Deck 26: The Second World War, 1933-1945

Question 1

Following the declaration of war:

A)a surge of volunteerism allowed the repeal of the Selective Service Act to end the draft.
B)all men and women between the ages of eighteen and forty-five were drafted.
C)women between the ages of eighteen and forty-five were drafted,while men were exempt from the draft due to an excess of volunteers.
D)men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five were drafted.
E)the draft was enacted for the first time in American history.

Answer 1

men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five were drafted.

Question 2

What agency was created to direct industrial conversion to war production?

A)Commerce Department
B)War Production Board
C)Treasury Department
D)Office of Scientific Research and Development
E)Office of War Information

Answer 2

War Production Board

Question 3

From late 1941 into early 1942,during World War II in the Pacific:

A)there was a string of American victories that put Japan on the defensive.
B)there was a succession of Japanese victories that saw numerous Allied outposts fall.
C)the Japanese in the Philippines surrendered to General Douglas MacArthur.
D)the Japanese invaded and captured Australia.
E)China finally surrendered to Japan.

Answer 3

there was a succession of Japanese victories that saw numerous Allied outposts fall.

Question 4

The country that suffered the most deaths in the fighting of World War II was:

A)the United States.
B)Germany.
C)Japan.
D)Britain.
E)the Soviet Union.

Question 5

A significant economic problem during the war was:

A)finding enough workers for the essential wartime industries.
B)overcoming high unemployment that lingered from the Depression.
C)dealing with deflationary pressures that killed consumer demand.
D)women refusing to work in wartime industries.
E)raising low wages.

Question 6

By late 1942,the United States effectively countered German advantages in the Atlantic with what strategic response?

A)aerial bombardment
B)cross channel invasion
C)dropping the atomic bomb
D)espionage
E)subchasers

Question 7

African American soldiers generally served in desegregated units during World War II.

Question 8

Despite the length and duration of World War II,total civilian and military deaths miraculously remained fewer than 1 million.

Question 9

Operation Overlord is also known as:

A)Pearl Harbor Day.
B)D-day.
C)Armistice Day.
D)V-day.
E)D-7.

Question 10

In May 1945,Germany surrendered in exchange for assurances that Hitler would not be tried as a war criminal.

Question 11

After dropping two atomic bombs on Japan,the United States:

A)accepted Japan's surrender,albeit with the condition that the emperor could keep his throne.
B)accepted Japan's unconditional surrender.
C)launched the amphibious invasion of Japan,the final operation of World War II.
D)returned its attention to fighting the war in Europe.
E)dropped a third on Tokyo to force the Japanese surrender.

Question 12

At Casablanca,Roosevelt and Churchill agreed that the terms for ending the war must include the unconditional surrender of all enemies.

Question 13

In early 1942,the biggest challenge the United States faced in the Atlantic was:

A)German submarine warfare.
B)German aircraft carrier attacks.
C)German blitzkrieg.
D)German espionage.
E)German American disloyalty.

Question 14

The United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Question 15

Large numbers of Americans of German,Italian,and Japanese descent were incarcerated during World War II.

Question 16

The Office of Price Administration:

A)was designed to combat the serious wartime deflation.
B)was designed to raise consumer prices.
C)lacked any authority to set consumer prices or ration any items.
D)set price ceilings on highly demanded items such as tires,sugar,and gasoline.
E)set price ceilings and directed the rationing of all goods and items for sale in the wartime economy.

Question 17

The bracero program mobilized Native Americans to support the war effort.

Question 18

During World War II,presidential authority expanded significantly.

Question 19

By the end of World War II,more than 8 million women had entered the workforce.

Question 20

"D-day" refers to the cross channel Allied amphibious invasion of Nazi-occupied France.

Question 21

During the presidential election of 1944:

A)Franklin Roosevelt was defeated in his run for a fourth term as president.
B)Franklin Roosevelt won a fourth term as president.
C)in light of his health problems and progress toward winning the war,Franklin Roosevelt chose not to run for a fourth term.
D)Harry Truman was elected president.
E)Republican Wendell Willkie opposed Democrat Franklin Roosevelt.

Question 22

"D-day" refers to the:

A)top-secret work of American cryptanalysts (code breakers).
B)day the atomic bombs were to be dropped on Japan.
C)Allied invasion at Normandy.
D)Allied invasion of North Africa.
E)joint American-Russian effort to free Poland.

Question 23

Which of the following countries was NOT an Axis Power by June 1941?

A)Italy
B)the Soviet Union
C)Hungary
D)Bulgaria
E)Romania

Question 24

The bracero program:

A)led to the forced evacuation of more than 100,000 Japanese Americans.
B)was a reaction to the zoot-suit riots.
C)allowed most recent immigrants to join the American armed services after a thorough background check.
D)sought to mobilize Indian reservations in support of the American war effort.
E)brought some 200,000 Mexican farm workers into the western United States.

