1 (1Q – Age of exploring/L4)

1. What did the Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Diaz achieve on his voyage of 1486–87?

A. He purchased spices and jewels in India and brought them back to Portugal.
B. He proved the existence of a sea route around southern Africa to the Indian Ocean.
C. He crossed Africa on foot and reached Arabia.
D. He managed to reach Calicut in India in only two years.
E. He circled the globe and proved once and for all that the world was round.

“The United States was born in the country and moved to the city in the nineteenth century.”

—Anonymous

2. To what great movement does this quotation refer? (1Q – Industrialization/L8)

A. western expansion
B. colonization
C. industrialization
D. imperialism
E. populism
Use this map for questions 3-6 (4Qs – Roman Empire/L2)

3. Complete the following sentence. A battle took place along the _____________ River in 54 B.C.

A. Garonne
B. Rhine
C. Seine
D. Meuse
E. Marne

4. Which answer lists battles in chronological order, according to the map?

A. Avaricum, Lugdunum, Quiberon Bay

B. Gergovia, Quiberon Bay, Lugdunum C. Alesia, Lugdunum, Quiberon Bay
D. Quiberon Bay, Agedincum, Bibracte
E. Bibracte, Quiberon Bay, Gergovia

5. Which conclusion is best supported by the information presented in the map?

A. The Romans conquered Aquitania and Belgica.

B. The Romans began their war of conquest in the north and worked their way south.
C. The battle at Lugdunum lasted several months.
D. Following the conquest of Gaul, the Romans planned to cross the Pyrenees.
 E. The climate in Belgica affected the Roman armies.

6. What do the Loire and Garonne rivers have in common?

A. They both flow from west to east.

B. They both flow from north to south.
C. They both empty into the Atlantic Ocean.
D. They both empty into the Mediterranean Sea.
E. They are each over 1,000 miles long.

Use the political cartoon and the text below it for question 7 (1Q – Rights movement/L9)

From the beginning of the U.S. democracy, there were people urging equal rights and voting rights for
women. But it was not until 1848 that the first women’s rights convention was held. From then on, the
movement gathered strength. By 1913, nine western states allowed women to vote in state elections. In
1920, women were finally granted the national right to vote by passage of the Nineteenth Amendment.
This political cartoon was first published in 1917.

7. Why was the idea expressed in this cartoon considered radical in 1917?

A. People did not think women should be required to work outside the home just because they had
the right to.
B. Few people wanted women to try to succeed in roles in which they were not interested.
C. Most people expected women to work in areas in which they were skilled.
D. Women were not expected to have roles in society outside of caring for the home and family.

8. Muckrakers often recreated scenes and events to evoke public outcry over social conditions.
That form of journalism is an unreliable source of information. Which of the following is another
unreliable source? (1Q – Rights movement/L9)
 A. newspaper article about passage of a civil rights law
B. transcription of a speech by a civil rights leader
C. photograph of a civil rights rally
D. editorial about the civil rights movement

Please use the following to answer questions 9-11 (3Qs – Age of exploring/L4)

The core of the Iroquois empire extended from the Hudson River to the Genesee River in present-day
central New York State, and from Lake Ontario to what is now the Pennsylvania–New York border. By
1700, the Iroquois had extended their territory westward, spreading some 800 miles between the
Appalachians and the Mississippi River. The power of the Iroquois began in the 1500s, when Hiawatha
brought together the Five Iroquois Nations of the New York valley and formed the Iroquois League to try
and keep the peace. Although the league lasted 300 years, the so-called “Great Peace” would not last.
One important reason for the destruction of the peace was the fur trade. As the French began
systematic fur-trading, the Algonquians became their main suppliers of beaver pelts. Meanwhile, Dutch
traders created a similar pact with the Iroquois. In a short time, both Algonquian and Iroquois territories
were denuded of wildlife, and a struggle for trapping grounds ensued. The Iroquois routed the
Algonquians, who fled eastward to the seashore. The French turned to the Hurons to replace the
Algonquians as trading partners, but the Dutch urged their Iroquois allies to break the Huron monopoly.
By the mid-1600s, the Iroquois had succeeded in destroying the Huron civilization and sending the
survivors west to the plains.

