Deck 32: The West Since World War II

Question 1

Since World War II, European civilization has (Global Perspective, pp. 804-805)

A) increased in world influence.
B) declined in world influence.
C) retained its position of prominence.
D) increased its influence in the East but not the West.

Answer 1

declined in world influence.

Question 2

The Suez Canal crisis started because

A) Turkey moved to take control over the canal.
B) the president of Egypt nationalized the canal.
C) the French needed quick access to Indo-China.
D) the United States claimed ownership over the canal.

Answer 2

the president of Egypt nationalized the canal.

Question 3

The leader of the Hungarian Communist Party that resisted the Russians in 1956 was

A) Wadislav Gomulka.
B) Imre Nagy.
C) Lech Walesa.
D) Wojcieck Jaruzelski.

Answer 3

Imre Nagy.

Question 4

Under Richard Nixon, the U.S. policy toward communism was called

A) containment.
B) détente.
C) MADD.
D) appeasement.

Question 5

Simon de Beauvoir (Document, pp. 816-817) believes women need what kind of freedom?

A) political freedom, in order to elect female sympathizers to government
B) economic freedom, in order to obtain autonomy from men
C) social freedom, in order to move their sphere of influence out of the household
D) moral freedom, in order to find a path to respectability in male-dominated society

Question 6

Johnson's War on Poverty included all except the following:

A) federal jobs creation.
B) Medicare.
C) federal job training programs.
D) Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

Question 7

Which of the following describes the correct chronological order of Soviet premiers?

A) Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Gorbachev
B) Stalin, Brezhnev, Khruschev, Gorbachev
C) Stalin, Khruschev, Gorbachev, Brezhnev
D) Khruschev, Brezhnev, Stalin, Gorbachev

Question 8

Glasnost can best be defined as

A) government openness to public discussion.
B) political restructuring.
C) censorship of dissident writings.
D) political autonomy.

Question 9

The Communist Party in East Germany ultimately

A) resigned in favor of new liberal parties.
B) was swept away in the first free elections.
C) witnessed the execution of their leader, Erich Honeker.
D) fled a unified Germany but continued operations in the Soviet Union.

Question 10

The August 1991 coup in the Soviet Union

A) was led by Yeltsin.
B) was led by conservatives.
C) was led by Gorbachev.
D) was a success.

Question 11

Yugoslavia's first Communist leader was

A) Constantine Chernenko.
B) Imre Nagy.
C) Marshal Tito.
D) Slobodan Milosevic.

Question 12

The Velvet Revolution took place in

A) Russia.
B) Czechoslovakia.
C) Yugoslavia.
D) Hungary.

Question 13

Why did Europe and much of the rest of the world come to be dominated by the two superpowers after 1945? Explain how the superpower status of the Soviet Union and the United States differed from that of previous world powers such as the British Empire.
Conceptual

Question 14

What were the primary goals of the United States during the early years of the Cold War? Why did it institute the Marshall Plan? Why did it institute the policy of containment? How effective were these policies during the 1940s and 1950s?
Conceptual

Question 15

What were the circumstances that led to détente between the Soviet Union and the United States after 1963? How, if at all, did this détente change the nature of the Cold War?
Conceptual
4 How strong an alliance is NATO today? How has the membership and purpose of the alliance changed?
Conceptual

Question 16

What were the reasons for the creation of the European Economic Community? Why did the organization change its name to the European Union? How successful has that organization been in achieving its goals?
Conceptual

Question 17

Describe the migration of peoples to and within Europe since World War II. What are the primary reasons for the movement of peoples during this period? Where did they move? What effect have these movements had on contemporary politics?
Conceptual

Question 18

To what degree have the nations of Western Europe achieved political, social, and economic unity since 1945? What obstacles remain?
Conceptual

Question 19

What were the reasons for the creation of the European welfare state? What were the primary objections to its creation and sustenance? How has the welfare state changed European society?
Conceptual

Question 20

Describe the collapse of Communist rule in Eastern Europe. Why was it relatively bloodless?
Conceptual

Question 21

How did the United States confront the difficulties of Vietnam and Watergate? How did Americans "reinvent" themselves following this period of domestic crisis? What effect did that have on the international role of the United States?
Conceptual

Question 22

What social changes have taken place in Europe during the last half of the twentieth century? Focus on the migration of peoples, new patterns in the workforce, and changes in the expectations of women.
Conceptual

Question 23

What did Khrushchev do that was a departure from previous Soviet practices? How would you assess the effects of his policies? What effect did they have on Soviet politics under later premiers?
Conceptual

Question 24

Discuss the fall of the Soviet Union. What were the primary reasons that it could no longer remain a united polity? Why did Gorbachev fail to maintain his hold on power? Do you foresee further political instability in the former Soviet Union? Why or why not?
Conceptual

Question 25

Detail the collapse of Yugoslavia. What was the influence of the end of the Cold War on the conflict? What role did nationalism and religion play? Who were the parties involved and what were their goals? Why did the world fail to stop this conflict? What was the role of the United Nations and NATO? Were they successful in stopping ethnic cleansing? Why or why not?
Conceptual

Question 26

How has NATO been affected by the events following the attacks of September 11, 2001? Has the role of the alliance shifted? Have the members of the alliance maintained a unified political vision? How has the role of the United States changed? Has the alliance been harmed?
Conceptual

Question 27

How would you characterize U.S. international policy with regard to environmental issues? What is the Kyoto Protocol? How has the U.S. response to this and other environmental initiatives affected the U.S. relationship with its allies?
Conceptual

Question 28

What is the significance of the fall of the Berlin Wall? What did it represent for Germany? What did it represent for Western Europe and Eastern Europe? What did it represent for the ideological struggle between communism and capitalism?
Conceptual

Question 29

Compare and contrast the crises of 1956 in Hungary and Poland with the events of 1989 in the same countries. What accounts for the failure of Poland and Hungary to break away from the Soviet Union in 1956? What prevented the Soviet Union from intervening in these countries in 1989?
Conceptual