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CHAPTER 28: THE CONFIDENT YEARS, 1953–1964
Multiple Choice
1. Ronald Reagan, like many Americans, believed that the country would thrive if __________.
A) free enterprise was encouraged and supported
B) the government would more actively regulate the economy
C) nuclear weapons were used against eastern Europe
D) the president extended New Deal reforms
2. Between 1950 and 1964, the American economy __________.
A) grew at a consistent pace
B) experienced sluggish growth and decline
C) experienced a depression
D) solved the problems of poverty
3. The congressional policy of termination provided one-time payments, but little else, to __________.
A) blacks
B) women
C) Native Americans
D) Latinos
4. A key to Dwight Eisenhower’s political success was his __________.
A) close ties with Harry Truman
B) positive image with both liberals and conservatives
C) promise to undo New Deal reforms
D) belief that free trade was harming the economy
5. In 1954, Congress focused its housing policy on __________.
A) urban renewal
B) family farms
C) better housing for blacks
D) building shopping malls
6. Which statement about urban renewal from 1954 to 1964 is true?
A) Rundown housing was often destroyed and replaced by upper-class businesses.
B) Housing problems for the poor were solved in the North.
C) Small farmers also benefited from federal urban renewal funds.
D) Conservatives used urban renewal to attack the awful level of poverty.
7. The Eisenhower administration used “New Deal-style” government spending in modernizing
__________.
A) the American medical system
B) the Civilian Conservation Corps
C) the national highway system
D) environmental protection methods
8. Changes in the domestic economy during the 1950s included __________.
A) a decrease in the number of franchise businesses
B) consumers becoming more reluctant to buy on credit
C) a shrinking of the middle class
D) consumers buying more commodities on credit
9. In which of the following years was the percentage of working women to all women the highest?
A) 1950
B) 1965
C) 1975
D) 1990
10. Situation-comedy television shows of the 1950s portrayed American families as __________.
A) unimportant in American culture
B) white, polite, and happy
C) including two parents who worked in the professions
D) troubled and full of conflict
11. The stay-at-home mom trend continued in the 1950s, and women __________.
A) had larger families than in previous decades
B) and men enjoyed more egalitarian relationships
C) found renewed fulfillment in the domestic realm
D) gave up some of their earlier educational gains
12. Which of the following was the largest Protestant denomination by the end of the 1950s?
A) Presbyterian
B) Methodist
C) Southern Baptist
D) Anglican
13. The success of films such as The Robe and Ben Hur __________.
A) indicated a new tendency to like films that were less than an hour in length
B) illustrated that moviegoers preferred comedies with light themes
C) reflected a renewed public interest in organized religion
D) revealed that the American film industry was in decline
14. In 1952 alone, there were __________ new cases of polio.
A) 70,000
B) 58,000
C) 43,000
D) 38,000
15. An effective vaccine for polio __________.
A) has not yet been developed
B) was one of the triumphs of the 1930s
C) was developed in 1955
D) was developed through federally funded research in the 1980s
16. Dwight Eisenhower did which of the following during his two-term presidency?
A) agree to dismantle successful New Deal programs
B) downsize the American military while avoiding war
C) place more emphasis on domestic reforms than foreign affairs
D) delegate authority through a “hidden-hand” presidential style
17. During the Eisenhower administration, official American policy for a Soviet attack on western Europe
called for __________.
A) massive nuclear retaliation against the Soviet Union
B) response with conventional military forces
C) intense negotiations mediated by the United Nations
D) western Europe to defend itself, with the United States supplying financial aid
18. Which of the following was an effect of the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik?
A) Many Americans believed that Sputnik’s inferior quality revealed American superiority.
B) Russian schools placed stronger emphasis on math and science courses.
C) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was defunded by Congress.
D) Congress supported college and post-graduate study with the National Defense Education Act.
