Deck 1: What Shaped Our World

Question 1

Why did the United States join World War II despite its turn toward isolationism following
World War I?

A)The United States stood to profit from joining the war.
B)The United States wanted to recoup the money lost in World War I.
C)The United States suffered a devastating attack on its soil.
D)Alliance commitments led the United States to join the war.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following is an implication of sovereignty for modern states?

A)States have the ability to decide the policies to be implemented within their borders without the expectation of interference from other states.
B)Smaller states will receive protection from stronger states.
C)States no longer expect to have border disputes.
D)International organizations,like the United Nations,have no authority to make international laws.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The Peace of Westphalia in 1648:

A)established British hegemony.
B)marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars.
C)marked the beginning of the modern system of states.
D)promoted the Industrial Revolution.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following is the best example of a hegemon?

A)Germany after World War I
B)The United States during the Cold War
C)France during the Thirty Years' War
D)Great Britain in the 1800s

Question 5

Which of the following factors aided global trade during the Pax Britannica?

A)Creation of the railroad
B)Creation of the steamship
C)Adoption of the gold standard
D)All of these are correct.

Question 6

The sixteenth through eighteenth centuries were characterized by:

A)European states trying to overpower and outmaneuver each other.
B)the dominance of one major European power that kept the peace.
C)economic decline as colonial empires slowly ended.
D)the rise of non-European powers through colonialism.

Question 7

A major change in the balance of power within nineteenth-century Europe was spurred by the:

A)unification and growth of Germany.
B)rise of the Ottoman Empire.
C)decline of the American empire.
D)withdrawal of England from active intervention in European politics.

Question 8

What occurred around 1492 that fundamentally altered the course of the world?

A)The earth became smaller.
B)European states led expeditions around the world.
C)The Peace of Westphalia was signed.
D)The Industrial Revolution began.

Question 9

"Terms of trade" refers to the:

A)contracts written up between importers and exporters to eliminate misunderstandings between trading partners.
B)level of difficulty of transporting goods between different countries.
C)vocabulary used by importers and exporters.
D)prices paid by a country for imports and what it receives for exports.

Question 10

Under mercantilism,a country wishing to expand would best start by:

A)forming a common market,or mercantile,among countries in the region.
B)encouraging its colonial territories to produce finished products.
C)withdrawing its diplomats from its adversaries' capitals.
D)building up its military power.

Question 11

A country "on" the gold standard:

A)could print as much paper money as it needed.
B)used only gold to make purchases.
C)promised to exchange its currency for gold at an established rate.
D)had its loans from other countries guaranteed by gold.

Question 12

The modern state system is thought to have emerged:

A)when the Roman Republic first became the Roman Empire.
B)with the first successful unification of China.
C)after the Peace of Westphalia.
D)after World War II.

Question 13

Why did the adoption of the gold standard facilitate global trade?

A)The International Monetary Fund pushed for the adoption of the gold standard.
B)It suited the interests of Great Britain,as it controlled most of the gold mines.
C)It created a predictable way to exchange international currencies.
D)Few countries had existing trade barriers against gold.

Question 14

Which of these countries had global hegemonic influence in the nineteenth century?

A)Japan
B)Great Britain
C)The United States
D)France

Question 15

Which of the following events is considered the beginning of the modern state system?

A)Pax Britannica
B)League of Nations
C)Peace of Westphalia
D)Pax Romana

Question 16

What prompted European states to begin exploring the world?

A)A search for new allies
B)The search for new markets and resources
C)Continuous wars on the continent led to the pursuit of new lands to populate.
D)Population growth

Question 17

The great European powers cooperated more and fought less during the nineteenth century,in part because of:

A)the invention of new weapons that made war more costly.
B)the decline of the Ottoman Empire.
C)the unification of Germany.
D)increasingly free trade between countries.

Question 18

When European colonialism began in the sixteenth century:

A)the largest cities in the world were mostly found in Europe.
B)political and religious interests pushed Europeans to colonize.
C)European technology was centuries ahead of anywhere else in the world.
D)economic activity in the rest of the world was stagnant.

Question 19

In the nineteenth century,England promoted international economic stability by:

A)building up its army,rather than its navy.
B)withdrawing from active intervention in world politics.
C)going off the gold standard frequently.
D)leading the world in promoting free trade.