9. According to this passage, why did Hiawatha create the Iroquois League?

A. to secure a lasting peace among the Five Iroquois Nations

B. to strengthen his bargaining position in negotiations with the Dutch
C. to form a buffer against invasion by the Algonquians
D. to extend the boundaries of the Iroquois empire
E. to strengthen ties between the Huron and the Iroquois

10. Which conclusion about the fur trade is best supported by the information presented?

A. The fur trade built friendship among the tribes.

B. European traders were generous to their American Indian partners.
C. The fur trade improved the standard of living for all.
D. Fur traders traveled all the way to the Rocky Mountains.
E. The fur trade was a negative influence on tribal life.

11. According to this passage, why did the Iroquois make war on the Hurons?

A. They wanted the Hurons’ land to use for farming.

B. They had been attacked by the Hurons’ French partners.
C. They feared that the Hurons would join forces with the Algonquians.
D. They were encouraged to do so by the Dutch.
E. They disapproved of the Hurons’ treaty with the French.
Use the following information for questions 12-14 (3Qs – Pre-history/L1)

The Neolithic Era saw significant climatic changes that allowed for the beginning of farming in many
parts of the world.

12. How did people’s lives change when they began cultivating cereal crops?

A. They stopped being afraid of wild animals.

B. They started painting on the walls of caves.
C. They started using fire to cook their food.
D. They started using axes and other tools.
E. They started settling down in villages.

13. Is it reasonable to conclude that cattle were used for plowing before horses were?

A. No, because horses were domesticated before cattle were.

B. No, because cattle were still wild when plowing was introduced.
C. Yes, because horses were not yet domesticated when plowing was introduced.
D. Yes, because cattle were more common than horses were.
E. No, because llamas might just as easily have been used

14. Which statement based on the diagram is an opinion rather than a fact?

A. The wheel was invented long after people settled down in villages.
B. Dugout canoes preceded sailboats by thousands of years.
C. Olive trees and fruit trees were first cultivated around 5000 B.C.
D. In the New World, the llama served a purpose similar to a sheep or cow in the Old World.
E. Irrigation was the Neolithic era’s most important innovation
Use the table for question 15 (1Q – WWII/L9)

As damaging as it was in terms of American lives lost, World War II had an even greater effect on the
lives of British, French, and Soviet soldiers and civilians. This chart compares the losses

15. Which of the following most likely explains why civilian losses were so much lower in the United
States than in Europe?

A. The U.S. military was better able to protect its civilians.

B. Outside of certain Alaskan islands, no fighting took place on U.S. soil.
C. U.S. civilians were not allowed to witness battles.
D. More U.S. civilians were drafted into the armed forces.
E. The United States was far more sparsely populated.

16. A civil war is defined as a war between factions or regions of the same country. Based on this
definition, which of these is NOT a civil war? (1Q – Civil war/L8)

A. the 1642 struggle between supporters of the king and parliamentarians in England
B. the 1918 conflict between the anticommunist White and the Red Army of the Soviets in
Russia
C. the war between the Hutu and Tutsi peoples in present-day Rwanda
D. the 1904 conflict between Russia and Japan over control of Manchuria and Korea
E. the war during the 1920s between the Irish republicans and the Irish Free State forces in

Ireland Use the chart for question 17 (1Q – Cold war/L9)

17. What is the most likely reason for the Allied retreat on November 26?

A. The arrival of Chinese troops greatly increased enemy strength.

B. Chinese forces withdrew from the Korean peninsula.
C. The United Nations called for a general end to the conflict.
D. South Korea agreed to a truce with North Korea.
E. The capture of Pyongyang was the only goal of the Allied advance.

Use the table for question 18 (1Q – Early civilizations/L2)

18. Which conclusion is best supported by the information presented in the chart?

A. All early civilizations were monarchies.

B. Egypt is the oldest of the world’s civilizations.
C. Many of the world’s earliest civilizations developed in river valleys.
D. All early civilizations used a type of writing called hieroglyphics.
E. Civilization began in China and spread westward across Asia
Use the text below for question 19 (1Q – Trading/L4)

The eighteenth-century slave trade was a “triangular” trade. A ship would travel from Europe to West
Africa carrying cotton fabrics, hardware, and guns. In Africa, these items would be traded for slaves. The
ship would then carry the slaves to the West Indies and the southern American colonies. Finally, the ship
would return to Europe carrying sugar and tobacco.

