CLEP Social Sciences Exam Practice Questions

1. Which of the following events added to England’s ability to colonize America in the early 17th century?
   1. the defeat of the Spanish Armada
   2. the Protestant Reformation
   3. economic changes in Great Britain
   4. all of these
   5. none of these
2. The Boston Tea Party was
   1. an elite social function held annually in Boston, Massachusetts
   2. a celebration of tea being imported from China to the New World
   3. a group of American colonials protesting unfair British taxation
   4. an annual political gathering hosted by the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts
   5. a scandal when a cargo ship spilled tons of tea into Boston Harbor

3. Who was famous for the quotation “Give me liberty or give me death!”?

   1. Patrick Henry
   2. Thomas Jefferson
   3. Nathan Hale
   4. Nathaniel Turner
   5. Che Guevara
4. Where did what Emerson referred to as “the shot heard round the world” take place?
   1. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
   2. Lexington, Massachusetts
   3. Concord, Massachusetts
   4. Boston, Massachusetts
   5. none of these
5. Which of the following statements is correct regarding the positions of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson concerning the relative financial authority of federal and state governments in the New Republic?
   1. Hamilton and Jefferson were in agreement about how the New Republic’s financial situation should be managed.
   2. Hamilton believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution while Jefferson believed in a looser interpretation
   3. Hamilton disagreed with the Constitution’s “elastic clause” while Jefferson agreed with making use of it for a bank.
   4. Hamilton found a national bank beyond federal authority but Jefferson felt it necessary to fulfill the Constitution.
   5. Hamilton felt the federal government should assume the states’ debts while Jefferson wanted a decentralized government.
6. Margaret Mitchell’s novel Gone with the Wind takes place
   1. at the beginning of the Civil War
   2. during the years of the Civil War
   3. after the Civil War had ended
   4. during the time of Reconstruction
   5. during all of these time periods
7. In the Civil War, which city was initially the focus of the Union army’s offense?
   1. Richmond, Virginia
   2. Montgomery, Alabama
   3. Atlanta, Georgia
   4. Washington, DC
   5. none of these
8. Which of these inventions of the Industrial Revolution came first?
   1. Eli Whitney’s cotton gin
   2. Samuel Slater’s spinning frame
   3. Eli Whitney’s gun-making tools
   4. Samuel Morse’s telegraph
   5. Elias Howe’s sewing machine
9. Which of the following was not a political or economic development during the Progressive Era in the United States?
   1. Prohibition
   2. income tax
   3. women’s suffrage
   4. the Sherman Anti-Trust Act
   5. All of these occurred in the Progressive Era.
10. When did President Woodrow Wilson declare U.S. neutrality in World War I, and when did he officially enter the war?
    1. 1915 and 1918
    2. 1914 and 1918
    3. 1914 and 1917
    4. 1915 and 1917
    5. 1916 and 1917

CLEP Social Sciences Exam Answer Key