HISTORY USA EXAM QUESTIONS
WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
Describe TWO features of life for black Americans in the 1920s. -
ANSWER-Formal/legal racism and segregation in the South
Jim Crow laws to segregate society
In 1918, black people sat in different parts of restaurants, travelled on different
carriages and used different toilets. There were a limited number of black schools
which meant only 1% of black people of high school age were able to attend one.
Many black people were lynched without being put on trial and there were many
public lynchings which were barely stopped by the police.
Even after 400,000 black people had served in WWI, 76 were lynched in 1919.
Houses in the South lacked basic plumbing and electricity.
Southerners tried to stop black people voting and forced them to take literacy tests.
Racism and inequality in the North
Around 1.5 million black people migrated to Northern cities to escape racism.
Many ended up living in ghettos: in Harlem, New York City, the black population rose
from 50,000 in 1919 to 165,000 by 1930 resulting in black people being segregated
by their lack of wealth.
In 1919, 24 locations across the USA experienced riots from white industrialists
whose jobs black migrants competed for.
Many black people were forced into unskilled factory work, farm labour and domestic
service and were most likely to lose their jobs when the economy struggled.
Describe TWO features of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. - ANSWER-It had white
supremacist values
Believed the WASPs were a superior race of people, who needed to fight to survive.
Immigration should stop because the foreigners threatened the power of the WASPs
WASPS should have strong Christian values and the Klan targeted criminals who did
not meet their moral standards, such as adulterers and bootleggers.
It was a large, structured organisation in the early 1920s
Simmons restarted the organisation and gave the Klan a modern organisation
structure divided into chapters (Klaverns) where each Klansman reported to their
local leader (Kleagle).
Simmons recruited Edward Clarke and Elizabeth Tyler, two public relation experts to
help attract members. Eg: they allowed Kleagles to keep $4 from the $10 joining fee
encouraging them to recruit members
By 1923, the Klan had 5 million members spread across 4,000 chapters.
It used a variety of method to persecute black people
Violence: Klansmen flogged, tarred and feathered or lynched their targets.
Klansmen protested against political candidates they disagreed with.
The Klan used their influence to stop the teaching of evolution.
The Klan boycotted businesses whose owners disagreed with them.
It had powerful supporters
Senators from Texas and Indiana, the governor of Alabama and the mayor of
Portland in Oregon - political power
Influence over the legal system with judges and police officers making it difficult for
victims of Klansmen to get equality before the law
,It began to fade after 1925
In 1925, an influential Grand Dragon (state leader) called David Stephenson was
found guilty of rape and murder of a 28 year old woman which damaged the
reputation of the Klan.
By 1929, there were only around 200,000 members left.
Describe TWO features of the 'Monkey Trial'. - ANSWER-It was based on the
difference in beliefs between fundamentalist and modernist Christians (Protestants)
Fundamentalists believed that everything stated in the Bible actually happened (eg:
that Eve had been created from Adam's rib and a whale had swallowed Jonah - old-
fashioned views)
Fundamentalists were most influential in the rural and small town communities of the
Bible Belt but also had supporters in the cities such as Evangelist Aimee Semple
McPherson who built a megachurch and had a tank designed to baptise 150 people
at once as well as using the radio to help spread Christian messages with
fundamentalist themes.
Modernists believed that Bible stories had to be reinterpreted as a result of modern
scientific discoveries believing that God was the creator but that the creation of the
world was more complex than stated in the Bible.
They accepted Darwinism but still believed God was behind the evolutionary process
and that moral values changed according to historical circumstances and didn't stay
the same for all of human history.
It was centred around the teaching of evolution
The Anti-Evolution League of America was set up to campaign against the teaching
of Darwin's theory of evolution in schools and in 1925, their campaign succeeded in
Tennessee passing the Butler Act making it illegal to teach and could lead to a fine
of up to $500.
Some modernists in Dayton approached John Scopes, a school teacher, to volunteer
to break the law to see if it was enforceable in courts. He agreed, taught the theory
and was arrested.
The trial was very dramatic
The trial began on 10 July 1925, the prosecution was led by William Jennings-Bryan
(fundamentalist) and the defence was led by Clarence Darrow (an agnostic and
member of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The trial started calmly with witnesses called by the prosecution wh
Describe TWO features of prohibition. - ANSWER-Prohibition: in 1919, the 18th
Amendment was introduced banning the manufacture, sale and transportation of
alcohol and in 1920, the Volstead Act was passed setting up a system to enforce the
ban.
It came about because of problems caused by alcohol
Alcohol damaged society as women said that alcohol consumption affected family
life as it led to unemployment, wages being wasted in the bar and domestic violence.
Religious groups believed it was responsible for sinful behaviour.
Weakened the economy because workers who were drunk were less efficient in their
jobs
It created problems for a country at war as grain was needed for food production
rather than alcohol manufacture.
