Deck 27: America and the World, 1921-1945

Question 1

What did the Kellogg-Briand Pact involve?

A) an alliance between France, Britain, and the United States
B) an international treaty outlawing war
C) an agreement that forced the United States to join World War II
D) a trade agreement between Canada, Mexico, and the United States
E) a treaty that gave part of Poland to Germany after World War II

Answer 1

an international treaty outlawing war

Question 2

The countries that comprised the Axis Powers in World War II were________ .

A) Germany, France, and Spain
B) Germany, China, and Russia
C) Germany, Italy, and Japan
D) Britain, France, and the United States
E) Russia, China, and the United States

Answer 2

Germany, Italy, and Japan

Question 3

The weakness of the League of Nations was revealed when Italy invaded________ .

A) Ethiopia
B) Libya
C) Egypt
D) Spain
E) Greece

Answer 3

Ethiopia

Question 4

In the 1930s, support for pacifism was particularly strong among________ .

A) college students
B) high-ranking businessmen
C) labor unions
D) the elderly
E) the lower classes

Question 5

What did the Nye Committee investigate?

A) war crimes committed during World War I
B) possible German spies in the United States
C) American munitions dealers
D) liberal antiwar activists
E) American communists

Question 6

What did the first neutrality act, passed in 1935, prohibit?

A) adding any new troops to the U.S. armed forces
B) sending troops to aid Allies at war
C) traveling outside of the U.S. borders
D) selling arms to nations at war
E) covering foreign wars in the news

Question 7

British and French leaders met with Hitler in 1938 to discuss his demand for________ .

A) the Rhineland
B) Austria
C) the Polish Corridor
D) the Czech province of Sudetenland
E) Alsace and Lorraine

Question 8

Hitler started World War II by invading________ on September 1, 1939.

A) Austria
B) Poland
C) France
D) Czechoslovakia
E) Switzerland

Question 9

Roosevelt's Lend-Lease policy________ .

A) ensured British access to American war supplies
B) placed restrictions on materials the United States could ship to Britain
C) encountered almost no opposition from American congressmen
D) was strongly supported by American isolationists
E) was approved by Congress but never implemented

Question 10

In October 1941, German U-boats sank the________ , killing more than 100 American sailors.

A) Liberty
B) Mayaguez
C) Jefferson
D) Lusitania
E) Reuben James

Question 11

When the United States and the Dutch East Indies banned trade with Japan, the Japanese lost their source of________ , which led them to attack the United States.

A) oil
B) flour
C) steel
D) rubber
E) ammunition

Question 12

What event brought the United States into World War II?

A) the Italian attack on Austria
B) the German occupation of France
C) the first mass executions of Jews
D) the Japanese invasion of China
E) the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor

Question 13

What was the greatest single advantage that the United States and its Allies had during World War II?

A) The Allies began military confrontations with the Axis powers immediately, before they could gain much ground in Europe or Asia.
B) The Allies were genuinely willing to work together to defeat their enemies, whereas the Axis powers fought separate wars.
C) The Germans and Japanese made slow progress in conquering more lands in Europe and the Pacific.
D) All of the Axis powers suffered from ineffective leadership and poor strategizing.
E) The Allies had such an overwhelming number of ground troops that Axis resistance was highly ineffective.

Question 14

During World War II, the closest ally of the United States was________ .

A) the Soviet Union
B) Canada
C) France
D) Britain
E) China

Question 15

United States troops first went into combat against German troops in________ .

A) Italy
B) France
C) Greece
D) Poland
E) Africa

Question 16

The turning point of the Pacific war was the American victory at the Battle of________ , which gave the United States control of the Central Pacific.

A) Coral Sea
B) Guadalcanal
C) Midway
D) Iwo Jima
E) Leyte Gulf

Question 17

Which statement best describes the migration of the American population during World War II?

A) Rural areas lost population while coastal areas gained population.
B) People moved from urban to rural areas to help grow food to support the troops.
C) Coastal areas lost population as millions moved into America's heartland.
D) The South and West lost population as millions moved to states in the Northeast.
E) The United States lost population as millions moved to Canada.

Question 18

The Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) was a federal agency designed to protect

A) children from abusive working conditions
B) workers in wartime industries from harsh working conditions
C) women from discrimination in the workplace
D) African Americans from discrimination in the workplace
E) the elderly from discrimination in the workplace

Question 19

During World War II, which group was placed in relocation camps in the United States?

A) Chinese Americans
B) German Americans
C) Japanese Americans
D) Russian Americans
E) Jewish Americans

Question 20

What does the term "D-Day" mean?

