Deck 26: The Dynamic 1950s

Question 1

What prompted the American National Exhibition in Moscow in the summer of 1959?

A)American manufacturers wanted to explore the Soviet and Eastern European market and saw this as an advertising opportunity.
B)During an interview on Russian television, Richard Nixon had dared the Soviet Union to allow Americans to show their products.
C)Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev had suggested on American television that the US was restricting cultural relations between the two rivals.
D)The exhibit had been a tradition in US-Russian relations since before the creation of the Soviet Union.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following terms best characterize the 1950s?

A)democratic heroism
B)tumultuous confrontations
C)stagnation and disillusionment
D)affluence and simmering discontent

Answer 2

D

Question 3

In what year did Americans watch the presidential election on television for the first time?

A)1948
B)1952
C)1956
D)1960

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What hastened the end of the Korean War?

A)the death of Joseph Stalin and the resulting confusion over succession
B)the hard-line stance of the United States on the issue of prisoners of war
C)the desire of the Chinese to isolate themselves from the West
D)the atomic saber rattling of President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Question 5

What was the mission of Central Intelligence Agency under President Dwight D Eisenhower?

A)distribute pro-American propaganda in East Germany
B)carry out covert military operations against unfriendly regimes
C)provide weapons to the Lebanese Hezbollah and mujahedin in Afghanistan
D)infiltrate nongovernment organizations providing aid in Africa

Question 6

How many nations gained independence between 1945 in 1960?

A)five
B)ten
C)seventeen
D)thirty-seven

Question 7

Why did Hungarians protest in the streets in October 1956?

A)They were angry over the discriminatory policies of Army recruiters.
B)They wanted Hungary to join the European Union.
C)They wanted to show solidarity with Polish protests against Soviet control.
D)They wanted to emigrate to West Germany.

Question 8

How did the Suez crisis change the relationship between the United States and the Arab world?

A)It produced a deep distrust amongst Arabs towards the United States.
B)The United States gained considerable goodwill in the Arab world.
C)It damaged the business prospects of American auto companies considerably.
D)The U.S. intervention did not change the Arabs' anti-American prejudice.

Question 9

The first US military advisers arrived in Vietnam in

A)1945.
B)1950.
C)1955.
D)1960.

Question 10

How did most Americans follow the Army-McCarthy hearings, and what was their reaction?

A)Americans listened to the hearings on the radio, and were impressed with McCarthy's skills and competence.
B)They read newspapers, which gave the impression that McCarthy was moderate and compassionate in his conduct.
C)Very few Americans knew about these hearings and even fewer cared about them.
D)Twenty million Americans watched the hearings on TV and saw McCarthy's rantings live for the first time.

Question 11

During the 1950s the unemployment rate fluctuated between

A)two and three percent.
B)four and six percent.
C)five and eight percent.
D)eight and twelve percent.

Question 12

Which of the following factors most drove the baby boom of the postwar years?

A)a sexualized culture
B)urbanization
C)the need for young workers
D)the G.I. Bill and FHA loans

Question 13

Suburban developments grew in postwar America because of

A)Americans' desire to live with and in nature.
B)the assembly line technologies of tract home construction.
C)the desire of Americans to live close to malls.
D)Americans' fear of nuclear attacks on cities.

Question 14

What role did consumption play in postwar American culture?

A)Excessive consumption was a serious concern both for cultural critics and economists.
B)Mass consumption was extolled as a virtue that would provide employment and prosperity.
C)Compared to exports, domestic consumption was still in its infancy and played a small role in the nation's economy.
D)Because of their experience in the Great Depression, Americans continued to live frugally throughout the 50s.

Question 15

What did corporate life require from American men in the 1950s?

A)the willingness to think outside the box
B)conformity and compliance with dress codes
C)creativity and original approaches
D)the willingness to learn from mistakes

Question 16

Which of the following was the most important technology 1950s?

A)the microwave
B)the computer chip
C)the car
D)the radio

Question 17

What important new product contributed to the skyrocketing oil demand of the 1950s?

A)plastic
B)rubber
C)silicone
D)fiber optics

Question 18

What share of American households owned a television set by 1953?

A)one third
B)one half
C)two thirds
D)seven out of eight

Question 19

The most popular television show of the decade was

A)M*A*S*H
B)The Honeymooners
C)See It Now
D)The Howdy Doody Show

Question 20

The success of The Sergeant Gene Autry Show during World War II encouraged the creation of ?

A)the U.S.O.
B)the Voice of America.
C)the NBC and ABC news networks.
D)commercial television.

Question 21

What did parents and community leaders in America seem most concerned about during the 1950s?

