Deck 25: The Consumer Society, 1945-1961

Question 1

_______ was the Secretary of State under President Eisenhower.

Answer 1

John Foster Dulles

Question 2

___________ was a prominent civil rights activist beginning in the 1950s until his assassination in 1968. Among his many achievements during the civil rights era was the founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Answer 2

Martin Luther King Jr.

Question 3

Explain the importance of William J. Levitt.

Answer 3

This developer built affordable houses for middle-class and working-class people. He drew on assembly-line techniques to construct simple houses, with prefabricated parts, no basements, and low price tags.

Question 4

__________ was the belief that allowing one country, anywhere in the world, to fall to Communism would create a chain reaction that would topple other countries.

Question 5

His calm demeanor and middle-of-the-road domestic program, "Modern Republicanism," appealed to a prosperous electorate wary of government innovation. Who was he?

Question 6

_____ was a professor of psychology at Indiana University whose pioneering studies in 1948 and 1953 reported that Americans were more sexually active outside of marriage than had been thought. His work became public at the same time that American culture became more open about sexuality.

Question 7

________ was the 42-year-old African American tailor's assistant and NAACP official whose refusal to move to the back of a Montgomery, Alabama, public bus in 1955 helped spark the civil rights movement in the United States.

Question 8

The high school where federal troops protected African American students attending class was _________.

Question 9

In May 1954 the Supreme Court handed down its ruling in ________, which overturned the Plessy decision and found that public school segregation was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 10

I Love Lucy reflected American postwar culture in that it

A) Left behind the economic limits and constraints of the Depression.
B) Tackled issues of racial equality directly.
C) Took place in a sprawling suburb.
D) Concentrated entirely on the relationship between parents and their children.

Question 11

Which of the following explained the prosperity of the 1950s?

A) Major defense spending.
B) A balanced federal budget.
C) Low taxes.
D) A lack of federal regulations.

Question 12

Several factors enhanced the economic growth of the 1950s. Of the following, which is not among the reasons?

A) Americans following World War II had money, and they wanted to spend it.
B) Older and more traditional industries were strong, and new technologies were becoming increasingly important.
C) Americans remembered the Depression and the sacrifices of the war years, and they commonly saved their money for their children.
D) The buildup of the defense industry and foreign aid helped stimulate the economy.

Question 13

UNIVAC1 was used to

A) Enroll students at the University of Pennsylvania.
B) Count the census data from the 1950 census and presidential returns in 1952.
C) Follow consumer credit applications in the early 1950s.
D) All of the above.

Question 14

American workers during the 1950s enjoyed

A) High employment.
B) Low inflation.
C) Rising incomes.
D) All of the above.

Question 15

In the late 1940s, the nation's poverty rate stood at 30 percent. By 1959, the rate had

A) Soared to 40 percent.
B) Not moved much.
C) Dropped to 19 percent.
D) Plummeted to 5 percent.

Question 16

William J. Levitt was the pioneer of

A) Modern computer production.
B) Affordable housing for the working class.
C) Consumer credit cards.
D) Television.

Question 17

In 1947, the basic four-room house mass produced by Arthur Levitt's construction company was priced at

A) Less than $5,000.
B) Less than $10,000.
C) About $20,000.
D) About $40,000.

Question 18

By 1960, nearly one-third of Americans lived in

A) Slums.
B) Urban condos.
C) Rental homes.
D) Suburbs.

Question 19

The first enclosed shopping mall in the United States was constructed

A) In Los Angeles, California.
B) In the center of Levittown.
C) Near Minneapolis, Minnesota.
D) Near Scottsdale, Arizona.

Question 20

Which of these brands of automobiles seemed to represent the ultimate symbol of material success in the 1950s?

A) Volvo.
B) Buick.
C) Pontiac.
D) Cadillac.

Question 21

What was the role of the Federal Communications Commission in promoting television ownership?

A) They provided cheap consumer loans.
B) They funded TV content production.
C) They relaxed censorship laws.
D) They licensed TV stations.

Question 22

Of all of the consumer products representative of the 1950s, which of the following symbolizes the dreams and attitudes of the 1950s?

A) Television.
B) Computers.
C) Transistors.
D) Record players.

Question 23

Conformity, William H. Whyte argued, was

A) Making the United States more like the Soviet Union.
B) Creating more cooperation.
C) Good for business.
D) All of the above.

Question 24

Which of the following statements reflects the state of American farming in the 1950s?