It had lots of negative effects (unemployment, gangsters)
, ([positive]: number of deaths from liver disease fell from 2.95% in 1911 to 1.07% in
1929 and around 40% of the population seemed to be in favour of enforcing the
prohibition law)
Breweries, farmers who supplied beer and saloons who sold their products all
suffered. Thousands of Americans lost their jobs and even the government lost
income from the tax on alcohol. It was estimated that this loss was around $11 billion
by 1931 therefore harming the US economy.
Prohibition provided an opportunity for organised crime to grow as there was a gap
in the market for gangs to provide illegal alcohol.
Gangsters:
Al Capone was a gang boss based in Chicago and at the height of his power earned
around $105 million a year from organised crime.
He was constantly at risk from competing gangs and used violence to protect it. On
Valentine's Day 1929, Capone's men tried to kill Bugs Moran, the leader of one of his
rival gangs. Despite Moran escaping, 7 of his men were shot dead showing the
cruelty of gangs.
Eliot Ness, a prohibition agent put together a team to target Capone named the
Untouchables and raided wareh
Describe TWO features of prohibition for US farmers in the 1920s. - ANSWER-
Reduced legitimate income
Farmers had less people to supply to as they could no longer supply to the breweries
and the demand for grain decreased as it was previously used to make alcohol.
Many farmers became unemployed.
Effectively forced into supplying the bootleggers/gangsters
Gangs needed to produce illegal alcohol and farmers ended up having to supply
them with grains in order for the gangs to smuggle the alcohol and sell it to citizens.
This meant farmers were forced to be involved in criminal activity in order to make
money.
Describe TWO features of the Wall Street Crash. - ANSWER-It was caused by over-
speculation and overproduction
In 1925, the combined value of the shares traded on Wall Street was around $34
billion, rising to $64 billion by 1929.Americans had great confidence in their economy
believing the prices of shares would keep on rising.
A bull pool (traders who artificially increased the prices of shares and selling them to
less experienced investors to make a profit) encouraged inexperienced investors to
speculate (buy goods or shares with the expectation that their prices will rise in the
short term) which artificially increased prices.
The stock exchange on Wall Street relied more on the confidence of investors rather
than successful businesses meaning it would collapse once the confidence was
weakened.
Mid-1929, stock market leaders started to sell their shares as they expected prices to
fall, recognising that the stock market was not aligned with the US economy. By late
October, most investors followed in fear of it getting worse and desperately tried to
sell their shares and prices dropped further.
It was when share prices collapsed very quickly
By November 1929, shares had lost around $26 million in value, a third of what they
were worth in September.
WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
Describe TWO features of life for black Americans in the 1920s. -
ANSWER-Formal/legal racism and segregation in the South
Jim Crow laws to segregate society
In 1918, black people sat in different parts of restaurants, travelled on different
carriages and used different toilets. There were a limited number of black schools
which meant only 1% of black people of high school age were able to attend one.
Many black people were lynched without being put on trial and there were many
public lynchings which were barely stopped by the police.
Even after 400,000 black people had served in WWI, 76 were lynched in 1919.
Houses in the South lacked basic plumbing and electricity.
Southerners tried to stop black people voting and forced them to take literacy tests.
Racism and inequality in the North
Around 1.5 million black people migrated to Northern cities to escape racism.
Many ended up living in ghettos: in Harlem, New York City, the black population rose
from 50,000 in 1919 to 165,000 by 1930 resulting in black people being segregated
by their lack of wealth.
In 1919, 24 locations across the USA experienced riots from white industrialists
whose jobs black migrants competed for.
Many black people were forced into unskilled factory work, farm labour and domestic
service and were most likely to lose their jobs when the economy struggled.
Describe TWO features of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. - ANSWER-It had white
supremacist values
Believed the WASPs were a superior race of people, who needed to fight to survive.
Immigration should stop because the foreigners threatened the power of the WASPs
WASPS should have strong Christian values and the Klan targeted criminals who did
not meet their moral standards, such as adulterers and bootleggers.
It was a large, structured organisation in the early 1920s
Simmons restarted the organisation and gave the Klan a modern organisation
structure divided into chapters (Klaverns) where each Klansman reported to their
local leader (Kleagle).
Simmons recruited Edward Clarke and Elizabeth Tyler, two public relation experts to
help attract members. Eg: they allowed Kleagles to keep $4 from the $10 joining fee
encouraging them to recruit members
By 1923, the Klan had 5 million members spread across 4,000 chapters.
It used a variety of method to persecute black people
Violence: Klansmen flogged, tarred and feathered or lynched their targets.
Klansmen protested against political candidates they disagreed with.
The Klan used their influence to stop the teaching of evolution.
The Klan boycotted businesses whose owners disagreed with them.
It had powerful supporters
Senators from Texas and Indiana, the governor of Alabama and the mayor of
Portland in Oregon - political power
Influence over the legal system with judges and police officers making it difficult for
victims of Klansmen to get equality before the law
,It began to fade after 1925
In 1925, an influential Grand Dragon (state leader) called David Stephenson was
found guilty of rape and murder of a 28 year old woman which damaged the
reputation of the Klan.