A)juvenile delinquency
B)street safety
C)environmental pollution
D)the social awareness of young people

Question 22

Which group gained millions of converts in the United States during the 1950s?

A)Catholics
B)Buddhists
C)Evangelicals
D)Scientologists

Question 23

How did the critics of environmental scientist Rachel Carson try to discredit her findings?

A)They claimed the research was shabby and inaccurate.
B)They called her a communist and a traitor.
C)They criticized her science for challenging Bible truths.
D)They called her an "emotional woman."

Question 24

Which of these groups emerged as a distinct consumer group in American society for the first time during the 1950s?

A)the elderly
B)Latinos
C)teenagers
D)gays and lesbians

Question 25

How did "beats" characterize postwar American culture?

A)They compared it to the Gilded Age and the age of the robber barons.
B)They thought that corporate culture smacked of communism.
C)They criticized the obsession with materialism and anti-communism.
D)They lamented the erosion of family values.

Question 26

How did jazz musician Miles Davis contribute to the civil rights movement?

A)He led the march in Selma, Alabama, in 1965.
B)He organized a sit-in in a segregated record store in Hollywood.
C)He challenged segregation in interstate jazz tours.
D)He gave a few significant benefit concerts for the civil rights movement.

Question 27

Who was Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court when the case Brown versus Board of Education of Topeka Kansas was decided in 1954?

A)Earl Warren
B)Warren Burger
C)Fred M. Vinson
D)William Rehnquist

Question 28

Why did the seamstress Rosa Parks get arrested on the bus in Birmingham, Alabama, on December 1, 1955?

A)She refused to pay her fare.
B)She refused to get off the bus when the bus entered the white part of town.
C)She refused to give up her seat for a white passenger.
D)She refused to stop talking to the driver.

Question 29

Why did Martin Luther King Jr., Bayard Rustin, and Ralph Abernathy decide to form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957?

A)They feared that the civil rights movement was lacking Christian values.
B)They disliked the feminist leadership of activist Rosa parks.
C)They wanted to keep the momentum of the Montgomery bus boycott.
D)They wanted to prevent northern activists from taking over the civil rights movement.

Question 30

Who encouraged the United States Information Agency to include controversial rock 'n roll and jazz musicians in their international programming?

A)the CIA
B)J. Edgar Hoover
C)Martin Luther King Jr.
D)the NAACP

Question 31

How did Nikita Khrushchev change the emphasis of the Cold War?

A)Instead of building up the nuclear arsenal, he focused on counterinsurgency.
B)He significantly loosened control on the puppet regimes in Eastern Europe.
C)He focused on competition for hearts and minds around the world.
D)He introduced important market and election reforms in the Soviet Union.

Question 32

How did presidential candidate Dwight D Eisenhower bolster his anti-Communist credentials among right-wing Republicans in the 1952 election?

A)He selected the 38-year-old Senator Richard M. Nixon of California as his running mate.
B)He promised the appointment of Senator Joseph McCarthy from Wisconsin as Secretary of State.
C)He talked openly about the possibility of a first strike against the Soviet Union.
D)He amassed troops along the West German border with East Germany in response to the rise of the Berlin wall.

Question 33

What did Richard M Nixon's "Checkers Speech" demonstrate in American political culture?

A)importance of honesty in politics
B)the appeal of pets in politics
C)the role of television in politics
D)public concern over corruption

Question 34

Which of the following statements best assesses the significance of the Korean War?

A)Korea marked the end of the proxy wars in the Cold War era and set the stage for disarmament talks.
B)The end to the war left troubling questions about the containment strategy in the postcolonial world.
C)The United States established its reputation as a nation of winners in foreign policy.
D)The Korean War was the beginning of the end of the Chinese communist regime.

Question 35

Most of the new nations that declared independence after World War II were

A)white.
B)heavily industrialized.
C)poor.
D)committed to peaceful internal dialogue.

Question 36

Which of the following significantly elevated the strategic importance of the world's emerging markets for US policymakers during the Cold War years?

A)vast oil reserves in the developing world
B)a nuclear arms race in developing nations
C)intensifying drought conditions in the global South
D)the growing importance of Islamic fundamentalism

Question 37

Why did Dwight D Eisenhower oppose military intervention in the Suez crisis?

A)He was a personal friend of Egyptian leader Gamal Nasser.
B)He did not think the canal was strategically important for the U.S.
C)He feared that military action might disrupt oil supplies to the U.S.
D)He worried that U.S. military intervention might antagonize Israel.

Question 38

By 1953, the United States covered what share of the French war costs in Vietnam?

A)10 percent
B)20 percent
C)30 percent
D)40 percent

Question 39

What did the majority of Americans think of the situation in Vietnam during the second half of the 1950s?

