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The Cold War

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 10mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What was the purpose of the Interstate Highway Act?

a)

It decreased the amount of time required to travel from Coast to Coast

b)

It helped to prepare the U.S. to evacuate major cities during a nuclear attack

c)

It promoted trade and travel

d)

All of the Above

2.

What was Levittown?

a)

The location of Soviet missile sites in Cuba

b)

The name of large suburban developments created in the United States of America after WWII

c)

The world's first space satellite sent launched by the United States

d)

A term coined during the Cold War to describe the tactic of seeming to approach the verge of war in order to persuade one's opposition to retreat

3.

If you were alive during the 1950s and there was a bright flash in the sky while you were on the way to your Cub Scouts meeting, what did the Civil Defense and their spokesman Bert the Turtle encourage you to do?

a)

Run and hide

b)

Jump and jive

c)

Stop, drop, and roll

d)

♬Duck and Cover♬

4.

What was the Baby Boom?

a)

A rise in taxes after WWII

b)

A rise in childhood diseases after WWII

c)

A rise in birth rate after WWII

d)

A rise in consumer spending after WWII

5.

When was the Cold War?

a)

1945-1950

b)

1950-1953

c)

1947-1991

d)

1948-1963

6.

What was the United States’ policy to stop the spread of communism called?

a)

Marshall Plan

b)

Containment

c)

Socialism

d)

Iron Curtain

7.

What was the solution to the Berlin Blockade?

a)

The Americans and British airlifted food and other supplies into West Berlin

b)

The Communists provided food and supplies to the people of West Berlin

c)

America and the Soviet Union decided to split West Berlin in half

d)

The Berlin Wall was built to separate West Berlin from USSR-controlled East Berlin

8.

Senator Joseph McCarthy led a movement to find communists inside America after WWII. What led to his downfall?

a)

He accused Hollywood producers of creating communist propaganda films that glorified socialism

b)

He challenged the leaders of HUAC who promoted free speech and the first amendment

c)

He accused members of the military as being spies for the Soviet Union

d)

None of the above

9.

How are the Red Scare of 1919 and the McCarthy era of the early 1950s related?

a)

They were both periods of severe economic depression

b)

They were both periods of widespread support for groups promoting international anarchy

c)

They were both periods of great growth in art, literature, and music

d)

They were both periods of persecution of people suspected of holding anti-American political views

10.

What prompted President Truman to involve the United States in the Korean war?

a)

Communist North Korea was challenging the containment policy

b)

Communist North Korea was challenging the policy of brinkmanship

c)

Communist North Korea had launched SPUTNIK

d)

Communist North Korea was challenging the articles of NATO

11.

What was the famous parallel that divided North and South Korea?

a)

The 18th parallel

b)

The 38th parallel

c)

The 25th parallel

d)

The 17th parallel

12.

Which of the following best describes Brinkmanship?

a)

The tactic of seeming to approach the verge of war in order to persuade one's opposition to retreat

b)

The American government fighting to keep up with the Soviet Union in their space program development

c)

The relationship between men and women in the 1950s

d)

The policy of Harry Truman, who believed that meetings with the USSR would calm tensions

13.

What event occurred during the Cold War when a United States spy plane was shot down while in Soviet airspace?

a)

U-2 Incident

b)

Bay of Pigs Invasion

c)

Cuban Missile Crisis

d)

Berlin Airlift

14.

The Bay of Pigs Invasion led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. It showed that the United States was serious about removing Fidel Castro from power, resulting in Cuba asking for assistance from the Soviet Union. What did the Soviet Union do to assist Cuba, and further escalate tensions with the United States?

a)

Execute Operation Mongoose

b)

Install nuclear missile sites on the island

c)

Trained La Brigada to invade Cuba

d)

The Soviet Union did not assist Cuba

15.

Why did Vietnam’s independence scare the United States?

a)

Because the domino theory argued that if Vietnam fell to communism, so would the rest of Southeast Asia

b)

Because the United States had an increasing interest in trade in the Pacific region

c)

Because the Chinese had declined to help stop the slaughtering of South Korean troops

d)

Because the US and USSR were even more hostile toward each other and the fear of war increased

16.

What did the Gulf of Tonkin resolution passed by Congress do?

a)

blocked further commitment of U. S. ground troops without Congressional approval

b)

authorized President Johnson to take any measure needed to repel attacks on U. S. forces

c)

called for both U. S. and North Vietnamese forces to withdraw from South Vietnam

d)

condemned U. S. aggression against the people of Vietnam

17.

In 1970, what college’s protest of the U.S. invasion of Cambodia resulted in the deaths of 4 college students when the National Guard opened fire?

a)

UC Berkeley

b)

UCLA

c)

University of Wisconsin

d)

Kent State

18.

In response to Communist aggression in Greece and Turkey, President Truman outlined a policy known as the __________________________, which pledged that the United States would provide political and military assistance to all democratic nations under threat of Communism.

a)

Marshall Plan

b)

Truman Doctrine

c)

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

d)

Berlin Airlift

19.

Who is credited in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy?

a)

Jack Leon Ruby

b)

Lee Harvey Oswald

c)

John Wilkes Booth

d)

Gavrilo Princep

20.

In the late 20th Century, the Soviet Union under Gorbachev enacted the policies of glasnost and perestroika to make reforms in the country. These reforms ultimately helped lead to:

a)

a flare up in the Cold War - we almost went to war

b)

the strengthening of the Soviet Union

c)

the collapse of the Soviet Union and an end of the Cold War

d)

a decline in Soviet athletes, as seen by the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980