A) the day President Roosevelt died
B) the day Hitler committed suicide
C) the day the Allies invaded Nazi-occupied Europe
D) the day the Germans invaded France
E) the day the Germans surrendered to the Allies

Question 21

The Soviet Union experienced a diplomatic triumph when Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met in 1945 at the________ .

A) Munich Convention
B) Yalta Conference
C) Casablanca Meeting
D) Paris Talk
E) London Symposium

Question 22

The United States dropped its first atom bomb on________ , killing 60,000 people.

A) Osaka
B) Nagasaki
C) Tokyo
D) Hiroshima
E) Fukushima

Question 23

Which statement best describes how Secretary of State Kellogg manipulated the Kellogg-Briand Pact to fit American isolationism after World War I?

A) By refusing to sign the pact after it was created, Kellogg made it clear that the United States was not interested in joining European wars.
B) By inviting all nations to sign the pact, Kellogg avoided an alliance with France that could pressure the United States into aiding France in a European war.
C) By keeping the pact between America and France only, Kellogg avoided being allied to other European nations in the event of war.
D) By keeping the pact between the two major American political parties, Kellogg ensured that the United States would enter foreign wars only in self-defense.
E) By inviting all of Europe to sign the pact, Kellogg ensured that there would be no more European wars.

Question 24

What did the League of Nations do after the Italian invasion of Ethiopia?

A) protected the southern half of the country from Mussolini's army
B) halted Mussolini's forces just across the Ethiopian border
C) authorized billions of dollars in aid for the Ethiopians
D) made halfhearted and unsuccessful efforts to stop Mussolini
E) organized a successful counterattack to drive the Italians out of Ethiopia

Question 25

As a result of the Nye Committee's findings,________ .

A) Congress passed the neutrality acts of 1935, 1936, and 1937
B) Secretary of State Kellogg signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact
C) R.O.T.C. was temporarily disbanded
D) the pacifist movement in America dwindled significantly
E) Congress banned the sale of guns inside the United States

Question 26

Britain and France responded to initial German aggression in 1938 by________ .

A) immediately threatening war
B) allying with the Soviet Union
C) seizing German territory
D) attempting to appease Hitler
E) blockading German ports

Question 27

With the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939, President Roosevelt________ .

A) immediately declared war on Germany
B) immediately loaned war supplies to France and England
C) declared American neutrality
D) warned Germany not to try to occupy France
E) made a secret pact with the French

Question 28

Why were Americans worried about Hitler's attacks on Britain, in particular?

A) America had an alliance with Britain that could force the nation into the war.
B) Many Americans had British ancestors or ties to businesses in Britain.
C) Many Americans still had family members living in Britain.
D) If Hitler took Britain, he would have access to an atom bomb.
E) If Hitler took Britain, he could use the British navy to attack the Americas.

Question 29

How did FDR help Britain after France fell to the Nazis?

A) He placed a total embargo on all trade to Nazi Germany and any countries allied with Hitler.
B) He traded 50 destroyers to Britain in exchange for the rights to build military bases in the British West Indies.
C) He successfully negotiated an agreement with Hitler to spare Britain in exchange for American neutrality in the war.
D) He supplied Britain with 200 fighter planes and about 50 military advisors to help defeat Hitler.
E) He brought the United States into World War II on the side of the Allies.

Question 30

Which statement best describes Hitler's orders to his submarine commanders in the Atlantic?

A) He ordered them not to fire on American vessels to avoid drawing the United States into the war.
B) He ordered them not to fire on American vessels because the Germans were temporarily low on ammunition.
C) He ordered them to fire on American vessels because he wanted to draw the United States into the war.
D) He ordered them not to fire on American vessels because he knew the Americans were committed to neutrality.
E) He ordered them to fire on American vessels because they were helping the British.

Question 31

During 1940-1941, President Roosevelt attempted to halt Japanese aggression in Asia by

A) applying economic pressure on Japan through a trade embargo
B) waging a clandestine, undeclared war against Japanese naval forces in the Pacific
C) signing mutual defense pacts with other Asian nations
D) securing legislation allowing him to send troops to China
E) sending troops to fight on Japanese soil

Question 32

The Chinese were displeased with the Allies' wartime strategy because the Allies________ .

A) refused Chinese troops for the European theater of war
B) refused to give any aid to China
C) took over the fight against Japan, leaving no place for China
D) wanted to focus on defeating Germany first, rather than Japan
E) refused to declare war against Japan immediately

Question 33

During the war, U.S.-Soviet relations were________ .

A) especially close and trusting
B) especially hostile, almost to the point of open war
C) constantly strained by significant ideological differences
D) hurt by the U.S. refusal to recognize the Soviet Union
E) significantly influenced by FDR's personal dislike of Stalin

Question 34

Russia looked forward to________ after its victory in World War II.

