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CHAPTER 23: AMERICA AND THE GREAT WAR, 1914–1920
Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following nations did not belong to the Central Powers?
A) Austria
B) Japan
C) Germany
D) Turkey
2. Which of the following had the greatest impact on American public opinion about World War I?
A) British propaganda
B) American newspapers
C) German propaganda
D) Canadian newspapers
3. The American recession of 1914 ended __________.
A) due to the wide variety of products purchased by the Allies
B) soon after Congress declared war on Germany
C) because the United States continued to openly trade with the Central Powers
D) after an American victory at the Argonne Forest
4. Why was the United States linked to the Allies’ cause prior to direct American involvement in the war?
A) Russia was hostile to American trade with Britain.
B) There were U.S. marines on Allied warships.
C) American banks had issued valuable loans to Allied nations.
D) Germany refused to follow the Declaration of London.
5. What was the purpose of the Declaration of London?
A) to protect nations who were neutral in military conflicts
B) to protect soldiers taken as prisoners of war
C) to protect the British navy’s presence in the Mediterranean
D) to protect English citizens who lived in Turkey and Bulgaria
6. Which of the following was an effect of German submarine warfare?
A) Americans became convinced the Allies had no chance of winning the war.
B) Many Americans felt England should surrender.
C) President Wilson threatened to break diplomatic relations with Germany.
D) The Republican Party intensified its call for neutrality.
7. How many Americans were killed when a German submarine sank the Lusitania?
A) 79
B) 128
C) 321
D) 500
8. President Wilson’s responded to the sinking of the Lusitania by __________.
A) declaring war on Germany
B) passing the Gore-McLemore resolutions
C) demanding that Germany end its submarine warfare
D) ordering the U.S. Navy to attack all German ships in the North Atlantic
9. Germany’s Sussex Pledge specifically required __________ to obey international laws regarding war.
A) Austria
B) Britain
C) France
D) Russia
10. Which of the following advocated a policy of war preparedness?
A) Theodore Roosevelt
B) Jane Addams
C) William Jennings Bryan
D) the Socialist Party
11. Why was Wilson’s campaign slogan, “He Kept Us Out of War” successful?
A) Republicans could not come up with a good responsive slogan.
B) It appealed to the popular desire for peace.
C) It was an interventionalist message.
D) It was easy to remember and fit easily on signs.
12. In winning the election of 1916, Woodrow Wilson benefited from __________.
A) the endorsement of Theodore Roosevelt
B) the belief of many voters that the Republicans were a “war party”
C) strong support in the Midwest
D) the unimportance of the war as a campaign issue
13. What was the effect of President Wilson’s order for American ships to shoot submarines on sight?
A) the public’s belief that he was not sincere in his efforts for preparedness
B) Germany’s sudden decision to sign the Sussex Pledge
C) Eugene Debs’s endorsement of American military involvement
D) the emergence of huge antiwar rallies in the United States
14. In the Zimmerman note, Germany promised __________.
A) that Mexico could regain lost territory in America if it joined the Central Powers
B) to refrain from submarine warfare, but then proceeded to sink several American ships
C) to negotiate for peace with England, but not with France or Russia
D) to follow all statutes of the anti-piracy law of 1819
15. Who was the head of the War Industries Board?
A) Claude Kitchen
B) Henry Cabot Lodge
C) Robert La Follette
D) Bernard Baruch
16. The Food Administration __________.
A) helped to raise farm incomes
B) was unpopular with most of the American public
C) did not address the need for female workers
D) was ineffective at organizing food supplies
17. Why was the War Industries Board established?
A) to draft soldiers
B) to allocate scarce materials and standardize production
C) to take over private factories for use by the government
D) to develop weapons capable of sinking German submarines
18. Which of the following was an effect of the War Industries Board’s success?
A) the rallying of progressives behind the virtues of commerce
B) antitrust laws were more stringently followed
C) big business recognized the advantages of government economic planning
D) a leveling of profits among America’s largest and smallest industries
19. What was one important effect of the collective importance of wartime agencies?
A) It reduced the profits of America’s largest corporations.
B) It set a valuable precedent for government activism in the economy.
C) It started a downturn in the number of workers in unions.
D) It caused a recession in the agricultural economy.
20. How did the war improve labor relations?
A) strikes were outlawed during the war
B) war contracts ensured fair working conditions and wages
C) the smaller labor force drove wages up
D) the female labor force during the war was willing to tolerate low wages and long hours
21. What effect did the war have on working women?
A) Women were forced to return to the home to care for their families while their husbands were
overseas.
B) Women shifted to new positions that provided better wages and benefits.
C) Women accepted reduced wages to support the war effort.
D) Women were encouraged to abandon their jobs and join the active military.
22. The women’s suffrage movement in America __________ during World War I.
A) suspended operations
B) was unable to make headway
C) made major gains
D) achieved full voting equality
23. Which of the following was true about conditions for blacks on the home front?
A) There were no job vacancies for black women.
B) Job opportunities spurred a large migration of blacks from the North to the South.
C) Blacks still faced a great deal of racial discrimination in the North.
D) Blacks were not allowed to get employment in shipyards or steel mills.
24. The East St. Louis riot that killed thirty-nine Americans __________.
A) began when angry whites attacked blacks who sought jobs
B) showed the severity of police brutality in the North
C) reflected a lack of support for an extended war effort
D) began as an antiwar rally
25. Eugene Debs was arrested and imprisoned for __________.
A) selling military secrets to the Central Powers
B) refusing to join the army after he was drafted
C) criticizing the government for limiting free speech
D) publicly expressing support for the Central Powers
26. What was the main purpose of the Espionage Act?
A) to harass and arrest leaders of the antiwar movement
B) to fund a massive intelligence operation in Europe
C) to prosecute German-American spies
D) to promote unpopular industrial regulations
27. Which of the following was a goal of the American Protective League?
A) working for the reelection of President Wilson
B) opposing women’s suffrage
C) eliminating the use of German words in American society
D) promoting state control of banks
28. Who was the leader of the American Expeditionary Force?
A) Hiram Johnson
B) Douglas MacArthur
C) John J. Pershing
D) George Creel
29. In November 1917, the provisional government in Russia was overthrown and the __________ came
to power.
