Deck 28: America at Midcentury, 1953-1963

Question 1

French involvement in Vietnam ended with their defeat at

A)Laos.
B)Tet.
C)Saigon.
D)Dien Bien Phu.
E)Cambodia.

Answer 1

Dien Bien Phu.

Question 2

The president first associated with the idea of "flexible response" was

A)Harry Truman.
B)John F. Kennedy.
C)Dwight D. Eisenhower.
D)Lyndon B. Johnson.
E)Richard Nixon.

Answer 2

John F. Kennedy.

Question 3

Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech at the

A)Montgomery, Alabama statehouse.
B)steps of the U.S. Capital.
C)1968 Democratic Convention.
D)United Nations General Assembly.
E)steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Answer 3

steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Question 4

The Eisenhower Doctrine can best be described as

A)an attempt to defend Middle Eastern countries from Communist aggression.
B)an attempt to defend Latin American countries from Communist aggression.
C)an attempt to defend Western Europe from Communist aggression.
D)an attempt to defend Asia from Communist aggression.
E)the end of the Cold War.

Question 5

The president of South Vietnam during the Eisenhower and Kennedy years was

A)Ho Chi Minh.
B)Mao Tse Tung.
C)Ngo Dinh Diem.
D)Bao Di.
E)Jiang Jieshi

Question 6

The program that sent Americans overseas to work on developmental projects was the

A)Green Berets.
B)Peace Corps.
C)Green Peace.
D)Jobs Corps.
E)Volunteer Corps.

Question 7

The founders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference included

A)Stokely Carmichael.
B)Malcolm X.
C)Orval Faubus.
D)Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
E)Strom Thurmond.

Question 8

In 1961, a U.S.-backed Cuban military force attempting to overthrow Fidel Castro was defeated at

A)the Bay of Cows.
B)Guantanamo Bay.
C)Havana.
D)the Bay of Pigs.
E)the Bay of Naples.

Question 9

The U.S. corporation that worked closely with the CIA to undermine the Guatemalan government in 1954 was

A)IBM.
B)Westinghouse.
C)Coca-Cola.
D)Ford Motor Company.
E)United Fruit Company.

Question 10

The black patron who in 1955 refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus to a white patron was

A)Rosa Parks.
B)Coretta Scott King.
C)Marian Anderson.
D)Fannie Lou Hamer.
E)Ella Fitzgerald.

Question 11

____ overthrew Fulgencio Batista and became the Communist ruler of Cuba.

A)Venito Sandino
B)Fidel Castro
C)Che Guevara
D)Daniel Ortega
E)Jose Marti

Question 12

The canals built by the federal government in the west

A)produced no ecological problems, they actually corrected many.
B)were inexpensive to build.
C)provided trillions of gallons of water.
D)gave local governments greater economic and political control in the area.
E)benefitted small farmers most.

Question 13

Eisenhower's "New Look" argued that

A)the government had to pump more money into the domestic economy.
B)Washington had to take a leading role in the struggle for equal rights.
C)the defense of the United States would rely less on ground forces and more on cheaper air power.
D)federal intervention in the economy would cease.
E)the federal government should subsidize the fashion industry.

Question 14

According to President Eisenhower in 1961, the greatest danger to the United States was

A)communism.
B)Latin American revolutions.
C)the Soviet Union.
D)the military-industrial complex.
E)Middle Eastern terrorists.

Question 15

The 1950s political science doctrine which argued that interest groups would hold countervailing power to giant corporations was called

A)capitalist autocracy.
B)socialism.
C)pluralism.
D)political power elites.
E)economic democracy.

Question 16

The Communist leader of the Vietnamese war for independence from France was

A)Mao Tse Tung.
B)Ho Chi Minh.
C)Ngo Dinh Diem.
D)Jiang Jieshi.
E)Chen Chang.

Question 17

The author of The Feminine Mystique (1963) was

A)Betty Friedan.
B)Gloria Steinem.
C)Phyllis Schlafly.
D)Andrea Dworkin.
E)Eleanor Roosevelt.

Question 18

The government effort to return illegal Mexican immigrants to Mexico was known as Operation

A)Return.
B)Rio Grande.
C)Wetback.
D)Red, White, and Blue.
E)Bracero.

Question 19

During the 1950s and Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency, the

A)United States rejected its former role as protector of the free world.
B)United States economy fell into a prolonged economic recession.
C)United States experienced a period of economic growth and affluence.
D)domestic programs of the Roosevelt and Truman eras were completely eliminated.
E)Bay of Pigs invasion failed.

