FSOT : United States Society Questions! Trivia Quiz
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- 1.Which of the following statements regarding the 1924 Immigration Act (often called the Johnson Act) is not true?
- A.
It placed annual limits on the number of persons who could legally immigrate to the United States.
- B.
It took away the freedom of Asians to legally immigrate to the United States.
- C.
It resulted in an increase in the percentage of immigrants from Northern and Western Europe and a decline in the percentage of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe.
- D.
It resulted in a decline in the number of immigrants to the United States from countries in the Western Hemisphere.
- 2.Which of the following 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?
- A.
The Wobblies.
- B.
The Progressives.
- C.
The Popular Front.
- D.
The National Front.
- 3.The G.I. Bill, passed in 1944, is more officially known as the:
- A.
National Security Act.
- B.
Servicemen's Readjustment Act.
- C.
National Industrial Recovery Act.
- D.
Johnson Act.
- 4.Which of the following was not present at the Yalta Conference?
- A.
Franklin Roosevelt.
- B.
Winston Churchill.
- C.
Charles De Gaulle.
- D.
Josef Stalin.
- 5.In 1950, communist-backed forces went from__________ to ___________, promoting the United States to call for a United Nations sanction against the invasion.
- A.
Cuba to Panama.
- B.
China to Tibet.
- C.
The Soviet Union to Poland.
- D.
North Korea to South Korea.
- 6._____________ was President of the United States during the economic panic of 1929 that led to the Great Depression of the 1930s.
- A.
Hoover.
- B.
Harding.
- C.
Roosevelt.
- D.
Coolidge.
- 7.__________ is the only person to have served as both vice-president and president of the United States without having been elected to either office.
- A.
Chester A. Arthur.
- B.
Theodore Roosevelt.
- C.
Calvin Coolidge.
- D.
Gerald Ford.
- 8.Which of the following prohibited the manufacture, sale, transportation, import and export of intoxicating liquor?
- A.
The 18th Amendment.
- B.
The 19th Amendment.
- C.
The 20th Amendment.
- D.
The Wagner Act.
- 9.Which of the following is not true?
- A.
Before 1914, there were no legal controls or restrictions on the sale of opium or heroin.
- B.
Cocaine was an ingredient in early 20th century bottled Coca-Cola.
- C.
Before 1914, in most states, alcohol could be legally sold to persons younger than 14 years old.
- D.
Before the 1930s, there were no legal controls or restrictions on the use or possession of marijuana.
- 10.Which of the following, regarding the CIA, is false?
- A.
It was created in response to the threat of a communist takeover of Greece and Turkey.
- B.
It was an outgrowth of the American policy of containment.
- C.
It was created during the presidency of Harry Truman.
- D.
It was created in response to the Soviet Union's launching of Sputnik.
- 11.The ______________ were a husband and wife team convicted of espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union.
- A.
Chambers.
- B.
Whittakers.
- C.
Rosenbergs.
- D.
Hisses.
- 12.Which of the following is not true?
- A.
By the mid-1950s, R&B (rhythm and blues) had become widely popular among white youth and was banned on some radio stations in the South and other parts of the United States.
- B.
During the mid-1950s, R&B was picked up and fused with country music by Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, and other white artists.
- C.
During the 1950s and 1960s, black artists more commonly covered (that is, recorded) songs first recorded by white performers that did white performers cover songs first recorded by black artists.
- D.
To call a song an R&B song today tells us much less about the race or ethnicity of the artist than it did during the 1950s.
- 13.The Berlin Wall was in existence from:
- A.
1959 to 1988.
- B.
1961 to 1989.
- C.
1963 to 1989.
- D.
1961 to 1991.
- 14.The New Frontier was a plan for domestic social reform put forth during the presidential administration of:
- A.
Theodore Roosevelt.
- B.
John F. Kennedy.
- C.
Lyndon B. Johnson.
- D.
Ronald Reagan.
- 15.______________ put forth the creation of The Great Society as one of the goals of his administration.
- A.
Theodore Roosevelt.
- B.
Franklin Roosevelt.
- C.
John F. Kennedy.
- D.
Lyndon B. Johnson.
- 16.The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 ended when Secretary General of the Communist Party of the USSR, _____________, finally agreed to remove nuclear missiles from Cuba under U.N. supervision.
- A.
Malenkov.
- B.
Krushchev.
- C.
Brezhnev.
- D.
Andropov.
- 17.President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November of:
- A.
1962.
- B.
1963.
- C.
1964.
- D.
1965.
- 18._______________ invented the first effective polio vaccine.
- A.
Jonas Salk.
- B.
Albert Sabin.
- C.
Wallace Sabin.
- D.
Margaret Sanger.