A) Social Revolutionaries
B) Mensheviks
C) Bolsheviks
D) Liberals
30. In July, 1918, President Wilson agreed to send 15,000 troops to __________.
A) Norway
B) Japan
C) Turkey
D) Russia
31. Most women who served in the military during World War I were __________.
A) secretaries
B) clerks
C) cooks
D) nurses
32. Which branch of the military had the most progressive attitude with respect to women?
A) army
B) marines
C) air force
D) navy
33. What prompted the Germans to ask for peace in 1918?
A) the successful British embargo on trade with Germany
B) the defeat of the German army in the Battle of the Argonne Forest
C) President Wilson’s Fourteen Points
D) the surrender of the Russian army to Allied forces
34. The majority of Wilson’s Fourteen Points focused on __________.
A) stopping the spread of communism
B) promoting American imperialism
C) creating a League of Nations
D) creating new nations
35. The Treaty of Versailles placed sole responsibility for the start of World War I on __________.
A) Bosnia
B) Austria
C) Germany
D) Russia
36. Of the following, which gained territory as a result of World War I?
A) Germany
B) Russia
C) Turkey
D) France
37. Why did Allied leaders support the right of self-determination for the eastern European countries
formerly part of the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires?
A) These countries swore allegiance to the Allied powers against Germany.
B) These countries were anticommunist and could serve as a border to protect Europe from communist
Russia.
C) These countries promised to join the League of Nations.
D) These countries vowed to defeat the Bolsheviks in Russia.
38. What was the most significant difference between the Treaty of Versailles and Wilson’s Fourteen
Points?
A) the creation of the League of Nations
B) its willingness to redraw European borders
C) its commitment to ending secret alliances
D) the reparations imposed on Germany
39. Which of the following nations refused to approve the Versailles treaty?
A) the United States
B) Germany
C) France
D) Great Britain
40. The Irreconcilables opposed participation in the League of Nations because they __________.
A) wanted to continue a system of secret alliances
B) would not join any organization that included Germany
C) wanted no interference with American immigration laws
D) felt it would strengthen the power of imperialist nations
41. Which statement describes the American reaction to the Treaty of Versailles?
A) Senator Henry Cabot Lodge was the strongest supporter of the treaty in Congress.
B) Most Americans favored the Versailles treaty.
C) Irish-Americans celebrated the treaty’s designation of independence for Ireland.
D) The Democratic Party provided the strongest opposition against the treaty.
42. Which of the following accurately describes a “Reservationist”?
A) a progressive Republican opposed to the League of Nations because it would strengthen imperial
power
B) a moderate Democrat in favor of the League of Nations, but only if the United States controlled the
League
C) a conservative Republican who favored participation by the United States in the League of Nations.
D) a moderate Republican who opposed portions of the League of Nations proposal that eroded
congressional power
43. Which of the following occurred as a result of the three large labor strikes in 1919?
A) the alliance of the A.F.L. with the C.I.O
B) the government requiring collective bargaining
C) labor’s recognition that they could easily win strikes
D) a public backlash against unions
44. Between 1919 and 1920, an influenza outbreak killed __________ Americans.
A) 50,000
B) 400,000
C) 700,000
D) 1,000,000
45. When the Boston police went on strike, Massachusetts governor Calvin Coolidge __________.
A) gave the police a raise
B) agreed to officially recognize a policemen’s union
C) fired the striking police
D) had the national guard imprison the strikers
46. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer’s credibility was permanently harmed when __________.
A) he switched his loyalties to the Republican Party
B) he pardoned Eugene Debs
C) Congress passed laws that encouraged larger immigration from central Europe
D) his prediction of an attempted communist takeover did not come true
47. Which of the following contributed to the Red Scare?
A) Lenin’s open threats of toppling the U.S. empire
B) President Wilson’s open call for Americans to spy on other Americans
C) anti-unionists using the issue to break unions
D) the popularity of the Socialist Party in the United States
48. In the 1920 presidential election, Warren Harding called for __________.
A) America’s immediate entry into the League of Nations
B) a strong policy of government activism
C) a return to active Progressivism
D) a return to “normalcy”
49. Who was the Democratic Party candidate for president in the 1920 election?
A) Theodore Roosevelt
B) Warren Harding
C) James Cox
D) Woodrow Wilson
50. Warren Harding’s easy victory in the election of 1920 was largely due to __________.
A) the nation’s dissatisfaction with Wilson and the Democrats
B) the public’s rising support for the labor movement
C) his sharp intelligence and noble spirit
D) his strong commitment to social justice
Essay Questions
51. Analyze American foreign policy regarding World War I in the period from 1914 to April 1917. What
were the main causes of America’s eventual involvement in the war?
52. What were the consequences and long-term effects of the Committee of Public Information, the Food
Administration, and the War Industries Board?
53. Assume that it is April 1917 and write a speech regarding American involvement in World War I
from the vantage point of one of the following people: Woodrow Wilson, Eugene Debs, William Jennings
Bryan, or Theodore Roosevelt.
54. In what ways did the government effectively silence the brief emergence of dissent against American
involvement in World War I? What examples reveal the level of aggression used against those who were
suspected of disloyalty?
55. Discuss the arguments for and against American ratification of the Treaty of Versailles.
