Modern History Dates

Question 1

When did the USA successfully test the atomic bomb?

Answer 1

16th July 1945

Question 2

When did communists in Greece tried to take over the government?

Answer 2

1946

Question 3

What happened throughout 1947 - 1948?

Answer 3

The remaining countries under Soviet influence in Eastern Europe became communist

Question 4

By 1950…

Answer 4

… all the countries of Eastern Europe had communist governments and most had become satellite states of the Soviet Union

Question 5

When was the Truman Doctrine created?

Answer 5

March 1947
(helped any country resisting takeover from communists)

Question 6

What was the Truman Doctrine backed up with?

Answer 6

The Marshall Plan

(millions of dollars of aid to countries suffering from WW2)

Question 7

When was the Berlin Crisis?

Answer 7

1948-1949

Question 8

When did the Soviet Union successfully test its own atomic bomb?

Answer 8

1949

Question 9

When were Federal Loyalty Boards created?

Answer 9

March 1947

Question 10

Between 1947 and 1951…

Answer 10

… around 3 million government workers were investigated and up to 3,000 were either fired or forced to resign because they were considered to be a security risk

(no evidence of actual spying was found)

Question 11

When was HUAC set up?

Answer 11

1938

Question 12

When did HUAC start public hearings?

Answer 12

In the climate of 1947

Question 13

When was the Hollywood 10?

Answer 13

October 1947

Question 14

Hollywood 10: HUAC called…

Answer 14

… 41 writers, producers and directors for questioning about communism in Hollywood.

They named 19 people as communists and 10 were jailed for 1 year for contempt and were blacklisted

Question 15

When was the Alger Hiss trial and when was he sentenced?

Answer 15

Went to trial in 1949 and in January 1950, Hiss was sentenced to 5 years in prison for lying to the court

Question 16

When was the Rosenberg Case?

Answer 16

March 1951: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg denied all charges of spying at their trial

Evidence was weak but they were found guilty and sentenced to death - executed on 19th June 1953.

Question 17

When did Congress pass the McCarren Internal Security Act and what did it do?

Answer 17

August 1950 - made all communist organisations register with the government

Question 18

When was the McCarren Act strengthened and what did it do?

Answer 18

1952
- communists weren’t allowed US passports
- weren’t allowed to work in certain jobs
- In an emergency, anyone suspected of ‘subversion’ could be put in a detention camp without trial

Question 19

What in 1953 showed that McCarthy’s actions were popular with the majority of the American public?

Answer 19

Opinion polls in 1953

Question 20

When were the Army-McCarthy hearings?

Answer 20

1954

Question 21

What broadcasted on 9th March?

Answer 21

Ed Murrow’s ‘See It Now’ episode on McCarthy, using footage of McCarthy’s speeches and actions to criticise him

Question 22

When was McCarthy formally condemned by the Senate?

Answer 22

On 2nd December 1954, the Senate formally condemned Joseph McCarthy for ‘improper conduct’ by 67 to 22

Question 23

When was Plessy vs Ferguson?

Answer 23

1896

Question 24

When was Brown vs Topeka?

Answer 24

1954

Question 25

When was Emmett Till’s death?

Answer 25

1955

Question 26

When was Browder vs Gayle?

Answer 26

1956

Question 27

When was the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

Answer 27

1955

Question 28

When was Rosa Park’s Trial?

Answer 28

5th December 1955 - the day of the boycott

Question 29

What were the buses like on the 1st day of the boycott?

Answer 29

Nearly empty: approximately 70% of all bus passengers were African American, and around 90% of African Americans didn’t use the buses that day

CRs activists had found a useful method that could bring about change

Question 30

When was the MIA set up?

Answer 30

On the evening of the 5th December, a group set up the Montgomery Improvement Association, with MLK as chairman

Question 31

After the bus company not meeting the MIA’s demands, the boycott continued for…

Answer 31

381 days

Causing serious financial harm to the bus company

Question 32

When was MLK’s house bombed?

Answer 32

30th January

Question 33

When was the CRs Act and what did it do?

Answer 33

1957

• investigated how African Americans were prevented from voting in different places
• allowed federal courts to prosecute states who tried to prevent people from voting

Question 34

When was Little Rock?

Answer 34

1957