- 19.The Feminine Mystique, published in 1963, was written by:
- A.
Betty Friedan.
- B.
Bell Hooks.
- C.
Patricia Hill Collins.
- D.
Gloria Steinem.
- 20._______________, a Democrat from Arkansas, was the first woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate.
- A.
Susan B. Anthony.
- B.
Francis Perkins.
- C.
Hattie Wyatt Caraway.
- D.
Margaret Chase Smith.
- 21.Which of the following, regarding the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) is not true?
- A.
They begin in 1969.
- B.
The countries involved were the United States and USSR.
- C.
They ushered in a period of detente between the countries involved.
- D.
They ceased to be held after the election of Richard Nixon.
- 22.The U.S. Secretary of Defense in 1967 was
- A.
Dean Rusk.
- B.
William Westmoreland.
- C.
Robert McNamara.
- D.
Henry Kissinger.
- 23.______________ was the first African American woman to run for president of the United States.
- A.
Shirley Chisholm.
- B.
Angela Davis.
- C.
Carol Moseley Braun.
- D.
Lena Horne.
- 24.The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade followed from Norma McCorvey's lawsuit against the state of ___________ for denying her the right to have an abortion.
- A.
California.
- B.
Texas.
- C.
Georgia.
- D.
Mississippi.
- 25.Which of the following regarding the Pentagon Papers is not true?
- A.
The were made public by Daniel Ellsberg.
- B.
There were published in 1978.
- C.
They were first published by the New York Times.
- D.
They revealed that U.S. political and military leaders had been less than totally honest in their reports concerning the progress of the Vietnam War.
- 26.The five burglars of the Watergate Hotel (1972) were attempting to
- A.
Remove fingerprints.
- B.
Plant false documents.
- C.
Steal documents.
- D.
Bug telephones.
- 27.In 1979, the U.S. embassy in ______________ was stormed and 90 hostages were taken.
- A.
Iran.
- B.
Iraq.
- C.
Pakistan.
- D.
Kenya.
- 28.Operation Desert Storm began when invaders refused to withdrawal from ____________
- A.
Iraq.
- B.
Iran.
- C.
Afghanistan.
- D.
Kuwait.
- 29.In 1993, U.S. Black Hawk helicopters flew over ________________, which is located in Somalia.
- A.
Abijan.
- B.
Mogadishu.
- C.
Lagos.
- D.
Soweto.
- 30.The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing caused the most extensive damage to a
- A.
Federal office building.
- B.
U.S. Postal Office building.
- C.
Hospital.
- D.
High school.
- 31.On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center in New York City was first hit by a
- A.
Boeing 707.
- B.
Boeing 737.
- C.
Boeing 747.
- D.
Boeing 757.
- 32.Enron was based in which Texas city?
- A.
Dallas.
- B.
Fort Worth.
- C.
Houston.
- D.
San Antonio.
- 33.Which of the following translates in English as "Holy War"?
- A.
Diaspora.
- B.
Coup d'etat.
- C.
Jihad.
- D.
Ramadan
- 34.In December 2004, all of the following countries suffered extensive property damage and loss of human life from the effects of an earthquake-generated tsunami, except.
- A.
Sri Lanka.
- B.
Sumatra.
- C.
The Philippines.
- D.
India.
- 35.America's first computer network was designed by
- A.
The U.S. Department of Education.
- B.
The U.S. Department of Defense.
- C.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
- D.
A group of Massachusetts Institute of Technology math and physics professors.
- 36.America's first female Secretary of State was
- A.
Margaret Chase Smith.
- B.
Janet Reno.
- C.
Madelyn Albright.
- D.
Condoleezza Rice.
- 37.Which of the following is not a signatory of the Kyoto Protocols mandating caps on the emission of greenhouse gases within the United States and Europe?
- A.
France.
- B.
Great Britain.
- C.
Sweden.
- D.
The United States.
- 38.Which of the following well-known Americans is not publicly known to have ever been charged with having committed a felonious crime?
- A.
Michael Jackson.
- B.
Robert Blake.
- C.
Phil Spector.
- D.
Louis Farrakhan.
- 39.______________ constitute America's largest racial/ethnic minority group.
- A.
Hispanics.
- B.
African-Americans.
- C.
Asian Americans.
- D.
Native Americans.
- 40.Megan's Law requires that officers of the law and members of communities into which a ___________ moves be given advanced notification.
- A.
Serial murderer.
- B.
Sex offender.
- C.
Person on house arrest.
- D.
Person on community release.
- 41._________________ constitute the largest Hispanic group in the United States.
- A.
Brazilian Americans.
- B.
Cuban Americans.
- C.
Mexican Americans.
- D.