Question 20

The Chief Justice who wrote the decision in Brown v. Board of Education was

A)Warren Burger.
B)Earl Warren.
C)Louis Brandeis.
D)Felix Frankfurter.
E)William Howard Taft.

Question 21

What percentage of the American population identified themselves as Protestant, Jewish, or Catholic?

A)30
B)40
C)50
D)75
E)95

Question 22

Eisenhower's administration fought communism by all the following means except

A)increasing the size and power of the CIA.
B)giving economic aid to friendly nations.
C)funding Radio Free Europe, Voice of America, Radio Asia, and other propaganda agencies.
D)threatening the Soviet Union with nuclear attack if U.S. security were threatened.
E)refusing to support any government that did not have democratic principles.

Question 23

U.S. religious life in the 1950s was characterized by

A)a decline in church membership.
B)a growth in and dominance of the Catholic Church.
C)the spread of anti-Semitism.
D)an emphasis on a pluralistic faith in the Judeo-Christian tradition.
E)unusual growth of the Jewish faith.

Question 24

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. proposed to end segregation through

A)violent confrontation.
B)compromise and accommodation.
C)nonviolent direct action.
D)interracial marriage.
E)Supreme Court rulings.

Question 25

Nikita Khrushchev

A)was the Soviet leader who built the Berlin Wall and put nuclear missiles in Cuba.
B)greatly admired John F. Kennedy and personally attended Kennedy's funeral.
C)refused to meet with any U.S. leaders and cut off diplomatic relations with the United States.
D)was the first Russian leader to be educated in the West and to be fluent in English.
E)launched the Korean War.

Question 26

In the 1950s, U.S. policy in Latin America

A)initiated social and economic reforms.
B)encouraged and supported the spread of democracy.
C)often supported military dictatorships that suppressed leftist movements.
D)withdrew support from oppressive regimes.
E)supported Communist regimes.

Question 27

In 1953 the CIA staged a coup in Iran that

A)ensured that it would develop a democratic government.
B)led to the rise of a communist state.
C)established a popular, pro-western government
D)overthrew a legitimate elected government to establish a ruthless dictatorship.
E)resulted in the creation of five new nations in that region.

Question 28

During the 1950s, urban areas ​

A)​saw financial resources shifted in their direction.
B)​increasingly thrived as cultural centers.
C)​struggled under redlining policies that hindered lending to urban areas.
D)​grew slightly more slowly than suburbs.
E)​focused on developing mass transit systems.

Question 29

Rock 'n' roll music

A)signified the development of a consumer-oriented, middle-class youth culture in the United States.
B)was a sinister Communist plot to corrupt American society.
C)was the first musical style to appeal equally to all generations of Americans.
D)promoted segregation by culturally dividing ethnic minorities from mainstream society.
E)was imported from Europe.

Question 30

When Hungarian rebels led by Imre Nagy rebelled against the Stalinist regime in 1956, the U.S.

A)sent air support for the rebels.
B)supported the communist government.
C)was unaware of the rebellion.
D)sent the CIA to help the rebels.
E)could not provide military support so close to the Soviet Union.

Question 31

Which of the following was not part of the 1950s domestic scene?

A)The federal government funded the construction of an interstate system of high-speed expressways.
B)Billions of dollars were allocated for water projects in western states.
C)Labor unions became increasingly militant and violent.
D)U.S. companies dominated both the national and international marketplaces.
E)White Americans moved to the suburbs in large numbers.

Question 32

President Eisenhower supported the Highway Act of 1956 based on

A)its positive impact on the automobile industry.
B)national security considerations.
C)its role in creating jobs.
D)the need to spend the government surplus.
E)his bid for reelection.

Question 33

The author of The Organization Man (1956) was William H. Whyte, Jr.

Question 34

In The Organization Man, William H. Whyte, Jr. criticized

A)corporate conformity.
B)racial inequality.
C)military spending.
D)government secrecy.
E)poverty in the U.S.

Question 35

The National Liberation Front in Vietnam was

A)a group of South Vietnamese nationalists and Communists who opposed the Diem government.
B)an organization of pro-French colonialists who supported the return of French rule.
C)a Christian missionary group dedicated to liberating Vietnam from Buddhism.
D)an anti-Communist movement in North Vietnam.
E)a women's rights organization.

Question 36

The water-diversion projects that President Eisenhower supported in the West most benefited

A)small farmers and ranching interests.
B)local communities in several western states.
C)large-scale agribusiness and ranching interests.
D)Native Americans.
E)the Democratic Party.

