FSO United States Society Quiz

B. Jihad translates from Arabic into English as holy war. Diaspora is a word of Greek origin that translates into English as scattering or dispersion. Coup d’etat is a French language phrase, whose literal translation means attack on state. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is also the holy month during which faithful religious adherents of he Islamic faith observe a daily fast from dawn to sunset.

Operation Desert Storm was the combat phase of the Gulf War, which began on January 17, 1991. This military operation was launched by a coalition of forces led by the United States in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait in August 1990. Despite international condemnation and United Nations resolutions demanding withdrawal, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein refused to pull his troops out of Kuwait. The coalition forces, composed of 35 nations, initiated a massive air and ground campaign to liberate Kuwait and repel Iraqi forces, successfully achieving their objectives within a few weeks.

In 1993, during the Battle of Mogadishu, U.S. Black Hawk helicopters flew over the capital city of Mogadishu, Somalia. This battle was part of Operation Gothic Serpent, aimed at capturing key lieutenants of the Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The operation led to a fierce firefight between U.S. forces and Somali militia fighters. Two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down, resulting in a protracted and deadly battle that left 18 American soldiers dead and many more wounded. The incident highlighted the complexities and dangers of urban warfare and had significant political and military repercussions for U.S. foreign policy.

Megan’s Law requires that officers of the law and members of communities into which a sex offender moves be given advance notification. Megan’s Law is named after Megan Kanka, a seven-year-old girl who was tragically raped and murdered by a convicted sex offender living in her neighborhood. Enacted in the United States, the law mandates public notification and community awareness regarding the presence of registered sex offenders. The goal of Megan’s Law is to enhance public safety by informing the public about the whereabouts of individuals who have committed sex crimes, allowing communities to take precautionary measures.

C. Mexican Americans constitute America’s largest Hispanic group. Approximately two thirds (63 percent) of all U.S. citizens classified by the U.S. Census Bureau as Hispanic (Or Latino/a) indentified themselves as being of Mexican ancestry. Approximately ten percent are of Puerto Rican ancestry. Approximately eight percent are of Caribbean or other origin.

The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing caused the most extensive damage to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. On April 19, 1995, a truck bomb exploded outside the building, killing 168 people and injuring over 600 others. The bombing was carried out by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols as a domestic terrorist attack, motivated by their anti-government beliefs. The explosion destroyed much of the nine-story building and caused significant damage to surrounding structures. The Oklahoma City bombing was the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks and led to increased focus on domestic terrorism and security measures.

B. Nikita Krushchev was the Secretary General of the Communist Party of the USSR who agreed to removed nuclear missiles from Cuba under U.N. supervision. George Malenkov was Krushnev's predecessor. Brezhnev and Andropov were his successors.

C. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were a husband and wife team convicted of espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union. As a result of charges made against him by Whittaker Chambers (a time magazine employee), former State Department official Alger Hiss was convicted (in 1950) of having committed perjury by denying that he had once sent copies of confidential state documents to the Soviet Union.

In 1979, the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran, was stormed by Iranian militants. This event led to the Iran Hostage Crisis, during which 52 American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days. The crisis began when Iranian revolutionaries seized the embassy, protesting U.S. support for the recently overthrown Shah of Iran. The event significantly impacted U.S.-Iran relations and was a major factor in President Jimmy Carter's defeat in the 1980 presidential election. The hostages were eventually released on January 20, 1981, the day Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as President.

A. Persons classified by the U.S. Census Bureau as Hispanic (or Latino/Latina) now constitute America’s largest ethnic group. Up until the beginning of the 21st century, persons classified as African American constituted the largest group.

A. The 18th amendment prohibited the manufacture, import and export of intoxicating liquor. The 21st amendment (1933) repealed the 18th amendment. The 19th amendment (1920) gave women the right to vote. The 20th Amendment (1933) changed the dates on which members of Congress and the president and vice-president are inducted into office.