Puerto Rican Americans.
- 42.Which of the following, regarding the Nation of Islam, also known as Black Muslims, is not true?
- A.
It was brought into existence on the belief that the best way to attain justice for African Americans was to do everything possible to make Caucasians more aware of the immorality and unjustness of racial prejudice and discrimination.
- B.
Its leaders have consistently advocated self-defense, self-help, and economic self-sufficiency for African Americans.
- C.
During World War II, its leader (Elijah Muhammad) was imprisoned for counseling his followers not to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces.
- D.
Its membership recruitment efforts -- and consequently, its influence -- have always been strongest and most successful among the least educated, culturally assimilated, and economically secure African Americans.
- 43.Which of the following, regarding the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, is not true?
- A.
Its main objective was to put the United States on a path that would lead to the creation of a truly culturally pluralistic society.
- B.
It led to more open racial conflict and hostility in the South.
- C.
Attempts to implement it brought American race relations to the forefront as both a national and international issue.
- D.
Attempts to implement it involved a great many Caucasians in efforts to desegregate public schools, as well as in the staging of ride-ins, sit-ins, and voter registration drives.
- 44.Unreasonable searches and seizures are prohibited by which of the following amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
- A.
1st.
- B.
2nd.
- C.
4th.
- D.
13th.
- 45.Tobacco was first brought back to Europe from America by
- A.
Christopher Columbus.
- B.
Sir Walter Raleigh.
- C.
Captain John Smith.
- D.
Lord Baltimore.
- 46.The first permanent English settlement in the New World was
- A.
Jamestown.
- B.
Plymouth.
- C.
Roanoke Island.
- D.
Concord.
- 47.The first group of Puritan separatists (from the Church of England) to land in what is now Massachusetts and establish the Plymouth Colony in 1620 were the
- A.
Antidisestablishmenterians.
- B.
Mennonites.
- C.
Pilgrims.
- D.
Quakers.
- 48.Historians generally agree that the first Africans brought to the Americas arrived in 1619 on a ____________ ship.
- A.
Dutch.
- B.
Portuguese.
- C.
British.
- D.
French.
- 49.In 1836, after being banished from Massachusetts due to his advocacy for greater religious freedom, Puritan minister _______________ went south, where he established the first settlement in what is now Rhode Island.
- A.
John Winthrop.
- B.
Roger Conant.
- C.
Roger Williams.
- D.
Thomas Hooker.
- 50.Which of the following churches traces its origins back to the Puritans?
- A.
Prebyterian.
- B.
Episcopal.
- C.
Methodist.
- D.
Congregationalist.
- 51._______________ was the first U.S. president to be born after the United States declared its independence from Britain.
- A.
Thomas Jefferson.
- B.
George Washington.
- C.
Andrew Jackson.
- D.
Martin Van Buren.
- 52.
- A.
Alexander Hamilton was one of their early leaders.
- B.
They stood as representatives and supporters of urban mercantile interests.
- C.
They were in favor of the establishment of a national bank.
- D.
They were in favor of the establishment of a strong central government.
- 53.During the War of 1812, British troops burned down the city of
- A.
Philadelphia.
- B.
Boston.
- C.
Hartford.
- D.
Washington.
- 54.Which of the following regarding President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation is not true?
- A.
It gave rise to the Civil War, causing eleven states to secede from the Union and form the Confederate States of America.
- B.
The only slaves it freed were those residing in the states that seceded from the Union.
- C.
It was one of the precipitators of the New York City draft riots.
- D.
It helped prevent Britain and France from intervening in the American Civil War on the side of the Confederacy.
- 55.One of the results of the Bargain of 1876 was that
- A.
Ulysses S. Grant became president of the United States.
- B.
Rutherford B. Hayes became president of the United States.
- C.
Chester A. Arthur became president of the United States.
- D.
James A. Garfield became president of the United States.
- 56.Which of the following, regarding 19th century American Social Darwinists, such as Herbert Spencer and John Fiske, is not true?
- A.
They believed that native intellectual abilities varied among individuals, but not among "races."
- B.
They believed that a laissez-faire economic system provided equality of opportunity and guaranteed the survival of the fittest.
- C.
They believed that wealthy industrialists contributed more to society than did relatively poor, unskilled workers.
- D.
William Graham Sumner was also one of their most influential spokespersons.
- 57.Which of the following regarding 19th century Populists is not true?
- A.
The viewed both the Democratic and Republican parties as servants of the monopolists and finance capitalists.
- B.
They saw themselves as representatives of farmers and agricultural workers, as well as factory workers.
- C.
By the 1890s, their leaders were supportive of efforts to disenfranchise African Americans and of laws mandating racial segregation.
