STAAR US History Questions: Early Cold War (Updated)

Which action best explains the differences shown in these photographs?

• The United States gave economic assistance through the Marshall Plan.

• The United States and the Soviet Union created an alliance after World War II.

• U.S. leaders created the United Nations.

• The Soviet Union established the “Iron Curtain” after World War II.

Which statement correctly completes this timeline?

• The Allied powers divide Germany and Berlin into four sectors.

• German citizens vote to reunite East and West Germany.

• The United States and Great Britain airlift supplies to West Berlin.

• The United Nations sends troops into Eastern Europe.

What prompted the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) to target the “Hollywood Ten”?

• Support for American isolationism in the years leading up to World War II.

• Increased political pressure from racial groups regarding civil rights legislation.

• Growing anxiety related to the economic effects of the Great Depression.

• Fear of communist infiltration within the American entertainment industry.

The launch of Sputnik I intensified Cold War tensions and caused the —

• United States to increase spending on technology and weapons to compete with the Soviet Union.

• Soviet Union to move missiles and warships to Cuba in order to threaten the United States.

• United States to send troops and aid to East Berlin to free it from Soviet control.

• Soviet Union to threaten Europe with nuclear attack if Soviet airspace were violated.

In this excerpt, McCarthy is attempting to incite fear about —

• Japanese Americans confined in internment camps.

• Organizers of the Civil Rights movement.

• Accomplices in the Watergate scandal.

• Members of the Communist Party in government positions.

Which action caused the United States to engage in a “police action” on the Korean Peninsula in 1950?

• The collapse of South Korea’s democratic government.

• The assassination of North Korea’s political leader.

• South Korea’s blockade of North Korea.

• North Korea’s invasion of South Korea.

The Korean War was an effort by the United States to —

• Carry out its policy of containing the spread of communism.

• Keep its economy strong by maintaining wartime activities.

• Secure additional Asian trading partners.

• Extend the principles of the Marshall Plan to Asia.

Which policy guided U.S. opposition to this declaration?

• Containment.

• Peaceful coexistence.

• Constructive engagement.

• Deterrence.

Which occurrence was a result of the shift in the number of births that began in 1946?

• The decline of family farming.

• The spread of new diseases.

• The growth of the suburbs.

• The reduction of defense spending.

The changes described in this list contributed most directly to —

• A decline in homeownership rates.

• A rise in the number of business failures.

• A decrease in federal employment opportunities.

• An increase in consumer spending.