Benchmark Comprehensive Review

Part 1

100

This is an excerpt from the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution issued by Congress on August 7, 1964. 

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that the Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression. The United States regards as vital to its national interest and to world peace the maintenance of international peace and security in Southeast Asia…[and] is…prepared…to assist any member…of the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty requesting assistance in defense of its freedom. 

Based on this excerpt, why was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution significant? 

It gave the president the power to use military force without a formal declaration of war.

200

During World War II, what did the military strategies of island hopping and amphibious landing have in common? 

Select two that apply. 

 They integrated land, sea, and air operations. 

 They increased the flexibility and the mobility of military operations.

300

This is an excerpt from “Letter from Birmingham Jail” written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963. 

Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Its ugly record of police brutality is known in every section of this country. Its unjust treatment of Negroes in the courts is a notorious reality. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in this nation. These are the hard, brutal, and unbelievable facts. On the basis of them, Negro leaders sought to negotiate with the city fathers. But the political leaders consistently refused to engage in good-faith negotiation…. So we had no alternative except that of preparing for direct action, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and national community. 

Based on this excerpt, how did Dr. King influence the Civil Rights Movement? 

 He promoted nonviolence as a way of achieving social change.

400

This is an excerpt from a brochure circulated the day before the Haymarket Riot in May 1886. 

Revenge, working men! To arms! Your masters sent out their bloodhounds—the police. They killed six of your brothers at McCormick’s this afternoon. They killed the poor wretches, because they, like you, had the courage to disobey the supreme will of your bosses. They killed them because they dared ask for the shortening of the hours of toil. They killed them to show you, “free American citizens,” that you must be satisfied and contented with whatever your bosses condescend to allow you, or you’ll get killed. You have for years endured the most abject humiliation; you have for years suffered immeasurable iniquities; you have worked yourselves to death; you have endured the pangs of want and hunger; your children you have sacrificed to the factory lords—in short, you have been miserable, obedient slaves all these years. Why? To satisfy the insatiable greed to fill the coffers of your lazy, thieving master. When you ask them now to lessen your burden he sends his bloodhounds out to shoot you, kill you. If you are men, if you are the sons of your grandfathers who have shed their blood to free you, then you will rise in your might, Hercules, and destroy the hideous monster that seeks to destroy you. To arms we call you! To arms! 

In addition to 10-hour workdays, this brochure encouraged workers to protest which situation? 

 police brutality against workers

500

This is a list of domestic terrorism incidents that occurred during the late 20 and early 21 centuries in the United States. 

Ruby Ridge incident 

Oklahoma City bombing 

Columbine High School shooting 

These incidents resulted in which change? 

increased government surveillance of citizens

Part 2

100

This is an excerpt from a speech given by President Ronald Reagan to the American people on March 23, 1983. 

Since the dawn of the atomic age, we’ve sought to reduce the risk of war by maintaining a strong deterrent and by seeking genuine arms control. “Deterrence” means simply…making sure any adversary who thinks about attacking the United States, or our allies, or our vital interest, concludes that the risks to him outweigh any potential gains…. This strategy of deterrence…still works. But what it takes to maintain deterrence has changed. It took one kind of military force to deter an attack when we had far more nuclear weapons than any other power; it takes another kind now that the Soviets…have enough accurate and powerful nuclear weapons to destroy virtually all of our missiles on the ground…. [This] is a different world, and our defenses must be based on recognition and awareness of the weaponry possessed by other nations in the nuclear age. 

Which concept did President Reagan use this speech to introduce? 

 Strategic Defense Initiative

200

This is an excerpt from a speech given by President Ronald Reagan to the American people on March 23, 1983. 

Since the dawn of the atomic age, we’ve sought to reduce the risk of war by maintaining a strong deterrent and by seeking genuine arms control. “Deterrence” means simply…making sure any adversary who thinks about attacking the United States, or our allies, or our vital interest, concludes that the risks to him outweigh any potential gains…. This strategy of deterrence…still works. But what it takes to maintain deterrence has changed. It took one kind of military force to deter an attack when we had far more nuclear weapons than any other power; it takes another kind now that the Soviets…have enough accurate and powerful nuclear weapons to destroy virtually all of our missiles on the ground…. [This] is a different world, and our defenses must be based on recognition and awareness of the weaponry possessed by other nations in the nuclear age. 

What was the purpose of the concept introduced in this speech? 

to create a sophisticated defense system that would render nuclear missile attack from the Soviet Union obsolete

300

This photograph of members of the United Farm Workers was taken in 1975.

Based on this photograph, which conclusion can be drawn about how the Civil Rights Movement influenced the United Farm Workers? 

The United Farm Workers drew inspiration from the tactics used by the Civil Rights Movement, organizing marches to raise awareness.

400

Which statement best describes the impact of the Progressive Movement on public education?

Progressive reforms included more comprehensive laws that required children to attend school.

500

Which figures from the Harlem Renaissance popularized blues and jazz

 Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald

Part 3

100

This is an excerpt from an interview with Malcolm X published by the Monthly Review in May 1964. 

Spellman: You’ve said this will be the most violent year in the history of race relations in America. Elaborate. 

Malcolm X: Yes. Because the negro has already given up on nonviolence. This new-thinking negro is beginning to realize that when he demonstrates for what the government says are his rights, then the law should be on his side. Anyone standing in front of him reclaiming his rights is breaking the 

law…. In 1964 you’ll find negroes will strike back, there never will be nonviolence anymore, that has run out. 

