Deck 11: The New World of the Cold War, 1945-1960

Question 1

European nations used most of the U.S.funds provided by the Marshall Plan of 1948 to

A) develop their own atomic defense systems.
B) buy American products.
C) counter the spread of communism throughout Western Europe.
D) oust oppressive,autocratic regimes.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

"Special attention will be focused on expanding the production of goods for mass consumption,on raising the standard of life of the working people by consistent and systematic reduction of the costs of all goods,and on wide-scale construction of all kinds of scientific research institutes to enable science to develop its forces.I have no doubt that if we render the necessary assistance to our scientists they will be able not only to overtake but also in the very near future to surpass the achievements of science outside the boundaries of our country." What was one important aspect of Joseph Stalin's Five-Year Plan?

A) Improved globalization efforts
B) Improved infrastructure for medical development
C) Reduction of the cost of goods
D) Improved health care for all Soviet citizens

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Why was the Central Intelligence Agency established?

A) To engage in peaceful negotiations with the Soviet Union and other Communist nations
B) To develop a computer network that would analyze the data collected by U.S.intelligence sources
C) To gather information relevant to the national defense and to perform any functions and duties related to intelligence affecting the national security
D) To oversee military outposts in strategic secret locations in Western and Eastern Europe and throughout the Middle East

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In February 1948,while Congress debated the Marshall Plan,the Soviet Union was

A) undermining western efforts to establish a republic in Germany.
B) staging a coup and installing a Communist regime in Greece.
C) staging a coup and installing a Communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
D) making overtures to U.S.allies in Asia.

Question 5

What was the peacetime military alliance created by the United States,Canada,and Western European countries to deter attacks from the Soviet Union?

A) Civil Defense Commission
B) North Atlantic Treaty Organization
C) Warsaw Pact
D) Bretton Woods Alliance

Question 6

How did President Truman respond to the Soviet blockade of West Berlin in 1948 and 1949?

A) He ordered the airlifting of more than two million tons of goods to West Berliners.
B) He considered retaliation but decided in the end to ignore the blockade.
C) He called Stalin's bluff and dispatched American soldiers to Germany.
D) He asked Congress to approve a declaration of war,but it refused.

Question 7

The U.S.government's policy of containment was first implemented when President Truman asked Congress to send military and economic aid to

A) Poland and Bulgaria.
B) Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
C) Greece and Turkey.
D) Romania and Yugoslavia.

Question 8

What did Winston Churchill,then Britain's former prime minister,suggest about the Soviet Union in his iron curtain speech of 1946?

A) It was quickly becoming an industrial nation that would threaten the American economy.
B) Its expansion had successfully been contained by the United States and its European allies.
C) Its suppression of the popular will in Eastern and Central Europe had isolated those regions from the free world.
D) Its military power was as superior and as strong as iron despite its wartime losses.

Question 9

The first instance of Soviet expansionism after World War II was in

A) Poland and Bulgaria.
B) China.
C) Iran.
D) Finland and Sweden.

Question 10

Joseph Stalin believed that U.S.foreign policy after World War II was hypocritical because the United States

A) was demanding territorial integrity in European nations but not in Japan,China,or the Middle East.
B) was demanding democratic elections in Eastern Europe but supporting friendly dictatorships in Latin America.
C) consistently refused to support efforts to create democratic nations around the globe.
D) applied containment policy only to the Soviets and not to other aggressor nations around the world.

Question 11

Why did Helen Gahagan Douglas oppose Truman's plan for dealing with the crisis in Greece?

A) She wanted the United States to work through the United Nations.
B) She wanted Truman to support the authoritarian Greek government.
C) She believed that only war would avert the crisis in Greece.
D) She believed that Truman was trying to pacify the Soviet Union.

Question 12

According to Map 26.1: The Division of Europe after World War II,which country was part of the Communist bloc?

A) Norway
B) Turkey
C) Yugoslavia
D) Hungary

Question 13

Which factor aroused Soviet suspicions of the Western Allies during World War II?