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. He was shot while riding in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza. The assassination shocked the nation and the world, leading to widespread mourning and the subsequent investigation by the Warren Commission, which concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination. Kennedy's death marked a significant and tragic moment in American history.

The Yalta Conference, held in February 1945, was a meeting between the leaders of the Allied powers during World War II. The participants were Franklin D. Roosevelt (President of the United States), Winston Churchill (Prime Minister of the United Kingdom), and Josef Stalin (Leader of the Soviet Union). Charles De Gaulle, who was the leader of the Free French Forces and later the President of France, was not present at the Yalta Conference. The conference focused on post-war plans for Europe and the strategy for the final defeat of Nazi Germany.

The United States is not a signatory of the Kyoto Protocols, which mandate caps on the emission of greenhouse gases. The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997, is an international treaty that commits its parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions based on the premise that global warming exists and human-made CO₂ emissions have caused it. While countries like France, Great Britain, and Sweden are signatories and have committed to reducing their emissions under the protocol, the United States initially signed the agreement but never ratified it. Consequently, the U.S. did not commit to the legally binding targets set by the Kyoto Protocol.

B. The G.I. Bill was passed (1944) as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act. The National Security Act (1947) placed the Army, Navy, and Air Force under the direction of the newly created Department of Defense. It also authorized the creation of the National Security Council and the CIA. The National Industrial Recovery Act (1933) mandated that codes of fair competitive and labor practices be drawn up for different U.S. industries. The Johnson Act (1924) placed limits on the number of persons who could immigrate to the United States during any given year.

In 1950, Communist-backed forces from North Korea invaded South Korea, crossing the 38th parallel, which was the dividing line between the two countries. This aggressive action prompted the United States to call for a United Nations sanction against the invasion, leading to the involvement of UN forces, primarily composed of American troops, in the Korean War. The conflict was a significant event during the Cold War, highlighting the global struggle between communist and capitalist ideologies.

D. The CIA came into existence in 1947; the Sputnik satellite was launched ten years later, in 1957. It was created during the presidency of Harry Truman, in response to the threat of a communist takeover in Greece and Turkey and as was, thereby, a direct outgrowth of America’s policy of containment (of Communism)

Unreasonable searches and seizures are prohibited by the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Fourth Amendment, part of the Bill of Rights, protects citizens from unwarranted governmental intrusions into their privacy. It states that people have the right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures. It also establishes that warrants must be issued based on probable cause and must specifically describe the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized. This amendment is a fundamental protection against arbitrary interference by the government and ensures due process and fairness in law enforcement activities.

A.Herbert Hoover was President of the United States during the economic panic of 1929 that led to the Great Depression of the 1930s. Warren H. Harding was president from 1921 to 1923. Calvin Coolige was President form 1923 to 1929. Franklin D. Roosevelt was Presiden from 1933 to 1945.

In December 2004, a massive undersea earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, generated a devastating tsunami that affected several countries around the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka, Sumatra, and India were among the hardest hit, suffering extensive property damage and significant loss of human life. The tsunami, which struck on December 26, 2004, caused widespread destruction and resulted in the deaths of over 230,000 people across 14 countries. The Philippines, however, did not experience the same level of destruction and loss of life from this specific tsunami, as it is located further east and was shielded by other landmasses.

In 1972, five men were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. These men were attempting to bug telephones and install listening devices to gather information for President Richard Nixon's re-election campaign. This incident led to the Watergate scandal, a major political scandal that ultimately resulted in President Nixon's resignation. The attempt to bug telephones was part of a larger effort to sabotage Nixon's political opponents, highlighting the lengths to which his campaign was willing to go to ensure his re-election.

America’s first computer network, known as ARPANET, was designed by the U.S. Department of Defense. ARPANET, which stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency Network, was initiated in the late 1960s by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The goal was to create a reliable and secure means of communication for military and research purposes. ARPANET's development laid the foundation for the modern internet, introducing key technologies such as packet switching. The project connected various universities and research institutions, facilitating the sharing of information and collaboration across great distances.