A)There were concerned about the heavy casualties amongst American GIs.
B)They feared for the loss of Vietnam and were committed to its defense.
C)The thought of it as an example of successful "nation building."
D)They were hoping for an outcome as favorable to the U.S. as that of the Korean War.

Question 40

How did the more responsible Republicans respond to the charges of Joseph McCarthy from Wisconsin about the communist infiltration of the State Department under President Truman?

A)They took advantage of his reckless political attacks.
B)They believed him and asked for his leadership.
C)They attacked him as excessively partisan.
D)They admired him for his passion.

Question 41

What prompted the international outcry for clemency for Ethel Rosenberg in 1951?

A)She had received the death sentence.
B)She was a very attractive woman.
C)She was not a US citizen.
D)She had confessed to her espionage.

Question 42

In January 1961, president Dwight Eisenhower left office with

A)"a sense of pride and accomplishment."
B)"a definite sense of disappointment."
C)"a feeling of gratitude and whimsy."
D)fear and anxiety over his successor.

Question 43

The postwar baby boom in the United States is best understood as the result of

A)the failure of modern birth control.
B)the joyful reunion of military couples.
C)government subsidies for babies.
D)a result of rising prosperity.

Question 44

What did the United States Supreme Court decided in the case of Shelly v. Kraemer (1948)?

A)Segregation had no place in public education.
B)Separate but equal institutions had to be truly equal.
C)States could not make the pledge of allegiance mandatory in public schools.
D)Racial covenants excluding nonwhites from neighborhoods were not legal.

Question 45

How did the historian Godfrey Hodgson label postwar suburbanization?

A)dysturbia
B)suburgatory
C)suburban-industrial complex
D)suburbia

Question 46

How did the Soviet government characterize American products of the postwar consumer culture?

A)environmentally unfriendly
B)immoral and corrupt
C)frivolous
D)dangerous and deceitful

Question 47

Why did labor leaders in the postwar years have good reason to wonder how long the prosperity of workers in the affluent society would last?

A)The easing relations between business and labor made unions appear obsolete.
B)American businesses where ratcheting up the rhetoric against unions.
C)State governments nationwide were breaking down union rights to organize.
D)Workers were leaving unions in droves to protest high membership dues.

Question 48

The big three automobile producers -General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler - accounted for what share of American automobile output?

A)54 percent
B)74 percent
C)84 percent
D)94 percent

Question 49

What important raw material underwrote the affluence of the 1950s in the United States?

A)coal
B)oil
C)copper
D)concrete

Question 50

By the 1960s, Americans spent nearly as much time on average watching TV as

A)sleeping.
B)working.
C)eating.
D)commuting.

Question 51

The most popular genre in television in the 1950s in the United States was

A)horror
B)crime
C)musicals
D)Westerns

Question 52

According to Billy Graham, how could Americans save themselves from the nuclear apocalypse?

A)massive religious conversion
B)a new approach to the Cold War
C)the fair treatment of developing nations
D)a progressive push for defense spending cuts

Question 53

What contradictory trend did American women experience in the 1950s?

A)a growing number of female college graduates, but a declining demand for brain workers
B)a growing number of children due to the baby boom, but declining spending on public education
C)an increasing availability of kitchen appliances, but rising costs for electricity and water
D)a growing number of women in the workplace, but a new celebration of traditional families

Question 54

What share of women in America had jobs outside the home in 1960?

A)the same number as in 1950
B)less than in 1930
C)twice as many as in 1940
D)more than in any year since

Question 55

Why did sociologist David Reisman think that Americans had lost their work ethic?

A)He uncovered widespread unhappiness in corporate culture.
B)He noted the growing number of hours Americans spent in front of the TV.
C)He studied the growing number of teenage "dropouts" in American cities.
D)He observed to the hard work of Mexican immigrants in California's fields.

Question 56

How did the American media react to Elvis Presley's meteoric rise in 1955?

A)They were happy to have found a white rock 'n roll star.
B)The celebrated his music, but found his southern roots embarrassing.
C)They described his performances as vulgar and suggestive.
D)That openly criticized Elvis Presley for his all-black band.

Question 57

What did the arrest of Miles Davis by New York City police officers in 1959 demonstrate?

A)The city of New York took its tough stand on drugs very seriously.
B)Even the most successful African-Americans faced racism on a daily basis.
C)Police officers across the nation refused to make exceptions for celebrities.
D)Racial profiling was a bigger issue in Northern cities than in the South.

Question 58

When Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren said, "We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place," to what was he referring?

A)gender discrimination
B)racial segregation
C)public versus private education
D)subjective testing methods

Question 59

Why did the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) choose Martin Luther King Jr. as its head?

