Modern World History Practice Exam

Question 1 Modern World History

What was the Indian Rebellion of 1857?

A major uprising against British East India Company rule, leading to direct British rule. The Treaty of Tordesillas, 1494. 1830 (recognized internationally). Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria.

Question 2 Modern World History

What was the Bay of Pigs (1961)?

The Eastern Front of WWII (1941). A failed CIA-backed invasion of Cuba. The European Union (after Maastricht 1993). A 1940 air battle where the RAF repelled the Luftwaffe.

Question 3 Modern World History

When was Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated?

1830 (recognized internationally). April 4, 1968. 1775 (battles of Lexington and Concord). With the Maastricht Treaty in 1993.

Question 4 Modern World History

When was the Panama Canal completed?

1914, by the US. The Battle of Waterloo. Treaty ending WWI hostilities between Russia and the Central Powers. The Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988).

Question 5 Modern World History

When did the Iraq War begin?

A July–August 1945 meeting on Germany's fate and Japan's surrender terms. The 1845–1849 famine triggered by potato blight, killing about a million. March 2003 (US-led invasion). US policy to contain communism by supporting threatened countries.

Question 6 Modern World History

Who was Helmut Kohl?

The 19th-century belief that the US was destined to expand across North America. German chancellor who oversaw reunification in 1990. A nuclear standoff between the US and USSR over Soviet missiles in Cuba. Ukraine's 2004–2005 protests following disputed elections.

Question 7 Modern World History

What was the Industrial Revolution?

South Africa's system of racial segregation (1948–1994). September 2, 1945 (V-J Day), after atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A transformation (~1760–1840) from agrarian economies to mechanized production, beginning in Britain. Ukraine's 2013–2014 protests leading to the ousting of President Yanukovych.

Question 8 Modern World History

Who was Mobutu?

With the Maastricht Treaty in 1993. Hiroshima August 6, 1945; Nagasaki August 9, 1945. Long-time dictator of Zaire (now DRC), 1965–1997. May 14, 1948.

Question 9 Modern World History

What did the Peace of Westphalia establish?

Establishing civil law principles widely adopted across Europe. The modern principle of state sovereignty. A conflict where Israel defeated Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, capturing the Sinai, Golan, Gaza, and West Bank. King Henry VIII of England.

Question 10 Modern World History

What was the Enlightenment?

An 18th-century intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, and individual rights. Various leaders such as Theodoros Kolokotronis; supported by foreign volunteers like Byron. 1933. May 8, 1945 (V-E Day).

Question 11 Modern World History

Which amendment abolished US slavery?

A 1936–1939 conflict won by Franco's Nationalists against the Republicans. South Africa's system of racial segregation (1948–1994). A framework for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The 13th Amendment (1865).

Question 12 Modern World History

What did the Slave Trade Act of 1807 do?

Gorbachev's economic restructuring in the USSR. 1949. Abolished the British transatlantic slave trade. A Maoist regime under Pol Pot in Cambodia (1975–1979) responsible for genocide.

Question 13 Modern World History

When did Ronald Reagan serve as US president?

US law outlawing segregation and discrimination. 1981–1989. Mikhail Gorbachev, introducing glasnost and perestroika. An 18th-century intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, and individual rights.

Question 14 Modern World History

What were the Camp David Accords (1978)?

1961. A peace framework between Israel and Egypt brokered by Jimmy Carter. October 1929. December 1991.

Question 15 Modern World History

What 1969 event marked the space race's climax?

Apollo 11 landing on the Moon (July 20, 1969). With the Maastricht Treaty in 1993. Gorbachev's policy of openness/transparency. 1861–1865.

Question 16 Modern World History

What was the Marshall Plan (1948)?

1961. The Battle of Waterloo. A July–August 1945 meeting on Germany's fate and Japan's surrender terms. US aid program to rebuild Western Europe after WWII.

Question 17 Modern World History

What invention by James Watt revolutionized industry?

The overthrow of the Shah, establishing an Islamic Republic under Ayatollah Khomeini. The improved steam engine (patented 1769). Ukraine's 2013–2014 protests leading to the ousting of President Yanukovych. Vladimir Lenin.

