World War I and the Roaring Twenties (1914-1929) — High School U.S. History practice questions

The 19th Amendment (1920):

1. gave women the right to vote nationwide
2. allowed a federal income tax
3. banned alcohol
4. lowered the voting age to 18

Answer: A — gave women the right to vote nationwide

A) Correct — It capped decades of the suffrage movement. B) Was the 16th Amendment. C) Was the 18th Amendment. D) Was the 26th Amendment.

Many farmers struggled in the 1920s because:

1. the government banned farm exports
2. the Dust Bowl destroyed their farms and crops
3. machines were outlawed
4. crop prices fell sharply after wartime demand ended

Answer: D — crop prices fell sharply after wartime demand ended

D) Correct — They had borrowed to expand during the war and were left with debt. A) Didn't happen. B) Came in the 1930s. C) Didn't happen.

The Harlem Renaissance was:

1. a political party in New York
2. a Progressive Era plan to improve city housing
3. a movement to return to Africa
4. a flowering of Black art, music and literature in the 1920s

Answer: D — a flowering of Black art, music and literature in the 1920s

D) Correct — Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston and Duke Ellington were among its figures. A) Isn't the meaning. B) Isn't the meaning. C) Was Marcus Garvey's separate movement.

The Republican administrations of the 1920s favored:

1. heavy regulation of business
2. joining the League of Nations and the World Court
3. low taxes, high tariffs and light regulation
4. free trade with Europe

Answer: C — low taxes, high tariffs and light regulation

C) Correct — Harding, Coolidge and Hoover backed a pro-business “return to normalcy.”. A) Reverses their policy. B) They kept the U.S. out. D) They raised tariffs.

Wilson's Fourteen Points included:

1. national self-determination and a League of Nations
2. harsh reparations from Germany
3. U.S. colonies in Europe
4. a permanent American army stationed in Europe

Answer: A — national self-determination and a League of Nations

A) Correct — Wilson hoped for a just peace that would prevent future wars. B) Came from other Allies at Versailles. C) Isn't part of it. D) Isn't part of it.

During World War I, the Committee on Public Information was created to:

1. censor all newspapers
2. build public support for the war
3. negotiate the peace treaty in Paris
4. draft soldiers

Answer: B — build public support for the war

B) Correct — It used posters, films and speakers to rally Americans. A) It mostly produced propaganda. C) Isn't its job. D) Was the Selective Service.

The Red Scare of 1919–20 was a wave of:

1. fear of communists and radicals
2. fear of a German invasion
3. support for the Russian Revolution
4. labor peace and prosperity

Answer: A — fear of communists and radicals

A) Correct — The Palmer Raids arrested thousands, many of them immigrants. B) Isn't the meaning. C) Reverses the mood. D) Strikes were widespread.

Schenck v. United States (1919) held that speech can be limited when it:

1. criticizes the government
2. is printed in pamphlets rather than spoken
3. creates a clear and present danger
4. is made by a noncitizen

Answer: C — creates a clear and present danger

C) Correct — Schenck's antidraft leaflets were not protected in wartime. A) Criticism alone is protected. B) Isn't the test. D) Isn't the test.

Buying stock “on margin” in the 1920s meant:

1. buying only government bonds
2. paying the full price of the stock in cash up front
3. paying part of the price with borrowed money
4. buying stock at a discount

Answer: C — paying part of the price with borrowed money

C) Correct — When prices fell, buyers couldn't repay their loans. A) Isn't the meaning. B) Reverses the meaning. D) Isn't the meaning.

The immediate trigger of World War I was:

1. the German sinking of the British liner Lusitania
2. Germany's invasion of Poland
3. the Zimmermann Telegram
4. the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Answer: D — the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

D) Correct — Alliances turned a Balkan crisis into a general war in 1914. A) Came in 1915. B) Began World War II. C) Came in 1917.

Why did the U.S. Senate reject the Treaty of Versailles?

Concerns over League of Nations membership eroding U.S. sovereignty (led by Henry Cabot Lodge).

What was the First Red Scare (1919–20)?

A wave of fear of communists and radicals after the Russian Revolution, major strikes and anarchist bombings. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer's raids arrested thousands, and hundreds of immigrants were deported.

What did the 18th Amendment do, and when was it repealed?

Established Prohibition (1919); repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933.

What was the Harlem Renaissance?

1920s flowering of African American art, literature, and music in Harlem (Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Duke Ellington).