TEST TAKING STRATEGIES FOR SOCIAL STUDIES

1. Take your time working through the test. Read the whole question and ALL of the answer choices before selecting an answer.
2. Don't be intimidated by the amount of information or the language used in the question.  It might be easier than you think!
3. Circle key words like NOT, EXCEPT, LEAST LIKELY, ONLY and NEVER. This will help you narrow your focus when looking for the correct answer.
4. Eliminate as many answer choices as you can, crossing them out.
5. Remember that some wrong answers may be true, but they don't answer the question that was asked. 
6. When you're answering a question that is based on maps, charts, graphs or pictures, do the following things:
   1. If there is a title, read it carefully.
   2. If there are dates, these may be important clues.
   3. If there's a key, study it carefully.  It's probably essential for getting the right answer.
   4. When you're asked to compare twocharts, graphs or maps, look for changes over time.
7. When you're answering a question that is based on a document, do the following things:
   1. Take note of who is speaking and when it was said. Think about what else was going on at that time in history.
   2. If the wording is complicated or old fashioned, don't panic. Skim it carefully for the main idea.
   3. Don't be afraid to mark up the document and make notes in the sides.  
8. Check over your multiple choice questions, and document answers.  Make sure you have every question answered, do not leave any blanks on the answer sheet. 

WHAT SHOULD I STUDY FOR PART I OF THE US HISTORY REGENTS EXAM?

• The US Constitution
• Civil War
• Gilded Age
• Progressive Era Reforms
• Cold War

The "Big Ideas of US History" List

Unit 1 - Constitutional Foundations (1607-1787)

1. From Colonies to Independence
   1. "Taxation without Representation"
   2. Declaration of Independence
      1. States purpose for Revolution
      2. Purpose of Government is to meet the needs of the Governed
   3. American Revolution
2. Articles of Confederation
   1. Failed because the Federal Goverment was too weak
   2. Shay's Rebellion
3. US Constitution
   1. Constitutional Convention 1787
   2. System of Federalism - Federal & State Government
   3. 3 Branches of Government - Checks & Balances
   4. Great Compromise
      1. settled issues of Representation
      2. Created a bicameral Congress
   5. "Unwritten Constitution" - practices of Government NOT in Constitution
   6. Ratification leads to Conflict between Federalists & Anti-Federalist
      1. Bill of Rights - protect individuals freedoms

Unit 2 - The Constitution Test (1789-1896)

1. Launching a New Nation
   1. Washington's Farewell Address -Neutrality
   2. Hamilton v. Jefferson - Political Parties created
   3. Marshall Court
      1. Court decisions that strengthened Federal Government
      2. Established Judicial Review
   4. Westward Expansion - New Territory & Increased Sectionalism
2. The Civil War 
   1. Begins with Southern secession after Lincoln's election
   2. Emancipation Proclamation
      1. Frees Southern slaves
      2. war is now anti-slavery action
   3. North wins due to larger population & more resources
3. Reconstruction
   1. 13th amendment (abolished slavery) & 14th amendments (equal protection under law)
4. Post Reconstruction Discrimination
   1. Jim Crow laws passed in South
   2. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
      1. Separate is Equal

Unit 3 - The Rise of Industry (1865-1900)

1. Westward Expansion
   1. Construction of Transcontinental Railroad
   2. Native Americans forced onto Reservations
      1. Dawes Act (1887) - Americanization
2. Rise of American Industry
   1. Access to Western resources & markets
   2. New forms of business - corporations allow for creation of large companies
   3. large/inexpensive labor force (immigrants & native born)
   4. business tactics of Rockefeller, Vanderbilt & Carnegie lead to the creation of monopolies (trusts)
3. Rise of Labor
   1. attempted to improve working conditions/workers rights & pay
   2. Samuel Gompers - Founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL)
4. Growth of Cities
   1. migration of people searching for work to cities (immigrants & Americans)
   2. urbanization occurs too quickly = poor living conditions

Unit 4 - The Progressive Era (1890-1920)