Question 18 Modern World History

When was the long march in China?

The Treaty of Versailles, 1919. A devastating European war (1618–1648), ended by the Peace of Westphalia. A 1955 mutual defense treaty among Soviet bloc countries. 1934–1935; a strategic retreat by Mao's Red Army.

Question 19 Modern World History

What event began the Cuban Revolution's success?

Fidel Castro's overthrow of Batista in 1959. J. Robert Oppenheimer. The handover of Hong Kong to China. October 1929.

Question 20 Modern World History

What was the Great Famine in Ireland?

Lee Kuan Yew, 1965. The 1845–1849 famine triggered by potato blight, killing about a million. The modern principle of state sovereignty. George Washington (1789–1797).

Question 21 Modern World History

What was the Cold War?

Kyrgyzstan's 2005 pro-democracy uprising. An anti-foreign uprising in China suppressed by an eight-nation alliance. A geopolitical rivalry between the US-led West and the Soviet-led East (~1947–1991). 1949.

Question 22 Modern World History

What sparked World War I?

Franklin D. Roosevelt. An invasion of Egypt by Israel, UK, and France over the Suez Canal nationalization. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, June 28, 1914. 1789 (storming of the Bastille on July 14).

Question 23 Modern World History

What was the Khmer Rouge?

A decisive 1942–1943 battle where Soviet forces defeated Germany. The 1972 scandal that led to Nixon's 1974 resignation. A Maoist regime under Pol Pot in Cambodia (1975–1979) responsible for genocide. 1961.

Question 24 Modern World History

What was the OAU?

A major uprising against British East India Company rule, leading to direct British rule. Kyrgyzstan's 2005 pro-democracy uprising. The Treaty of Versailles, 1919. The Organization of African Unity, founded 1963; replaced by the African Union (2002).

Question 25 Modern World History

What was the Six-Day War (1967)?

A conflict where Israel defeated Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, capturing the Sinai, Golan, Gaza, and West Bank. The Ottoman Empire. The handover of Hong Kong to China. Joseph Stalin.

Question 26 Modern World History

When was the Russian Revolution?

The brutal Ugandan dictatorship from 1971 to 1979. 1917 (February and October revolutions). The Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.

Question 27 Modern World History

When did the French Revolution begin?

Gorbachev's economic restructuring in the USSR. 1789 (storming of the Bastille on July 14). Lee Kuan Yew, 1965. Vladimir Lenin.

Question 28 Modern World History

When was the People's Republic of China founded?

South Africa's system of racial segregation (1948–1994). US policy to contain communism by supporting threatened countries. October 1, 1949, by Mao Zedong. Ronald Reagan.

Question 29 Modern World History

What was the Glorious Revolution (1688)?

The overthrow of King James II of England, leading to constitutional monarchy. Adam Smith, 1776. Ukraine's 2013–2014 protests leading to the ousting of President Yanukovych. The WWII US program that developed the atomic bomb.

Question 30 Modern World History

What was the Suez Canal Crisis's effect on British power?

It marked the decline of British and French influence in the Middle East. The United Kingdom's 2016 vote and 2020 departure from the EU. 1917 (February and October revolutions). The modern principle of state sovereignty.

Question 31 Modern World History

Who were the Allies in WWI?

The post-Civil War period (1865–1877) to reintegrate the Southern states. 1922. A European cultural movement (~14th–17th centuries) of revived classical learning, art, and humanism. France, Britain, Russia (until 1917), Italy (from 1915), USA (from 1917), Japan, and others.

Question 32 Modern World History

Who succeeded Stalin?

Long-time dictator of Zaire (now DRC), 1965–1997. US aid program to rebuild Western Europe after WWII. Adam Smith, 1776. Nikita Khrushchev (after a brief interregnum).

Question 33 Modern World History

What was the Trail of Tears?

A February 1945 meeting of FDR, Churchill, and Stalin to plan post-war Europe. The forced relocation of Native American tribes (1830s), causing thousands of deaths. At Dien Bien Phu in 1954. A 1955–1975 conflict in which the US intervened against communist North Vietnam.

Question 34 Modern World History

What event brought the US into WWII?

Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria. With the Maastricht Treaty in 1993. April 4, 1968. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.

Question 35 Modern World History

What treaty divided the New World between Spain and Portugal?

A July–August 1945 meeting on Germany's fate and Japan's surrender terms. The Treaty of Tordesillas, 1494. Franklin D. Roosevelt. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, 1848.

Question 36 Modern World History

When did the EU adopt the euro for general circulation?

The 1905 Revolution, which led to the establishment of the Duma. The United Kingdom's 2016 vote and 2020 departure from the EU. January 1, 2002 (created earlier in 1999 for electronic transactions). Establishing civil law principles widely adopted across Europe.

Question 37 Modern World History

What was the Cultural Revolution?

Mao's 1966–1976 sociopolitical movement that caused widespread upheaval. A 1955–1975 conflict in which the US intervened against communist North Vietnam. The process by which colonies gained independence, particularly after WWII. The codename for the D-Day operation.

Question 38 Modern World History

When did the Wall Street Crash occur?

George Washington (1789–1797). 1962, from France, after a war. A failed CIA-backed invasion of Cuba. October 1929.

Question 39 Modern World History

When was slavery abolished in the British Empire?

Otto von Bismarck, under Prussian leadership. A devastating European war (1618–1648), ended by the Peace of Westphalia. Nelson Mandela, elected in 1994. 1833 (Slavery Abolition Act).

Question 40 Modern World History

What was Lend-Lease?

Indira Gandhi. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. It marked the decline of British and French influence in the Middle East. US program (1941) supplying war material to allies.

Question 41 Modern World History

When was the Berlin Wall torn down?

Mikhail Gorbachev, introducing glasnost and perestroika. The explosion of the USS Maine in Havana harbor. Treaty ending WWI hostilities between Russia and the Central Powers. 1989.

Question 42 Modern World History

What event marked the start of the Spanish-American War (1898)?

The explosion of the USS Maine in Havana harbor. The Bangladesh Liberation War against Pakistan. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. The 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

Question 43 Modern World History

When did Germany surrender in WWII?

May 8, 1945 (V-E Day). A 1956 denunciation of Stalin's personality cult. US policy to contain communism by supporting threatened countries. The Syrian Civil War.

Question 44 Modern World History

Who led the USSR through the late 1980s?

Mikhail Gorbachev, introducing glasnost and perestroika. The 1905 Revolution, which led to the establishment of the Duma. The Organization of African Unity, founded 1963; replaced by the African Union (2002). October 1, 1949, by Mao Zedong.

Question 45 Modern World History

What was the Suez Crisis (1956)?

US law outlawing segregation and discrimination. March 2003 (US-led invasion). An invasion of Egypt by Israel, UK, and France over the Suez Canal nationalization. September 1, 1939, with Germany invading Poland.

Question 46 Modern World History

What did the Munich Agreement (1938) do?

A 1955–1975 conflict in which the US intervened against communist North Vietnam. A February 1945 meeting of FDR, Churchill, and Stalin to plan post-war Europe. Allowed Nazi Germany to annex the Sudetenland, exemplifying appeasement. The Ottoman Empire.

Question 47 Modern World History

What did Gutenberg invent around 1440?

The WWII US program that developed the atomic bomb. January 1, 2002 (created earlier in 1999 for electronic transactions). The codename for the D-Day operation. The movable-type printing press in Europe.

Question 48 Modern World History

Who was president during the Civil War?

An Italian astronomer who championed heliocentrism and was tried by the Inquisition. Abraham Lincoln. The 1972 scandal that led to Nixon's 1974 resignation. The Hungarian Revolution.

Question 49 Modern World History

What ideology did Hitler espouse?

March 2003 (US-led invasion). Nazism (National Socialism) — extreme nationalism, antisemitism, totalitarianism. A July–August 1945 meeting on Germany's fate and Japan's surrender terms. August 15, 1947.

Question 50 Modern World History

Who unified Italy?

Garibaldi, Cavour, and King Victor Emmanuel II, completed in 1871. Sun Yat-sen. The Polish trade union that helped end communist rule. The modern principle of state sovereignty.