Deck 25: Domestic Dreams and Atomic Nightmares, 1953-1963

Question 1

What role did Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren play in the case of Brown v. Board of Education?

A) He was extremely reluctant to overturn Plessey v. Ferguson.
B) He knew he only needed to win limited political support.
C) He worked hard to ensure that the Court reached a unanimous decision.
D) He and President Eisenhower had a bad relationship.

Answer 1

He worked hard to ensure that the Court reached a unanimous decision.

Question 2

How did Eisenhower justify the passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956?

A) It would permit evacuation of American cities in case of nuclear attack.
B) It would help reinforce racial segregation.
C) It would contribute to suburban sprawl.
D) It would promote the revitalization of American small farms.

Answer 2

It would permit evacuation of American cities in case of nuclear attack.

Question 3

The decision in Brown v. Board of Education overturned the ruling in __________.

A) Plessy v. Ferguson
B) Dred Scott v. Sanford
C) Marbury v. Madison
D) Sweat v. Painter

Answer 3

Plessy v. Ferguson

Question 4

__________ led the NAACP's legal team in the Brown v. Board of Education case.

A) Earl Warren
B) Kenneth Clark
C) Thurgood Marshall
D) Byron White

Question 5

Which of the following best characterizes President Eisenhower's attitude toward integration?

A) He was not enthusiastic about implementing integration.
B) He was a strong public advocate of segregation.
C) He was a strong public advocate of integration.
D) He believed that the implementation of integration was his highest priority as president.

Question 6

Arkansas Governor Orville Faubus sought to block the __________.

A) payment of federal income taxes by the residents of Arkansas
B) entry of federal troops into his state
C) integration of the Arkansas National Guard
D) integration of Central High School in Little Rock

Question 7

Who benefited from the policies of the Federal Housing Administration in the 1950s?

A) black and Hispanic working-class families
B) the urban poor
C) the very wealthy
D) white middle-class families

Question 8

After World War II, the employment of married women __________.

A) fell sharply
B) continued to rise
C) became exceedingly rare
D) was celebrated in popular culture

Question 9

Who benefited from the Housing Acts of 1949 and 1954?

A) bankers and real estate developers
B) the urban poor
C) suburban families
D) farmers and large landowners

Question 10

Martin Luther King Jr. emerged as a leader of the civil rights movement during which of the following?

A) the crisis at Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas
B) the appeal of the Brown v. Board of Education court case
C) the march on Washington, D.C.
D) the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama

Question 11

In The Feminine Mystique, __________ explored the "problem that has no name."

A) Betty Friedan
B) Maya Angelou
C) Gloria Steinem
D) Margaret Sanger

Question 12

The policy of red lining __________.

A) was ruled unconstitutional in 1953
B) designated certain neighborhoods as off limits to ethnic minorities
C) was more a myth than a reality
D) kept suspected communist sympathizers from being employed

Question 13

Rosa Parks was __________.

A) a cousin of Martin Luther King Jr.
B) an unemployed housewife
C) the secretary of her local NAACP chapter
D) a Baptist minister

Question 14

Which of the following leaders was reluctant to use his power to support racial integration?

A) Chief Justice Earl Warren
B) Thurgood Marshall
C) President Truman
D) President Eisenhower

Question 15

The Soviet Union pointed to American race relations as an indication of American __________.

A) socialism
B) prosperity
C) depravity
D) hypocrisy

Question 16

Which of the following was true of middle-class white families in the 1950s?

A) They exhibited a great deal of conformity in their consumer behavior.
B) They tended to spend rather than save.
C) They aspired to live in city centers.
D) They tended to reject traditional social and cultural norms.

Question 17

President Eisenhower tried to __________.

A) rein in the defense buildup
B) pass a sweeping civil rights measure
C) cut government spending in all areas
D) push the country to the far right

Question 18

In the 1950s, 25 percent of all women attending college __________.

A) were from poor families
B) majored in home economics
C) were from minority groups
D) married before completing their degree

Question 19

Between 1947 and 1961, the national income increased by __________ percent.

A) 20
B) 40
C) 60
D) 80

Question 20

Which of the following was true of suburban growth between 1950 and 1970?

A) The suburban population more than doubled.
B) The suburban population grew substantially more diverse.
C) The suburbs began a process of slow decline.
D) The suburbs struggled to attract middle-class families.

Question 21

Eisenhower's political ideology is best described as __________.

A) pragmatic and centerist
B) progressive
C) staunchly conservative
D) libertarian

Question 22

In 1952, NATO was expanded to include which of the following?

A) France
B) Egypt
C) Greece
D) Czechoslovakia

Question 23

Why did U.S. officials consider Guatemala's Jacobo Arbenz a threat?

A) He had been chosen as president in a free and fair election.
B) He wanted to redistribute large tracts of land.
C) His government was developing nuclear weapons.
D) He had close ties to Fidel Castro.

Question 24

The Eisenhower Doctrine was developed with which of the following regions in mind?

A) Central America
B) Southeast Asia
C) the Middle East
D) Africa

Question 25

The "lavender scare" targeted which of the following?

A) communists
B) gay men and lesbians
C) Latin American immigrants
D) eastern European immigrants

Question 26

Which of the following was a U.S. response to the launch of Sputnik?