Question 25

British and American differences over where to attack Germany first were resolved with the decision to launch an offensive:

A)across the English Channel.
B)against Japan.
C)in the Middle East.
D)on the Eastern Front.
E)in North Africa.

Question 26

In June 1941,Germany widened the war by:

A)declaring war on the United States.
B)invading the Soviet Union.
C)attacking Spain.
D)invading Britain.
E)declaring war on Poland.

Question 27

What helped the Allies gain the advantage in the Battle of the Atlantic?

A)The Allies decoded German messages that indicated where the U-boats were.
B)The Allies had a submarine advantage over the Germans.
C)The Allied aircraft carrier superiority countered the German U-boat advantage.
D)The Allies utilized aerial precision bombing of German targets.
E)The Allies bypassed the Atlantic to confront the Germans directly in Europe.

Question 28

War relocation camps:

A)housed more than 120,000 Japanese Americans during the war.
B)were actually prisoner-of-war camps for captured Germans.
C)served as the German euphemism for Nazi concentration camps.
D)helped the families of American servicemen cope with the absence of husbands and fathers.
E)were the bases that housed American servicemen before they were sent to the front lines.

Question 29

Which statement best describes the Allied invasion against Sicily in July 1943?

A)The fight for Sicily became known as "the Mediterranean's Okinawa."
B)The well-fortified island proved too difficult for the Allies to capture.
C)Sicily fell quickly after the Allied surprise landing.
D)The fight for Sicily became the first outright defeat for the Allied war effort.
E)The Allies captured Mussolini and forced him to surrender.

Question 30

At the Casablanca Conference,Roosevelt and Churchill agreed to all of the following EXCEPT:

A)a demand for the unconditional surrender of their enemies.
B)an immediate launching of a cross channel invasion into France.
C)the stepped-up bombing of Germany.
D)an assault on Sicily and Italy.
E)increased shipments of military supplies to the Soviet Union.

Question 31

The mobilization of women in the labor force during World War II:

A)led to a significant increase of American women joining the labor force.
B)did not include women serving in the armed forces.
C)has been greatly exaggerated and distorted beyond its real significance.
D)only impacted minorities and immigrants.
E)occurred in all Allied nations except in the United States.

Question 32

The Atlantic Charter included all the following principles EXCEPT:

A)freedom of the seas.
B)economic cooperation.
C)the elimination of communism.
D)self-determination for all peoples.
E)a new system of international security.

Question 33

Prime Minister Churchill worried that if the Red Army arrived in Berlin first:

A)Stalin would control the postwar map of Europe.
B)they would control it with the United States.
C)Truman would control the postwar map of Europe.
D)Stalin would declare victory.
E)Lenin would control the postwar map of Europe.

Question 34

Following the Pearl Harbor attack:

A)American isolationism increased.
B)a congressional resolution for war passed unanimously.
C)the United States avoided involvement in the European conflict.
D)Germany and Italy also declared war on the United States.
E)Franklin Roosevelt resigned the presidency.

Question 35

The main purpose of the 1943 meeting between Roosevelt,Churchill,and Stalin at Tehran was to:

A)discuss the use of atomic bombs to end the war.
B)consider inducing the Axis powers to lay down their arms by abandoning the insistence on unconditional surrender.
C)reconsider the strategies in the Battle for the Atlantic.
D)reprioritize the war in Asia as more important than the war in Europe.
E)plan the invasion of France and the Russian offensive across Eastern Europe.

Question 36

The Atlantic Charter:

A)was a joint British-American statement of anti-Axis war aims.
B)reaffirmed American neutrality in the wars in Europe and Asia.
C)is another name for the American declaration of war against Germany.
D)advocated expanding the war in Europe to fight communism.
E)was voted down by Congress.

Question 37

What was the most significant consequence of the Battle of Leyte Gulf?

A)Germany entered the war in the Pacific and fought alongside Japan.
B)The Allied forces secured a foothold on the Japanese home islands.
C)The Chinese earned their first substantive victory against the Japanese.
D)This Japanese surprise victory caused Allied losses so severe it nearly ended the war.
E)The Japanese lost most of their remaining sea power and ability to defend the Philippines.

Question 38

Just days after the D-day invasion,U.S.forces liberated all the following EXCEPT:

A)Tinian.
B)Guam.
C)Saipan.
D)three Japanese-controlled islands in the Mariana Islands.
E)Philippines.

Question 39

Which statement best describes the Native American experience in the armed forces during World War II?

