AP US History · Topic 8.9
The Great Society Practice
Part of Period 8: 1945–1980.
Practice questions
6
Sample questions
5 of 6 — sign in to practice the rest with adaptive difficulty and mastery tracking.
Sample 1difficulty 2/5
"The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice... It is a place where every child can find knowledge to enrich his mind and to enlarge his talents. It is a place where leisure is a welcome chance to build and reflect, not a feared cause of boredom." — President Lyndon B. Johnson, University of Michigan, May 22, 1964
Which legislative achievement most directly fulfilled the speech's pledge to end "racial injustice"?
- Acheck_circle
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned discrimination in public accommodations and employment
- B
The Immigration Act of 1924, which set national-origin quotas
- C
The G.I. Bill of 1944, which subsidized veterans' education
- D
The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, which restricted union activity
Why
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 directly addressed racial injustice in public life and was Johnson's signature achievement. The other laws either predate the Great Society or address different issues.
- A
Sample 2difficulty 3/5
Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programs are best understood as a continuation of which earlier reform tradition?
- Acheck_circle
The New Deal's expansion of federal social welfare commitments
- B
Theodore Roosevelt's trust-busting and conservation agenda
- C
The laissez-faire economics of the Coolidge years
- D
The states' rights nullification of the antebellum era
Why
The Great Society dramatically expanded New Deal-era federal commitments, adding health care (Medicare/Medicaid), federal education funding, and an explicit "War on Poverty," constituting the most ambitious liberal program since FDR.
- A
Sample 3difficulty 3/5
Lyndon B. Johnson's "Great Society" (mid-1960s)
- A
Was a foreign policy doctrine focused on containing communism in Latin America through military and economic aid
- Bcheck_circle
Was a sweeping domestic agenda including Medicare, Medicaid, civil rights laws, anti-poverty programs, and education reform
- C
Was a narrow tax-cut package limited to corporate deductions, with no major social or civil rights legislation attached
- D
Was a sweeping reform agenda that Congress rejected outright, leaving Johnson without major domestic legislative achievements
Why
The most ambitious U.S. social legislation since the New Deal.
- A
Sample 4difficulty 3/5
"The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice... It is a place where every child can find knowledge to enrich his mind and to enlarge his talents. It is a place where leisure is a welcome chance to build and reflect, not a feared cause of boredom." — President Lyndon B. Johnson, University of Michigan, May 22, 1964
Compared to the New Deal, the Great Society more strongly emphasized:
- A
Mortgage relief and foreclosure prevention
- Bcheck_circle
Quality-of-life issues such as education, healthcare, and racial equality
- C
Direct federal employment through agencies like the WPA
- D
Banking reform and deposit insurance
Why
Whereas the New Deal focused on economic recovery and jobs during the Depression, the Great Society pursued education (ESEA), healthcare (Medicare/Medicaid), and civil rights in a prosperous era. WPA, FDIC, and HOLC were New Deal programs.
- A
Sample 5difficulty 4/5
Lyndon Johnson's Great Society (1964–66) created or expanded
- Acheck_circle
Medicare, Medicaid, the Voting Rights Act, and Head Start
- B
The Affordable Care Act and ARRA stimulus
- C
NAFTA and the WTO
- D
The Federal Reserve System and FDIC
Why
Great Society expanded the New Deal welfare state with health insurance for elderly (Medicare) and poor (Medicaid), strong civil rights enforcement, education (ESEA), poverty programs.
- A