C. The Popular Front consisted of a coalition of various liberal and radical groups held together by the common goal of stopping the rise and spread of Fascism and Nazism in Europe. Wobbles was the name given to the IWW, which during the early decades of the 20th Century was involved in the mobilization of unskilled and immigrant workers. Members of the Progressive party, as well as individuals who labeled themselves progressive, were generally in favor of the breaking up of trusts and of more extensive government efforts to improve the life conditions of the working and middle classes. Initially led by Enoch Powell, the National Front consists of British citizens opposed to increased immigration from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.

D. Gerald Ford is the only person to have served as both vice-president and president of the United States without having been elected to either office. He became vice-president upon the resignation of elected Vice-president Spiro Agnew, and president upon the resignation of President Richard Nixon. Arthur, Roosevelt, and Coolidege were each selected to the office of vice-president before becoming president.

A. In 1952, Jonas Salk developed the first effective polio vaccine. During the late-1950s, Albert Sabin developed an oral polio vaccine. Wallace Sabin (1968-1919) created the science of architectural acoustics, Thus, a unit of sound absorbing power is called the sabin in his honor. In 1921 Margaret Sanger founded the Birth Control league, which is now planned parenthood.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade followed from Norma McCorvey’s lawsuit against the state of Texas. Norma McCorvey, known by the legal pseudonym "Jane Roe," challenged Texas laws that criminalized most abortions. The landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling ultimately established a woman's legal right to have an abortion under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, significantly shaping the legal landscape of reproductive rights in the United States.

Enron Corporation, once one of the largest energy companies in the world, was headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company became infamous for its role in one of the largest corporate scandals in history. In late 2001, it was revealed that Enron had engaged in widespread accounting fraud to hide its financial losses and inflate its profits. The scandal led to the company's bankruptcy and the dissolution of Arthur Andersen, one of the five largest audit and accountancy partnerships in the world. The Enron scandal prompted significant changes in financial regulation and corporate governance in the United States.

C. During the 1950s and 1960s, it was more common for white artists to cover songs recorded by black artists than vice versa. By the mid-1950s, R&B had become so popular among white youth that it was banned on some radio stations in the South and other parts of the country. During the mid-1950s, it was picked up and fused country music by Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, and other white artists. During the 1950s it would have been accurate to state that it was recorded by a black artist and was, therefore, popular among African Americans. But this is no longer true because since the 1950s, there have been many popular white R&B artists

The Berlin Wall was erected by the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) starting on August 13, 1961, and it remained in existence until November 9, 1989. The wall was a physical and ideological barrier that divided East and West Berlin, symbolizing the broader division between East and West Germany, as well as the Cold War divide between the communist Eastern Bloc and the capitalist Western countries. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marked a significant turning point in world history, leading to the reunification of Germany and the eventual end of the Cold War.

D. It is not true that SALT ceased to be held after the election of Richard Nixon. They began in 1969 during his tenure of office. The Countries involved were the U.S.S.R. and the United States, and the talks did usher in a period of detent (during the Nixon years) between the two countries.

A. The Feminine Mystique published in 1963, was written by Betty Friedan, Bell Hooks (actually she preferes that her name be presented in lower case) is a black scholar and feminist writer. Her first full-length book, Ain't I a woman; Black Women and Feminism) was published in 1981. She has been a member of the faculty of Yale University. Feminist Scholar Patricia Hill Collins is also a feminist author. Gloria Steinem established the National Women's Political Caucus in 1971 and the coalition of Labor Union Women in 1972.

C. Hattie Wyatt Caraway, a Democrat from Arkansas, was the fist woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Susan B. Anthony was a suffragist. Francis Perkins was Secretary of Labor. Chase was congressmen from Maine.

C. It is not true that before 1914, most states permitted the sale of alcoholic beverages to persons under 14 years of age. But it is true that before 1914, there were no legal controls or restrictions on the sale of opium or heroin, and that cocaine was an ingredient in early 20th century Coca-Cola. It is also true that before the 1930s, there were no legal controls or restriction on the use or possession of marijuana.

