U.S. History Standards Questions: Cold War

1. By entering into the NATO alliance, the United States committed itself militarily to safeguarding Europe. Which of the following best explains why the United States did this?

Principally to defend against possible communist aggression

Principally to allow Eastern Europe to rebuild after the war

Principally to intimidate Western European countries

Because of the “space race”

2. President Truman sent American troops to South Korea in 1950 as part of his “containment policy.” What did Truman’s policy seek to contain?

South Korea

Soviet Union

The spread of communism

War in South Korea

3. The notion that “mutual assured destruction” would prevent an outbreak of world war was possible only because of which of the following?

Nuclear weapons

The Space Race

The Bay of Pigs

The Truman Doctrine

4. President Kennedy channeled much aid to Latin American countries, striving to create a “free and prosperous Latin America” and to accomplish which of the following?

To push Latin American countries to embrace communism

To deter Latin American countries from embracing communism

To influence Latin American countries to attack Cuba

To influence Latin American countries to defend Cuba

5. United States foreign policy during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s is best summed up by which of the following terms?

Disarmament

Containment

Liberalism

National security

6. Why did the United States plan the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba?

They feared an imminent Soviet invasion of Cuba.

They feared an imminent Cuban invasion of the United States.

They feared the Soviets would use Cuba as a base to spread communism in the West.

The Soviets feared the United States would eventually plan an invasion of Cuba.

7. The Marshall plan poured billions of dollars into Western Europe after World War II to help restore and rebuild the economies of nations there. This economic plan, partnered with which of the following, was essential to the containment of communism in Europe after 1945?

Monroe Doctrine

Eisenhower Doctrine

Truman Doctrine

Berlin Wall Doctrine

8. The creation of the Federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany, in 1948 and the division of the city of Berlin represented which of the following?

End of the Cold War

Onset of the Cold War

“domino theory” of communist aggression

Build up of the military-industrial complex

9. Which of the following was the primary reason behind the creation of the United Nations and the UN Security Council?

They were the only safeguard against future Japanese aggression.

Only an American political organization could prevent another world war.

Only an international political organization could prevent another world war.

Only the establishment of an independent Jewish state could prevent another world war.

10. Which statement best defines Great Britain’s role as President Truman and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin faced off in the Cold War years following World War II?

Great Britain’s role as a world leader increased in the Cold War era.

Great Britain aligned itself with the Soviet Union and fell out of favor with the United States.

Great Britain’s role as a world leader decreased in the Cold War era.

Great Britain stepped up the imperial policies it had begun in the nineteenth century during the Cold War.

11. Post World War II affluence in American society contributed to which of the following phenomena?

The disappearance of the family farm

The increase of “white-collar” jobs

Sharp decline in housing and birth rates

Women returning to the workforce in unprecedented numbers

12. When leaving office in 1962, President Eisenhower warned Americans to beware the huge political influence of the so-called military-industrial complex. The build up that had led to this military-industrial complex primarily resulted from which of the following?

World War II

The Korean War

The Vietnam War

The Cold War

13. Which of the statements about the antiwar movement in the United States during the Vietnam War is correct?

The antiwar movement was in responset to U.S. foreign policy but had negligible effect on it.

The antiwar movement was independent of U.S. foreign policy and had negligible effect on it.

The antiwar movement was in response to U.S. foreign policy and had significant effect on it.

The total failure of the antiwar movement effectively ended civilian protest of U.S. foreign policy in the United States.

14. Which of the following actions by President Truman demonstrates his support of organized labor in the United States?

His backing of coal mine owners against striking miners

His vetoing of the Taft-Hartley Act

His threatening to draft striking railroad workers into the army

All of the above

15. Which of the following resulted directly from the Cold War?

The House Un-American Activities Committee

Atomic missile testing

The Bay of Pigs invasion

The Great Society

16. Which of the following best characterizes the two administrations of President Dwight D. Eisenhower?

“Dynamic conservatism” led to the creation of a welfare state.

“Dynamic conservatism” led to the creation of the Great Society.

The nation failed to successfully transition from a wartime to a peacetime economy.

The nation successfully transitioned from a wartime to a peacetime economy.

17. Which of the following exercises of presidential authority was President Kennedy’s response to Cold War pressures?

Expansion of Green Berets special military forces

Increased aid to Latin American countries

Creation of the Peace Corps

All of the above

18. The Truman Doctrine, which purported to defend free people from subjugation by outside pressure, in fact produced which of the following?

The end of the Cold War

The end of the Korean War

The groundwork for the Korean War

The groundwork for the Cold War

19. Which of the following statements best describes the end of the Cold War?

The Reagan administration’s military build up and the Star Wars program forced the Soviet Union to surrender.

Aggressive Reagan administration policies along with a Soviet military build-up resulted in a stalemate.

The economic model presented to Eastern Europe by the U.S. in the 1980s led to the collapse of communism worldwide.

20. Which of the following statements about the Vietnam War and citizen protest is correct?

For the first time during the Vietnam War, U.S. citizens questioned and protested government policies.

For the first time during the Vietnam War, U.S. citizens questioned and protested the nation’s involvement in a war.

For the first time during the Vietnam War, a majority of U.S. citizens publicly supported communism.