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TASC Modern History Level 3 study materials
TASC Modern History Level 3 study resources

TASC Modern History Level 3 practice questions

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Question 1Modern History

Which document, signed in 1215, limited the power of the English king and is often cited as an early step toward constitutional government?

  1. Bill of Rights
  2. Domesday Book
  3. Magna Carta Correct answer.
  4. Petition of Right

Explanation

The Magna Carta was sealed by King John in 1215 and established that the monarch was subject to law, including protections against arbitrary imprisonment. Later generations treated it as a foundation of limited government and due process.

Question 2Modern History

The Protestant Reformation in Europe is conventionally dated from which event?

  1. Henry VIII's break with Rome
  2. Martin Luther's posting of the Ninety-Five Theses Correct answer.
  3. The Council of Trent
  4. The Peace of Augsburg

Explanation

Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses of 1517 criticized the sale of indulgences and sparked a broad challenge to papal authority. Historians use that date as the conventional start of the Reformation.

Question 3Modern History

The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress in which year?

  1. 1774
  2. 1776 Correct answer.
  3. 1787
  4. 1781

Explanation

The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, 1776, formally stating the colonies' separation from Britain. The date became the annual national holiday in the United States.

Question 4Modern History

Which invention by James Watt during the late eighteenth century greatly improved the efficiency of steam power?

  1. The separate condenser Correct answer.
  2. The cotton gin
  3. The spinning jenny
  4. The power loom

Explanation

Watt's separate condenser kept the cylinder warm while condensing steam separately, sharply reducing fuel waste compared with earlier Newcomen engines. This improvement made steam power practical for factories and mines.

Question 5Modern History

The storming of the Bastille in 1789 is remembered chiefly because it marked what?

  1. The rise of Napoleon Bonaparte
  2. The signing of the Treaty of Paris
  3. The beginning of the French Revolution Correct answer.
  4. The execution of Louis XVI

Explanation

On July 14, 1789, Parisians seized the Bastille fortress, a symbol of royal despotism, amid the political crisis of the Estates-General. The event is conventionally treated as the start of the French Revolution.

Question 6Modern History

Which nation did the United States fight in the War of 1812?

  1. Mexico
  2. France
  3. Great Britain Correct answer.
  4. Spain

Explanation

The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and Great Britain, driven by disputes over maritime impressment, trade restrictions, and frontier tensions. The conflict ended with the Treaty of Ghent in 1814.

Question 7Modern History

The term 'manifest destiny' in nineteenth-century America expressed the belief that the United States should do what?

  1. Expand its territory across the North American continent Correct answer.
  2. Abolish slavery throughout the Americas
  3. Remain within its original thirteen states
  4. Form a permanent alliance with European powers

Explanation

Manifest destiny was the idea that Americans were destined to spread across the continent, justifying westward expansion in the 1840s. It was used to support annexations such as Texas and Oregon.

Question 8Modern History

The Industrial Revolution first took hold in which country during the late eighteenth century?

  1. Great Britain Correct answer.
  2. Germany
  3. France
  4. The United States

Explanation

Great Britain possessed coal, capital, colonial markets, and agricultural improvements that supported early mechanized textile production. Its factory system became the model later adopted elsewhere.

Question 9Modern History

What was the chief purpose of the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815?

  1. To coordinate the suppression of the French Revolution
  2. To restore stability and a balance of power in Europe after Napoleon Correct answer.
  3. To divide Africa among European powers
  4. To establish the League of Nations

Explanation

After Napoleon's defeat, European statesmen met at Vienna to redraw borders and restore dynasties in ways that would prevent a single power from dominating the continent. The resulting settlement aimed at a durable balance of power.

Question 10Modern History

The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 warned European powers against what action?

  1. Trading with the United States
  2. Establishing new colonies or interfering in the Americas Correct answer.
  3. Abolishing slavery in their empires
  4. Settling disputes through diplomacy

Explanation

President Monroe declared that further European colonization or intervention in the Western Hemisphere would be viewed as unfriendly to the United States. The doctrine became a lasting principle of American foreign policy.

Question 11Modern History

Which reform movement of the early nineteenth century sought to end the sale and ownership of enslaved people?

