Section 3 Checking for Understanding

HIST 1302

Which of the following aspects of American life in the 1940s and 1950s indicate that, at least for some Americans, the postwar years were a time of prosperity and optimism?

A. Many Americans constructed underground bomb shelters at their homes.

B. The postwar American economy experienced unprecedented growth.

C. Americans lived in fear of contracting the debilitating polio virus.

D. At the end of the 1950s, most Americans assumed that a nuclear war with the Soviet Union was likely.

B. The postwar American economy experienced unprecedented growth.

During Dwight D. Eisenhower’s campaign and as president, he pursued a “middle way.” Which of the following quotations from Eisenhower best represents what this approach meant?

A. "We all-workers and farmers, foremen and financiers, technicians and builders -all must produce, produce more, and produce yet more."

B. World peace would be won "not by weapons of war but by wheat and cotton, by milk and wool, by meat and by timber and by rice."

C. He claimed to believe in "dynamic conservatism," which meant "conservative when it comes to money and liberal when it comes to human beings."

D. If the Republican Party tried "to abolish Social Security and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history."

C. He claimed to believe in “dynamic conservatism,” which meant “conservative when it comes to money and liberal when it comes to human beings.”

What were the effects of the Federal-Aid Highway Act?

It generated a multiplier effect by creating jobs, stimulating economic growth, and spurring related industries.

Which of the following factors contributed the most to America’s extraordinary postwar prosperity?

A. the emergence of new technologies

B. lack of foreign competition

C. a shift away from industry and factory production

D. military spending after 1945

D. military spending after 1945

To what extent did the changes in postwar American life affect women?

Most women were urged toward a modern version of the cult of domesticity, in which they were expected to fulfill the roles of housewife and mother.

Which of the following examples best demonstrates that prosperity in postwar American remained elusive for people of color?

A. Between 1950 and 1960, 4.5 million Black Americans moved into large cities.

B. The racial segregation of many universities and neighborhoods restricted the benefits of the GI Bill.

C. Latinos relocated to big cities in California and New York thanks to the GI Bill and the bracero program.

D. Black workers in 1950 were earning four times more than they did a decade before.

B. The racial segregation of many universities and neighborhoods restricted the benefits of the GI Bill.

Which of the following was a major public criticism leveled at postwar society and the consumer culture?

A. Artists and poets lacked constructive outlets through which they could express their creative energies.

B. Baby boomers were uniquely antisocial and closed off from society in ways that concerned the older generation of Americans.

C. There was an ongoing lack of social and cultural integration of people of different races.

D. Despite the prosperity experienced by America's growing middle class, poverty and major social problems remained that could not be solved by sustained economic growth.

D. Despite the prosperity experienced by America’s growing middle class, poverty and major social problems remained that could not be solved by sustained economic growth.

In the quest to dismantle racial segregation in education, what did the victory in Sweatt v. Painter signify about the NAACP’s legal strategy up to that point?

It sought to improve the quality of Black educational facilities and opportunities by suing Southern schools for not abiding by the separate-but-equal doctrine.

Why did President Eisenhower send federal troops to respond to the crisis in Little Rock?

He wanted to assert the supremacy of federal power, the Constitution, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

How did the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) differ from earlier civil rights advocacy organizations?

It pushed for nonviolent direct action against segregation, which was controversial at the time.

As part of the Eisenhower administration’s attempt to “roll back” communism, it adopted a strategy called “massive retaliation.” How did this affect American foreign relations?

It escalated every global dispute into a possible war involving complete nuclear annihilation.

What were the unintended consequences of Eisenhower’s use of the Central Intelligence Agency to manipulate the internal affairs of other nations?

In its effort to undermine “unfriendly” governments, the United States increasingly aligned itself with undemocratic, authoritarian leaders.

How did Eisenhower’s response to the Suez crisis change America’s place in the world?

America’s ability to influence its allies and its rivals demonstrated that the United States was the global superpower, and it replaced Great Britain and France as the guarantor of Western interests in the Middle East.

What was the significance of Eisenhower’s handling of the Berlin and U-2 controversies during his second term?

Together, they led to a notable increase in Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union.

How did John F. Kennedy’s election in 1960 give rise to a “politics of expectation” in America?

Kennedy’s youth and ambitious promises led Americans to believe that positive change was possible.

What events took place during the Kennedy administration that provoked the Soviet Union and increased Cold War tensions?