A)Native American servicemen fought in segregated units with African Americans.
B)Native American servicemen were integrated into regular units.
C)Native Americans were ineligible for service in the armed forces.
D)Native Americans refused to serve in the armed forces.
E)Native Americans served but were exempt from fighting on the front lines.

Question 40

How did Germany respond to Italy's decision to switch sides in September 1943?

A)Germany slowed the Allied advance by pouring its own reinforcements into Italy.
B)Hitler had Mussolini assassinated.
C)Germany abandoned Italy and focused on defending France.
D)Hitler offered to surrender to the Allies with conditions.
E)Germany diverted its former Italian forces to fight the Soviets.

Question 41

The American assault on Okinawa:

A)failed at great loss of life for the U.S.forces.
B)was a success,but with tremendous loss of life for both the United States and Japan.
C)was postponed with the development of the atomic bomb.
D)resulted in the surrender of the Japanese Imperial Army.
E)prompted the emperor to give up his throne.

Question 42

Winston Churchill once said,"There is only one thing worse than fighting with allies,and that is fighting without them." How do the Allied efforts to develop joint war aims and strategies demonstrate the relevance of this quote to the World War II experience?

Question 43

What was the significance of the use of atomic bombs against Japan?

A)They prevented the Soviets from entering the war in Asia.
B)They shocked Germany into surrendering before facing the same fate.
C)They killed the Japanese emperor and paved the way for surrender.
D)They allowed the Americans to avoid an amphibious invasion of Japan.
E)They rendered the entire island of Honshu uninhabitable for twenty-three years.

Question 44

What did the governments of Italy and Germany have in common by the 1930s?

A)Both had established communist forms of government.
B)Both had thriving liberal democracies.
C)Both had strong monarchies.
D)Both had established fascist forms of government.
E)Both went to war with the United States.

Question 45

When Soviet forces reentered Poland in 1944,they created a puppet Communist regime in:

A)Warsaw.
B)Lublin.
C)Kraków.
D)
E)Rabka- Zdrój.

Question 46

At the Yalta Conference of 1945,the Allies did all of the following EXCEPT:

A)call for a conference to create a new world security organization.
B)agree to Soviet territorial demands in Eastern Europe.
C)make arrangements for the postwar governance of Germany.
D)restore the original Polish government to power in Poland.
E)reaffirm the principles of the Atlantic Charter.

Question 47

Perhaps the most bitterly criticized of the Yalta accords was a secret agreement about the:

A)Far East.
B)Middle East.
C)Near East.
D)future of Germany.
E)future of Russia.

Question 48

What lessons does the D-day offensive offer about the significance of preparation and planning for the success of an operation? What other factors beyond preparation and planning does the D-day invasion suggest you consider when assessing why certain operations fail or succeed?

Question 49

What factors influenced the Allied victory in the Pacific? Which factor do you think was the most significant? Explain your position.

Question 50

Why did America drop the atomic bomb on Japan? Was the action justified?

Question 51

What were the effects of the war on American women and minority groups in the United States? Would you describe the overall effects as positive,negative,or some mixture? Why?

Question 52

The Marco Polo Bridge incident brought Japan to war against what country?

A)China
B)Britain
C)the United States
D)Korea
E)the Soviet Union

Question 53

The Potsdam Declaration:

A)accepted the Japanese surrender and allowed the emperor to remain on the throne "subordinate to the authority of the Allied occupation."
B)is the formal name for the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan.
C)threatened that Hiroshima and Nagasaki faced an "atomic holocaust" if Japan did not surrender.
D)presented Japan's terms for surrendering to the Allied powers.
E)demanded that Japan surrender or face "prompt and utter destruction."

Question 54

Detail the Yalta Conference and show its importance to the postwar world.

Question 55

Describe America's early battlefield experiences during World War II.How did America fare in these initial battles?

Question 56

Following the defeat of Germany:

A)came the shocking realization of the full extent of the Holocaust.
B)Hitler was executed after his conviction of war crimes.
C)the Prussian monarchy was restored to the German throne.
D)the Allies established a unified liberal democratic government with its capital in Berlin.
E)Franklin Roosevelt died in office.

Question 57

Detail how the United States financed World War II and what impact the war had on the U.S.economy.

Question 58

Less than a month before the surrender of Germany:

A)President Roosevelt lost his reelection bid.
B)the war in Asia ended with the Japanese surrender.
C)Hitler was captured by advancing Allied forces.
D)atomic bombs were dropped on Japan.
E)President Roosevelt died in office.

Question 59

Describe the agreements made during the war that shaped the postwar world.In your view,did Roosevelt "sell out" to the Soviets?

