Question 1

How can the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 best be described?

Accepted Answer

A)  as a serious blow to the labor movement 
B)  as establishing such supports as the minimum wage 
C)  as an extension of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal vision 
D)  as initiating an era of governmental regulation of business 
A)  as a serious blow to the labor movement 
B)  as establishing such supports as the minimum wage 
C)  as an extension of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal vision 
D)  as initiating an era of governmental regulation of business

Question 2

How were the suburbs of the 1950s different from the earlier suburbs of the 1920s?

Accepted Answer

A)  They consisted of homes that were frequently designed with unique features. 
B)  They were usually integrated between white and minority residents. 
C)  They were made up of larger homes than what could be found in the city. 
D)  They were farther away from city centers and depended on cars for transportation. 
A)  They consisted of homes that were frequently designed with unique features. 
B)  They were usually integrated between white and minority residents. 
C)  They were made up of larger homes than what could be found in the city. 
D)  They were farther away from city centers and depended on cars for transportation.

Question 3

What was one common feature of a postwar suburban home?

Accepted Answer

A)  a lack of a garage for the family car 
B)  a separate kitchen and dining room 
C)  a second story to add more bedrooms as the child population grew 
D)  a large living room picture window that made the house appear more spacious 
A)  a lack of a garage for the family car 
B)  a separate kitchen and dining room 
C)  a second story to add more bedrooms as the child population grew 
D)  a large living room picture window that made the house appear more spacious

Question 4

-Why did the black Northern press choose to pair the image of Emmett Till's battered corpse with that of a smiling image of him with his mother Mamie Till-Bradley?

Accepted Answer

A)  They wanted to convince the Mississippi jury to convict Till's murderers. 
B)  They wanted to outrage their audience by showing how an innocent young boy was savagely beaten to death by racists. 
C)  They wanted to caution their audience of what could happen to African Americans in the South if they were too forward with white people. 
D)  They wanted to warn their audience of what could happen to anyone who played an active role in the Civil Rights Movement in the South. 
A)  They wanted to convince the Mississippi jury to convict Till's murderers. 
B)  They wanted to outrage their audience by showing how an innocent young boy was savagely beaten to death by racists. 
C)  They wanted to caution their audience of what could happen to African Americans in the South if they were too forward with white people. 
D)  They wanted to warn their audience of what could happen to anyone who played an active role in the Civil Rights Movement in the South.

Question 5

What earlier ruling was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education?

Accepted Answer

A)  Marbury v. Madison 
B)  McCulloch v. Maryland 
C)  Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad 
D)  Plessy v. Ferguson 
A)  Marbury v. Madison 
B)  McCulloch v. Maryland 
C)  Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad 
D)  Plessy v. Ferguson

Question 6

How did American political and business leaders perceive material abundance in the postwar United States?

Accepted Answer

A)  They feared that, if a recession hit, families risked losing everything. 
B)  They admired citizens' patriotism in purchasing American-made products. 
C)  They believed this demonstrated the superiority of capitalist societies over communist ones. 
D)  They were concerned that the public was becoming too dependent on credit. 
A)  They feared that, if a recession hit, families risked losing everything. 
B)  They admired citizens' patriotism in purchasing American-made products. 
C)  They believed this demonstrated the superiority of capitalist societies over communist ones. 
D)  They were concerned that the public was becoming too dependent on credit.

Question 7

How does this photograph of black teenager Elizabeth Eckford trying to enter the all-white Central High School in 1957 most contradict the traditional image of the 1950s?

Accepted Answer

A)  The photograph shows that racial integration was peaceful in a decade of turmoil. 
B)  The photograph demonstrates that teenagers were civically engaged in a time of complacency. 
C)  The photograph reveals that people in the 1950s took divergent political paths in a time of unanimity. 
D)  The photograph challenges the image of the 1950s as a tranquil period of ideological consensus. 
A)  The photograph shows that racial integration was peaceful in a decade of turmoil. 
B)  The photograph demonstrates that teenagers were civically engaged in a time of complacency. 
C)  The photograph reveals that people in the 1950s took divergent political paths in a time of unanimity. 
D)  The photograph challenges the image of the 1950s as a tranquil period of ideological consensus.

Question 8

What effect did President Eisenhower's statement "If a citizen has to be bored to death it is cheaper and more comfortable to sit at home and look at television than it is to go outside and pay a dollar for a ticket" have on American popular culture in the 1950s?

Accepted Answer

A)  The film industry remained more productive than the television industry. 
B)  The number of televisions in American households declined. 
C)  Drive-in movie theaters grew in number and popularity. 
D)  Many movie theaters closed and studios made fewer films. 
A)  The film industry remained more productive than the television industry. 
B)  The number of televisions in American households declined. 
C)  Drive-in movie theaters grew in number and popularity. 
D)  Many movie theaters closed and studios made fewer films.

Question 9

By 1960, what significant historic population threshold had the nation crossed?

