Using Analysis Skills in Social Studies

Analysis is an important skill on the GED Tests and in life. Students need to understand how to break down information and explore relationships among component ideas.

Question 1 below is based on the following.

Many people in the United States did not want to get involved in World War II. After they had sacrificed so much during World War I and the Great Depression, many Americans wanted to focus on their own lives and what was important for America—not the rest of the world. However, many events occurred during the 15 years preceding U.S. involvement in World War II that caused Americans to question whether the United States could stay out of this war.

1. Which of the following events, all of which took place before the United States entered World War II, was most likely to make the people of the United States willing to enter the war?
   (1) The collapse of the U.S. stock market, which brought on the Great Depression
   (2) The German violation of the Treaty of Versailles, which had ended World War I
   (3) Declaration of war on Germany by England and France, since they were allies of the U.S.
   (4) The signing of a treaty by Winston Churchill, prime minister of England, and Franklin Roosevelt, president of the United States
   (5) The Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor