2026 APUSH Mock Test SAQ #1

“Why did millions of citizens become activists, take to the streets, and participate in the movement [of social activism in the 1960s]? . . . Activists felt that problems existing in the nation were inconsistent with the American ideal, with ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution. . . . Social activism developed as a response to numerous problems that had been festering in the nation for many years, and protesters revolted in their own way to reform what they considered was a corrupt system.

“. . . When most people contemplate [the 1960s] they recall demonstrations and protests. . . . It would be difficult to find more significant issues than those the activists raised and confronted: equality or inequality, war or peace, . . . personal behavior versus community standards. Indeed, the protesters questioned the very nature and meaning of America.”

“During the 1960s, . . . conservatives methodically . . . became a dominant force in national politics by gaining control of the Republican Party. . . . The [New] Right evolved into a complex, organized, and effective political force that dominated the [Republican Party] by 1968 and eventually secured the election of a staunch conservative as president in 1980.

“Beginning in the 1960s . . . , a one-dimensional view of the 1960s as a decade of radical movements drew the focus away from other important developments during that time. . . . Feeling isolated from mainstream society and ignored by the press and politicians, conservative Americans from different economic, educational, and social backgrounds resolved to make their voices heard by their party, their elected officials, and their country.”