A) establishing communist regimes in eastern Europe
B) establishing trade routes with Britain and the United States
C) improving its relationship with the United States
D) establishing a popular, democratic government
E) receiving monetary compensation from the United Nations

Question 35

The United States looked forward to________ after its victory in World War II.

A) controlling postwar governments in Germany and Italy
B) breaking up the Soviet Union
C) seizing German resources
D) controlling western Europe
E) controlling the Pacific

Question 36

Which of the following statements describes a social problem during World War II?

A) Couples had fewer children, which meant a surplus of teachers and daycare centers.
B) There was insufficient housing for workers in cities with wartime industries.
C) Fewer couples were getting married due to the uncertainties of wartime.
D) Middle-aged, married women were edged out of the workforce by single women.
E) California's economy almost collapsed, since it lacked wartime industries.

Question 37

Philip Randolph threatened a massive march on Washington in 1941 in order to force President Roosevelt to________ .

A) end racial discrimination in the defense industry
B) bring the United States into World War II
C) remain neutral during the war
D) send more aid to Britain and occupied France
E) allow women to work in wartime industries

Question 38

What caused riots in both Los Angeles and Detroit in 1943?

A) food shortages
B) abusive labor conditions
C) racial tensions
D) strong antiwar sentiments
E) layoffs in wartime industries

Question 39

Why was the Battle of the Bulge an important battle during World War II?

A) It was the battle that drew the United States into the war.
B) It was Hitler's first loss in the war, showing the world that he could be beaten.
C) It was the first time the Allies gained significant ground in Europe.
D) The Allies won the battle and immediately ended the war.
E) The Allied victory exhausted Hitler's reserves and fatally weakened his army.

Question 40

Compared with the American contribution to the defeat of Germany, the Soviet Union's contribution was________ .

A) significantly smaller
B) somewhat smaller
C) about the same
D) significantly larger
E) impossible to determine

Question 41

How did Americans feel about collective security toward the end of World War II?

A) They were eager to make new attempts at collective security.
B) They acknowledged that collective security was useful, but remained reluctant.
C) They still thought that isolationism was better than collective security.
D) They realized that collective security was ineffective, but it kept their alliances throughout the war.
E) They vowed never to make another attempt at collective security.

Question 42

When Japan's defeat was deemed inevitable, the military favored________ .

A) negotiating a peace treaty to avoid further loss of life
B) modifying the unconditional surrender formula to allow Japan to keep its emperor
C) an all-out, full-scale invasion of Japan
D) destroying Japan with a series of atom bombs
E) forcing Japan to surrender by threatening them with more atom bombs

Question 43

President Truman's primary motive for using nuclear weapons against Japan was to________ .

A) impress the Soviet Union
B) kill as many Japanese as possible
C) make sure these costly weapons were utilized
D) completely destroy Japan
E) end the war as quickly as possible

Question 44

After World War II, the United States________ .

A) was drastically weaker than it had been before the war
B) was slightly weaker than it had been before the war
C) had about the same amount of power as it had before the war
D) was slightly more powerful than it had been before the war
E) was the most powerful country in the world

Question 45

Which two factors explain American isolationism in the 1930s?

A) the Great Depression and an understanding of the costs of war
B) the Great Depression and the Catholic Church
C) the Kellogg-Briand Pact and anti-Semitism
D) the Kellogg-Briand Pact and a lack of resources
E) a lack of resources and religious revival

Question 46

Which statement best describes isolationist and interventionist opinions about FDR as he led America to the brink of war in Europe?

A) Both isolationists and interventionists were happy with how he handled events.
B) Isolationists thought he was deceitful and interventionists thought he was too cautious in dealing with the Nazis.
C) Isolationists thought he was doing well keeping America out of the war, but interventionists were furious that America was doing nothing.
D) Isolationists were furious that he was helping the Allies, but interventionists were thrilled that the nation was doing something to help.
E) Isolationists were furious that he was helping the Allies, and even the interventionists thought he was going too far with his aid.

Question 47

America's use of the atomic bomb to defeat Japan________ .

A) strengthened the alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union
B) made the Soviet Union defer to the United States in matters of international policy
C) had no effect on the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union
D) led to the postwar arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union
E) nearly led to an outright war with the Soviet Union

Question 48

What factors account for the rise of American isolationism between the wars? How did neutrality legislation work to the advantage of aggressive dictators?

Question 49

How did events in the early years of the war affect American public opinion? How did Roosevelt aid the British?

Question 50

Describe the Allies' overall strategy in World War II.

Question 51

In terms of the economy, labor force, and internal migrations, how did World War II transform America?