The Onset of the Cold War Homework

Question 1

1.	By 1947, the intense rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States was being called
A)	the iron curtain.
B)	the cold war.
C)	Communist hysteria.
D)	a postwar rivalry.

Answer 1

B) the cold war.

Question 2

2. For the Soviet Union, World War II
   A) was an economic stimulus.
   B) led to a period of isolationism.
   C) was less costly in terms of wartime casualties than the war had been for the United States.
   D) meant the loss of more than twenty million citizens, and weakened agricultural and industrial sectors.

Answer 2

D) meant the loss of more than twenty million citizens, and weakened agricultural and industrial sectors.

Question 3

3. After World War II, Joseph Stalin’s primary goal was to
   A) remilitarize Germany.
   B) partition Germany into three spheres of influence.
   C) have governments friendly to the Soviet Union on its borders in Eastern Europe.
   D) restrict Germany to an agricultural economy

Answer 3

C) have governments friendly to the Soviet Union on its borders in Eastern Europe.

Question 4

4. Joseph Stalin felt that U.S. foreign policy after World War II was hypocritical because the United States
   A) was demanding territorial integrity in Europe but not in Asia.
   B) was demanding democratic elections in Eastern Europe yet supported friendly dictatorships in Latin America.
   C) refused to support democratic nations around the globe.
   D) applied its containment policy only to the Soviets.

Answer 4

B) was demanding democratic elections in Eastern Europe yet supported friendly dictatorships in Latin America.

Question 5

5.	The author of a 1946 rationale for the U.S. foreign policy of containment was
A)	Dean Acheson.
B)	James F. Byrnes.
C)	Winston Churchill.
D)	George F. Kennan.

Answer 5

D) George F. Kennan.

Question 6

6.	The U.S. government's policy of containment was first implemented when President Truman asked Congress to send military and economic missions and $400 million in aid to
A)	Poland.
B)	Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
C)	Greece and Turkey.
D)	Bulgaria.

Answer 6

C) Greece and Turkey.

Question 7

7. European nations used most of the funds provided by the Marshall Plan to
   A) develop their own atomic bombs.
   B) stimulate their economies and buy American products.
   C) counter the spread of communism throughout Western Europe.
   D) oust oppressive, autocratic regimes.

Answer 7

B) stimulate their economies and buy American products.

Question 8

8.	To deter the Soviet Union from attacking, the  United States agreed to join Canada and Western European countries in a peacetime military alliance called the
A)	Civil Defense Commission.
B)	North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
C)	Warsaw Pact.
D)	Bretton Woods Agreement.

Answer 8

B) North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Question 9

9. Among the factors responsible for the postwar economic boom in the United States
   A) were consumer spending, defense spending, and $38 billion in grants and loans to war-torn countries which in turn purchased American products.
   B) was a steadily declining birthrate.
   C) were inflation and higher wages.
   D) None of the above

Answer 9

A) were consumer spending, defense spending, and $38 billion in grants and loans to war-torn countries which in turn purchased American products.

Question 10

10. In 1948, President Truman issued an executive order to
    A) give blacks the right to fair housing.
    B) guarantee blacks equal job opportunities.
    C) guarantee blacks equal access to public facilities.
    D) desegregate the armed services.

Answer 10

D) desegregate the armed services.

Question 11

11. African American veterans returned from overseas
    A) convinced that their civil rights could not be protected.
    B) to find a sharp decline in racial violence in the South.
    C) resolved to fight racial injustice.
    D) without the benefits of the GI Bill.

Answer 11

C) resolved to fight racial injustice.

Question 12

12. The cold war
    A) encouraged American political leaders to act aggressively to secure civil rights for African Americans.
    B) heightened American leaders’ sensitivity to racial issues.
    C) turned American political leaders against blacks’ struggle for equality.
    D) had no effect at all on race relations in the United States.

Answer 12

B) heightened American leaders’ sensitivity to racial issues.

Question 13

13. Compared with previous presidents, Harry Truman’s efforts to advance the cause of blacks’ civil rights were
    A) weak and ineffectual.
    B) bold and forward looking.
    C) consistent with Franklin Roosevelt’s ideas and practices.
    D) a step backward.

Answer 13

B) bold and forward looking.

Question 14

14. In 1945, when Harry Truman became president, he
    A. had almost no familiarity with foreign affairs.
    B. believed Joseph Stalin could be trusted.
    C. was already drawing up plans for his “Truman Doctrine.”
    D. looked to Great Britain to contain the Soviet Union.
    E. renounced the Yalta accords signed by Roosevelt.

Answer 14

A. had almost no familiarity with foreign affairs.

Question 15

15. By 1945, the Chinese government of Chiang Kai-shek had
    A. grown antagonistic toward the United States.
    B. designs on taking over conquered Japan.
    C. little popular support.
    D. drifted toward communism.
    E. willingly ceded authority to Mao Zedong.

Answer 15

C. little popular support.

Question 16

16. Beginning in 1947, the United States’ policy of “containment” was
    A. the basis for its foreign policy for more than forty years.
    B. first applied in Poland.
    C. an extension of the Atlantic Charter.
    D. both the basis for its foreign policy for more than forty years, and an extension of the Atlantic Charter.
    E. None of these answers is correct.