A) The number of farms decreased.
B) Farm production continued to decrease because consumers preferred manufactured food.
C) Because so many farms were consolidated, the price of food dropped considerably.
D) All of the above.

Question 25

All of the following refer to religion in the 1950s except which of the following?

A) The U.S. government put the words "In God We Trust" on currency.
B) Ministers such as Billy Graham rose to prominence through television.
C) Political leaders encouraged a new religious revival in the nation.
D) A series of scandals rocked the mainline denominations.

Question 26

Between 1945 and 1960, the "baby boom years," the number of babies born increased, alongside

A) The popularity of American-style baseball.
B) Membership in religious denominations during the same period.
C) The increase in the number of Americans attending movies at least twice a month.
D) The number of private schools constructed during the same period.

Question 27

Women's roles during the 1950s could best be described as

A) Similar to the women portrayed on American TV.
B) Trying to balance the demands of new advantages with those of traditional child-centered responsibilities.
C) Focused on their looks and their abilities as good shoppers.
D) Unaffected by the commercialization surrounding them.

Question 28

Suburbanization was characterized by all of the following except

A) It broke down the differences between whites.
B) It intensified the differences between whites and African Americans.
C) White Americans moved to the suburbs and African Americans moved to the city.
D) Despite their differences, the housing available to whites and blacks was virtually the same.

Question 29

During the 1950s, Native Americans, Hispanics, and African Americans

A) Lived in a segregated society.
B) Faced discrimination in social and work situations.
C) Did not enjoy the same personal economic growth as whites.
D) All of the above.

Question 30

Most Puerto Rican immigrants who came to the United States settled in

A) New York City.
B) Los Angeles.
C) Phoenix.
D) Miami.

Question 31

What single factor prevented America from becoming a truly homogenous society in the 1950s?

A) The absence of jobs in America.
B) Unequal access to jobs.
C) Poverty.
D) Distinctions based on race.

Question 32

The music known as "R and B" was most popular among

A) African Americans.
B) Mexican Americans.
C) Rural whites.
D) Louisiana "Cajuns."

Question 33

Dwight D. Eisenhower's greatest asset as a presidential candidate was his

A) Status as a war hero.
B) Staunchly Republican credentials.
C) Eloquence as a speaker.
D) Mastery of intricate policy questions.

Question 34

All of the following characterize President Eisenhower except that

A) His middle-of-the-road, moderate attitude suited the times.
B) He was an involved father and husband.
C) He was reared on individualistic values, but he adopted the bureaucratic style of modern organizations.
D) He was an avid football fan.

Question 35

First Lady Mamie Eisenhower followed the "New Look" in her

A) Designer fashions and preference for televised soap operas.
B) Child-rearing practices, which ardently followed the writings of Dr. Spock.
C) Traditional views on women and her preference for new mechanized dishwashers and clothes dryers in the White House.
D) Willingness to tackle social issues that her husband was leery of broaching.

Question 36

Eisenhower's "New Look" policy referred to

A) Freeing captive peoples from Communist domination.
B) Permitting private companies to produce and sell nuclear power.
C) Increasing the power of the conventional army and navy.
D) Increasing the American nuclear arsenal with long-range bombers, missiles, and the first nuclear-powered submarines.

Question 37

President Eisenhower's support of the Submerged Lands Act of 1953 and the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 said what about his view of the national government?

A) That it should abandon regulation of the environment.
B) That it should turn over resources to the private sector.
C) That it should try to collect many taxes owed the government by big business.
D) All of the above.

Question 38

President Eisenhower changed the role of the CIA. He approved policies that

A) Limited the role of the CIA in destabilizing foreign governments.
B) Prohibited the CIA from using assassination to eliminate political opposition abroad.
C) Refused permission for the CIA to test controversial drugs, such as LSD, on American subjects.
D) Had once been considered unacceptable.

Question 39

In 1953 the CIA

A) Engineered a plot to overthrow Prime Minister Mossadeq of Iran.
B) Supported the rise of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to the head of the Iranian government.
C) Feared Mossadeq's plan to nationalize Iranian oil.
D) All of the above.

Question 40

Why did the Eisenhower administration create the United States Information Agency?

A) To infiltrate foreign media.
B) To offer a cover for the CIA.
C) To shape perceptions of American culture abroad.
D) To impose American cultural values on nations overseas.

Question 41

Francis Gary Powers was

A) President Eisenhower's director of the CIA.
B) The pilot of an American U-2 spy plane captured by the Soviets.
C) Author of Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" plan.
D) Author of Eisenhower's "Open Skies" program.

