Praxis 5154 Part 2

Which of the following is NOT a true statement regarding the Louisiana Purchase?

• Jefferson sent a delegation to Paris to endeavor to purchase only the city of New Orleans from Napoleon.

• Napoleon, anticipating U.S. intrusions into Louisiana, offered to sell the U.S. the entire Louisiana territory.

• The American delegation accepted Napoleon's offer, though they were only authorized to buy New Orleans.

• The Louisiana Purchase, once it was completed, increased the territory of the U.S. by 50% overnight.

Answer explanation

The Louisiana Purchase actually increased the U.S. territory by 100% overnight, not 50%. The Louisiana territory doubled the size of the nation.

Which of the following did NOT contribute to ending America's neutrality in World War I?

• Germany's telegram to Mexico that proposed they form an alliance if the U.S. entered the war.

• Germany's declaration of a war on Russia after Archduke Ferdinand's assassination.

• Germany's sinking the British ship Lusitania, which killed 128 American passengers.

• Germany's declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare on all ships in the war zone.

Answer explanation

Germany's declaration of war on Russia in 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, did not contribute to ending American neutrality in World War I. Once Germany declared war, England, France, Italy, Russia, and Japan joined as the Allied Powers against the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary, and US President Woodrow Wilson declared America's neutrality.

Of the following, which person or group was NOT instrumental in advancement of civil rights and desegregation during the 1940s and 1950s?

• The President

• The Supreme Court

• The Congress

• The NAACP

Answer explanation

Congress ignored reports from President Truman's Committee on Civil Rights (1946) and lawsuits brought forth from the NAACP, resulting in the Supreme Court passing legislation that primaries that allowed only white voters were illegal, which in turn finally paved the way for Congress to pass civil rights legislation in the 1960s.

Which is NOT correct regarding black activism during the 1960s?

• There was a riot in the Los Angeles ghetto of Watts in 1965.

• There was a riot involving black activists in Newark, New Jersey, after the Watts riot.

• The Mississippi Freedom Democrats unseated that state's delegation at the convention.

• There was a riot involving black activists in Detroit, Michigan, after the riot in Watts.

Answer explanation

The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party did attend the 1964 Democratic convention; however, they were unable to garner Lyndon Johnson's support to unseat the regular delegation from Mississippi.

Which of the following is NOT true about the Crusades?

• Their purpose was for European rulers to retake the Middle East from Muslims.

• The Crusades succeeded at European kings' goal of reclaiming the "holy land."

• The Crusades accelerated the already incipient decline of the Byzantine Empire.

• Egypt saw a return as a major Middle Eastern power as a result of the Crusades.

Answer explanation

Despite their number (nine not counting the Northern Crusades) and longevity (1095-1291 not counting later similar campaigns), the Crusades never accomplished the purpose of Christians reclaiming the "holy land."

Which of the following is NOT correct regarding assumptions of mercantilism?

• The money and the wealth of a nation are identical properties.

• In order to prosper, a nation should try to increase its imports.

• In order to prosper, a nation should try to increase its exports.

• Economic protectionism by national governments is advisable.

Answer explanation

Mercantilism is an economic theory including the idea that prosperity comes from a positive balance of international trade. For any one nation to prosper, that nation should increase its exports but decrease its imports.

Which of the following is NOT true about the English Civil Wars between 1641 and 1651?

• These wars all were waged between Royalists and Parliamentarians.

• The outcome of this series of civil wars was victory for Parliament.

• These wars legalized Parliament's consent as requisite to monarchy.

• Two of the wars in this time involved supporters of King Charles I.

Answer explanation

It is not true that the English Civil Wars between 1641 & 1651 legalized Parliament's consent as a requirement for a monarch to rule England. These wars did establish this idea as a precedent, but the later Glorious Revolution in 1688 actually made it legal that a monarch could not rule without Parliamentary consent.

Which of the following statements is accurate regarding the end of the First World War?

• The Treaty of Versailles brought peace among all countries involved in the war.

• The Treaty of Versailles contained a clause for establishing the United Nations.

• President Woodrow Wilson had proposed forming a coalition of world nations.

• President Wilson succeeded in getting the USA to ratify the League of Nations.

Answer explanation

The Treaty of Versailles (1919) did not bring peace among all countries involved in the war; Germany and the United States arrived at a separate peace in 1921. Furthermore, the Treaty of Versailles did not contain a clause for establishing the United Nations; it contained a clause for establishing the League of Nations. The League of Nations was created as dictated by the treaty, but when the Second World War proved that this group had failed to prevent future world wars, it was replaced by the United Nations. While the USA signed the League of Nations charter, the Senate never ratified it, and the USA never joined the League of Nations.

Which statement best describes the role played by the French economy in causing the 1789 French Revolution?

• France's very large national debt led to heavy tax burdens on the French peasantry.

• Nearly sixty percent of annual national expenditures financed luxuries for the French nobility.

• Reforms in the guild system allowed many peasants to rise to the middle class.

• The king's attempt to curtail free trade led skilled journeymen to rebel against the monarchy.

Answer explanation

In the 1780s, the French national debt was very high. The French nobility adamantly resisted attempts by King Louis XVI to reform tax laws, which led to a high tax burden on the French peasantry. The French government spent almost 50% of its national expenditures on debt-related payments during the 1780s.

Which of the following statements is NOT an accurate statement about the Puritans in England?

• The Puritans unconditionally gave all their support to the English Reformation.

• The Puritans saw the Church of England as too much like the Catholic Church.

• The Puritans became a chief political power because of the English Civil War.

• The Puritans' clergy mainly departed from the Church of England after 1662.

Answer explanation

While Puritans agreed with the Reformation in principle, they felt that it had not pursued those principles far enough and should make greater reforms.