  1. Populism
  2. Nativism
  3. Abolitionism Correct answer.
  4. Temperance

Explanation

Abolitionism aimed at ending slavery, gaining strength in Britain and the United States in the early 1800s. Its campaigns contributed to emancipation in the British Empire in 1833 and the American abolition of slavery in 1865.

Question 12Modern History

The Revolutions of 1848 spread across Europe primarily because of what common pressures?

  1. Economic hardship, demands for political rights, and nationalism Correct answer.
  2. Religious disputes over church councils
  3. Competition over Arctic exploration
  4. Colonial rivalry overseas

Explanation

Poor harvests, economic distress, and frustration with autocratic rule combined with nationalist aspirations to produce uprisings from Paris to Vienna and Budapest. Most revolutions were suppressed, but they reshaped political expectations.

Question 13Modern History

The Compromise of 1850 addressed the status of which newly acquired territory, among other issues?

  1. Alaska
  2. California and lands from the Mexican Cession Correct answer.
  3. The Oregon Territory
  4. The Louisiana Territory

Explanation

The compromise admitted California as a free state and organized the remaining Mexican Cession lands with popular sovereignty on slavery. It also included a stricter fugitive slave law, temporarily easing sectional tensions.

Question 14Modern History

What did the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 declare?

  1. That slavery was abolished everywhere in the United States
  2. That enslaved people in Confederate-held territory were free Correct answer.
  3. That former slaves would receive land and voting rights
  4. That the Union would end the war immediately

Explanation

Lincoln's proclamation declared enslaved people in areas still in rebellion to be free, framing the Civil War as a struggle against slavery. Full abolition required the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865.

Question 15Modern History

The Meiji Restoration of 1868 transformed Japan by doing what?

  1. Ceding its islands to European powers
  2. Overthrowing the shogunate and pursuing rapid modernization Correct answer.
  3. Establishing a communist government
  4. Restoring isolationist policies and closing its ports

Explanation

The Meiji Restoration ended the Tokugawa shogunate and returned formal authority to the emperor while leaders pursued industrial, military, and educational reforms. Japan deliberately adopted Western models to resist foreign domination.

Question 16Modern History

Which factor most directly enabled the rapid European colonization of Africa in the late nineteenth century?

  1. The collapse of the Qing dynasty
  2. Advances in medicine, steamships, and military technology Correct answer.
  3. The decline of the Ottoman Empire
  4. The spread of the railroad in Latin America

Explanation

Quinine against malaria, steamships for river travel, and modern firearms reduced barriers to European penetration of the African interior. These technologies supported the scramble for territory formalized at the Berlin Conference.

Question 17Modern History

The immediate spark of World War I in 1914 was which event?

  1. The Russian Revolution
  2. The sinking of the Lusitania
  3. The invasion of Poland
  4. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Correct answer.

Explanation

The assassination of the Austrian archduke in Sarajevo triggered a chain of alliance commitments that escalated a regional crisis into a continental war. Underlying tensions included militarism, alliance systems, and imperial rivalry.

Question 18Modern History

The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 required Germany to accept which terms?

  1. A union with Austria
  2. Membership in the League of Nations with a permanent seat
  3. Retention of all overseas colonies
  4. Territorial losses, military limits, and reparations payments Correct answer.

Explanation

The treaty stripped Germany of territory and colonies, restricted its armed forces, and imposed reparations under a war-guilt clause. These terms fueled resentment and instability in the Weimar Republic.

Question 19Modern History

The New Deal programs introduced by Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s were designed mainly to do what?

  1. Reduce the size of the federal government
  2. Respond to the Great Depression through relief, recovery, and reform Correct answer.
  3. Expand overseas colonies
  4. Prepare the nation for a war with Japan

Explanation

The New Deal created agencies and regulations aimed at relieving unemployment, stimulating recovery, and reforming the financial system after the Depression. It expanded federal involvement in the economy and social welfare.

Question 20Modern History

The policy of appeasement toward Nazi Germany is best illustrated by which event?

  1. The Berlin Airlift
  2. The founding of the United Nations
  3. The Marshall Plan
  4. The Munich Agreement of 1938 Correct answer.

Explanation

At Munich, Britain and France allowed Germany to annex the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia in hopes of avoiding war. The concession failed to satisfy Hitler and became the classic example of appeasement.

Question 21Modern History

Which development most contributed to the outbreak of World War II in Europe?

  1. The founding of the European Economic Community
  2. Germany's expansionist aggression under the Nazi regime Correct answer.
  3. The formation of NATO
  4. The decolonization of Asia

Explanation

Nazi Germany's rearmament and territorial demands, including the invasion of Poland in 1939, directly triggered the war. The failure of collective security and appeasement allowed aggression to proceed unchecked.

Question 22Modern History

The Marshall Plan of 1948 provided what to Western Europe?

  1. A common currency and central bank
  2. Nuclear weapons for self-defense
  3. Large-scale economic aid for postwar reconstruction Correct answer.
  4. Military troops to suppress uprisings

Explanation

The United States offered substantial economic assistance to rebuild Western European economies and stabilize them against communist influence. The program formed part of the broader Cold War containment strategy.

Question 23Modern History

The process of decolonization after 1945 resulted in which broad outcome?

  1. The reunification of all former colonies under one state
  2. The elimination of nationalism in the developing world
  3. The permanent expansion of European empires
  4. The independence of many Asian and African nations Correct answer.

Explanation

After World War II, weakened European powers granted or lost control of colonies across Asia and Africa, producing dozens of new sovereign states. Nationalist movements and Cold War pressures accelerated this transformation.

Question 24Modern History

Which statement best explains why the League of Nations failed to prevent the outbreak of World War II?

  1. It possessed a powerful standing army that was never deployed
  2. It excluded all European nations from membership
  3. It was dominated by Germany and Japan
  4. It lacked enforcement power and major powers such as the United States never joined Correct answer.

Explanation

The League could not compel member states to act, and the absence of the United States and later withdrawals by major powers undermined its authority. Aggressors such as Japan, Italy, and Germany defied it without effective consequences.

Question 25Modern History

The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union was characterized primarily by what?

  1. The absence of any military buildup
  2. Direct large-scale combat between the two superpowers
  3. Ideological competition, arms races, and proxy conflicts Correct answer.
  4. A shared commitment to colonial empire

Explanation

The superpowers competed through ideology, nuclear arsenals, alliances, and proxy wars rather than direct full-scale war, which both sides sought to avoid. Mutual deterrence shaped much of the period's diplomacy.

Question 26Modern History

Which invention by James Watt in the 1760s and 1770s greatly improved the efficiency of coal mining and factory production?

  1. The cotton gin
  2. The telegraph
  3. The spinning jenny
  4. The steam engine Correct answer.

Explanation

James Watt refined the earlier Newcomen engine by adding a separate condenser, which made steam power far more efficient and allowed it to drive machinery and pumps. This improvement became a central power source of the Industrial Revolution. The other inventions either postdate Watt's work or address different tasks.

Question 27Modern History

The Boston Tea Party of 1773 was a colonial protest against which British action?

  1. The closure of colonial ports after the Intolerable Acts
  2. The ban on colonial settlement west of the Appalachians
  3. A tax on tea and the monopoly granted to the East India Company Correct answer.
  4. The quartering of soldiers in private homes

Explanation

Colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor to oppose the Tea Act, which kept a tax on tea while giving the East India Company a commercial advantage. The protest targeted taxation and monopoly rather than troop housing or frontier policy. The Intolerable Acts were a punitive response to the Tea Party, not its cause.

Question 28Modern History

Which document, adopted in 1789, established the first framework of government for the United States and remains in force today?

  1. The Constitution Correct answer.
  2. The Declaration of Independence
  3. The Bill of Rights
  4. The Articles of Confederation

Explanation

The Constitution, drafted in 1787 and ratified by 1788, replaced the Articles of Confederation and created the federal structure still used today. The Bill of Rights consists of the first ten amendments added to it in 1791. The Declaration announced separation from Britain and did not set up a government.

Question 29Modern History

The Haitian Revolution, which culminated in independence in 1804, resulted in which outcome?