Question 20

Which of the following accurately describes the United Nations' record on managing crises that followed in the wake of the Cold War?

A)The United Nations has mainly been successful at suppressing violence in the post-Cold War world.
B)The United Nations has been unable to accomplish anything because of major power gridlock.
C)The United Nations has experienced both successes and failures.
D)The United Nations has largely avoided conflicts in the third world.

Question 21

Which of the following statements is true about the United States' intervention during the Cold War?

A)The United States refused to intervene in democratic countries.
B)The United States used military and intelligence services to undermine only governments under the direct control of the Soviet Union.
C)The United States used military and intelligence services to prevent countries from electing governments sympathetic to the Soviet Union.
D)The United States rarely intervened in civil conflicts outside its own borders because it respected the sovereignty of other countries.

Question 22

Which of the following statements about Soviet intervention during the Cold War is true?

A)The Soviet Union refused to send its military to intervene in European countries such as Hungary and Czechoslovakia,because it feared retaliation from the United States.
B)The Soviet Union intervened only in countries with socialist or Marxist governments,since they were already Soviet allies.
C)The Soviet Union rarely intervened in the developing world,because it thought poor countries were likely to become communist without Soviet help.
D)The Soviet Union sent arms and advisers to many developing countries in hopes of helping sympathetic groups seize power.

Question 23

With regard to the "war debts-reparations tangle":

A)France and England stopped insisting that Germany repay its loans.
B)France and England insisted that the United States repay loans made before World War I.
C)the United States stopped insisting that France and England repay loans made during World War I.
D)the United States insisted that the French and Germans repay loans made during World War I.

Question 24

The Bretton Woods System sought to reduce barriers and taxes on goods exchanged between countries with the:

A)General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
B)International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
C)Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.
D)Marshall Plan.

Question 25

Which of the following institutions is a member of the Bretton Woods System?

A)North Atlantic Treaty Organization
B)The United Nations
C)Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
D)International Monetary Fund

Question 26

One of the reasons the United States and its allies created international institutions at the end of World War II was:

A)because World War II had ended inconclusively.
B)to counter institutions created by the Soviet Union.
C)in order to create a stable free-trade economic system.
D)because international institutions had been effective before the war.

Question 27

Which of the following explains why British hegemony led to a peaceful era in Europe in the nineteenth century?

A)A change in British interests toward commerce and economic prosperity.
B)A convergence of interests between European states.
C)The British outlawed weapons at the Bretton Woods conference.
D)The British used force to quiet any dissent in Europe.

Question 28

Which of the following organizations was created to facilitate private investment in developing nations in the 1950s and 1960s?

A)International Monetary Fund
B)World Bank
C)Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
D)Marshall Plan

Question 29

During the Pax Britannica,the British sought to reverse mercantilist policies for which of the following reasons?

A)The Industrial Revolution meant that British industries no longer benefitted from government protection.
B)Free trade was beneficial to the British economy.
C)Mercantilism provided too many protections for foreign industries.
D)The British realized that power was a more important pursuit than wealth.

Question 30

One feature of the Treaty of Versailles that directly led to the outbreak of World War II was:

A)guarantees of freedom of the seas.
B)the creation of the League of Nations.
C)limiting the German military.
D)war reparations.

Question 31

After World War I:

A)the German economy rebounded relatively quickly.
B)the League of Nations was created to avoid another war.
C)few new countries became independent.
D)the Austrian and Ottoman empires survived until the next war.

Question 32

The Cold War led to which of the following developments?

A)The relevance of the "third world" in world politics
B)The antiglobalization movement
C)The end of American dominance in world politics
D)Widespread economic growth and productivity

Question 33

Which of the following statements about nuclear weapons is true?

A)The Soviet Union initially had more nuclear weapons than the United States.
B)Nuclear weapons were ultimately unimportant in the Cold War competition between the Soviet Union and the United States.
C)There was never a real possibility that the United States or the Soviet Union would use their nuclear weapons.
D)The United States' and the Soviet Union's nuclear capabilities effectively prevented each from attacking the other.

Question 34

By the early twentieth century,the balance of power between major countries was most affected by the:

A)rise of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
B)rise of the Ottoman Empire.
C)persistent isolation of the United States.
D)unification of Germany.

Question 35

British hegemony emerged from a decisive victory at the end of which of the following wars?

