The Fifties: Cold War and Domestic Changes

Question 1

NSC-68 (1950)

Answer 1

A key document from the U.S. National Security Council outlining the policy of containment against Soviet expansion, advocating for a significant military buildup during the Cold War.

Question 2

Harry S. Truman

Answer 2

33rd U.S. President (1945–1953), who oversaw the end of WWII, the beginning of the Cold War, the Truman Doctrine (containment of communism), and the Marshall Plan for European recovery.

Question 3

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Answer 3

34th U.S. President (1953–1961), former WWII general, known for his “Modern Republicanism,” ending the Korean War, and navigating the early stages of the Cold War with a focus on deterrence and containment.

Question 4

John F. Kennedy

Answer 4

35th U.S. President (1961–1963), known for the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Space Race, Civil Rights advocacy, and his assassination in 1963.

Question 5

Lyndon B. Johnson

Answer 5

36th U.S. President (1963–1969), known for his Great Society programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as well as his escalation of the Vietnam War.

Question 6

Richard Nixon

Answer 6

37th U.S. President (1969–1974), responsible for opening relations with China, withdrawing from Vietnam, and resigning due to the Watergate scandal.

Question 7

Cesar Chavez

Answer 7

A labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW) and led strikes and boycotts for farmworkers’ rights, particularly for better wages and working conditions.