  1. The restoration of French royal rule over the island
  2. The establishment of a British protectorate
  3. The transfer of the colony to Spanish control
  4. The creation of the first independent black-led republic in the Americas Correct answer.

Explanation

Enslaved people and free people of color in Saint-Domingue rose against French rule, and the victory produced Haiti, the first modern state founded by a successful slave revolt. It ended slavery on the island and rejected European colonial authority. No European power retained sovereignty there.

Question 30Modern History

The Dreyfus Affair in France during the 1890s exposed deep divisions over which issue?

  1. The terms of the alliance with Russia
  2. Antisemitism and the fairness of military justice Correct answer.
  3. The separation of church and state in education
  4. The choice between monarchy and republic

Explanation

Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer, was wrongly convicted of treason, and the case became a national scandal that revealed widespread antisemitism and questions about military and judicial integrity. It polarized French society for years until Dreyfus was exonerated. The affair was not primarily about church schools or the form of government.

Question 31Modern History

Which reform act in Britain significantly expanded the urban male electorate by granting the vote to many householders in towns?

  1. The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834
  2. The Corn Laws of 1815
  3. The Factory Act of 1833
  4. The Reform Act of 1832 Correct answer.

Explanation

The Reform Act of 1832 redistributed parliamentary seats and extended the franchise to many middle-class urban householders, though it left most workers without a vote. It was a response to pressure from industrial cities underrepresented in Parliament. The other measures dealt with labor conditions, poor relief, and grain tariffs rather than the franchise.

Question 32Modern History

A historian argues that the Opium Wars opened China to foreign trade against its will. Which development best supports this claim?

  1. The Treaty of Nanjing ceded Hong Kong and opened five ports to foreign commerce Correct answer.
  2. The Qing court voluntarily opened all ports to free trade
  3. The Qing dynasty abolished the tribute system by its own choice
  4. China joined the European alliance system as an equal partner

Explanation

The Treaty of Nanjing, imposed after Britain's victory in 1842, ceded Hong Kong, opened five treaty ports, and set a low fixed tariff, showing that terms were forced rather than negotiated. It began the unequal treaty system that limited Chinese sovereignty. The Qing did not open the ports from a position of free choice.

Question 33Modern History

The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 is best understood as an effort by European powers to do what?

  1. Coordinate the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion
  2. End the transatlantic slave trade
  3. Establish rules for dividing and claiming territory in Africa Correct answer.
  4. Create a peacekeeping force for Europe

Explanation

At the Berlin Conference, European states agreed on procedures for claiming African territory, such as notifying other powers of claims and demonstrating effective occupation. It accelerated the scramble for Africa without inviting African representatives. It did not address slavery, European peacekeeping, or events in China.

Question 34Modern History

Which innovation allowed armies in World War I to defend entrenched lines with heavy casualties against frontal attacks?

  1. The submarine
  2. The machine gun Correct answer.
  3. The aircraft carrier
  4. The airplane

Explanation

The machine gun, capable of sustained rapid fire, made massed infantry assaults extremely costly and helped produce the deadlock of trench warfare on the Western Front. Aircraft and submarines influenced the war but did not define defensive trench fighting in the same way. Aircraft carriers were not a significant factor in that conflict.

Question 35Modern History

Vladimir Lenin's promise of 'peace, land, and bread' in 1917 appealed to Russians mainly because it addressed which conditions?

  1. Exhaustion from war, hunger, and unequal land ownership Correct answer.
  2. The desire for colonial expansion
  3. The wish to preserve the tsarist bureaucracy
  4. The demand for a constitutional monarchy

Explanation

Russia in 1917 faced severe food shortages, huge casualties from World War I, and concentrated landownership among nobles, so the Bolshevik slogan spoke directly to those grievances. It promised to end the war, redistribute land, and feed the population. It did not call for empire, a constitutional monarchy, or preserving the old bureaucracy.

Question 36Modern History

The Great Depression spread from the United States to other countries in the early 1930s largely because of what mechanism?

  1. The withdrawal of the United States from the League of Nations
  2. The signing of the Kellogg-Briand Pact
  3. The collapse of international trade and finance after the 1929 crash Correct answer.
  4. A worldwide drought that destroyed all major crops

Explanation

After the 1929 stock market crash, American lending and demand fell sharply, and countries raised tariffs that shrank world trade, transmitting the downturn across economies. Financial links, including war-debt and reparations payments, deepened the contagion. Drought and diplomacy were not the main channels of transmission.