Kennedy sponsored a failed invasion of Cuba, sent U.S. military vehicles into East Berlin, and placed nuclear missiles in Turkey.

How was the Cuban missile crisis resolved?

The Soviets agreed to remove their missiles from Cuba if the United States would remove its missiles from Turkey and publicly pledge to stay out of Cuba.

How did the United States become more deeply involved in Vietnam during the Kennedy administration?

The United States promoted the overthrow of South Vietnamese Premier Ngo Dinh Diem.

Which of the following best describes the civil rights movement in the first half of the 1960s?

A. It used the moral power of nonviolent protest-as well as the publicized violence of the state response-to dismantle segregation in the South.

B. It focused on the democratic process to cajole and sometimes shame Congress into passing civil rights legislation.

C. It championed Black pride and built communities of Black separatist culture and political action.

D. It departed from the passive resistance of the 1950s and developed more effective, if sometimes violent, forms of political action.

A. It used the moral power of nonviolent protest—as well as the publicized violence of the state response—to dismantle segregation in the South.

What was the goal of the “Freedom Rides”?

C. to make the federal government enforce its laws

Which of the following best describes the impact of the Black Power movement?

A. White activists chose to leave the civil rights movement and engage in anti-war protests instead.

B. The civil rights movement began to embrace causes beyond integration.

C. It led to the assassination of two civil rights leaders, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.

D. The Black Panther Party became the largest civil rights organization and the voice of the movement, displacing SNCC, CORE, and other organizations.

B. The civil rights movement began to embrace causes beyond integration.

Which of the following best describes Johnson’s conception of the Great Society?

A. The Great Society would put an end to world communism.

B. It would heal the original wound of slavery and finally achieve a "more perfect Union."

C. The Great Society would capitalize on America's postwar economic dominance to make it the world's first superpower.

D. It would continue, broaden, and fulfill the goals of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal.

D. It would continue, broaden, and fulfill the goals of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.

Which of the following best describes the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

A. The act set up agencies to combat racism in schools and employment.

B. The Civil Rights Act ended segregation on buses and trains.

C. It prohibited discrimination based on race, sex, or national origin in schools, employment, and public establishments.

D. The act provided protection in public schools, businesses, and workplaces against discrimination based on race, sex, religion, age, and sexual orientation.

C. It prohibited discrimination based on race, sex, or national origin in schools, employment, and public establishments.

Which of the following were enacted during the Johnson administration?

A. uniform voting procedures and standards in all fifty states

B. universal health care for Americans over the age of sixty-five

C. immigration quotas based on national origin

D. universal health care for all Americans

B. universal health care for Americans over the age of sixty-five

Why were Johnson and others in his administration unwilling to withdraw from the Vietnam War?

They believed that an American loss in Vietnam would lead to communist takeovers elsewhere in the world.

What was the impact of the Tet offensive launched by the Viet Cong in January 1968?

The American public began to doubt Johnson’s claims that the U.S. would soon win the war.

Which of the following best explains Richard Nixon’s victory in the presidential election of 1968?

A. Nixon promised a war-weary America that he would pull U.S. troops out of Vietnam immediately and unconditionally.

B. Much of the public associated Johnson's Democratic party with political violence and the Vietnam War, while the Republican candidate Nixon claimed to speak for the "silent majority."

C. Nixon engaged in a secret campaign of sabotage and illegal spying against Hubert Humphrey and the Democratic Party.

D. The third-party candidacy of George Wallace took crucial votes away from Nixon's opponent, Hubert Humphrey.

B. Much of the public associated Johnson's Democratic party with political violence and the Vietnam War, while the Republican candidate Nixon claimed to speak for the "silent majority."

In addition to social unrest and division, what else did the 1960s and 1970s produce?

the spread of democratic movements demanding equality for all

What was the role of the university in the “youth revolt” of the 1960s and 1970s?

The university served as a gathering place for New Left intellectuals and as a venue for protest.

In what ways did Black culture influence the mostly White and middle-class youth culture?

Black music influenced artists such as Bob Dylan and others while the Black Panthers influenced the Weather Underground.

What was the origin of the second-wave feminist movement?

Economic inequality, enforced domesticity, and discriminatory treatment within the civil rights and anti-war movements all combined to launch the women’s movement.

What did the civil rights movement and the second-wave feminist movement have in common?