19. One trend in governmental spending during the 1950s was __________.
A) cutting all social reform programs
B) a significant increase in defense spending
C) providing no new educational programs
D) a lack of funding for containment efforts
20. In which of the following years was defense spending as a percentage of gross national product the
highest?
A) 1950
B) 1955
C) 1975
D) 1997
21. Which of the following was a member of SEATO?
A) Egypt
B) India
C) the Philippines
D) Laos
22. Why did the United States initiate a series of defense pacts with other nations in the 1960s?
A) to prevent another world war
B) to control nuclear development
C) to strengthen the American economy
D) to stop the spread of communism
23. In 1956, the Soviet Union used military force to suppress an uprising in __________.
A) North Korea
B) Greece
C) Hungary
D) Egypt
24. One of the pitfalls of the U.S. policy of containment was that it __________.
A) weakened relations with Great Britain
B) often caused America to support undemocratic regimes
C) caused a debilitating recession in the mid-1960s
D) closed American markets in western Europe
25. During the Eisenhower presidency, disarmament was set back for years after __________.
A) the Soviet Union installed offensive nuclear weapons in Cuba
B) Eisenhower committed 500,000 American troops to Vietnam
C) the United States refused to apologize for the use of U-2 spy planes
D) the Soviet Union was left out of the Warsaw Pact agreement
26. John Kennedy’s New Frontier focused on __________.
A) providing tax breaks for poor Americans
B) creating a new era of scientific and social progress
C) reforming the nation’s medical system
D) rebuilding the nation’s transportation infrastructure
27. A major factor in John Kennedy’s victory in the election of 1960 was __________.
A) Richard Nixon’s lack of political experience
B) the decision by both candidates to avoid televised debates
C) Kennedy’s charismatic charm and wit
D) Dwight Eisenhower’s aggressive support for Kennedy
28. In the incident at the Bay of Pigs, the United States __________.
A) failed to overthrow Fidel Castro with a CIA-backed invasion
B) toppled the regime of Ngo Dinh Diem
C) threatened to use atomic weapons against Communists in southeast Asia
D) showed that its policy regarding communism was now more tolerant
29. The Viet Cong __________.
A) benefited from the financial backing of the United States
B) gained strength as insurgents in the Vietnamese countryside
C) helped the United States establish a policy of containment in Vietnam
D) earned little support for their cause in South Vietnam
30. The Cuban Missile Crisis began when __________.
A) President Johnson escalated the use of ground troops in southeast Asia
B) the U.S.S. Maddox was hit by Communist fire in the Gulf of Tonkin
C) the United States discovered that the Soviet Union was installing offensive nuclear weapons in Cuba
D) the United States refused to back rebel forces in Hungary
31. President Kennedy’s main strategy in dealing with the Cuban Missile Crisis was __________.
A) sending more troops to face Communist forces on the 17th parallel
B) imposing a naval blockade around Cuba until the crisis was resolved
C) ordering the construction of new Jupiter missiles in Turkey
D) conducting secret diplomacy without telling the public about the threat
32. The Limited Test Ban Treaty __________.
A) was rejected by President Kennedy
B) was co-signed by China and France
C) provided for on-site inspection of Soviet missile sites
D) outlawed nuclear testing in the atmosphere and outer space
33. In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that __________.
A) President Kennedy had to protect James Meredith’s entry to the University of Mississippi
B) segregation in public schools was unconstitutional
C) segregation was constitutional as long as facilities were equal
D) segregation of public schools should be determined by state governments
34. In Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957, __________.
A) Martin Luther King gave his famous “I Have a Dream Speech”
B) Rosa Parks refused to follow the rules of segregated public transportation
C) the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was created
D) federal troops ensured the safety of black students from angry white mobs
35. The young, charismatic leader of the successful Montgomery bus strike was __________.
A) Stokely Carmichael
B) Malcolm X
C) Martin Luther King Jr.