- D.
They believed that America's laissez-faire economic system provided equal opportunity for white Americans, but not for non-white minorities.
- 58.Which of the following U.S. Supreme Court decisions gave legitimacy to separate but equal schools and other public accommodation facilities?
- A.
Marbury v. Madison.
- B.
The Dread Scott decision.
- C.
Plessy v. Ferguson.
- D.
Myers v. United States
- 59.Which of the following, regarding the No-Nothings, is not true?
- A.
They wanted to restrict the immigration of Catholics into America.
- B.
They were supporters of the back-to-Africa movement.
- C.
In 1856, they ran former president of the United States, Millard Fillmore, as their candidate for president.
- D.
They believed in the superiority of a white, Anglo-Saxon culture.
- 60._______________ was president of the United States in 1883, when Congress passed the Pendleton Act, thereby establishing a Civil Service Commission to administer a merit-based U.S. Civil Service.
- A.
Rutherford B. Hayes.
- B.
James A. Garfield.
- C.
Chester A. Arthur.
- D.
Grover Cleveland.
- 61.Which of the following did not occur as a result of the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848?
- A.
The United States acquired approximately one-third of its present mainland territory.
- B.
The United States paid Mexico officials approximately $15 million in gold.
- C.
Former Mexican nationals on the land taken over by the United States were given the option of becoming U.S. citizens.
- D.
Former Mexican nationals on the land taken over by the United States were granted the right to be educated in Spanish.
- 62.In order to protect them from formal legal discrimination on the basis of race, in 1917 President Wilson issued a presidential decree designating _______________ as caucasian.
- A.
Puerton Ricans.
- B.
Mexicans.
- C.
Cubans.
- D.
Filipinos.
- 63.The American film industry rose to a position of world dominance, producing more than half of all films shown in the world, during
- A.
The decade before the beginning of World War II.
- B.
World War I.
- C.
The 1920s.
- D.
The decade after World War II.
- 64.The ______________ raids, launched in response to the Red Scare of the 1920s, were so-called because they were authorized and overseen by U.S. Attorney General ______________
- A.
Wendell Willkie.
- B.
John Mitchell.
- C.
John J. Pershing.
- D.
Mitchell Palmer.
- 65.According to statistics released in 2005, ______________ is now the leading cause of death of Americans under 85 years of age.
- A.
Heart disease.
- B.
Cancer.
- C.
Alzheimer's disease.
- D.
Emphysema.
- 66.Approximately ____________ of all American students who began their first year of college do not return to begin their second year of college.
- A.
One-half.
- B.
One-third.
- C.
One-fourth.
- D.
One-eighth.
- 67.Which of the following is the first Latino to serve as U.S. Attorney General?
- A.
Cesar Chavez.
- B.
Alberto Gonzales.
- C.
Orlando Cepeda.
- D.
Vicente Fox.
- 68._____________ was the first state to abolish slavery.
- A.
Massachusetts.
- B.
Rhode Island.
- C.
Pennsylvania.
- D.
Vermont.
- 69.On February 1, 2003, the NASA space shuttle _______________ exploded over the state of Texas as it returned to Earth, killing all seven astronauts on board.
- A.
Columbia.
- B.
Challenger.
- C.
Intrepid.
- D.
Sputnik.
- 70.There is a nuclear weapons laboratory located in all but which of the following cities?
- A.
Los Alamos, California.
- B.
Sandia, New Mexico.
- C.
Livermore, California.
- D.
Lodge Pole, Nebraska
- 71.Which of the following, regarding present-day members of the Amish Americans is not true?
- A.
They are direct descendants of the Anabaptists of 16th century Europe.
- B.
They are largely of Scottish extraction.
- C.
They began arriving in America during the early 18th century.
- D.
At present the largest numbers reside in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
- 72.Which of the following American artists (that is, painters) is generally recognized as one of the initiators of action painting or Abstract Expressionism?
- A.
Jackson Pollock.
- B.
Jan Vermeer van Delft.
- C.
John Singleton Copley.
- D.
Matthew Paris.
- 73.America's major television networks rely primarily on the ______________ ratings to determine the size and demographic characteristics of their national telecast television programs.
- A.
Nielsen.
- B.
Arbitron.
- C.
Gallup.
- D.
Field.
- 74.According to recent U.S. Census data, which of the following is not true?
- A.
The number of women enrolled at four-year colleges is now larger than the number of men enrolled at four-year colleges.
- B.
During the past few years, more men than women received associate's (two-year college) degrees.
- C.
During the past few years women have received more master's degrees than have men.
- D.
During the past few years, the number of men who earned degrees in engineering and the physical sciences outnumbered the number of women who earned degrees in these fields.
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