1. The Populist Party/Movement
   1. began as farmers fought back against Railroads
   2. proposals served as foundation of Progressive Movement
2. The Progressive Movement
   1. sought to bring about Social, Political & Economic changes
   2. goals
      1. end political corruption
      2. curb actions of big businesses (monopolies)
      3. remedy social problems
   3. Muckrakers - Jacob Riis, Upton Sinclair
3. Women's Suffrage 
   1. Began with Seneca Falls Convention (1848)
   2. organized to seek the right to vote as means to equality
   3. 19th amendment adopted in 1920
4. American Foreign Policy
   1. 1898: Spanish American War (yellow journalism)
   2. America acts as Imperial power in Latin America & Pacific Ocean
   3. Attacks on shipping & the Zimmerman Note draw U.S. into WWI
   4. Treaty of Versailles rejected by Congress

Unit 5 - Prosperity & Depression (1920-1939)

1. The Roaring 20s
   1. mass consumerism & new debt, new technology (automobile)
   2. new cultural values (role of women, Scopes Trial, prohibition, Harlem Renaissance)
   3. farmers suffered economic hardships
2. The Great Depression
   1. overproduction, speculation, excessive debt sets stage for Depression
   2. stock market crash - 1929
   3. banks fail, businesses went bankrupt, millions out of work
   4. President Hoover - not the role of government to help out
3. The New Deal
   1. FDR introduced policies of relief, recovery & reform (New Deal)
   2. includes social security
   3. New Deal changes role of Government & increases its size/influence

Unit 6 - WWII & its aftermath (1931-1960)

1. American isolationism
   1. US seeks to avoid involvement in growing international conflict
2. US in WWII
   1. US enters after attack on Pearl Harbor
   2. war ends with dropping of Atomic bombs
   3. domestic impacts: Japanese internement & opportunities for African Americans and women
3. The Cold War
   1. intense/hostile rivalry between US & USSR
   2. Truman Doctrine/Marshall Plan = "contain" the spread of Communism
   3. Domestic impact: Red Scare/McCarthyism
   4. birth of the Space Race

Unit 7 - American in Uncertain Times (1945-1975)

1. Post WWII Suburbanization
   1. Levittown = White Middle Class/Conformity
2. Post War Presidents
   1. Eisenhower
      1. increased military spending to fight Cold War
      2. built interstate highway system
   2. Johnson
      1. Great Society = attempts to end poverty & racial inequality
3. Civil Rights Movement
   1. African Americans move to end racial inequality
   2. Brown v. Board of Education (1954) - segregation is unconstitutional
   3. Martin Luther King - minister who preaced non-violence
      1. Rosa Parks - Montgomery Bus Boycott
   4. Civil Rights Act of 1964 - prohibited discrimination based on color
   5. Martin Luther King assassinated in 1968
   6. Success of movement inspired other movements
4. The 1960s
   1. Warren Court increased protections for individual rights
   2. feminist movement demands greater equality
   3. Cesar Chavez works for Latino rights
   4. counter-culture movement - new music/lifestyle that rejects conformity
5. The Vietnam War (1965-1973)
   1. domino theory leads to action to 'contain' Communism in Southeast Asia
   2. failed attempt to defend South Vietnam from Communist expansion
   3. war created huse divisions in US society

Unit 8 - Moving towards a New Century (1969-Today)

1. Presidency in Crisis
   1. Nixon:
      1. Foreign policy
         1. failure in Vietnam
         2. detente - cooling of tensions with Communist nations
      2. Domestic policy
         1. Watergate scandal - Nixon resigns after cover up
         2. Checks & Balances - no president is above the law
   2. Carter & Ford - economic crises rock nation
2. New Conservatism
   1. Ronald Reagan
      1. pushes conservative agenda
         1. attempts to reverse the growing size of Federal government responsibilities & deficit
      2. Reaganomics - cut taxes, increased military spending
         1. restroed prosperity but increased national debt
   2. Clinton & Bush
      1. Clinton - prosperity continues, affair leads to impeachment, internet emerges
      2. Bush - 9/11 attacks lead to wars in Afghanistan, Iraq & "War on Terror"