Post War America

One purpose of the GI Bill (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944) was to

• end racial segregation in the military
• replace the draft with an all-volunteer military
• maintain troop strength at World War II levels
• give educational aid to returning veterans

The 1957 launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union embarrassed the United States because it

• allowed the Soviets to place missiles in Turkey
• revealed that the Soviets had nuclear weapons
• appeared that the United States had failed to keep up in scientific achievement
• confirmed the United States use of U-2 spy planes

The Marshall plan was created by Secretary of State George Marshall because of the

• failure of the United Nations to help people in need
• devastation in Europe caused by fighting in World War II
• construction of the Berlin Wall by the Soviet Union
• takeover of Greece and Turkey by communists

One of the main effects of the passage of the Interstate Highway Act of 1956 was the expansion of

• ridership on long-distance passenger trains
•  immigrant populations
• communities in the suburbs
• the airline industry

Which characteristic of American life in the 1950s is illustrated in this cartoon?

•  growth of the elderly population
• effects of suburbanization
•  decreasing use of automobiles
• declining importance of the media

Which factor directly contributed to the post–World War II development of the community shown in the cartoon?

• rise in the birth rate
•  decrease in school construction
•  decline in the availability of home loans
• increase in the number of women in the labor force

The announcement of the Truman Doctrine, the Berlin airlift, and the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) were actions taken by the United States to prevent the

• renewal of Nazi fascism in Germany, Italy, and Spain
• expansion of communism into Western Europe
• starvation of refugees from Eastern Europe
•  start of an arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union

The GI Bill helped World War II veterans by

• protecting them from being recalled to duty
• guaranteeing them government jobs
• giving them several types of economic assistance
• exempting them from federal income tax

One goal of the Marshall Plan (1947) was to

• provide defensive weapons to Great Britain
• rebuild the economy of Western Europe
•  fund the construction of the iron curtain
•  bring Nazi war criminals to trial in Nuremberg

 One way the United States government reacted to the Soviet launching of Sputnik in 1957 was by

•  establishing a naval blockade of Cuba
• urging more Americans to buy war bonds
•  starting the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)
• increasing federal spending on math and science education