A)Thirty Years' War
B)World War I
C)Napoleonic Wars
D)Hundred Years' War

Question 36

Why did the United States fight "proxy wars" during the Cold War?

A)Since it did not have the nuclear weapons necessary to launch a direct attack on the Soviet Union,the United States attacked Soviet allies instead.
B)The United States thought fighting wars "by proxy" would last longer and therefore buy time for the Soviet Union to collapse on its own.
C)The United States hoped it could surprise the Soviet Union by not directly attacking it.
D)The United States feared a devastating war if it directly attacked the Soviet Union.

Question 37

Which of the following describes the effect of World War II on international relations?

A)It gave rise to the Cold War rivalry.
B)It led to peace between European states.
C)It led to U.S.hegemony.
D)It increased the number of great powers in Europe.

Question 38

A consequence of World War I was:

A)the consolidation of European empires.
B)the rapid decolonization of areas of the British and French empires.
C)deflation in the largest European economies.
D)a successful communist revolution in Russia.

Question 39

How did the Great Depression help lead to the outbreak of World War II?

A)It caused France to invade Germany after the Germans failed to pay back their war reparations.
B)It led to the rise of extreme right-wing,nationalistic governments in several key European nations.
C)It caused many countries to stop funding the League of Nations,crippling the organization tasked with keeping the peace.
D)It prevented nations such as the United States and the United Kingdom from investing in more troops.

Question 40

Which of the following treaties is an example of early formal cooperation between European states?

A)Peace of Westphalia
B)Pax Romana
C)Concert of Europe
D)Treaty of Versailles

Question 41

The European Union:

A)began in the 1950s,with collaboration on coal and steel production between a few countries.
B)began in the 1960s,with a military alliance between France,Germany,and the United Kingdom.
C)raised barriers to impede the internal movement of labor among the member nations.
D)included all European countries by the end of the 1990s.

Question 42

During the Cold War,developing countries:

A)were more concerned about the spread of communism than the gap in wealth between industrialized and developing countries.
B)sought to separate themselves from the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union.
C)refused to join the United Nations because it was seen as a tool of the United States and the Soviet Union.
D)created effective cartels like the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries for other raw materials,such as copper and bananas.

Question 43

Which of the following consequences of World War I contributed to the outbreak of World War II?

A)Slow postwar economic recovery in Europe and a subsequent recession
B)The death of 15 million people
C)The collapse of the Ottoman empire
D)The League of Nations

Question 44

Which of the following is the best example of the challenges to globalization in the modern world?

A)Arab Spring uprisings lead to uncertain results in Middle Eastern and North African countries.
B)Developing economies push for reforms in the United Nations General Assembly.
C)The value of currencies fluctuates now that there is no gold standard.
D)China and Russia refuse to fully open their borders to international trade.
E)The United States brings trade dispute cases to the World Trade Organization.

Question 45

Which of the following is an example of a free-trade area?

A)World Trade Organization
B)European Union
C)North Atlantic Treaty Organization
D)Warsaw Pact

Question 46

Which of the following describes the most important characteristic of the Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union?

A)The superpowers both maintained strong military alliances.
B)The superpowers both possessed nuclear weapons.
C)The superpowers engaged in frequent overt warfare.
D)The superpowers were both members of the United Nations Security Council.

Question 47

Which of the following is true of economic prosperity during the Pax Britannica?

A)The entire world benefitted from European Trade.
B)British bankers were hurt by increasing world trade.
C)Non-European states were exploited for European gain.
D)During the Pax Britannica,states experienced both economic gain and widespread war.

Question 48

Which statement best describes China and Vietnam in the early 1980s?

A)Both countries abandoned one-party rule.
B)Both countries adopted capitalist economic reforms.
C)China adopted capitalist economic reforms,but Vietnam did not.
D)Vietnam maintained its one-party system,but China did not.

Question 49

Which of the following would be an example of détente between the United States and the Soviet Union?

A)The Soviet Union puts missiles in Cuba.
B)The Soviet Union blocks access to Berlin.
C)The United States agrees to limit its military weapons.
D)The United States sends troops to Vietnam.

Question 50

Why did Germany's rise lead to the Thirty Years' Crisis?

A)Germany wanted to challenge the status quo in Europe.
B)Germany was not interested in free trade.
C)Britain was threatened by Germany's growing economic power.
D)The United States was interested in maintaining their hegemonic status.