Accepted Answer

A)  There were more non-Christian rather than Christian members living in the United States. 
B)  There were more minorities than white Americans. 
C)  More Americans were living in urban areas rather than rural areas for the first time. 
D)  There were more middle class than working-class Americans. 
A)  There were more non-Christian rather than Christian members living in the United States. 
B)  There were more minorities than white Americans. 
C)  More Americans were living in urban areas rather than rural areas for the first time. 
D)  There were more middle class than working-class Americans.

Question 10

Although the first commercial television transmission occurred in 1939, why was it not until the early 1950s that television really took off with the American public?

Accepted Answer

A)  American entrepreneurs were more concerned with containing communism. 
B)  The high rise in prices after World War II made it too expensive to afford televisions. 
C)  World War II slowed down the production of televisions. 
D)  The railroad strikes of the late 1940s hampered the growth of television production. 
A)  American entrepreneurs were more concerned with containing communism. 
B)  The high rise in prices after World War II made it too expensive to afford televisions. 
C)  World War II slowed down the production of televisions. 
D)  The railroad strikes of the late 1940s hampered the growth of television production.

Question 11

What term did Eisenhower use to describe the close ties between the defense industry and the Pentagon that might unduly influence government policy?

Accepted Answer

A)  the "military-industrial complex" 
B)  the Fair Deal 
C)  "victory of the moderates" 
D)  "Creeping Socialism" 
A)  the "military-industrial complex" 
B)  the Fair Deal 
C)  "victory of the moderates" 
D)  "Creeping Socialism"

Question 12

-What do these statutes suggest about daily life for African Americans in the United States?

Accepted Answer

A)  Restrictions on African American daily life were limited to Southern states. 
B)  The races had many opportunities for mixing in their daily lives. 
C)  Civil rights was more of a regional rather than a national problem. 
D)  Daily life was filled with reminders of oppression and discrimination. 
A)  Restrictions on African American daily life were limited to Southern states. 
B)  The races had many opportunities for mixing in their daily lives. 
C)  Civil rights was more of a regional rather than a national problem. 
D)  Daily life was filled with reminders of oppression and discrimination.

Question 13

When ordered to give her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus, Rose Parks chose to .

Accepted Answer

A)  appeal to the local courts 
B)  obey the order, which was consistent with a local ordinance 
C)  vacate her seat but protest by joining a bus boycott 
D)  remain seated and risk arrest 
A)  appeal to the local courts 
B)  obey the order, which was consistent with a local ordinance 
C)  vacate her seat but protest by joining a bus boycott 
D)  remain seated and risk arrest

Question 14

-What does this photograph of Rosa Park's 1955 arrest most accurately reveal about her role in instigating the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

Accepted Answer

A)  She was part of a well-organized movement that the NAACP led to test the bus segregation law. 
B)  She was simply a tired seamstress who impulsively decided to stay seated when asked to move. 
C)  She decided to participate in a planned one-day bus boycott to avoid potential violence. 
D)  She was violently beaten in jail after her arrest. 
A)  She was part of a well-organized movement that the NAACP led to test the bus segregation law. 
B)  She was simply a tired seamstress who impulsively decided to stay seated when asked to move. 
C)  She decided to participate in a planned one-day bus boycott to avoid potential violence. 
D)  She was violently beaten in jail after her arrest.

Question 15

Why did Americans who watched the televised 1960 presidential debate between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy believe Kennedy won while those who listened to it on radio felt that Nixon had won?

Accepted Answer

A)  Kennedy appeared more comfortable and attractive on television. 
B)  Kennedy spoke more eloquently than Nixon. 
C)  Kennedy had a large fan base in the television audience. 
D)  Kennedy appeared sickly and gained the audience's sympathy. 
A)  Kennedy appeared more comfortable and attractive on television. 
B)  Kennedy spoke more eloquently than Nixon. 
C)  Kennedy had a large fan base in the television audience. 
D)  Kennedy appeared sickly and gained the audience's sympathy.

Question 16

What did President Truman threaten to do if railroad strikers did not get back to work?

Accepted Answer

A)  use the army to run the railroads and draft the strikers into the military 
B)  jail the strikers as suspected members of the Communist Party 
C)  hire strikebreakers in their place to keep the railroads going 
D)  outlaw sympathy boycotts by other unions who wanted to support the strikers 
A)  use the army to run the railroads and draft the strikers into the military 
B)  jail the strikers as suspected members of the Communist Party 
C)  hire strikebreakers in their place to keep the railroads going 
D)  outlaw sympathy boycotts by other unions who wanted to support the strikers

Question 17

What was the Fair Deal?

Accepted Answer

A)  the term given to President Truman's stronger stand on civil rights 
B)  the Truman administration's attempt to dismantle the New Deal 
C)  a set of domestic reforms proposed by President Truman 
D)  the executive order that desegregated the armed forces 
A)  the term given to President Truman's stronger stand on civil rights 
B)  the Truman administration's attempt to dismantle the New Deal 
C)  a set of domestic reforms proposed by President Truman 
D)  the executive order that desegregated the armed forces

Question 18

-How did the experience of many black riders on Montgomery city buses after integration contrast with the ride taken by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ralph Abernathy immediately after the boycott was lifted?