A)He was the grandfather of the movement and had decades of experience.
B)He had grown up in Montgomery, Alabama, and knew city leaders personally.
C)His oratory style was modern and not as preachy as that of his colleagues.
D)He was new in town, young, and a very eloquent speaker.

Question 60

What impact did the African-American fight against legal segregation in the South have on other nonwhites in the nation?

A)It prompted them to wait and see how the black civil rights movement developed.
B)It inspired a broader soul-searching about inequality for all those seeking freedom.
C)It motivated especially Latinos and Native Americans join the NAACP and other black organizations.
D)It had no significant impact since other minorities in the North and West viewed the South is a different political environment.

Question 61

Identify who, what, where, when, and/or why the following are important:
1. K1C2
2. Jawaharlal Nehru
3. domino theory
4. baby boom
5. "Sloanism"
6. plastic
7. Billy Graham
8. Elvis Presley
9. Civil Rights Act of 1957
10. "militant nonviolence"

Question 62

Why did Nikita Khrushchev scoff at Richard Nixon's pride in the domestic life of suburban American women?

A)He did not think much of the cooking skills of American women.
B)He thought that suburbs lacked the historic charm of Soviet cities.
C)He compared American women unfavorably with Russian working women.
D)He claimed that the Soviet Union looked identical to the American suburb.

Question 63

Why did American voters expect so much from Dwight D Eisenhower's trip to Korea in late November of 1952?

A)They assumed that the leader of the D-Day invasion had a plan for victory.
B)They were hoping that "Ike" could arrange a cease-fire with the Chinese.
C)They knew that American soldiers in Asia needed a significant morale boost.
D)There were happy to see General MacArthur replaced by a better leader.

Question 64

What did Jawaharlal Nehru think of the policies of containment?

A)He considered it an important step forward for India.
B)He was hoping for a stronger commitment of the United States to India.
C)He resented the US view of India as just a "domino."
D)He was hoping for a stronger commitment of the Soviet Union to India.

Question 65

What signaled cold-warrior Senator Joseph McCarthy's demise late in 1954?

A)public protests in Washington DC
B)a brave attack by TV journalist R. Murrow
C)advertisers pulling out of the HUAC broadcasts
D)the public criticism of President Eisenhower

Question 66

Homes in the Long Island development of Levittown sold in 1947 for the price of

A)$8,000
B)$80,000
C)$120,000
D)$180,000

Question 67

What did American unions fail to gain for workers at the height of their influence in the early 1950s?

A)medical insurance
B)paid vacations
C)steady pay increases
D)control of the workplace

Question 68

Which political crisis of the 1950s highlighted the global web of connections and commitment that was forged by the demand for oil?

A)the Cuban revolution
B)the Hungarian uprising
C)the Suez crisis
D)the rise of the Berlin wall

Question 69

How did the message of the "New Evangelical" movement of the 1950s in the United States spread so widely?

A)thanks to friendly coverage by national weeklies
B)through itinerant preachers traveling on interstate highways
C)with religious broadcasts on television
D)via religious advertisings in chain stores

Question 70

Which of the following books addressed environmental issues in the postwar years?

A)The Lonely Crowd
B)Organization man
C)The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
D)Silent Spring

Question 71

Which of the following individuals played the most important role in launching the legal battle to overturn Plessy v. Ferguson?

A)Charles Hamilton Houston
B)Charles Evans Hughes
C)Thurgood Marshall
D)Earl Warren

Question 72

How did the Central Intelligence Agency become an important tool in the Cold War?

Question 73

How did the United States end up as the chief foreign power in Vietnam in the second half of the 1950s?

Question 74

How did American suburbs become the basis for a new environmental movement against development?

Question 75

What did early television reveal about American consumer culture of the 1950s?

Question 76

Explain how the NAACP-funded legal challenge to segregation was an important part of the civil rights movement that began long before the 1950s.

Question 77

Although the Cold War was officially a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union, its dimensions were global. Discuss ways in which the Cold War shaped developments across the world between 1945 and 1960.

Question 78

Describe the affluent society that emerged after World War II. Consider especially the importance of the federal government, and the role the United States inherited from its performance in World War II

Question 79

Identify who, what, where, when, and/or why the following are important:
1. Checkers Speech
2. Gamal Nasser
3. See It Now
4. Shelly v. Kraemer
5. tract home
6. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
7. "In God We Trust"
8. The Lonely Crowd (1950)
9. Charles Hamilton Houston
10. Radio Free Dixie

Question 80

What was the centerpiece of the American National Exhibition in Moscow in 1959?

A)a television set
B)a Pershing missile
C)a computer chip
D)a model suburban home