Question 42

"Open Skies" was

A) A plan to privatize the airline industry.
B) A system to shoot down nuclear weapons.
C) The American bombing campaign in Vietnam.
D) An agreement between the US and USSR.

Question 43

The United States was worried about soon-to-be liberated or newly liberated nations, feeling that they would be easily seduced by the Communists. Eisenhower

A) Ignored their problems.
B) Restricted American tourism to their countries.
C) Offered increased federal aid, trade, and alliances.
D) Canceled their dues to the United Nations.

Question 44

Who helped Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh in their fight against the French?

A) The Soviet Union.
B) The United States.
C) The People's Republic of China.
D) The Viet Cong.

Question 45

Gamal Abdel Nasser, who seized power in Egypt in 1954, caused Americans some concern with his plans for

A) Arab nationalism.
B) Middle Eastern unity.
C) Nationalizing the Suez Canal.
D) All of the above.

Question 46

The Eisenhower Doctrine stated that the United States would

A) Intervene in the Middle East to protect any nation threatened by the Communists.
B) Drop nuclear weapons on Jerusalem to eradicate the Soviet Union for Israel.
C) Fight against terrorism in the Middle East.
D) All of the above.

Question 47

CENTO, NATO, and SEATO were all multinational organizations designed to prevent

A) The spread of Communism.
B) The piracy of American music.
C) The spread of capitalism.
D) None of the above.

Question 48

Which of the following did not trouble adults about the postwar youth culture?

A) Rock and roll.
B) Comic books.
C) Premarital sex.
D) Cars.

Question 49

All of the following except __________ caused American adults to worry about American teenagers.

A) Their emulation of Hollywood antiheroes.
B) Rock and roll music.
C) Elvis Presley.
D) Richard Nixon.

Question 50

The "Beat Generation" was characterized all of the following except __________.

A) Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac.
B) That they sampled mind-altering drugs.
C) That they wore black clothes.
D) That they glorified academic success.

Question 51

Americans in the 1950s had a rebirth of concern for the environment because of

A) Increased smog levels in cities.
B) The rapid construction of suburbs on America's rural countryside.
C) The energized membership drives of the Sierra Club and Wilderness Society.
D) All of the above.

Question 52

All of the following were developments in the civil rights movement of the 1950s except

A) The Supreme Court's overturning of Plessy v. Ferguson.
B) The "Southern Manifesto" that was issued in Congress.
C) Federal troops being sent to desegregated Central High School in Little Rock.
D) A year-long boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, that led to desegregation of the bus system.

Question 53

In May 1954 the Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas. Which of the following does not characterize the consequences of the Court's findings in the Brown case?

A) The Court found public school segregation was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment.
B) The Plessy decision was overturned.
C) The Supreme Court and Chief Justice Earl Warren entered into a period in which their decisions were generally simplistic and of limited importance.
D) The tenure of Chief Justice Warren was one of the most important in the history of the Supreme Court.

Question 54

Many whites, particularly those in the South, refused to accept the Brown decision. They sought to protect segregation and Jim Crow laws by all of the following except

A) Citizens Councils formed to prevent local schools from integrating.
B) Pinning their hopes on the "reasonable time" and "all deliberate speed" aspects of the Brown decision, hoping to prolong segregation for decades or centuries.
C) Using violence to intimidate blacks.
D) Compliance with the decision.

Question 55

The Montgomery Bus Boycott demonstrated that

A) Peaceful protests could win hearts and minds.
B) The civil rights movement did not need the federal government.
C) Triumph could result from combining federal action with black courage.
D) City governments in the south were more amenable than state governments.

Question 56

President Eisenhower

A) Recognized that no American Cold War era president could afford the embarrassment of racial inequality at home.
B) Was a spirited civil rights advocate.
C) Fired Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus.
D) Refused to call out the National Guard to protect black students attending Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Question 57

All of the following except __________ caused Americans to be fearful in the late 1950s.

A) Communist threats around the world.
B) Global warming.
C) The Beat movement.
D) The civil rights struggle.

Question 58

Which statement about Sputnik is incorrect?

A) It was a Soviet-built satellite.
B) It was the world's first manmade satellite.
C) It carried a nuclear bomb on board.
D) It caused Americans to worry about the quality of American education.

Question 59

What was President Eisenhower's strategy for fighting the Cold War?

Question 60

How did the nature of the Cold War change from the 1940s to the 1950s?

Question 61

Did President Eisenhower further the civil rights movement or hinder it?

Question 62

How did the Cold War affect the Middle East, Latin America, and Southeast Asia?