Based on this excerpt, what role did Malcolm X play in the Civil Rights Movement? 

His belief that African Americans had the right to defend themselves against white oppression contributed to the development of the Black Power Movement.

200

This is a poster issued by the United States government in 1944. 

Based on this poster, what was one impact of the G.I. Bill? 

Veterans received financial assistance from the government to pursue higher education and vocational training.

300

Which event represents a breakdown of relations between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II?

the Soviet Union imposing the Berlin Blockade

400

This is an excerpt from a speech given by Secretary of State John Hay in 1899. 

[The] vast development of our industries…demands that we shall…seek constantly by all honorable means to extend our commercial interests in every practical direction. It is for this reason we have negotiated…treaties…conceived in the traditional American spirit of protection to our own industries, and yet mutually advantageous to ourselves and our neighbors. In the same spirit we have…[persuaded] all the great [world] powers to unite in a recognition of the general principle of equality of commercial access…in the markets of the Orient. 

The perspective outlined in this excerpt provided justification for which action taken by the United States? 

establishment of the Open Door Policy

500

This political cartoon created by Billy Warren appeared in The Buffalo Evening News on February 11, 1937. 

Which individual would have most likely disagreed with Warren? 

a labor union leader

Part 3

100

This is an excerpt from Executive Order 8802 issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1941. 

…I do hereby reaffirm the policy of the United States that there shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or government because of race, creed, color, or national origin, and I do hereby declare that it is the duty of employers and of labor organizations…to provide for the full and equitable participation of all workers in defense industries, without discrimination because of race, creed, color, or national origin…. 

Executive Order 8802 is evidence of which situation during World War II? 

President Roosevelt recognized that discrimination in employment practices was counterproductive to industrial production.

200

This is an excerpt of a speech given by President Bill Clinton at the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on December 8, 1993. 

The United States must seek nothing less than a new trading system that benefits all nations through robust commerce but that protects our middle class and gives other nations a chance to grow one, that lifts workers and the environment up without dragging people down, that seeks to ensure that our policies reflect our values…. America is where it should be, in the lead, setting the pace, showing the confidence that all of us need to face tomorrow. We are ready to compete, and we can win. 

Based on this excerpt, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) demonstrated which evolution in American foreign policy? 

The United States placed more emphasis on expanding trade in order to promote global stability.

300

This is an excerpt from a fireside chat given by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on September 6, 1936. 

I saw drought devastation in nine states. I talked with families who had lost their wheat crop, lost their corn crop, lost their livestock, lost the water in their well, lost their garden and come through to the end of the summer without one dollar of cash resources, facing a winter without feed or food —facing a planting season without seed to put in the ground. I shall never forget the fields of wheat so blasted by heat that they cannot be harvested. I shall never forget field after field of corn stunted, earless and stripped of leaves, for what the sun left the grasshoppers took. I saw brown pastures which would not keep a cow on fifty acres. 

To which situation was President Roosevelt referring in this excerpt? 

 hardships from the Dust Bowl

400

This is an excerpt from the majority opinion delivered by Justice Hugo Black in Korematsu v. United States. 

Korematsu was not excluded from the military area because of hostility to him or his race. He was excluded because we are at war with the Japanese Empire, because the properly constituted military authorities feared an invasion of our West Coast and felt constrained to take proper… measures, because they decided that the military urgency of the situation demanded that all citizens of Japanese ancestry be segregated from the West Coast temporarily…. 

Based on this excerpt, which argument did the Supreme Court use to justify Japanese internment? 

The government had the authority to take measures it considered necessary to protect national security during wartime.

500

This photograph shows President Jimmy Carter unveiling thermal solar panels on the roof of the White House in June 1979. 

What does this photograph suggest about President Carter’s approach to environmental issues? 

 He was committed to renewable energy resources.

Part 5

100

This is an excerpt from an announcement released by the Soviet Union on October 5, 1957. 

As a result of very intensive work by scientific research institutes and design bureaus the first artificial satellite in the world has been created. On October 4, 1957, this first satellite was successfully launched in the USSR. According to preliminary data, the carrier rocket has imparted to the satellite the required orbital velocity of about 8,000 meters per second…. It is equipped with two radio transmitters continuously emitting signals…. Artificial earth satellites will pave the way to interplanetary travel and, apparently our contemporaries will witness how the freed and conscientious labor of the people of the new socialist society makes the most daring dreams of mankind a reality. 

Based on this excerpt, why did the Soviet Union launch Sputnik? 

Select two that apply. 

to demonstrate its scientific and technological superiority 

to show that communism was ideologically inferior to capitalism

200

This is an excerpt from a speech given by President Lyndon B. Johnson on May 22, 1964. 

The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice…. [It] is a place where every child can find knowledge…. It is a place where leisure is a welcome chance to build and reflect, not a feared cause of boredom and restlessness. It is a place where the city of [people] serves not only the needs of the body and the demands of commerce but the desire for beauty and the hunger for community. It is a place where [people] can renew contact with nature…. It is a place where [people] are more concerned with the quality of their goals than the quantity of their goods. 

Based on this excerpt, the Great Society aligned with which core belief of the Democratic Party? 

The federal government should play an active role in addressing pressing social and economic challenges.

300

This is an excerpt from Executive Order 9981 issued by President Truman in 1948. 

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin. 

This executive order contributed to which political party shift after World War II? 

The Democratic Party aligned as the party of desegregation.