Question 1

American motion pictures in the postwar years have

Accepted Answer

American motion pictures in the postwar years have been hugely popular around the world and have played a significant role in spreading American popular culture globally.

Question 2

The Cold War spread from Europe with the establishment of a Communist regime in China in 1949.

Accepted Answer

The establishment of a Communist regime in China in 1949 was a major event in the Cold War. It expanded the conflict beyond Europe and made it a global struggle between the United States and its Western allies and the Soviet Union and its allies.

Question 3

The social structure of the postwar European society has been greatly affected by a dramatic increase in the number of

Accepted Answer

The postwar European society saw a significant increase in the number of white-collar management and administrative personnel. This was due to the expansion of the service sector and the growth of industries that required specialized skills, such as finance, technology, and marketing. This rise of the middle class changed the social structure of Europe, creating a new hierarchy based on education, professional status, and income.

Question 4

Eastern Europe was the first area of disagreement between the United States and the Soviet Union after the end of World War II.

Accepted Answer

This is true. The Soviet Union sought to expand its influence in Eastern Europe, while the United States sought to contain Soviet expansion and promote democratic governments in the region, leading to tensions between the two superpowers. This became known as the Cold War.

Question 5

Which of the following statements concerning postwar Great Britain is false ?

Accepted Answer

The statement that the Conservative party in the 1950s and 1960s revoked nearly all of the welfare legislation passed by the Labour party in the 1940s is false. While the Conservative party did seek to limit the welfare state, they did not revoke all of the legislation. Some measures, such as the National Insurance Act, were seen as necessary by both parties and remained in place.

Question 6

The American artist Jackson Pollock was most noted for

Accepted Answer

Jackson Pollock was a leading figure in the Abstract Expressionist movement in the United States in the 1940s and 50s. He is best known for his large-scale, splattered and dripped paintings, which were created by pouring and dripping paint onto the canvas. This technique became known as "action painting" and was a departure from traditional painting methods.

Question 7

The Common Market was

Accepted Answer

The Common Market, also known as the European Economic Community (EEC), was founded in 1957 for economic reasons with the goal of promoting free trade among member nations. The initial six member nations were France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

Question 8

The Berlin Air Lift was initiated by the Soviet Union to provide provisions to East Berlin after a blockade by the United States, Great Britain, and France.

Accepted Answer

The Berlin Air Lift was initiated by the United States, Great Britain, and France to provide provisions to West Berlin after a blockade by the Soviet Union.

Question 9

All of the following statements regarding women in the post-war era are correct except

Accepted Answer

Working women did not receive equal pay with men by the 1960s. In fact, it was not until the passage of the Equal Pay Act in 1963 and the Civil Rights Act in 1964 that these issues were addressed.

Question 10

Following World War II, the country that dominated the art world was

Accepted Answer

After World War II, Paris was no longer the center of the art world and the United States emerged as the new dominant force in the art world. The emergence of Abstract Expressionism and pop art in the United States solidified its position as the leading country in the art world.

Question 11

The horrors of two world wars, the Cold War, and attendant socio-cultural upheavals have also stimulated a late twentieth-century religious revival exemplified in the works of Karl Barth, who has argued

Accepted Answer

Karl Barth believed that humans, due to their sinful and imperfect nature, can only know religious truth through the grace of God, and not through reason. This is reflected in his works and is a central aspect of his religious revival movement.

Question 12

In the postwar world, Canada

Accepted Answer

Canada experienced many of the same developments as the United States, including economic growth, urbanization, suburbanization, and the rise of the middle class. Canada also developed a strong social welfare system, similar to the United States, as part of the postwar welfare state. However, Canada was more cautious about its relationship with the United States and pursued a foreign policy that sought to balance its ties to the United States with its own interests and alliances. For example, Canada joined NATO in 1949 but did not become a member of the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) until 1958, and developed closer ties with Britain and Europe through the Commonwealth and the European Economic Community.

Question 13

Television did not become readily available until

Accepted Answer

Television became readily available to consumers in the United States in the 1940s, with the first commercial broadcast taking place in 1941. While there were some experimental broadcasts in the 1930s, widespread access to television did not occur until later.

Question 14

All of the following is characteristic of the United States in the 1950s except

Accepted Answer

The collapse of labor unions is not characteristic of the United States in the 1950s. While there were certainly challenges to organized labor during this era, such as the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947 and the increasing popularity of right-to-work laws, unions still played a significant role in American society and politics during the 1950s.

Question 15

One country that was not an original member of the European Coal and Steel Community was

Accepted Answer

Britain was not an original member of the European Coal and Steel Community.

Question 16

In her path-breaking text, The Second Sex , the influential French feminist author Simone de Beauvoir argued that

Accepted Answer

In The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir specifically argues that women are always and wrongly defined by their differences from men, which results in their status as second-class beings. She analyzes how this idea is perpetuated in various institutions and aspects of society, including education, religion, and sexuality. She argues that women must reject this definition and assert their own autonomy and equality as human beings. None of the other options accurately reflect de Beauvoir's ideas in the book.

Question 17

Existentialism stressed

Accepted Answer

Existentialism emphasized the individual's freedom and responsibility to create their own values and meaning in life rather than relying on external sources such as religion or societal norms. It promoted the idea that humans must find their own purpose in life through their choices and actions.

Question 18

Postwar Italian politics was characterized by

Accepted Answer

The Christian Democrats enjoyed hegemony in postwar Italian politics, with backing from the Catholic Church. This was evident in their long-term hold on power and domination of political institutions. The Communist party was present but never achieved dominance, and there were no frequent military coups or Communist-dominated coalition governments. The demise of the Christian Democrats occurred in the 1990s, long after the postwar period.

Question 19

The philosophical doctrine of existentialism, with its emphasis on God as a fiction, no preordained human destiny, and the human creation of all values

Accepted Answer

The passage states that existentialism was best expressed in the works of the French writers Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre, indicating that choice D is the correct answer. The other options are incorrect because the passage does not mention them. Option A is particularly unlikely given that existentialism was often viewed as a challenge to dominant academic and societal attitudes. Option B is also unlikely given that existentialism is typically seen as a departure from traditional logic and epistemology. Option C is not explicitly mentioned in the passage, and option E is anachronistic as the "Age of Aquarius" was a cultural phenomenon that occurred primarily in the 1960s and 1970s, whereas existentialism emerged as a prominent intellectual movement in the mid-twentieth century.

Question 20

The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s included all of the following except

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court actually struck down the concept of "separate but equal" in the famous Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954, which was a major victory for the civil rights movement.

Quiz 28: Cold War and a New Western World, 1945-1965