Both were internally divided between a moderate faction that looked to legal reform and a radical, generally younger faction that fought for a cultural and structural revolution.

Within the movement for Indigenous Americans’ rights, what was the most effective tactic for gaining economic power?

Indigenous communities capitalized on their sovereign status to operate highly lucrative gambling casinos.

How did the Chicano movement of the 1960s and 1970s differ from the Black civil rights movement of that period?

The Chicano movement focused on a class of workers, America’s poorly paid seasonal farmworkers, rather than a range of discriminatory practices based on race.

What was the “southern strategy” used by Richard Nixon in his presidential campaigns of 1968 and 1972?

The strategy capitalized on White working-class resentment and fear to turn the South away from the Democratic Party.

Which of the following best describes the U.S. economy in the early 1970s?

A. While inflation ran at historically high rates, the economy was producing jobs and the nation enjoyed full employment.

B. Nixon imposed long-term wage and price caps in a successful effort to bring inflation and interest rates down and to revive the economy.

C. Both inflation and unemployment were high.

D. The nation continued to enjoy its postwar global dominance in trade and finance.

C. Both inflation and unemployment were high.

How did U.S. involvement in Vietnam end?

American troops withdrew under a ceasefire agreement signed in 1973—which soon collapsed, as North Vietnam invaded the South.

What was Nixon’s Cold War strategy during the 1970s?

The United States would turn to less expensive, covert and proxy interventions to suppress communism in the developing world while forging ties with China and Russia.

Which of the following was most decisive in Nixon’s eventual resignation following the Watergate scandal?

A. the illegal planting of wiretaps at the Democratic Party headquarters

B. the "Saturday Night Massacre," in which multiple Justice Department officials resigned rather than comply with Nixon's orders

C. the Nixon campaign's false accusation that the Democrats had ordered George Wallace's assassination

D. the multiple efforts Nixon made to cover up his involvement in the Watergate break in

D. the multiple efforts Nixon made to cover up his involvement in the Watergate break in

Which of the following best describes the presidential election of 1976?

A. Gerald Ford's triumph over "Public Enemy No. 1," that is, rampant inflation, allowed him to eke out a victory over Georgia governor Jimmy Carter.

B. Presenting himself as a Washington "outsider," Jimmy Carter owed his narrow victory to Black voters in the South.

C. Accusing Gerald Ford of losing Vietnam and of appeasing communism through the policy of détente, Jimmy Carter ran as a Cold Warrior and soundly defeated Ford.

D. Still reeling from Watergate and Gerald Ford's pardon of his predecessor, American voters rejected the Republican Party and gave Jimmy Carter a landslide victory.

B. Presenting himself as a Washington “outsider,” Jimmy Carter owed his narrow victory to Black voters in the South.

Which of the following best describes the cause of America’s shift to political conservatism during the latter half of the twentieth century?

A. Americans embraced Jimmy Carter’s celebration of capitalism.

B. Americans were reacting to the end of the economic prosperity and cheap energy they had enjoyed since the end of the Second World War.

C. The bicentennial triggered a cultural revival of the traditional values championed by conservatives.

D. The Soviet Union launched a new round of massive weapons systems, leading fearful Americans to turn to hardline conservative leaders.

B. Americans were reacting to the end of the economic prosperity and cheap energy they had enjoyed since the end of the Second World War.

What were Jimmy Carter’s leading foreign policy achievements?

D. the Camp David Peace Accords between Egypt and Israel and a renewal of American leadership in human rights

Which of the following was most responsible for Carter’s failure to win a second term?

A. Carter was unable to tame inflation, especially energy costs, or pull the economy out of recession.

B. Carter spent more time micromanaging his administration than he did cultivating relationships in Congress.

C. Carter gave amnesty to Vietnam "draft dodgers" and created an expensive "Superfund" for environmental disasters.

D. Carter fired dozens of government officials, including his entire cabinet, after his "crisis of confidence" speech.

A. Carter was unable to tame inflation, especially energy costs, or pull the economy out of recession.

What factors led to the realignment of the Republican Party, away from moderates and toward the “New Right”?

C. Republican Ronald Reagan allied himself with Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority, a Christian grassroots movement with a powerful media presence.

Which of the following best describes the impact of “Reaganomics”?