Question 37

The Termination and Relocation Programs implemented by the federal government resulted in which of the following?

A)Migration to urban areas by Native Americans
B)Higher life expectancy rates than white Americans.
C)Less frequent discrimination in employment
D)Increased respect for the reservation by the government.
E)all of these choices

Question 38

Social critics of the 1950s portrayed the United States as a society of

A)rugged individualists.
B)"other-directed" conformists.
C)"inner-directed" rebels.
D)semiliterate comic-book readers.
E)violent rebels.

Question 39

During the Cuban missile crisis, President John F. Kennedy ordered an Air Force attack on Soviet forces in Cuba.

Question 40

John F. Kennedy's foreign policy included all of the following except

A)strong support for West Berlin.
B)economic sanctions and assassination plots directed at Cuba.
C)establishment of a direct phone line between Washington and Moscow to prevent nuclear war.
D)a proposal to pull American advisors out of Vietnam.
E)creation of the Peace Corps.

Question 41

The Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka outlawed segregation in all public facilities.

Question 42

The Cuban-exile invasion of Castro's Cuba, approved by John F. Kennedy, was first proposed during the Eisenhower presidency.

Question 43

The Paris summit of 1960 was very productive.

Question 44

The agreement that divided Vietnam into two states, North and South, was the Paris Peace Accords of 1954.

Question 45

No one proposed extending the deficit to promote economic growth.

Question 46

The first artificial satellite ever launched into space was the Mercury.

Question 47

John F. Kennedy's opponent in the 1960 presidential election was Richard M. Nixon.

Question 48

U.S. prestige in the Middle East benefited from the Suez Canal crisis.

Question 49

John F. Kennedy endorsed lower taxes as a means of stimulating economic growth.

Question 50

The Eisenhower administration supported democratic regimes throughout Latin America.

Question 51

Economic growth contributed to political stability.

Question 52

The "shop where you can work" campaigns were part of a strategy by the women's movement to promote gender equality in hiring.

Question 53

West Germany became a member of NATO in 1955.

Question 54

In the 1950s the real wages and fringe benefits of U.S. workers improved steadily.

Question 55

The Eisenhower administration rejected the idea of covert CIA activities to remove or assassinate leftist political leaders in the Third World.

Question 56

Dwight D. Eisenhower was committed to balancing the federal budget.

Question 57

The period from 1954 to 1963 was one of generally steady economic growth.

Question 58

The Cuban missile crisis grew out of the U.S. attempt to build missile silos in Cuba.

Question 59

Religious groups denounced rock music as a communist plot to corrupt America's youth.

Question 60

The Soviet Union provided direct support for Fidel Castro's campaign to overthrow Fulgencio Batista.

Question 61

Imre Nagy sought to create a multiparty democracy in Hungary.

Question 62

Women did not see a reduction in domestic chores with new machines.

Question 63

The AFL and the CIO merged in 1955.

Question 64

According to the Eisenhower doctrine of "massive ____________________" the threat of U.S. atomic weaponry would hold Communist powers in check.

Question 65

The National Defense Education Act of 1958 overcame congressional opposition to federal aid to education.

Question 66

The book ____________________ sparked a new phase of the feminist movement, articulating the dissatisfactions of many middle-class women.

Question 67

The head of the Federal Communications Commission called television a "vast wasteland."

Question 68

The Supreme Court case of ____________________ v. Topeka Board of Education declared that segregation in the public schools was unconstitutional.

Question 69

The Southern Manifesto supported school desegregation.

Question 70

Sputnik led to reconsideration of the American educational system.

Question 71

Dwight D. Eisenhower was reluctant to use the power of the Federal government to address the issue of racial discrimination.

Question 72

Elvis Presley was known for his sensual, electric stage presence.

Question 73

The Alliance for Progress promised $20 billion in loans to aid Latin American countries.

Question 74

The Peace Corps was one of the John F. Kennedy's most popular initiatives.

Question 75

As a result of the Cuban Missile crisis, a direct telephone hotline was established between Washington D.C. and Moscow.

Question 76

Network television was dominated by NBC, CBS, and ABC.

Question 77

John Kenneth Galbraith advanced a theory that "power elites" were effectively strangling political and economic life in the U.S.

Question 78

Earl Warren was appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower as chief justice of the Supreme Court in 1953.

Question 79

The Civil Rights Act of 1957 set up a mechanism for expediting lawsuits by African Americans who claimed that their voting rights had been abridged.

Question 80

The so-called ____________________ theory claimed that the loss of Southeast Asia to Communist aggression would endanger the security and stability of Europe.