Question 37Modern History

The Holocaust refers to which event during World War II?

  1. The firebombing of German cities by Allied air forces
  2. The internment of Japanese Americans in the United States
  3. The forced relocation of German civilians after 1945
  4. The systematic murder of about six million Jews and millions of others by the Nazi regime Correct answer.

Explanation

The Holocaust was the state-organized persecution and genocide of European Jews, along with Roma, disabled people, and other targeted groups, carried out by Nazi Germany and its collaborators. It involved ghettos, mass shootings, and extermination camps. The other options describe different wartime or postwar events.

Question 38Modern History

The founding of the United Nations in 1945 differed from the League of Nations mainly in that the UN included which feature?

  1. A single elected world legislature with binding lawmaking power
  2. A requirement that all members adopt the same currency
  3. A Security Council with permanent members holding veto power Correct answer.
  4. A ban on any military alliances among members

Explanation

The UN Charter gave major wartime Allies permanent seats and vetoes on the Security Council, which was intended to keep great powers engaged rather than outside the organization as the United States had been with the League. This design reflected lessons from the League's weakness. The UN did not impose a common currency, ban alliances, or create a world legislature.

Question 39Modern History

The Berlin Airlift of 1948-1949 was a Western response to which Soviet action?

  1. The invasion of South Korea
  2. The construction of the Berlin Wall
  3. The launch of the Sputnik satellite
  4. The blockade of land routes into West Berlin Correct answer.

Explanation

The Soviet Union cut off road, rail, and canal access to West Berlin in 1948, and the United States and its allies supplied the city by air for nearly a year until the blockade was lifted. The airlift demonstrated Western commitment to the city. The Wall, the Korean War, and Sputnik came later and were separate events.

Question 40Modern History

Which event in 1956 demonstrated that the Soviet Union would use military force to keep satellite states within its sphere?

  1. The Hungarian Uprising Correct answer.
  2. The Cuban Missile Crisis
  3. The Prague Spring
  4. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

Explanation

In 1956 Hungarians rose against Soviet-backed rule, and Soviet troops intervened to crush the revolt, signaling that Moscow would not tolerate departure from its bloc. The Prague Spring was a later Czechoslovak reform movement, also suppressed by invasion. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a superpower confrontation over missiles, and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising occurred in 1943.

Question 41Modern History

The Cultural Revolution in China, launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, is best described as which kind of campaign?

  1. A movement to attack perceived capitalist and traditional influences through mass mobilization Correct answer.
  2. A military campaign to reclaim territories lost in the nineteenth century
  3. A plan to decentralize industry to rural communes only
  4. A program to attract foreign investment and expand trade

Explanation

Mao launched the Cultural Revolution to renew revolutionary commitment by mobilizing young Red Guards against alleged bourgeois and old cultural influences, which caused widespread persecution and disruption. It was a political and ideological campaign rather than an economic opening or territorial war. Its consequences included purges of officials and intellectuals.

Question 42Modern History

The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was resolved when the Soviet Union agreed to remove its missiles from Cuba in exchange for which US concession?

  1. Recognition of the Castro government's legitimacy by NATO
  2. Admission of Cuba to the United Nations Security Council
  3. An end to the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay
  4. Withdrawal of US missiles from Turkey Correct answer.

Explanation

The crisis ended when the Soviets withdrew their missiles in return for a US pledge not to invade Cuba and a quiet agreement to remove Jupiter missiles from Turkey. The deal allowed both sides to claim success and reduced the risk of nuclear war. The other options were not part of the settlement.

Question 43Modern History

The Suez Crisis of 1956 weakened which two European powers' claims to act independently as global imperial powers?

  1. Spain and Portugal
  2. Britain and France Correct answer.
  3. Sweden and Norway
  4. Germany and Italy

Explanation

Britain and France joined Israel in attacking Egypt after Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, but US and Soviet pressure forced them to withdraw, exposing their dependence on the superpowers. The episode is widely seen as a turning point in the decline of British and French imperial influence. The other listed states were not parties to the intervention.