A) The Western Allies' refusal to fight alongside Soviet troops after the Normandy invasion
B) President Truman's refusal to thank the Soviet Union for its wartime sacrifices
C) President Truman's refusal to recognize Stalin as a legitimate leader
D) The Western Allies' long delay in opening a second front in Western Europe

Question 14

Why did President Truman approve the development of a hydrogen bomb in 1949?

A) U.S.scientists were warning that the atomic bomb would not be effective in a nuclear war.
B) U.S.intelligence sources were reporting that China had developed an atomic bomb.
C) The United States had confirmed that the Soviets had detonated an atomic bomb.
D) Experts believed it would be a more cost-effective weapon than the atomic bomb.

Question 15

What allowed the United States to emerge from World War II as the most powerful nation in the world?

A) The public was solidly behind the presidential administration.
B) Government economists had prepared for the postwar economic downturn.
C) It had both a monopoly on atomic weapons and expanded production capacity.
D) Its heroic role in the war made other nations willing to submit to American authority.

Question 16

What was the purpose of the National Security Act of 1947?

A) To pledge economic aid to democratic European governments
B) To create an agency to identify and ferret out Communists in the United States
C) To place oversight of all branches of the military under the secretary of defense
D) To establish and fund the Subversive Activities Control board under the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Question 17

Who was the author of the 1946 rationale for a hard-line U.S.foreign policy of containment?

A) Undersecretary of State Dean Acheson
B) Secretary of State James F.Byrnes
C) British prime minister Winston Churchill
D) Career diplomat George F.Kennan

Question 18

"In a great number of countries,far from the Russian frontiers and throughout the world,Communist fifth columns are established and work in complete unity and absolute obedience to the directions they receive from the Communist center. I do not believe that Soviet Russia desires war.What they desire is the fruits of war and the indefinite expansion of their power and doctrines....Our difficulties and dangers will not be removed by ...mere waiting to see what happens; nor will they be relieved by a policy of appeasement....I am convinced that there is nothing [the Russians] admire so much as strength,and there is nothing for which they have less respect than for military weakness."
According to Winston Churchill in his "Iron Curtain" speech,what was the Soviet Union's true desire in 1946?

A) To crush the existing political system of the United States
B) To engage in military conflict with capitalist nations
C) To expand its power and doctrines indefinitely
D) To foment unrest within its own borders

Question 19

The National Security Council was established to

A) advise the president on defense planning.
B) oversee the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
C) monitor the activities of Communist parties abroad.
D) prevent the United States from forming military alliances with other nations.

Question 20

Why did the Allies divide Germany in 1946?

A) They could not agree on the country's future.
B) The British feared the Soviets would rearm the Germans.
C) They had agreed to divide Germany at Yalta in 1945.
D) The Germans didn't want to be under complete Soviet control.

Question 21

What was the outcome of the congressional elections of 1946?

A) Democrats gained seats in Congress.
B) Republicans captured Congress.
C) The balance of power in Congress did not shift.
D) There were contested election results in seven states.

Question 22

Why might the cartoonist of the image in the Visual Activity titled "The Red Scare" have included a portrait of Thomas Jefferson as a comment on the Red scare?

A) Because Jefferson wrote the Bill of Rights,and McCarthyism infringed on the rights of Americans
B) Because Jefferson was a fervent anti-Communist
C) Because Jefferson strongly supported all political dissent
D) Because Jefferson sponsored the Alien and Sedition Acts in the late eighteenth century,which attempted to squash dissent

Question 23

How did the United States' Asian policy change after the collapse of China's Nationalist government in 1949?

A) It shifted its focus to Japan.
B) It began to consider the need to protect Vietnam from communism.
C) It beefed up its military presence in Japan.
D) It sought to establish an Asian equivalent to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Question 24

What accounted for Harry Truman's victory in the presidential election of 1948?

A) The Democratic party was strong and fully united behind him.
B) Thomas E.Dewey's high-profile campaign made him appear overconfident.
C) Broad support for his foreign policy and the popularity of New Deal reform led to Truman's victory.
D) After sixteen years of Democratic presidents,voters were nervous about a change in administration.

