1. US History Benchmark Review
Spring, 2015

2. Caused other businesses to develop because goods could be shipped.
1. How did the railroads impact other industries, such as steel, and the organization of big business? (11a)
Answer:
Caused other businesses to develop because goods could be shipped.
Andrew Carnegie – U.S. Steel - Monopolies
2. How did the railroads impact the development of the West? (11b)
Answer:
Railroads allowed people to quickly travel West. Made westward migration easier.

3. 3. Who was John D. Rockefeller? Why is he important? (11c)
Answer:
Founder of Standard Oil. First to create a monopoly/trust and buy out competitors.
Influenced government to get what he needed.
4. How did trusts and monopolies develop? (11c)
Answer:
Big business bought out all competitors. Vertical and horizontal integration.

4. 5. How did the inventions of Thomas Edison impact American life? (11d)
Answer:
Changed life. Allowed people to work at night. Factories no longer needed to be by water.
Created power plants.
Phonographs and motion pictures.
6. Describe Ellis Island. (12a)
Answer:
Immigration station in New York Harbor. Immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe passed through.

5. 7. How and why did immigration patterns from Europe change during the late 1800s? (12a)
Answer:
Most new immigrants came from Eastern and Southern Europe – did not speak English, settled in the cities.
8. How did this change impact urban America? (12a)
Answer:
Populations grew too fast. No housing, sanitation, police or fire protection.

6. 9. Who was Samuel Gompers? Why is he important? (12b)
Answer: Labor leader and president of AFL. Organized strikes, unions, and collective bargaining to get higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions.
10. How did the growth of the western population impact Native Americans? (12c)
Answer:
Plains and frontier closed due to railroads. Caused conflict. Most Native Americans forced on Reservations.

7. 11. Describe the 1894 Pullman strike. (12d)
Answer:
It was the first example of labor unrest. Turned violent and government had to send in troops.
12. How did Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle impact the meatpacking industry? (13a)
Answer:
Exposed corruption. Led to the passage of Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act.

8. 13. Who was Jane Addams? Why is she important? (13b)
Answer:
Social Reformer in Chicago.
Opened public homes for immigrant women & children.
14. Describe the role of women in reform movements. (13b)
Answer:
Women took active roles in the fight for voting rights, prohibition, and labor reforms.

9. How did Jim Crow, Plessy v
How did Jim Crow, Plessy v. Ferguson, and the emergence of the NAACP impact America? (13c)
Answer:
Jim Crow – informal racial segregation laws of public facilities in the South.
Plessy v. Ferguson – made segregation (separate but equal) legal in public facilities.
NAACP – Fought for equal rights for African Americans and to end segregation.
16. Who was Ida Tarbell? Why is she important? (13d)
Answer:
She was a muckraker (journalist who exposed corruption in industries).
She exposed the corrupt business practices of Standard Oil.

10. 17. What was the purpose of muckrakers? (13d)
Answer:
Journalists who exposed corrupt side of businesses.
18. What was the significance of progressive reforms such as the initiative, recall, and referendum; direct election of senators; reform of labor laws; and efforts to improve living conditions for the poor in cities? (13e)
Answer:
Initiative – bill that starts with people
Recall – vote to remove an official
Referendum – Vote on an initiative
Strike, unions, and collective bargaining to improve labor.
Jane Addams – Hull House was an effort to improve lives of inner city poor.

11. 19. Describe the conservation movement and the development of national parks and forests; include the role of Theodore Roosevelt. (13f)
 Answer:
American expansion destroyed resources.
Teddy Roosevelt – set aside land to protect as national parks. Also protected wildlife.
20. What was the impact of Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882? (14a)
Answer:
Movement to exclude Chinese labor from the US because of competition for jobs. Based on racism.

12. 21. What were the causes and effects of the Spanish-American War? (14b)
Answer:
Causes: Sinking of the USS Maine and Yellow Journalism
Effects: US becomes an imperial power – gain Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines and influence in Cuba.
22. What was the purpose of Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine? (14c)
Answer:
It backed up our threats to Europe to stay out of Western Hemisphere and Latin America with the use of force.

13. 23. Why was the Panama Canal important? (14c)
Answer:
It provided a shortcut between North and South America in order for us to move goods and our military.
24. Why did the U.S. move from neutrality to engagement in World War I? (15a)
Answer:
Neutrality – Not taking a side in a conflict.
Actions by Germany brought US into war – Unrestricted Submarine Warfare and the Zimmermann Note.

14. 25. What was the domestic impact of World War I as reflected by the origins of the Great Migration, the Espionage Act, and socialist Eugene Debs? (15b)
 Answer:
Great Migration – Movement of African Americans to the North and West for jobs and to escape discrimination.
Espionage Act – Fear of Communism – keep anyone suspected of communism out of US
Eugene Debs – Socialist labor leader who fought for reforms.
26. Explain Wilson’s Fourteen Points and the proposed League of Nations. (15c)
Answer:
Wilson’s plan for lasting peace after WWI. It called for no secret treaties, freedom of the seas, etc.
It also called for a League of Nations – peacekeeping organization to prevent conflict.
US Senate would not ratify.

