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SAT Subject Test: U.S. History Vocab

Subjects : sat, history
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Those who were pro-Vietnam war in the 1960s.






2. A policy in which one people or a group within a nation attempts to destroy people whose ethnic background differs from theirs.






3. A grouping of nations where each one pledges mutual support to the others. This support is usually defensive in nature. The formation of alliances was a nunderlying cause of WWI.






4. A high tax placed on imports. Its purpose is to make domestic goods cheaper than foreign goods - thus "protecting" domestic industry.






5. Philosophical movement - with deep roots in the United States - which holds that truth emerges from experimentation and experience rather than from abstract theory. it is associated with William James and John Dewey.






6. Early 20th-century election reform that allowed citizens - rather than political machines - to choose candidates for public office.






7. Government policy of noninterference in business practices and in individuals economic affairs; literally translated as "to let do."






8. This clause - found in the last paragraph of Article I Section 8 of the US Constitution - allows Congress to make laws not specifically delegated to it by the Constitution but that may be "necessary and proper" to carry out its delegated powers. (Als






9. A political system dominated by two parties. Voters reluctance to support third parties reinforces the two-party system. The first two-party system - dating back to the 1970s - included the Federalist and Republican Parties. The current two-party sys






10. A program providing health insurance and health care for people over the age of 65.






11. A body of advisers to a head of state. The US president's cabinet consists of the heads of the various departments plus other advisers.






12. The development of large military forces - not only for defense of the nation but for possible aggression into other nations. It was one of the causes of WWI.






13. The reaction of some whites to the Civil Rights Movement and the urban riots of the 1960s. The formerly solidly Democratic South started voting Republican following the gains of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s - and many whites sent their kids






14. The name used by the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson to describe its domestic programs.






15. A treaty in which the parties agree not to attack each other unless attacked first.






16. Laws made by the British government restricting colonial trade of sugar and tobacco to any country other than England or by any means other than on British ships.






17. The practice of paying for goods at regular intervals - usually with interest added to the balance - associated with consumption in the 1920s.






18. The economic state in which prices are rising (inflation) and unemployment is high - producing stagnation of growth.






19. The practice of victorious candidates distributing government jobs to friends and supporters rather than to the most qualified people. Andre Jackson gave his supporters the spoils of victory - whereas John Quincy Adams by and large did not.






20. The condition when all adults in a democracy are granted the right to vote.






21. Technique of the labor movement in the 1930s that entailed stopping work but not leaving the factory floor - as owners were not able to hire replacement workers so long as the workers occupied the shop floor.






22. Powers given to the national/federal government that are specifically stated in the Constitution. They are found in Article I Section 8 of the Constitution and may also be known as expressed or enumerated powers.






23. Hit and run tactics combined with hiding and ambushing the enemy. The soldier would live off the land and population in an area so that he or she need not carry many supplies. The Americans learned this from the Indians in colonial times and used it






24. A practice used in colonial America in which a person entered into a contract for a specified period of time with another in exchange for the payment of his or her passage to the New World. The indentured servant was sometimes promised some land afte






25. The building of canals - railroads - and turnpikes at state or federal expense. These were part of the American Plan - which became an important part of the Whig program of the 1830s. Internal improvements were also supported by the National Republic






26. The promotion of products in various media. Modern advertising - employing psychology - expert testimony - and other innovations developed in the 1920s.






27. The generation of children born between the end of WWII and 1964.






28. The principal that the Supreme Court has the power to review laws passed by Congress and actions taken by the president to determine whether or not they are consistent with the Constitution. The Supreme Court can declare a law or presidential action






29. A person who believes in the broad interpretation of the US Constitution; that is - that the Constitution does not have to be interpreted word by word. Alexander Hamilton supported this idea.






30. The political position that claimed that we could have won the Vietnam War if we had declared war - put in more troops - had a more unified country - or given our generals free reign to fight. These positions are called revisionist because the consen






31. The process of acquiring new territories






32. The condition when all male adults in a democracy are granted the right to vote.






33. A policy developed by the Spanish in the 1500s in which the Spanish settlers in the New World were permitted to use Native American labor if the settlers promised to attempt to Christianize them. It led to the exploitation of the Native Americans






34. The study of the environment.






35. Bundles of subprime mortgages that are traded like stocks.






36. Coins or gold and silver money - also called "hard money."






37. Progressive political reform in the early 1900s that enabled voters to introduce legislation.






38. A legislature composed of two houses. The US Congress - composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives - is an example.






39. An increase in number - volume - scope. In reference to the Vietnam War - it refers to the increase in the number of troops and the intensity of involvement by the United States.






40. An organization and discussion method employed by feminists in the late 1960s and early 1970s in which women would exchange experiences of discrimination - read radical analyses of oppression - and develop an understanding that the patriarchal or som






41. A type of colony controlled by the king. The crown chose the governor to run the colony.






42. The political act of leaving the Union. The Southern states formed their own country during 1860-1861 after they seceded from the United States.






43. A type of government characterized by a loose alliance of states leading to a weak central government and strong state governments. This was the type of government that existed under the Articles of Confederation.






44. A program providing health care for the needy (people who lived below the poverty level) who were not covered by Medicare.






45. The policy used by the British before the War of 1812 wherein the British stopped US vessels and removed sailors from them to be used on British naval vessels. it was also used to a limited extent by the French during this same period. It was one of






46. A tax that is added onto the price of goods produced - sold - or distributed within a country; for example - sales tax.






47. A method of mass production whereby the products are moved from worker to worker - with each person performing a small - repetitive task on the product and sending it to the next for a different task until the finished item is assembled. In the 18th






48. Machine-made or standardized parts that could be put together to make a product. Eli Whitney demonstrated to President John Adams in 1801 how a box of guns could be disassembled and reassembled randomly. Each part must be precision-made so that it wi






49. The Eisenhower-era theory that one communist country would infiltrate or influence its neighbors - supporting insurrection there and causing them to become communist too. They would fall like a series of dominoes standing close together. Kennedy - Jo






50. The organizations and events in the 20th century that collectively pressured federal - state - and local governments and businesses to grant equal rights to blacks and other minorities.