Answer 16

A. the basis for its foreign policy for more than forty years.

Question 17

17. In 1947, the Truman Doctrine
    A. asserted it was the obligation of the United States to support free peoples around the world.
    B. assumed the Soviet Union would continually attempt a global expansion of its authority.
    C. was initially invoked to provide aid to Greece and Turkey.
    D. both asserted it was the obligation of the United States to support free peoples around the world, and assumed the Soviet Union would continually attempt a global expansion of its authority.
    E. All these answers are correct.

Answer 17

E. All these answers are correct.

Question 18

18. The United States was motivated to develop the Marshall Plan in 1947 due to
    A. a humanitarian concern for the European people.
    B. a desire to eliminate communism in Europe.
    C. a desire to create strong European markets for American goods.
    D. All these answers are correct.

Answer 18

D. All these answers are correct.

Question 19

19. In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
    A. was created in response to the Soviet Union’s Warsaw Pact.
    B. called for a de-militarized zone across Western Europe.
    C. declared that an attack on one member nation was an attack on all.
    D. both was created in response to the Soviet Union’s Warsaw Pact, and declared that an attack on one member nation was an attack on all.
    E. All these answers are correct.

Answer 19

C. declared that an attack on one member nation was an attack on all.

Question 20

20. The 1950 National Security Council report known as NSC-68 stated
    A. Western allies must take the initiative in resisting communism in their region.
    B. the United States must resist communism anywhere it developed in the world.
    C. the defense of Western Europe was the key to winning the fight against communism.
    D. the United States must gradually increase its level of defense spending.
    E. that Chinese aggression against Taiwan would result in war.

Answer 20

B. the United States must resist communism anywhere it developed in the world.

Question 21

21. George Kennan’s Long Telegram outlined the containment policy. What actually put the policy into effect?
    a. Truman Doctrine
    b. Marshall Plan
    c. Berlin Airlift
    d. Korean War
    e. All of the above

Answer 21

a. Truman Doctrine

Question 22

22. Which statement best describes what NSC-68 called for?
    a. Patience on the part of the United States in dealing with the Soviet Union
    b. A permanent military buildup and a global application of containment
    c. Limited strategic goals, confronting the Soviets only at key industrial areas
    d. A sole reliance on nuclear weapons while demobilizing conventional forces
    e. All of the above

Answer 22

b. A permanent military buildup and a global application of containment

Question 23

23. Which civil rights measure was passed into law during Truman’s administration?
    a. Federal law against lynching
    b. Desegregation of the armed forces
    c. Establishment of a permanent federal civil rights commission
    d. Federal law against poll taxes
    e. Protection for equal access to jobs and education

Answer 23

b. Desegregation of the armed forces

Question 24

24. Which statement is true about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)?
    a. It was established in 1945, immediately after the war.
    b. The members refused to let West Germany join.
    c. The Soviet Union never responded to NATO with their own military alliance.
    d. This was one of many long-term military alliances the United States had been involved in with Europe over the years.
    e. All the members pledged mutual defense against any future Soviet attack.

Answer 24

e. All the members pledged mutual defense against any future Soviet attack.

Question 25

25. After World War II, the only nation that could rival the United States was
    a. the Soviet Union.
    b. Germany.
    c. Japan.
    d. Great Britain.
    e. France.

Answer 25

a. the Soviet Union.

Question 26

26. According to the policy of containment, as laid out by George Kennan, the
    a. Soviets could have a free hand in international affairs.
    b. United States should invade the Soviet Union.
    c. United States was committed to preventing the spread of communism.
    d. United States was committed to preventing the spread of democracy.
    e. United States accepted the right of communism to exist anywhere.

Answer 26

c. United States was committed to preventing the spread of communism.

Question 27

27. The Marshall Plan
    a. provided economic assistance to the Soviets.
    b. was a U.S.-Soviet program to rebuild Europe.
    c. offered economic assistance to noncommunist governments.
    d. was limited in scope.
    e. was largely unsuccessful.

Answer 27

b. was a U.S.-Soviet program to rebuild Europe.

Question 28

28. In 1949, Mao Zedong
    a. represented the Chinese at the United Nations.
    b. led a successful communist revolution in China.
    c. led a successful communist revolution in Taiwan.
    d. was an ally of the United States.
    e. cooperated with the Chinese nationalists.

Answer 28

b. led a successful communist revolution in China.

Question 29

29. NSC-68
    a. was directed at communist China.
    b. called for a massive reduction in U.S. military forces.
    c. called for a massive increase in U.S. military forces.
    d. was only suggested and never implemented.
    e. addressed the threat of communism at home.

Answer 29

c. called for a massive increase in U.S. military forces.

Question 30

30. Regarding civil rights, President Truman
    a. allowed Congress to set policy.
    b. favored the status quo.
    c. did nothing.
    d. desegregated the military in 1948.
    e. did not support an antilynching bill.

Answer 30

d. desegregated the military in 1948.