Question 51

One of the biggest crises between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War occurred in 2014 over which country?

A)Georgia
B)Belarus
C)Romania
D)Ukraine

Question 52

The end of the Cold War was preceded by which event in the 1980s?

A)Decreased military spending by the United States
B)Increased Soviet repression in Eastern Europe
C)Policies of greater openness and economic reconstruction in the Soviet Union
D)Economic recovery in the Soviet Union

Question 53

In the 1970s,some developing economies with certain natural resources managed to gain some power over more industrialized economies through the work of which organization?

A)Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
B)International Monetary Fund
C)World Bank
D)World Trade Organization

Question 54

Which organization,formed in 1920,was the precursor to the United Nations?

A)Concert of Europe
B)International Monetary Fund
C)League of Nations
D)Warsaw Pact

Question 55

Which of the following demonstrates American influence on international politics following World War II?

A)The United States built various international institutions to instill its preferred order on the international system.
B)The United States followed an isolationist foreign policy after the war.
C)The United States formed the Warsaw Pact to contain the Soviet Union's influence in Europe.
D)The United States built a wall to separate East and West Berlin in Germany.

Question 56

Why did some countries after World War II form what would become the European Union?

A)To fend off intervention by the United States in Europe
B)To increase tariffs on goods entering Europe
C)To increase trade and improve economic cooperation within Europe
D)To increase trade between European countries and their former colonies

Question 57

What effect did World War I have on the international system?

A)It spurred economic integration in Europe.
B)It led to the collapse of empires.
C)It created the United Nations.
D)It ended European imperialism.

Question 58

Which of the following encouraged European powers to prioritize free trade in the 1800s?

A)The discovery of people outside of Europe
B)Technological advancements
C)Reversion from the gold standard
D)Military force becoming outdated

Question 59

Which of the following statements is true about Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990?

A)The 1991 war against Iraq revealed the ineffectiveness of the United Nations in coordinating military responses to violations of international law.
B)Iraqi forces were expelled from Kuwait by forces from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
C)A large coalition of countries led by the United States invaded Iraq to end its occupation of Kuwait.
D)A large coalition of countries under the auspices of the United Nations expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

Question 60

Developing countries created the nonaligned movement during the Cold War because they:

A)opposed communist expansion in the third world.
B)wanted to create closer ties with the Soviet Union.
C)wanted to create closer ties with the United States.
D)wanted to promote international economic development.

Question 61

What are some current challenges that threaten the United States' dominance in world politics?

Question 62

World War I was supposed to be "the war to end all wars," yet another catastrophic war occurred only two decades later.Explain how the League of Nations and major power interests failed to prevent World War II.

Question 63

Why did British hegemony lead to a peaceful era in Europe while Germany's rise in the early 1900s was destabilizing?

Question 64

What were the major assumptions behind mercantilism? Why did mercantilism give way to globalization and free trade? Whose interests were most served by the change?

Question 65

Why were European nations successful at colonizing so many nations,even those with well-developed,advanced institutions? Utilize the "interests,interactions,institutions" framework to explain Europe imperialism.

Question 66

How did the United States and its allies interact with the Soviet Union and its allies? Give an example of a hostile situation between the two blocs,as well as one situation where cooperation prevailed.

Question 67

States' interests affect how they interact with one another.Explain how states' interests in the nineteenth century led to less conflict between major powers in Europe.

Question 68

The end of the Cold War presented new possibilities for the role of institutions such as the United Nations.How did the United Nations prevent conflict and promote cooperation after the Cold War ended?

Question 69

How have international affairs changed in the years since the end of the Cold War? Which developments do you believe to be the most important and why?

Question 70

How did the economic,political,and military interests of the major powers evolve over the course of the twentieth century?

Question 71

What prevented the superpowers from engaging in overt conflict with one another? Offer two examples of how the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in conflict without confronting each other directly.

Question 72

The victors in World War II created international institutions at the conclusion of the war to promote their own interests and to prevent future wars.Explain why they created these institutions,and how the institutions affected the interaction of major countries during the Cold War.

Question 73

Why did major power interests and interactions result in a peaceful nineteenth century but a conflict-ridden twentieth century?

Question 74

How did economic conditions in the aftermath of World War I lead to the outbreak of the
World War II?