15. 27. What was the impact of the Eighteenth Amendment and the Nineteenth Amendment? (15d)
Answer:
18th Amendment – Prohibition. Made alcohol illegal in the U.S.
19th Amendment – Gave women the right to vote.
28. What did rising communism and socialism in the United States in the 1920s lead to? (16a)
Answer:
Red Scare. Immigration limitations on anyone coming in from Eastern Europe.

16. 29. How did the accomplishments of Henry Ford impact America? (16b)
Answer:
Created the assembly line to mass produce cars.
Changed landscape and buildings. Suburbs develop.
30. How did radio and the movies impact America? (16c)
Answer:
Radio was the main form of communication. Dramas, news, and sports.
Movies – development of Hollywood and movie stars.

17. 31. What was the significance of the Harlem Renaissance? (16d)
Answer:
It was the artistic movement that celebrated African America culture.
32. What were the accomplishments of Irving Berlin, Langston Hughes, and Louis Armstrong? (16d)
Answer:
Irving Berlin – blended music of various cultures to create something American. Tin Pan Alley.
Langston Hughes – African American poet of Harlem Renaissance.
Louis Armstrong – Jazz musician of the Harlem Renaissance.

18. 33. What were the causes of the Great Depression? (17a)
Answer:
Overproduction of goods, under consumption of goods, buying stocks on margin, stock speculation, and the Dust Bowl.
34. What were the causes and effects of the Dust Bowl? (17b)
Answer:
Overuse of the land and drought caused Dust Bowl.
Effects: People lose farms and have to move West to look for work.

19. 35. What was the social and political impact of widespread unemployment that resulted in developments such as Hoovervilles? (17c)
Answer:
People lost savings, lost homes and businesses.
were areas of homelessness that sprang up in major cities.
36. What was the purpose of the TVA? How did it impact America? (18a)
Answer:
Tennessee Valley Authority – built dams along the Tennessee River to prevent flooding, create jobs and generate electricity. Brought electricity to rural South.

20. 37. What was the purpose of the Wagner Act. How did it impact America
37. What was the purpose of the Wagner Act? How did it impact America? (18b)
Answer:
It gave workers the right to form Unions and use collective bargaining. Create the NLRB to mediate problems.
38. What was the purpose of the Social Security Act as a part of the second New Deal? (18c)
Answer:
Provide old age pension, disability insurance, unemployment insurance, and aid to families with dependent children.

21. 39. Why was Eleanor Roosevelt seen as a symbol of social progress and women’s activism? (18d)
Answer:
She encouraged FDR to appoint women and African Americans to positions within the government. Brought FDR’s attention to important issues.
40. Identify the political challenges to Roosevelt’s domestic and international leadership; include the role of Huey Long, the “court packing bill,” and the Neutrality Act. (18e)
Answer:
Huey Long – Opposed FDR because he believed the programs did not do enough to help the people.
Court-packing bill – FDR wanted to add 6 additional justices to court so they would not overturn his legislation.
Neutrality Acts – Acts passed to keep US out of WWII.

22. 41. What was the purpose of A
41. What was the purpose of A. Philip Randolph’s proposed march on Washington, D.C.? (19a)
Answer:
He threatened a march on Washington in order to get FDR to desegregate war time industries.
42. How did the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor impact America? (19b)
Answer:
It brought the US into the war and helped push America out of the Great Depression as we got ready for war.

23. 43. Explain the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII. (19b)
Answer:
Japanese were imprisoned in camps in the US during war. It was done out of fear of Japanese attacks and racism.
44. What was the purpose of the Lend-Lease Act? (19c)
Answer:
It allowed the US to help nations important to our security stay safe against Axis Powers.

24. 45. Why were the Battle of Midway, D-Day, and the fall of Berlin significant? (19c)
Answer:
Midway – turning point in Pacific – America goes on offensive – Island hopping campaign.
D-Day – allied invasion of Europe.
Fall of Berlin – Fell to Soviets, brought about end of war in Europe.
46. Describe war mobilization, as indicated by rationing, war-time conversion, and the role of women in war industries. (19d)
Answer:
Mobilization – nation gets ready for war.
Rationing – goods conserved for war effort.
Conversion – Factories were used for war production.
Women – went to work in factories and other places to help with war effort at home.

25. 47. Describe the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos and its implications
47. Describe the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos and its implications. (19e)
Answer:
Development of the Atomic Bomb used to end the war in the Pacific. Used at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
48. How were the geographic locations of the European Theater and the Pacific Theater and the difficulties the U.S. faced in delivering weapons, food, and medical supplies to troops different in each? (19f)
Answer:
European Theater – North Africa and Europe.
Pacific Theater – Japan and Pacific Ocean Islands.