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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. The result of a general shift in society in the 1920s characterized by a greater emphasis on purchasing goods.






2. Laws passed in the Southern states immediately after the Civil War to restrict the movements and limit the rights of African Americans.






3. Popular music genre - with roots in African American rhythm and blues and "doo-wop." It developed in the 1950s and was popularized by Elvis Presley.






4. The theory that the path to economic growth is through tax cuts for the rich - who will then invest in new businesses and expand old ones - employing new workers as a result.






5. The movement to end slavery. There were many points of view on the subject. Immediate abolitionism advocated ending slavery everywhere and refusing to cooperate with the political process (William Lloyd Garrison). Political abolitionism advocated an






6. Those who were pro-Vietnam war in the 1960s.






7. The movement to form labor organizations that represent every worker in a single industry - regardless of his or her level of skill.






8. An economic system in which a colony exists for the good of the mother country. The colony's role is to provide raw materials for the mother country (especially products that the mother country cannot produce itself) and serve as a market for the goo






9. The political position that favors abortion on demand.






10. An economic system in which the state controls the production and distribution of certain products deemed necessary for the good of the people






11. 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






12. Historiography is the study of how history is written. Historians in the 1950s-consensus historians-in general argued that America was the world's great democracy that only did good in the world and had no conflicts at home. Largely due to the effort






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






14. The mixed race of people that developed as a result of the intermarriage of the Spanish and Native American populations in the 16th and 17th centuries.






15. The idea that each member of the British Parliament represented all British subjects - regardless of location.






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






17. The system built into the US Constitution in which the three branches of government (legislative - executive - and judicial) have separate and equal powers that are limited and dependent upon each other. It is also called separation of powers.






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






19. A machine that separates seeds from the cotton. The short-staple cotton that grew inland in the South's Black Belt could be cleaned profitably only with the cotton gin. The invention of the cotton gin allowed cotton cultivation to spread - enabling s






20. Trade that takes place between states. Under the US Constitution - the power to regulate interstate commerce is delegated to the Congress.






21. The idea that the Constitution was created by the states and so the states could dissolve it. This was advocated first by Madison and Jefferson in 1798 in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions and later by Robert Y Hayne in his debate with Daniel Web






22. Illegal bars and saloons that operated during Prohibition.






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






24. Umbrella term for biological - chemical - and nuclear weapons designed to kill large numbers of people.






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






26. Also called "applied Christianity -" this reform movement - driven by Christian teachings - sought to relieve the suffering of the poor.






27. The political advocacy of black-owned businesses and independent black political action. Stokely Carmichael first used the term in a position paper for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1965.






28. Perfected by Samuel F. B. Morse in 1844 - the telegraph allowed for communications over long distances by tapping out coded messages to be carried over wires.






29. 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






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






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






32. Populists and "Silver Democrats" who in the 1890s argued in favor of an immense increase in silver coinage as a way of stimulating a faltering economy. See Bimetallists.






33. The movement of mostly college-educated women to provide shelter - cultural activities - and services to the poor. The height of the movement occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.






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






35. The belief that the United States should not be involved in world affairs.






36. Journalists of the Progressive era who exposed urban poverty - unsafe working conditions - political corruption - and other social ills.






37. 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






38. A type of colony in which the people of the colony chose the governor of the colony. Rhode Island was a self-governing colony.






39. Settlers who were granted plots in the West - usually of 160 acres - under the Homestead Act of 1862.






40. A policy of empire building in which a nation conquers other nations or territories with the goal of increasing its power and expanding the area it controls. This was a cause of WWI.






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






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






43. The series of laws designed to create separation between the races. These were by and large Southern state laws made constitutional by the Supreme Court decision Plessy. v Ferguson in 1896.






44. Tax paid by those wishing to vote in several Southern states after Reconstruction. It was designed to limit political participation by African Americans.






45. 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






46. A company that developed in the early 1600s in England wherein a group of investors pooled their money to finance exploration of the new World. The investor would receive a portion of the profits resulting from the exploration of the New World based






47. The policy of supplying government support for corporations when they are in severe financial trouble. The Chrysler Corporation - for example - got a $1.5 billion bailout in 1980 - and the savings and loan banks received at least $159 billion during






48. 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.






49. 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






50. 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.