By 1929, there were only around 200,000 members left.
Describe TWO features of the 'Monkey Trial'. - ANSWER-It was based on the
difference in beliefs between fundamentalist and modernist Christians (Protestants)
Fundamentalists believed that everything stated in the Bible actually happened (eg:
that Eve had been created from Adam's rib and a whale had swallowed Jonah - old-
fashioned views)
Fundamentalists were most influential in the rural and small town communities of the
Bible Belt but also had supporters in the cities such as Evangelist Aimee Semple
McPherson who built a megachurch and had a tank designed to baptise 150 people
at once as well as using the radio to help spread Christian messages with
fundamentalist themes.
Modernists believed that Bible stories had to be reinterpreted as a result of modern
scientific discoveries believing that God was the creator but that the creation of the
world was more complex than stated in the Bible.
They accepted Darwinism but still believed God was behind the evolutionary process
and that moral values changed according to historical circumstances and didn't stay
the same for all of human history.
It was centred around the teaching of evolution
The Anti-Evolution League of America was set up to campaign against the teaching
of Darwin's theory of evolution in schools and in 1925, their campaign succeeded in
Tennessee passing the Butler Act making it illegal to teach and could lead to a fine
of up to $500.
Some modernists in Dayton approached John Scopes, a school teacher, to volunteer
to break the law to see if it was enforceable in courts. He agreed, taught the theory
and was arrested.
The trial was very dramatic
The trial began on 10 July 1925, the prosecution was led by William Jennings-Bryan
(fundamentalist) and the defence was led by Clarence Darrow (an agnostic and
member of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The trial started calmly with witnesses called by the prosecution wh
Describe TWO features of prohibition. - ANSWER-Prohibition: in 1919, the 18th
Amendment was introduced banning the manufacture, sale and transportation of
alcohol and in 1920, the Volstead Act was passed setting up a system to enforce the
ban.
It came about because of problems caused by alcohol
Alcohol damaged society as women said that alcohol consumption affected family
life as it led to unemployment, wages being wasted in the bar and domestic violence.
Religious groups believed it was responsible for sinful behaviour.
Weakened the economy because workers who were drunk were less efficient in their
jobs
It created problems for a country at war as grain was needed for food production
rather than alcohol manufacture.
It had lots of negative effects (unemployment, gangsters)
, ([positive]: number of deaths from liver disease fell from 2.95% in 1911 to 1.07% in
1929 and around 40% of the population seemed to be in favour of enforcing the
prohibition law)
Breweries, farmers who supplied beer and saloons who sold their products all
suffered. Thousands of Americans lost their jobs and even the government lost
income from the tax on alcohol. It was estimated that this loss was around $11 billion
by 1931 therefore harming the US economy.
Prohibition provided an opportunity for organised crime to grow as there was a gap
in the market for gangs to provide illegal alcohol.
Gangsters:
Al Capone was a gang boss based in Chicago and at the height of his power earned
around $105 million a year from organised crime.
He was constantly at risk from competing gangs and used violence to protect it. On
Valentine's Day 1929, Capone's men tried to kill Bugs Moran, the leader of one of his
rival gangs. Despite Moran escaping, 7 of his men were shot dead showing the
cruelty of gangs.
Eliot Ness, a prohibition agent put together a team to target Capone named the
Untouchables and raided wareh
Describe TWO features of prohibition for US farmers in the 1920s. - ANSWER-
Reduced legitimate income
Farmers had less people to supply to as they could no longer supply to the breweries
and the demand for grain decreased as it was previously used to make alcohol.
Many farmers became unemployed.
Effectively forced into supplying the bootleggers/gangsters
Gangs needed to produce illegal alcohol and farmers ended up having to supply
them with grains in order for the gangs to smuggle the alcohol and sell it to citizens.
This meant farmers were forced to be involved in criminal activity in order to make
money.
Describe TWO features of the Wall Street Crash. - ANSWER-It was caused by over-
speculation and overproduction
In 1925, the combined value of the shares traded on Wall Street was around $34
billion, rising to $64 billion by 1929.Americans had great confidence in their economy
believing the prices of shares would keep on rising.
A bull pool (traders who artificially increased the prices of shares and selling them to
less experienced investors to make a profit) encouraged inexperienced investors to
speculate (buy goods or shares with the expectation that their prices will rise in the
short term) which artificially increased prices.
The stock exchange on Wall Street relied more on the confidence of investors rather
than successful businesses meaning it would collapse once the confidence was
weakened.
Mid-1929, stock market leaders started to sell their shares as they expected prices to
fall, recognising that the stock market was not aligned with the US economy. By late
October, most investors followed in fear of it getting worse and desperately tried to
sell their shares and prices dropped further.
It was when share prices collapsed very quickly
By November 1929, shares had lost around $26 million in value, a third of what they
were worth in September.