Question 25

How did the experience of World War II influence African American veterans returning from overseas?

A) It convinced them that their civil rights could not be protected.
B) It led them to expect a sharp decline in racial violence in the South.
C) It increased their resolve to fight racial injustices in the United States.
D) It lowered their expectations for the federal government's aid on civil rights issues.

Question 26

What was President Truman's initial response to the Israeli declaration of statehood in 1948?

A) He instituted a special State Department committee to research and make recommendations on the situation.
B) He quickly recognized Israel and pledged to make its defense a cornerstone of U.S.policies in the Middle East.
C) He went along with his advisors' recommendation that he stay neutral on the question,but he reversed his position before the election.
D) He took the position that he could not support Israel or its defense until it signed a peace agreement with the Arabs.

Question 27

The purpose of the Employment Act of 1946 was to

A) formalize the U.S.government's responsibility for keeping the economy healthy.
B) make the National Jobs Council responsible for keeping Americans employed.
C) strengthen the New Deal's Wagner Act by extending workers' rights to organize and strike.
D) provide unemployment insurance and other federal aid to unemployed World War II veterans.

Question 28

How did President Truman's efforts to advance the cause of blacks' civil rights compare with those of previous presidents?

A) They were weak and ineffectual.
B) They were bold and forward-looking.
C) They were the same as his predecessors'.
D) They constituted a step backward.

Question 29

How did the U.S.government respond to the fall of China's Nationalist government?

A) The president replaced senior officials in the State Department because they were responsible for the loss of China.
B) It persuaded the world's other democratic countries to welcome the People's Republic of China into the United Nations.
C) It formulated a plot to send the CIA to China to attempt to infiltrate the Communist forces and assassinate Mao Zedong.
D) It refused to grant official recognition to the Communist government and aided the exiled Nationalists.

Question 30

According to President Truman,what was the government's role in the postwar economy?

A) Government intervention was unnecessary because the economy was strong.
B) Federal money should go toward international aid rather than domestic welfare issues such as housing and health care for the poor.
C) The government should continue to regulate the economy while it adjusted to peacetime production.
D) The government should focus on only four or five economic proposals at a time.

Question 31

The executive order President Truman issued in 1948 during his reelection campaign was designed to

A) guarantee African Americans' right to fair housing.
B) ensure that black Americans had the same job opportunities as whites.
C) prohibit racial segregation in parks and other public facilities in the South.
D) desegregate every aspect of the American armed services.

Question 32

The founding of the American G.I.Forum in 1948 and subsequent efforts by Mexican Americans to challenge their segregation in public schools demonstrated

A) the growing mobilization of Mexican Americans in the Southwest.
B) a high level of cooperation between Mexican and African Americans after 1945.
C) competition between Mexican and African Americans for recognition for their struggles.
D) the growing mobilization of Mexican Americans in the Northeast and South.

Question 33

Which of the following describes labor strikes in the United States in 1946?

A) There were fewer than at any other time in the nation's history.
B) They increased public exasperation with and hostility toward unions.
C) They were related to returning veterans replacing women in the workforce.
D) They increased public hostility toward big business.

Question 34

Which African American received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950?

A) Gwendolyn Brooks
B) Ralph Bunche
C) Medgar Evers
D) Isaac Nixon

Question 35

According to Map 26.2: The Election of 1948,which state voted for J.Strom Thurmond in the 1948 election?

A) Texas
B) Wisconsin
C) South Carolina
D) New York

Question 36

The United States ended its official occupation of Japan after World War II

A) in 1950,when the United States was forced by necessity to divert its diplomatic and military efforts to Korea.
B) in 1949,as soon as it was clear that China would not become an American economic center in Asia.
C) once General Douglas MacArthur had established political and military stability there in late 1949.
D) after the two nations signed a peace treaty and a mutual security pact in September 1951.

