Unit 3

Questions 1-3 refer to the 1839 painting by Hudson River School artist Thomas Cole shown below.

1. Which of the following best explains how the artistic movement reflected in this painting represented a
turning point for the United States?
(A) It marked the symbolic close of the frontier.
(B) It showed the rise of a uniquely American culture.
(C) It inspired Americans to look west for the first time.
(D) It led to the development of a new conservation movement.
2. Which of the following beliefs taking shape at about the same time do paintings of this school mostly reflect?
(A) Frontier lands rightfully belonged to American Indians who had signed treaties claiming them.
(B) Americans had a duty to balance territorial development with environmental management.
(C) Rugged lands to the West mostly had recreational rather than economic value.
(D) The Western wilderness was integral to the fulfillment of the nation's manifest destiny.

3. Paintings of the style shown here emerged mostly as a companion to which of the following social trends?
(A) Increased emphasis on the spiritual value of nature
(B) Demographic shift from rural to urban populations
(C) Rising population of immigrants from rural Europe
(D) Growing international interest in U.S. arts and culture
Questions 4-7 refer to the excerpt below.
“Another advance . . . is indicated by the transition from a dress of homespun [cloth woven in the home] to a
dress of factory cloths, produced by machinery and obtained by the exchange of commerce, at home or abroad.
This transition we are now making, or rather, I should say, it is already so far made that the very terms
“domestic manufacture,” have quite lost their meaning; being applied to that which is neither domestic, as being
made in the house, nor manufacture, as being made by the hands. This transition from mother and daughter
power, to water and steam power, is a great one, greater by far than many have as yet begun to conceive – one
that is to carry with it a complete revolution of domestic life and social manners. If, in this transition, there is
something to regret, there is more, I trust, to desire. If it carries away the old simplicity, it must also open higher
possibilities of culture and social ornament. The principal danger is, that, in removing the rough necessities of
the homespun age, it may take away, also, the severe virtues and the homely but deep and true piety by which . .
. that age is so honorably distinguished. Be the issue what it may, good or bad, hopeful or unhopeful, it has
come; it is already a fact and the consequences must follow.”
----Reverend Horace Bushnell, The Age of Homespun – A Discourse; a speech delivered at Litchfield County
(Connecticut) Centennial Celebration, 1851
4. The views expressed in the above excerpt were in part a reaction to which of the following developments?
(A) Social inequities created by industrial wealth
(B) A growing economic and geographic mobility within the working classes
(C) A movement away from families as primary economic units
(D) Population shifts from urban to rural areas

5. Which of the following developments of the mid-19th century economy most directly influenced Bushnell’s
views?
(A) The growing industrialization of urban areas
(B) The decline in standards of living among the working class
(C) The use of new inventions within domestic households
(D) The increased commercialization of agriculture

6. The economic development that gave rise to Bushnell’s concerns expressed in the excerpt above led most
directly to which of the following?
(A) A growing distinction between the worlds of public and private life
(B) A declining national birth rate
(C) The loss of the patriarchal family system
(D)Drastic changes in the nature of manual labor

7. Which of the following is a direct long-term effect of the ideology manifested in the excerpt above?
(A)A decrease in the number of working class women
(B) The rise in popularity of feminine literature
(C) The creation of a distinct female culture and social networks
(D) The increase in economic opportunities for unmarried women

Questions 8-12 refer to the excerpt below.

“We must onward to the fulfillment of our mission—to the entire development of the principles of our
organization—freedom of conscience, freedom of person, freedom of trade and business pursuits, universality
of freedom and equality. This is our high destiny, and in nature's eternal, inevitable decree of cause and effect
we must accomplish it. All this will be our future history, to establish on earth the moral dignity and salvation of
man—the immutable truth and beneficence of God. For this blessed mission to the nations of the world, which
are shut out from the life-giving light of truth, has America been chosen; and her high example shall smite unto
death the tyranny of kings, hierarchs, and oligarchs, and carry the glad tidings of peace and good will where
myriads now endure an existence scarcely more enviable than that of beasts of the field. Who, then, can doubt
that our country is destined to be the great nation of futurity?”
John L. O’Sullivan, “The Great Nation of Futurity,” The United States Democratic Review, Volume 6, Issue 23
(November 1839)
8. Which of the following best reflects the ideology depicted in the above excerpt?
(A)Westward expansion was a moral obligation.
(B) Expansionist interests were self-serving in nature.
(C) Creation of a perfect society required westward movement.
(D)Westward movement would strengthen the spread of Christianity.