D. Because it placed no limits on the number of persons who could legally immigrate to the United States from countries in the Western Hemisphere. The Johnson Act did, however, place limits on the number of persons who could immigrate to the United States from countries located in other parts of the world, and it took away the freedom of Asians to legally immigrate to the United States. It led to an increase in the annual percentages of immigrants from Northern and Western Europe and a decline in the percentages of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe, because it specifically allowed for the annual percentages of immigrants from Western and Northern Europe to be higher than those from Eastern and Southern Europe.

D- Louis Farrakan, the current leader of the NOI, is not known to have ever been charged with having committed a felonious crime. Robert Black was charged with murdering his wife. Phil Spector was charged with having murdered actress Lana Clarkson. Michael Jackson was charged with child molestation.

C. The Pentagon Papers were made public by Ellsberg and published in the NYT in 1971. They revealed that upper level brass was not being forthcoming about U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war.

C. Robert McNamara was Secretary of Defense 1967. Dean Rusk was Secretary of State. General Williams Westmoreland was in command of military forces in Vietnam. Henry Kissinger was called to serve as Secretary of State by Richard Nixon.

A. Shirley Chisholm, Congresswoman from New York, was the First African American women to run for president. After a gun registered in Angela Davis’s name was used during an aborted courtroom escape, the leftist African American activist was placed on the FBI’s most wanted list. She did not, however, end up serving prison time. Carol Moseley Braun served as senator. Lena Horne was a 1940’s singer.

The New Frontier was a term used by President John F. Kennedy to describe his goals and policies for the United States. Introduced during his acceptance speech at the 1960 Democratic National Convention, the New Frontier encompassed a wide range of domestic social reforms. These reforms included initiatives to improve education, provide medical care for the elderly, and address civil rights issues. Kennedy's vision aimed to promote economic growth and social progress, emphasizing innovation, exploration, and public service as key components of a vibrant and equitable society.

A. The terms culturally pluralistic do not appear in any Supreme Court judge’s opinion in the Brown v. Topeka Board of Education. From all indications, intent of the decision was not to preserve African American cultural heritage. Its intent appears to have been to make African Americans fully (socially, politically and economically) integrated members of U.S. Society – which, if achieved, could actually cause the loss of some distinctly African American linguistic and other cultural characteristics/ The decision led to more open racial conflict and hostilities in the South, as some southern Caucasians engaged in violent act of resistance to attempts to integrate schools and other public accommodation facilities. A great many Caucasians, along with a great many African African Americans, were also physically involved efforts to desegregate public schools, as well in the staging of ride-ins and sit-ins staged to integrate trains , buses, lunch counters, and other public accommodation facilities. The ride-ins, sit-ins, and attempts to desegregate schools received extensive coverage by foreign media, which is one reason Martin Luther King, Jr. was sufficiently well-known abroad to become the recipient of the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize.

On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center in New York City was first hit by American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767, not a Boeing 757 as initially mentioned. The aircraft struck the North Tower at 8:46 AM, followed by United Airlines Flight 175, another Boeing 767, which hit the South Tower at 9:03 AM. These attacks were part of a coordinated terrorist plot by the extremist group al-Qaeda. The impact and subsequent fires caused both towers to collapse, leading to significant loss of life and widespread destruction. The events of 9/11 had profound effects on global security policies and U.S. foreign and domestic policy.

A. Founded in the 1930s by Fard Muhammad its basic premise was that whites were so racist they can’t even be made aware of their racism. NOI strived for cultural and economic separation from whites. Membership efforts and influence have been weakest amongst educated, culturally assimilated, and economically secure African Americans. NOI’s leader was imprisoned during WWII for his draft evasion council.

D. America’s first female Secretary of State was Madelyn Albright, who was appointed to that position in 1997 by President Bill Clinton. Janet Reno was appointed to the office of Attorney General by President Bull Clinton (1992-2000). In 2005, Condelezza Rice became Secretary of State under newly reelected President George W. Bush.