A) the establishment of the CIA
B) federal subsidies for teacher training in math and science
C) technology sharing with America's European allies
D) the placement of U.S. missiles in Turkey

Question 27

Eisenhower sharply criticized the __________, French, and Israeli attack on Egypt

A) Jordanian
B) Syrian
C) German
D) British

Question 28

Which of the following was true of Tom Dooley?

A) He promoted modernization and progress.
B) He was devoted to his role as a missionary.
C) He rejected local customs and traditions.
D) He was a spy for the Soviet Union.

Question 29

Jackson Pollock is most closely associated with which of the following?

A) cubism
B) abstract expressionism
C) impressionism
D) social realism

Question 30

After Stalin died in 1953, __________ became the new leader of the Soviet Union.

A) Khrushchev
B) Brezhnev
C) Trotsky
D) Andropov

Question 31

The 1956 Suez crisis __________.

A) weakened U.S. relations with Egypt
B) weakened Soviet relations with Egypt
C) weakened Egypt's relations with other African countries
D) strengthened U.S. relations with Egypt

Question 32

Which of the following was true of the Submerged Land Act?

A) It enriched the federal government.
B) It compensated flood victims for their financial losses.
C) It gave the states control of oil-rich offshore lands.
D) It established environmental regulations for wetlands.

Question 33

During Eisenhower's presidency, the U.S. and the Soviet Union agreed to which of the following?

A) to limit aboveground testing of nuclear weapons
B) to reduce their nuclear stockpiles by 20 percent
C) to ban all testing of nuclear weapons
D) to hold annual summit meetings

Question 34

How did Eisenhower placate liberals?

A) He placed strict limits on the activities of the CIA.
B) He called for the arrest of Senator Joseph McCarthy.
C) He extended many New Deal welfare policies.
D) He pursued a pro-labor legislative agenda.

Question 35

In 1959, revolutionary leader Fidel Castro established a regime in _________ based on socialist principles.

A) Cuba
B) Guatemala
C) Haiti
D) Nicaragua

Question 36

In their lifestyles and beliefs, the Beats celebrated which of the following?

A) traditional artistic expression
B) freedom from conformity
C) persecution of homosexuality
D) swapping traditional sex roles

Question 37

In 1953, the CIA helped to overthrow the elected government in __________.

A) Egypt
B) Japan
C) Iran
D) Mexico

Question 38

__________'s The Lonely Crowd looked at the alienation of middle-class men.

A) William Whyte
B) David Reisman
C) Allen Ginsberg
D) Jack Kerouac

Question 39

The New Look referred to Eisenhower's __________.

A) plans for stimulating economic growth
B) plans for public education
C) approach to social welfare
D) approach to the military

Question 40

__________'s Catcher in the Rye expressed dissatisfaction with the status quo.

A) J. D. Salinger
B) Thomas Wolfe
C) Truman Capote
D) Betty Friedan

Question 41

Which of the following was primarily responsible for launching the political career of John F. Kennedy?

A) Lyndon Johnson
B) Adlai Stevenson
C) Franklin Roosevelt
D) Joseph Kennedy

Question 42

Why did the Democrats find it difficult to pass reform legislation in the early 1960s?

A) They had a majority in the House, but not the Senate.
B) They had a majority in the Senate, but not the House.
C) Conservative Democrats in the South teamed up with Republicans.
D) The Democratic leadership was uninterested in reform legislation.

Question 43

The March on Washington was a demonstration for freedom and __________.

A) jobs
B) education
C) housing
D) peace

Question 44

In the 1960 election, Kennedy __________.

A) secured an impressive electoral college vote
B) narrowly defeated Richard Nixon
C) actually lost the popular vote
D) ran against Gerald Ford

Question 45

What did Kennedy think was the best way to share the fruits of American prosperity?

A) tax policies
B) social welfare programs
C) economic growth
D) financial subsidies

Question 46

Describe the most important developments in American foreign policy during the Eisenhower administration.

Question 47

How did white Southerners respond to the Brown decision?

Question 48

Describe the key components of Kennedy's domestic policy agenda.

Question 49

Kennedy's policies in Vietnam __________.

A) were a continuation of the policies of Truman and Eisenhower
B) were a sharp departure from earlier U.S. policies
C) were deeply unpopular with the American people
D) almost led to war with the Soviet Union

Question 50

One of Kennedy's most popular initiatives was __________.

A) the Works Progress Administration
B) the Civilian Conservation Corps
C) Teach America
D) the Peace Corps

Question 51

Kennedy supported movements in the Third World to __________.

A) implement socialist legislation
B) remain neutral in the Cold War
C) enact land reform
D) end colonial rule

Question 52

In the early 1960s, supporters of civil rights faced a powerful coalition of Republicans and __________.

A) southern Democrats
B) northeastern business interests
C) conservative New Englanders
D) Mid-Western factory workers

Question 53

How did the federal government reinforce racial segregation in American communities and neighborhoods in the 1950s?

Question 54

John F. Kennedy __________.

A) served in the army during World War II
B) was elected governor of Massachusetts at age thirty
C) was the first Roman Catholic president
D) was born into a middle-class Boston family