D) Bob Moses
36. Martin Luther King Jr. was the founder of the __________.
A) Southern Christian Leadership Conference
B) National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
C) Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee
D) Congress of Racial Equality
37. In February 1960, four black college students began a trend toward mass involvement in __________.
A) the Albany Movement
B) violent civil disobedience
C) lunch counter sit-ins
D) nationwide bus boycotts
38. The Freedom Riders __________.
A) brought their message of equality to urban ghettos of the North
B) received little attention from the Kennedy administration
C) challenged the segregation of interstate bus terminals
D) rejected biracial organization in protests against segregation
39. Methods used by blacks in winning the Montgomery bus strike included __________.
A) riots in certain sections of Montgomery
B) the use of car pools despite police harassment
C) hunger strikes
D) asking federal troops to take control of the city
40. In 1963, many Americans were sickened by __________.
A) the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
B) the behavior of whites as black students attempted to enter a school in Little Rock, Arkansas
C) accounts of massacres of civilians in the remote regions of South Vietnam
D) violence committed by authorities against civil rights activists in Birmingham, Alabama
41. Which statement about the March on Washington of 1963 is true?
A) It began a period of uninterrupted unity within the civil rights movement.
B) It had little impact on the civil rights movement.
C) A biracial crowd of approximately 250,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial.
D) Martin Luther King’s famous speech was not televised.
42. Who was sworn in as president immediately after John Kennedy’s death?
A) Dwight Eisenhower
B) Lyndon Johnson
C) Gerald Ford
D) Richard Nixon
43. In what year were poverty rates the highest?
A) 1960
B) 1970
C) 1980
D) 1990
44. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 __________.
A) prohibited segregation in public facilities
B) was defeated in the House of Representatives
C) was not backed by Lyndon Johnson
D) guaranteed blacks the right to vote
45. During the Freedom Summer, __________.
A) students marched to Washington, D.C., to protest the Vietnam War
B) black and white activists registered black voters in Mississippi
C) activists were not victimized by violence
D) Sheriff Bull Connor ordered that dogs should be used against civil rights marchers
46. Prior to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 __________.
A) northern blacks had not been allowed to vote in city elections
B) Lyndon Johnson had not been a strong advocate of civil rights legislation
C) the Republican Party had been the lone supporter of civil rights
D) the vast majority of blacks in the South were denied the right to vote
47. In 1964, Barry Goldwater __________.
A) lost a close election to Lyndon Johnson
B) called for aggressive confrontation with communism
C) represented the moderate wing of the Republican Party
D) was the governor of Arizona
48. The passage of Great Society programs was made possible primarily by __________.
A) a series of favorable Supreme Court rulings on their potential constitutionality
B) the support of many moderate Republicans
C) the support of nearly all southern Democrats
D) the large majorities Democrats gained in Congress in the 1964 elections
49. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution __________.
A) declared the official end of the Korean War
B) resulted in the resignation of Richard Nixon
C) caused the Soviet Union to dismantle its nuclear missiles in Cuba
D) gave President Johnson the power to wage undeclared war in Vietnam
50. Lyndon Johnson was responsible for the creation of which of the following?
A) the Alliance for Progress
B) the Peace Corps
C) Medicare
D) the Federal Highway Act
Essay Questions
51. How did the economic prosperity of the 1950s and early 1960s shape social and political life in the
United States?
52. Describe the ways in which both Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson furthered the legacy and
reforms of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.
53. Discuss the role of containment in American foreign policy during the period 1950–1965. Was the
overall effect of containment beneficial or harmful to the goals and ideals of the United States?
54. In what ways did John Kennedy’s mystique shape the national mood of the early 1960s? What
successes and failures did JFK experience as president? How did his combination of idealism and
shrewdness affect the rest of the 1960s?
55. What characteristics and organizations defined the nonviolent movement to achieve civil rights in the
period 1954–1965? What successes were achieved in this period? Describe who you believe were the
most successful leaders of these successes.
