Deck 28: The Suburban Era

Question 1

The chapter introduction uses the automobile as a symbol for the 1950s in order to make the point that

A) a culture of mobility developed, featuring abundance and a high degree of movement, especially to the suburbs.
B) the variations and yearly changes in car design reflected the diversity and divisions in American life.
C) government programs no longer focused on people (as in the New Deal), but on things (as with the
Interstate Highway System).
D) car-buying adults were more influential than children and their toys in shaping American culture.

Answer 1

a culture of mobility developed, featuring abundance and a high degree of movement, especially to the suburbs.

Question 2

All of the following contributed to the explosive growth of suburbs EXCEPT

A) television, which drew Americans toward the centers of cities.
B) the baby boom, which created a need for housing.
C) the automobile, which made the suburbs accessible.
D) the return of prosperity, which led to the baby boom.

Answer 2

television, which drew Americans toward the centers of cities.

Question 3

Which of the following was NOT an environmental cost of the 1950s suburban housing boom?

A) environmental impact fees
B) clearing of mature trees
C) lost habitat
D) higher energy consumption

Answer 3

environmental impact fees

Question 4

In your text, a comparison is made between Khrushchev, a party stalwart with a formidable intellect and agrarian origins, with another farm-belt politician, ________.

A) Eisenhower
B) Truman
C) Kennedy
D) Nixon

Question 5

Which of the following was NOT true at the height of the cold war in the 1950s?

A) The United States tended to rely on nuclear weapons rather than costly conventional forces.
B) The hostility between the U.S. and USSR grew more and more intense and uncompromising.
C) The two superpowers competed for the allegiance of the newly independent nations of the Third World.
D) Unrest, nationalism, and even revolution plagued the countries of the Third World.

Question 6

Which of the following statements about the foreign policies of the Eisenhower era is NOT true?

A) In the final stages of the French-Vietnamese war, the United States was subsidizing the costs of the French war effort.
B) The CIA orchestrated covert operations in the Middle East and Latin America that toppled governments.
C) A joint French-British force invaded Egypt after Gamal Abdel Nasser seized control of the Suez Canal in 1956, but the U.S. sided with Egypt against its NATO allies.
D) Because of the Berlin blockade, the summit meeting scheduled for 1960 between Dwight Eisenhower and Nikita Khrushchev was never held.

Question 7

In April of 1961, a 1,400-strong army of poorly-equipped Cuban exiles landed at

A) Havana.
B) Guantanamo Bay.
C) Biscayne Bay.
D) the Bay of Pigs.

Question 8

President Kennedy's economic philosophy was

A) liberal, and favored increased government spending.
B) laissez-faire welfare capitalism.
C) tilted more toward the success of big business.
D) grounded in Keynesian deficit spending to lower unemployment.

Question 9

When the ________ asked the United States to intervene against Ho Chi Minh's army at Dien Bien Phu, President Eisenhower refused.

Question 10

Steely and brilliant, Robert McNamara was one of the postwar breed of young executives known as the "________."

Question 11

Tensions with the Soviet Union led the Kennedy administration to rethink the American approach to nuclear warfare. Under the ________ doctrine of massive retaliation, almost any incident threatened to trigger a full launch of nuclear missiles.

Question 12

Identify three factors in the suburban growth after World War II.

Question 13

Explain how each of the following affected (or were affected by) the growth of the suburbs: the federal highway system, the film industry, housewives, and African Americans.

Question 14

Describe the key features of conglomerates and diversified corporations.

Question 15

What connections were made during the 1950s between popular culture and juvenile delinquency? Why were such connections made, and were they convincing, in your opinion?

Question 16

Explain how social class, religion, and ethnicity affected suburban communities.

Question 17

Explain the role of nuclear deterrence and covert operations in Eisenhower's foreign policy.

Question 18

Compare the quality of life in the suburbs with the quality of life either on farms or in cities.

Question 19

What impact did the rise of large organizations have on the American tradition of individualism?

Question 20

Compare and contrast the Eisenhower-Dulles conduct of foreign policy with that of the Truman administration.

Question 21

"Highbrow"
critics condemned the suburban culture of the 1950s and the popular culture of the mass media. What claims did the critics make? What economic and social developments were they reacting to? In your opinion, were the criticisms justified?

Question 22

How did Dulles and Eisenhower counterbalance each other in the making of foreign policy? What were the principal swings of foreign policy during the Eisenhower administration?
ch28 Key