A. Reaganomics slashed personal and corporate income taxes, leading to a significant expansion of the economy.

B. Reaganomics reduced the poverty rate as corporate wealth "trickled down" through the economy.

C. Reaganomics was a war on the social safety net, dramatically reducing the budget for Social Security and Medicare.

D. Reaganomics was a combination of major tax cuts and increased spending that tripled the federal budget deficit.

D. Reaganomics was a combination of major tax cuts and increased spending that tripled the federal budget deficit.

What was the Reagan administration’s Cold War strategy?

C. The United States aimed to bankrupt the Soviet Union and force it to the negotiating table by engaging in a very expensive arms build-up.

What controversial activities were at the center of the Iran-Contra affair?

secret sales of weapons to Iran to fund illegal purchases in Nicaragua

What were the consequences of the “deindustrialization” of the economy during the 1980s?

B. Most of the newly created jobs were not unionized and paid the minimum wage.

How did George H. W. Bush’s presidency differ from that of Ronald Reagan?

While Reagan paid almost no political price for the budget deficit he accumulated, Bush was brought down by the enormous federal debt and the related government shutdown, recession, and new taxes.

Which of the following best explains the demise of the Soviet Union and its empire in Eastern Europe?

A. Boris Yeltsin led a military coup against Mikhail Gorbachev, resulting in the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of democratic governments in Eastern Europe.

B. After twelve years of U.S. pressure from Republican administrations during the Cold War, the Soviet Union surrendered and agreed to dismantle its nuclear arsenal and relinquish control of Eastern Europe.

C. Bloody battles in the streets of Berlin, Warsaw, Budapest, and Prague finally forced the abdication of Soviet surrogates, leading soon after to the collapse of the Communist Party in Moscow.

D. Mikhail Gorbachev loosened restrictions and renounced intervention, leading to a cascade of government turnovers in Europe and the Soviet Republics.

D. Mikhail Gorbachev loosened restrictions and renounced intervention, leading to a cascade of government turnovers in Europe and the Soviet Republics.

Which of the following best explains how the federal budget finally produced a surplus by 1998?

A. The dissolution of the Soviet Union opened the vast Eastern European and West Asian markets to American businesses.

B. Outsourcing to foreign markets where labor costs were lower and regulations more lax created profits for American multinationals.

C. The deficit was tamed through increased taxes, cuts to social programs, and an economic boom launched by digital technologies and globalization.

D. The large increase in undocumented workers, who paid taxes but couldn't collect benefits, added billions to the national Treasury.

C. The deficit was tamed through increased taxes, cuts to social programs, and an economic boom launched by digital technologies and globalization.

What was the significance of President Bill Clinton’s crime and welfare reform bills?

They were strategies of the “New Democrats,” who aimed to win back middle-class Whites by adopting Republican themes such as tougher policing and a smaller state.

How did the disintegration of the Soviet Union create problems for the United States?

Yugoslavia fragmented into ethnic warfare, leading to U.S. intervention.

Which of the following was present throughout the first twenty-four years of the twenty-first century?

A. a widespread fear of global pandemics

B. the growing political polarization of the country

C. deficit spending to finance the Cold War

D. the largest economic recession since the Great Depression

B. the growing political polarization of the country

How was the third major wave of immigration in American history similar to the two earlier waves?

The third wave launched a tide of nativism and xenophobia.

Which of the following was a consequence of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001?

A. The United States Congress readily authorized what President Bush said he needed to fight the "war on terror."

B. Russia, China, Iran, and other U.S. adversaries celebrated the attacks and tried to take advantage of America's weakened position.

C. The attacks united the nation in grief and finally brought an end to the political polarization that had marked the end of the twentieth century.

D. The United States launched a short but effective war in Afghanistan that routed the Taliban and flushed out Osama bin Laden.

A. The United States Congress readily authorized what President Bush said he needed to fight the “war on terror.”

What was the Bush administration’s goal in launching the Second Gulf War?

The Bush administration sought regime change in Iraq as part of a larger plan to reshape the Middle East.

What caused the Great Recession?

Inflated housing prices fell, triggering a chain of defaults in mortgages and other forms of debt.

What did the Tea Party and the Occupy Wall Street movements have in common?

Both were grassroots movements with an economic critique and a disdain for elites.

Which Supreme Court decision during the Obama presidency retracted protections for minorities?

A. Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

B. Shelby County v. Holder (2013)

C. King v. Burwell (2015)

D. Citizens United v. Federal Elections Committee (2010)

B. Shelby County v. Holder (2013)