Sequence in U.S. Political History from 1790 to 1898 - SAT Subject Test in United States History

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Question

What was the significance of The Revolution of 1800?

Answer

The Presidential Election of 1800, also called The Revolution of 1800, was important for a number of reasons. The only true answer choice here though is that it represented a shift from the Federalist Party to the Democratic - Republican Party. It was the beginning of the end for the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republicans would hold power for several years to come. The election was also notable for exposing one of the flaws of the original Constitution; Because Electors were instructed to cast their vote for two separate candidates the result was both Jefferson and Burr gaining the exact same number of votes. It took thirty-six polls before Jefferson was finally elected President, and Burr Vice-President. Following this election the Twelfth Amendment was passed to instruct electors to make a clear distinction between their choice for President and for Vice-President.

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Question

Which of the following events did NOT occur during the Andrew Jackson administration?

Answer

The Annexation of Texas occurred in 1845, eight years after Jackson left the White House, during the administration of James Polk. Every other answer choice is a real event that DID occur during Jackson’s administration.

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Question

Abraham Lincoln began his political career as a member of which party?

Answer

While Abraham Lincoln ran as the Republican candidate in 1860, he was leading a new coalition devoted to anti-slavery principles. The Republican Party was formed by Free Soil Democrats, Union Democrats, and Northern Whigs, including Lincoln.

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Question

On December 20th, 1860, this southern state became the first to secede from the Union.

Answer

South Carolina was the first state to vote to secede from the Union, and the first state to actually secede. It was re-admitted to the United States on June 25th, 1868.

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Question

Which of the following states did not join the Union during the Presidency of George Washington?

Answer

During the Presidency of George Washington, Americans rapidly began to settle westwards, expanding the new nation at a startling rate. Kentucky, Tennessee, Vermont, and Ohio were all added to the Union during Washington’s term in office. The Mississippi river became the nation’s western boundary. Louisiana did not become a part of the Union until after the Louisiana Purchase, which took place during the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson.

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Question

Who was the first African-American elected to the United States Congress?

Answer

Following the end of the Civil War, and the issuing of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, African-Americans were now free to vote and hold office. The first African-American to be elected was John Willis Menard. He was elected to the House of Representatives from the state of Louisiana in 1868. His election caused a great deal of outrage, but he did become the first black man to address Congress in 1869. The first African-American woman to be elected to the United States Congress was Shirley Chisholm, who was elected a whole century later, in 1968.

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Question

Which state was the first to secede from the Union following the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860?

Answer

While all five answer choices are states that eventually seceded from the union and joined the Confederacy, South Carolina moved first, holding their Secession Convention in December of 1860. In order, the states that seceded from the Union were South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

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Question

What was the importance of Sherman’s March to the Sea?

Answer

Sherman’s March to the Sea is the name given to the campaign waged by Union General William Tecumseh Sherman in Georgia towards the end of the Civil War. Sherman marched his troops from Atlanta to Savannah over a one-month period. Sherman and his army destroyed Southern industry, agriculture and civilian property in a campaign historians refer to as total war. It is believed that Sherman’s March to the Sea contributed to a decline in Southern morale and strength.

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Question

The Battle of New Orleans, in 1812 .

Answer

The Battle of New Orleans was fought between British forces and the Americans, led by Andrew Jackson. The Americans achieved a decisive victory that elicited a positive response of patriotic feeling and propelled Andrew Jackson to the status of a war hero. Unfortunately for posterity’s sake, the Battle occurred five days after the War of 1812 had officially ended; however, in that time, when news travelled reasonably slowly, the announcement of victory in New Orleans and the announcement of a signed peace occurred almost simultaneously. This gave the impression to many Americans that Jackson and his troops had ended the war and achieved American victory.

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Question

All of the following states entered the union before the Civil War except __________.

Answer

In the 1840s and 1850s, a large westward migration happened across the North American continent. Settlers moved into the Great Plains for its farmlands beginning in the 1830s, and the Oregon Trail allowed settlers to make it to the Pacific Coast shortly thereafter. The 1848 discovery of Gold in California set off another major wave Westward. Kansas and Nebraska were allowed in to the Union in the 1850s under great controversy around slavery, setting the stage for the Civil War. California joined the Union in 1850 as a free state, with Oregon following nine years later, also as a free state. Nevada was brought into the Union during the War, as a free state, but also because its vast silver and gold mining provided valuable resources to the Union.

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Question

Andrew Jackson gained national notoriety as an army general in __________

Answer

Andrew Jackson started his military career as teenage boy in the American Revolution, but never rosed past being a private. While spending time in the young Republic as a lawyer, planter, and slave trader, Jackson became involved in the Tennessee state militia. As a leader of the militia, Jackson led troops in 1814 against the Creek tribe in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, and roundly defeated them. In 1815, Jackson led troops against the British at the Battle of New Orleans. While Jackson's victory there was widely celebrated, the battle actually occurred after the British had already surrendered in the War of 1812. Jackson's popularity as a military commander eventually helped propel him to the Presidency in 1828.

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Question

Which of the following purported to end the Civil War before it even began?

Answer

Just based off of pure timing, this should have been a fairly easy answer—although the Compromise of 1852 may have been a tempting answer. The Crittenden Compromise is the correct answer, the reasoning being that Crittenden proposed his compromise two days before South Caroline announced its official secession. The Compromise was a last-ditch attempt at holding the country together before the inevitable war broke out after secession. The Compromise essentially proposed that the Missouri Compromise line be reinstated and extended west, and that slavery be constitutionally protected in any territory south of the line (including possible acquired territories).

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Question

Who is the only president to have won two non-consecutive terms?

Answer

Grover Cleveland is the only President in the history of the USA to win two non-consecutive elections. Grover Cleveland, a Democrat, first ran (and won) in 1884, and then was succeeded by Benjamin Harrison, a Republican, who beat him out in the general election the following cycle. Cleveland ran again in 1892 and won back the presidency.

Interestingly, Cleveland was the only Democrat President (other than Andrew Johnson, who, remember, succeeded Lincoln via presidential succession) from post-Civil War until Woodrow Wilson.

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