Question 60

Discuss America's industrial and economic mobilization for World War II and explain how it proved essential to the eventual Allied victory.

Question 61

MATCHING
Match each person with one of the descriptions below.
Thomas E.Dewey

A)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1944
B)lost presidential election in 1940
C)headed Operation Overlord
D)was an American admiral in Pacific
E)Republican appointed secretary of war in 1940
F)lost the presidential election in 1944
G)was elected vice president in 1944
H)was in charge of all U.S.forces in east Asia
I)alerted Roosevelt to German research on nuclear fission
J)directed construction of atomic bombs

Question 62

MATCHING
Match each person with one of the descriptions below.
Franklin D.Roosevelt

A)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1944
B)lost presidential election in 1940
C)headed Operation Overlord
D)was an American admiral in Pacific
E)Republican appointed secretary of war in 1940
F)lost the presidential election in 1944
G)was elected vice president in 1944
H)was in charge of all U.S.forces in east Asia
I)alerted Roosevelt to German research on nuclear fission
J)directed construction of atomic bombs

Question 63

MATCHING
Match each person with one of the descriptions below.
Harry Truman

A)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1944
B)lost presidential election in 1940
C)headed Operation Overlord
D)was an American admiral in Pacific
E)Republican appointed secretary of war in 1940
F)lost the presidential election in 1944
G)was elected vice president in 1944
H)was in charge of all U.S.forces in east Asia
I)alerted Roosevelt to German research on nuclear fission
J)directed construction of atomic bombs

Question 64

MATCHING
Match each person with one of the descriptions below.
Henry L.Stimson

A)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1944
B)lost presidential election in 1940
C)headed Operation Overlord
D)was an American admiral in Pacific
E)Republican appointed secretary of war in 1940
F)lost the presidential election in 1944
G)was elected vice president in 1944
H)was in charge of all U.S.forces in east Asia
I)alerted Roosevelt to German research on nuclear fission
J)directed construction of atomic bombs

Question 65

MATCHING
Match each person with one of the descriptions below.
Wendell L.Willkie

A)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1944
B)lost presidential election in 1940
C)headed Operation Overlord
D)was an American admiral in Pacific
E)Republican appointed secretary of war in 1940
F)lost the presidential election in 1944
G)was elected vice president in 1944
H)was in charge of all U.S.forces in east Asia
I)alerted Roosevelt to German research on nuclear fission
J)directed construction of atomic bombs

Question 66

MATCHING
Match each person with one of the descriptions below.
Dwight D.Eisenhower

A)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1944
B)lost presidential election in 1940
C)headed Operation Overlord
D)was an American admiral in Pacific
E)Republican appointed secretary of war in 1940
F)lost the presidential election in 1944
G)was elected vice president in 1944
H)was in charge of all U.S.forces in east Asia
I)alerted Roosevelt to German research on nuclear fission
J)directed construction of atomic bombs

Question 67

MATCHING
Match each person with one of the descriptions below.
Douglas MacArthur

A)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1944
B)lost presidential election in 1940
C)headed Operation Overlord
D)was an American admiral in Pacific
E)Republican appointed secretary of war in 1940
F)lost the presidential election in 1944
G)was elected vice president in 1944
H)was in charge of all U.S.forces in east Asia
I)alerted Roosevelt to German research on nuclear fission
J)directed construction of atomic bombs

Question 68

MATCHING
Match each person with one of the descriptions below.
Albert Einstein

A)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1944
B)lost presidential election in 1940
C)headed Operation Overlord
D)was an American admiral in Pacific
E)Republican appointed secretary of war in 1940
F)lost the presidential election in 1944
G)was elected vice president in 1944
H)was in charge of all U.S.forces in east Asia
I)alerted Roosevelt to German research on nuclear fission
J)directed construction of atomic bombs

Question 69

MATCHING
Match each person with one of the descriptions below.
J.Robert Oppenheimer

A)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1944
B)lost presidential election in 1940
C)headed Operation Overlord
D)was an American admiral in Pacific
E)Republican appointed secretary of war in 1940
F)lost the presidential election in 1944
G)was elected vice president in 1944
H)was in charge of all U.S.forces in east Asia
I)alerted Roosevelt to German research on nuclear fission
J)directed construction of atomic bombs

Question 70

MATCHING
Match each person with one of the descriptions below.
Chester Nimitz

A)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1944
B)lost presidential election in 1940
C)headed Operation Overlord
D)was an American admiral in Pacific
E)Republican appointed secretary of war in 1940
F)lost the presidential election in 1944
G)was elected vice president in 1944
H)was in charge of all U.S.forces in east Asia
I)alerted Roosevelt to German research on nuclear fission
J)directed construction of atomic bombs