9. Which of the following most clearly reflects the role of race in the shaping of the ideals expressed in the
excerpt?
(A)A belief that all races should be a part of the American community
(B) A belief in the superiority of the white race
(C)A belief that some non-whites might be assimilated into American society
(D)A belief that the mixing of races will help achieve racial purity

10. Based on the evidence in the excerpt above, which of the following best reflects the primary goal of the
movement depicted in the excerpt?
(A) The expansion of missionary work into western territories
(B) The creation of a vast western empire by force
(C) Settlement of the majority of western lands
(D) The spread of democratic ideals throughout the west and beyond

11. Opposition to the movement depicted in the excerpt was based on which of the following?
(A) Fear that westward expansion would ignite conflicts over slavery
(B) Concern for the welfare of non-whites inhabiting western territories
(C) Potential sovereignty issues with Britain over jointly possessed territories
(D) The westward spread of epidemic diseases from Eastern cities

12. Conflicts over the movement depicted in the excerpt above most directly influenced which of the following
developments?
(A) Rising tensions between white settlers and Native Americans in the West
(B) An increased involvement of European nations in the western territories
(C) The annexation of the republic of Texas into the Union
(D) The declining presence of Catholic missionaries in the West

Questions 9-13 refer to the excerpt below.

"For many planters, particularly in the upcountry, the 1820s brought severe financial distress; for others,
especially in the lowcountry, the rise of antislavery agitators produced intolerable psychic tension; for most of
them, throughout the state, the end of foreign crisis and hegemony of Adams-Clay nationalism turned the
republic from friend to foe. With their purses threadbare, their honor besmirched, their statesmen shoved aside,
the proud gentlemen of Carolina, in their fear and in their rage, found irresistible attractions in extreme states'
rights doctrines. By 1832 most of them were seeking to nullify laws."
----William W. Freehling, Prelude to Civil War, 1966

13. Which of the following best describes how the planters referenced in this excerpt viewed the western
expansion of the United States?
(A) Western agricultural products would almost certainly devastate the Southern economy.
(B) Most supporters of westward expansionism were also ardent supporters of immediate abolition.
(C) States’ rights advocates typically opposed federal restrictions on personal liberty for people of all
races and genders.
(D) Southerners saw limitations on slavery and the growth of federal authority as a threat to their way of
life.
14. How did the power relationship referred to in this excerpt most contribute to an overall climate of increasing
tensions in the United States during this time?
(A) By shifting the national population distribution from rural to urban areas
(B) By emphasizing the competing goals and ideals of the various states
(C) By restricting the flow of immigrants from certain foreign countries
(D) By placing significant financial burdens on the working and lower classes
15. How have political movements in the twenty-first century such as the Tea Party movement mostly worked
to support ideals like those ascribed to the planters referenced in this excerpt?
(A) By influencing governors to decline funding to implement certain federal laws
(B) By urging federal lawmakers to overturn legislation relating to civil rights expansions
(C) By nominating candidates who run on platforms on national infrastructure funding
(D) By calling for the revocation of the federal constitution in favor of a less centralized model

16. Which of the following best explains how the crisis that resulted from the upsurge in tensions described in
this excerpt contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War three decades later?
(A) The reduction in national income due to the nullification of controversial tariffs forced Southerners
to value slavery more.
(B) Clashes over the proper roles of the federal and state governments led to the nullification of the
existing national constitution.
(C) The inability of political leaders in the legislature to reach agreements over national expansion
infuriated Southern farmers.
(D) Southern political thinkers popularized the belief that states had the right to break with federal
power if it served a state’s interest.
17. What was the immediate result of the key political crisis of the early 1830s referenced in this excerpt?
(A) Native Americans lost their lands throughout the Southeast.
(B) Southern states seceded to form a separate national government.
(C) Federal leaders threatened to forcibly assert authority over state governments.
(D) Amendments to the U.S. Constitution established the principle of federalism.