Accepted Answer

A)  Many black riders decided to continue the boycott. 
B)  Many black riders encountered violence. 
C)  Black riders typically rode on more crowded buses. 
D)  Black riders typically rode without a companion. 
A)  Many black riders decided to continue the boycott. 
B)  Many black riders encountered violence. 
C)  Black riders typically rode on more crowded buses. 
D)  Black riders typically rode without a companion.

Question 19

Allan Ginsberg's controversial 1955 poem Howl portrayed _.

Accepted Answer

A)  protests against the Cold War and communism 
B)  the problems related to affluence and conspicuous consumption by the middle class 
C)  rebellion by middle-class suburban teenagers against their parents 
D)  the lives of those who lived beyond the mainstream of American life 
A)  protests against the Cold War and communism 
B)  the problems related to affluence and conspicuous consumption by the middle class 
C)  rebellion by middle-class suburban teenagers against their parents 
D)  the lives of those who lived beyond the mainstream of American life

Question 20

Why did Republicans and conservative Southern Democrats try to undo the New Deal programs after the return of prosperity at the end of World War II?

Accepted Answer

A)  These programs gave labor unions too much power and benefits. 
B)  These programs hampered the free market and deprived industrialists of the freedom to run their companies. 
C)  These politicians wanted to restrain the economic gains that African Americans made during the Great Depression. 
D)  These politicians feared that the New Deal had too many connections to socialism and communism. 
A)  These programs gave labor unions too much power and benefits. 
B)  These programs hampered the free market and deprived industrialists of the freedom to run their companies. 
C)  These politicians wanted to restrain the economic gains that African Americans made during the Great Depression. 
D)  These politicians feared that the New Deal had too many connections to socialism and communism.

Exam 25: In a Land of Plenty: Contentment and Discord, 1945-1960

How can the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 best be described?

How were the suburbs of the 1950s different from the earlier suburbs of the 1920s?

What was one common feature of a postwar suburban home?

-Why did the black Northern press choose to pair the image of Emmett Till's battered corpse with that of a smiling image of him with his mother Mamie Till-Bradley?

What earlier ruling was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education?

How did American political and business leaders perceive material abundance in the postwar United States?

How does this photograph of black teenager Elizabeth Eckford trying to enter the all-white Central High School in 1957 most contradict the traditional image of the 1950s?

What effect did President Eisenhower's statement "If a citizen has to be bored to death it is cheaper and more comfortable to sit at home and look at television than it is to go outside and pay a dollar for a ticket" have on American popular culture in the 1950s?

By 1960, what significant historic population threshold had the nation crossed?

Although the first commercial television transmission occurred in 1939, why was it not until the early 1950s that television really took off with the American public?

What term did Eisenhower use to describe the close ties between the defense industry and the Pentagon that might unduly influence government policy?

-What do these statutes suggest about daily life for African Americans in the United States?

When ordered to give her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus, Rose Parks chose to .

-What does this photograph of Rosa Park's 1955 arrest most accurately reveal about her role in instigating the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

Why did Americans who watched the televised 1960 presidential debate between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy believe Kennedy won while those who listened to it on radio felt that Nixon had won?

What did President Truman threaten to do if railroad strikers did not get back to work?

What was the Fair Deal?

-How did the experience of many black riders on Montgomery city buses after integration contrast with the ride taken by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ralph Abernathy immediately after the boycott was lifted?

Allan Ginsberg's controversial 1955 poem Howl portrayed _.

Why did Republicans and conservative Southern Democrats try to undo the New Deal programs after the return of prosperity at the end of World War II?

People in Motion: The Atlantic World to 1590

Models of Settlement: English Colonial Societies, 1590-1710

Growth, Slavery, and Conflict: Colonial America, 1710-176

Revolutionary America: Change and Transformation, 1764-1783

A Virtuous Republic: Creating a Workable Government, 1783-1789

The New Republic: an Age of Political Passion, 1789-1800

Jeffersonian America: an Expanding Empire of Liberty, 1800-1824

Democrats and Whigs: Democracy and American Culture, 1820-1840

Workers, Farmers, and Slaves: The Transformation of the American Economy, 1815-1848

Revivalism, Reform and Artistic Renaissance, 1820-1850

To Overspread the Continent: Westward Expansion and Political Conflict, 1840-1848

Slavery and Sectionalism: the Political Crisis of 1848-1861

A Nation Torn Apart: the Civil War, 1861-1865

Now That We Are Free: Reconstruction and the New South, 1863-1890

Conflict and Conquest: the Transformation of the West, 1860-1900

Wonder and Woe: the Rise of Industrial America, 1865-1900

Becoming a Modern Society: America in the Gilded Age, 1877-1900

Creating a Democratic Paradise: The Progressive Era, 1895-1915

Imperial America: the United States in the World, 1890-1914

The Great War: World War I, 1914-1918

A Turbulent Decade: The Twenties

A New Deal for America: the Great Depression, 1929-1940

World War II: Fighting the Good War, 1939-1945

A Divided World: The Early Cold War, 1945-1963

A Nation Divided: The Vietnam War, 1945-1975

A Decade of Discord: The Challenge of the 1960s

Righting a Nation Adrift: America in the 1970s and 1980s

Building a New World Order: The United States, 1989-2015

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