19. Which of the following would you most likely find on board an eighteenth-century slave ship sailing
from the West Indies to Great Britain?

A. slaves
B. cotton fabrics
C. sugar
D. guns
E. hardware

Use this information for questions 20-21 (2Qs – Westward expansion/L8)

This letter, printed widely in American newspapers, was written by George W. Harkins, chief of the
Choctaw tribe, in response to the brutal Indian removals to new homes in the West.

George W. Harkins to the American People, February 25, 1832

Yet it is said that our present movements are our own voluntary acts — such is not the case. We found
ourselves like a benighted stranger, following false guides, until he was surrounded on every side, with
fire and water. The fire was certain destruction, and a feeble hope was left him of escaping by water. A
distant view of the opposite shore encourages the hope; to remain would be inevitable annihilation.
Who would hesitate, or who would say that his plunging into the water was his own voluntary act?
Painful in the extreme is the mandate of our expulsion. We regret that it should proceed from the
mouth of our professed friend, for whom our blood was co-mingled with that of his bravest warriors, on
the field of danger and death. I ask you in the name of justice, for repose for myself and for my injured
people. Let us alone — we will not harm you, we want rest. We hope, in the name of justice, that
another outrage may never be committed against us, and that we may for the future be cared for as
children, and not driven about as beasts, which are benefited by a change of pasture.

20. In his letter, George W. Harkins is referring to which of the following?

A. Indian Removal Act

B. Civil Rights Movement
C. American Indian Movement
D. People’s Protest at the University of California at Berkeley

21. Which conclusion can you draw from the information in the Harkins letter?

A. The Choctaw tribe was leaving their lands voluntarily.

B. The Choctaw tribe was being forced to leave their lands.
C. The Choctaw tribe had no land.
D. The Choctaw tribe wanted to move to another place.
Use this text for questions 22-23 (2Qs – Native Americans/L5)

The Aztec empire of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was based on an agricultural economy. The
Valley of Mexico—a fertile basin with five lakes in its center—provided land for farming. However, as
the population of the empire grew, the Aztecs needed to make more land suitable for agriculture. To do
this, they developed irrigation (a system that carries water through dams and canals to use for farming)
and formed terraces (a process that cuts “steps” into hillsides to make flat surfaces for farming). They
also practiced land reclamation, turning swamps and wet areas into land that can be cultivated.

22. What factor caused the Aztecs to develop agricultural innovations?

A. The empire shifted from an agriculture-based economy to an industrial one.

B. Annual flooding created rich soil, but the lakes could not sustain crops the rest of the year.
C. An increase in population created a need for land for more housing.
D. A growing population resulted in increased food demands.
E. Mountain ranges on either side of the central plateau of Mexico made transportation difficult.

23. An island in Southern Indonesia, Bali has a hot and humid climate and volcanic soil that is good for
farming rice, but much of the island is hilly. To solve this problem, Balinese rice farmers use which of
the techniques also employed by the Aztecs?

A. land reclamation
B. land terracing
C. irrigation
D. landfill
E. deforestation

Use the text and the map for questions 24-25 (2Qs – WWI/L9)

The map below shows the political borders of European nations before the start of World War I (the
map on the left) and after the war concluded (the map on the right).

At the end of World War I, Germany was required to sign the Treaty of Versailles, which required
Germany to accept responsibility for causing the war. The treaty also required Germany to pay the victor
nations over 6 million pounds in reparations and to cede some of its land, including its valuable coal
mines on the German-French border. In addition, Germany had to give up all of her colonies, which had
provided her with a steady source of income. Finally, strict limitations were placed on the size and
weaponry of the German military, and the country was forbidden from entering into an alliance with
neighboring Austria.
24. Which country increased in size at the conclusion of World War I?