Question 44Modern History

The Marshall Plan's economic aid to Western Europe is often said to have served a political purpose as well. Which purpose fits best?

  1. To strengthen stable democracies against communist influence Correct answer.
  2. To encourage European colonies to remain under European rule
  3. To force Western Europe to adopt a single currency immediately
  4. To reduce American exports to Europe

Explanation

The aid was designed to rebuild economies and reduce the poverty and instability that communists might exploit, tying Western Europe to the United States in the Cold War. It also created markets for American goods. It did not aim to preserve colonial empires or impose a currency, and it increased rather than reduced US trade ties.

Question 45Modern History

Which development best explains why the postwar economic boom in Western Europe and Japan is often called a 'golden age'?

  1. A permanent end to business cycles and unemployment
  2. A decline in industrial production paired with rising wages
  3. The elimination of all tariffs worldwide
  4. Sustained rapid growth in output and living standards between roughly 1950 and 1973 Correct answer.

Explanation

The period saw unusually fast growth in industrial output, trade, and incomes in Western Europe and Japan, aided by reconstruction aid, new technology, and expanded trade. The label reflects that sustained prosperity, not a claim that recessions vanished. Protectionism persisted in many sectors, so worldwide free trade was not achieved.

Question 46Modern History

The Iranian Revolution of 1979 resulted in which change of government?

  1. The restoration of a British-backed monarchy
  2. The merger of Iran into a pan-Arab federation
  3. The creation of a communist state allied with the Soviet Union
  4. The replacement of the shah's monarchy with an Islamic republic Correct answer.

Explanation

Mass protests forced Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi from power, and Ayatollah Khomeini led the establishment of an Islamic republic. The revolution ended the monarchy and reshaped Iran's foreign policy. It did not install a communist government or unite Iran with Arab states.

Question 47Modern History

The policy of glasnost introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s referred to what?

  1. A crash program to build more nuclear weapons
  2. Greater openness and transparency in Soviet public life Correct answer.
  3. The expansion of the Warsaw Pact into Asia
  4. The forced collectivization of agriculture

Explanation

Glasnost, meaning openness, loosened censorship and allowed more public debate and criticism of officials. Alongside perestroika, economic restructuring, it unintentionally encouraged demands for deeper change that contributed to the Soviet Union's collapse. It was not an arms or agricultural program.

Question 48Modern History

The Nuremberg Trials after World War II established which principle in international law?

  1. That heads of state and military leaders can be held personally accountable for crimes against humanity Correct answer.
  2. That only states, never individuals, can be punished for wartime acts
  3. That victors in war are exempt from any legal scrutiny
  4. That soldiers must obey all orders without legal question

Explanation

The Nuremberg Trials rejected the defense that individuals were merely following orders or acting for the state, holding Nazi leaders personally responsible for crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. This precedent influenced later international tribunals. It did not shield leaders or create blanket immunity for victors.

Question 49Modern History

The Indian independence movement led by Mohandas Gandhi emphasized which method of resisting British rule?

  1. Nonviolent civil disobedience such as boycotts and marches Correct answer.
  2. Petitioning the League of Nations for a mandate
  3. Alliance with Japan against Britain
  4. Armed guerrilla warfare in major cities

Explanation

Gandhi promoted satyagraha, or nonviolent resistance, through boycotts of British goods, the Salt March, and mass civil disobedience. The strategy aimed to make British rule unworkable through moral and political pressure. It rejected armed struggle as the main path and did not rely on foreign military alliances.

Question 50Modern History

Which statement best captures the significance of the Helsinki Accords of 1975 for human rights in Eastern Europe?

  1. They included commitments on human rights that dissidents later used to press their governments Correct answer.
  2. They required the Soviet Union to hold free elections within one year
  3. They created a legally binding court to try communist officials
  4. They dissolved the Warsaw Pact immediately

Explanation

The Helsinki Accords, signed by the Soviet bloc and Western states, included provisions on respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, which dissident groups in Eastern Europe cited to monitor and challenge their governments. The accords were not a court and did not dissolve alliances or set a fixed election timetable.