Question 37

Which of the following was among the factors responsible for the post-World War II economic boom in the United States?

A) War-torn countries' spending on American products
B) A steadily declining birthrate in the Northeast and Midwest
C) Inflation and higher wages in the South and Southwest
D) The decline of labor unions

Question 38

Passed despite Truman's veto in 1947,the Taft-Hartley Act

A) was a huge blow to American labor.
B) removed government influence over labor unions.
C) was a major victory for American labor.
D) was also opposed by the Republican party.

Question 39

What occurred with the flight of the Chinese Nationalists from China in 1949?

A) Mao Zedong's Communist China Republic was established.
B) Indonesia granted the Nationalist government asylum so it could rule in exile.
C) Nationalist officers mounted a military coup and placed General Chiang Kai-shek in power.
D) The People's Republic of China was established.

Question 40

In the post-World War II era,the term third world was used to refer to Latin America and

A) countries with standards of living below those of the United States and most of Western Europe.
B) those countries where English was not the primary language.
C) Eastern European countries whose economies were under the control of the Soviet Union.
D) countries that had won their independence from war-weakened imperial powers.

Question 41

Who did Eisenhower select as his running mate in the presidential election of 1952?

A) Robert A.Taft
B) Helen Gahagan Douglas
C) Adlai E.Stevenson
D) Richard M.Nixon

Question 42

Which of these men was the most infamous crusader against communism after World War II?

A) Richard M.Nixon
B) Julius Rosenberg
C) Joseph R.McCarthy
D) Alger Hiss

Question 43

Which of the following describes President Truman's decision to deploy 1.8 million troops in the Korean War without a formal declaration of war from Congress?

A) Truman's action violated the spirit if not the letter of the Constitution.
B) The deployment was clearly within Truman's authority as president.
C) The decision overburdened the sixteen other nations that were taking part in the conflict.
D) Truman's rapid decision guaranteed a swift victory for the United States and South Korea against the Communists.

Question 44

Congress rejected a number of President Truman's Fair Deal proposals,including

A) improvements in Social Security.
B) an increase in the minimum wage.
C) housing reform.
D) civil rights measures.

Question 45

During the anti-Communist scare of the late 1940s and early 1950s,

A) many subversives and illegal immigrants were deported to other countries.
B) federal employees were investigated for Communist subversion.
C) many teachers were jailed for refusing to answer Senate investigators' questions.
D) labor unions were exempt from investigation because of they had signed the no-strike pledge during the war.

Question 46

What triggered U.S.military action in Korea in 1950?

A) The invasion of South Korea by troops from Communist North Korea
B) Mao Zedong's mobilization of Chinese troops to North Korea
C) President Truman's firing of General MacArthur
D) Joseph Stalin's ordering the North Koreans to attack and capture Seoul

Question 47

What did Dwight D.Eisenhower emphasize in his campaign for the presidency in 1952?

A) The need for large government expenditures to solve domestic problems
B) The need to get U.S.troops out of Korea immediately to prevent the loss of more lives
C) The importance of reducing defense spending and increasing the federal budget for education
D) The threat of communism and the need to win decisively in Korea

Question 48

What was one consequence of the Korean War?

A) A reduction in Cold War tension around the globe
B) A 50 percent decrease in U.S.military spending in 1953
C) A massive increase in U.S.defense spending
D) A lessening of U.S.involvement in Southeast Asia

Question 49

President Truman justified intervention in Korea by comparing events there to the crisis in which European nation?

A) Germany
B) Czechoslovakia
C) Poland
D) Greece

Question 50

Which of the following describes Truman's authorization for General MacArthur to lead his troops across the thirty-eighth parallel in Korea?

A) Truman's orders were disregarded by MacArthur,who steadfastly refused to advance into North Korea.
B) It was the only time during the Cold War that the United States tried to roll back communism by force.
C) It provoked a crisis with the Soviet Union,which,for the first time,threatened to use nuclear weapons.
D) It was censured by the United Nations,which had authorized troops to advance to the thirty-eighth parallel only.