A. Austria-Hungary
B. Norway
C. Rumania (Romania)
D. Ireland
E. Serbia

25. Which of the following is a FACT about the Treaty of Versailles?

A. The Treaty of Versailles harmed the German economy.

B. Germany deserved the harsh terms of the treaty because Germany started the war.
C. If the Treaty of Versailles had been fairer to Germany, the Nazis never would have gained
power.
D. The United States was the country that benefited the most from the Treaty of Versailles.
E. Germany should have been allowed to keep the coal mines along its border with France.
Use the text for questions 26-27 (2Qs – Cold war)

The Cuban Missile Crisis began in 1962 when U.S. spy planes spotted Soviet missile installations under
construction in Cuba. The missiles were capable of carrying nuclear weapons and were within range of
major U.S. cities. A 13-day standoff began, during which President Kennedy imposed a naval blockade of
Cuba and demanded that the Soviets remove the weapons. Kennedy stated that any missile attack from
Cuba would be regarded as an attack from the Soviet Union and would be responded to accordingly.
Khrushchev later conceded, agreeing to remove the weapons if, in return, the United States pledged not
to invade the island. Details from U.S. and Soviet declassified files and participants in the crisis have
surfaced since the incident. Unknown to the U.S. government at the time, 40,000 Soviet soldiers were
stationed in Cuba and armed with nuclear weapons. Although Khrushchev’s actions helped to avert
nuclear war, they made him appear weak to younger Soviet leaders who ousted him from power.
Historians regard the crisis as the world’s closest brush with the threat of nuclear war.

26. According to the information given in this passage, it is most likely that President Kennedy

A. viewed this as a regional crisis solely between the United States and Cuba.
B. trusted Soviet officials who said there weren’t any missiles in Cuba.
C. believed that the conflict was principally between the United States and the Soviet
Union.
D. viewed the situation as serious but felt it could be managed with diplomacy.
E. felt confident about how Khrushchev would respond.

27. Which of the following conclusions can you make based on the passage?

A. Kennedy’s first concern during the crisis was the appeal of Communist ideas.
B. Nuclear war is the only way to win a cold war.
C. Kennedy knew that Khrushchev would back down.
D. Khrushchev’s popularity increased at home.
E. The U.S. government did not know the full extent of the Soviet threat at the time.

Use the map for question 28 (1Q – Civil war/L8)

28. According to the above map, April 15, 1861 was significant. What conclusion can be made about this
date?
A. The United States had a new president.
B. The line drawn by the Missouri Compromise in 1850 did not apply to California.
C. The territories did not have slavery.
D. The Southern states had seceded from the Union.

Use this information for question 29 (1Q – Colonization of America/L6)

When European settlers arrived on the North American continent at the end of the fifteenth century,
they encountered diverse American Indian cultures—as many as 900,000 inhabitants with over 300
different languages. These people, whose ancestors crossed the land bridge from Asia in what may be
considered the first North American immigration, were virtually destroyed by the subsequent
immigration that created the United States. This tragedy is the direct result of treaties, written and
broken by foreign governments, of warfare, and of forced assimilation.

29. What does the author of this passage believe?

A. The U.S. government was faithful to its treaties with American Indians.
B. American Indians made up a homogenous group.
C. The European settlers were responsible for the decimation of native people.
D. Native cultures were unsophisticated.
E. The Europeans benefited from contact with native cultures.

Use the text for questions 30-31 (2Qs – The black rights movement/L9)

Beginning in 1958 . . . local NAACP [National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]
chapters organized sit-ins, where African Americans, many of whom were college students, took seats
and demanded service at segregated all-white lunch counters. It was, however, the sit-in
demonstrations at Woolworth’s store in Greensboro, North Carolina, beginning on February 1, 1960,
that caught national attention and sparked other sit-ins and demonstrations in the South. One of the
four students in the first Greensboro sit-in, Joe McNeil, later recounted his experience: “. . . we sat at a
lunch counter where blacks never sat before. And people started to look at us. The help, many of whom
were black, looked at us in disbelief too. They were concerned about our safety. We asked for service,
and we were denied, and we expected to be denied. We asked why we couldn’t be served, and
obviously we weren’t given a reasonable answer and it was our intent to sit there until they decided to
serve us.”

30. The writer has not directly stated, but would support, which of the following statements?

A. Without the sit-in in Greensboro, NC, the civil rights movement would never have started.
B. Woolworth’s served affordable lunches.
C. Local NAACP chapters were causing trouble and upsetting citizens.
D. Nobody was surprised when black college students took a seat at the all-white lunch counter.
E. The college students showed courage when they participated in the Greensboro sit-in.

31. What is the author’s purpose in including Joe McNeil’s quotation?

A. to show that young people are the most likely to push for societal change
B. to demonstrate that everyone has a different point of view
C. to give a firsthand account of what has become a historic event
D. to discount the importance of the civil rights movement
E. to show that the college students had not intended to create a stir