wayground logo

Free Printable Worksheets

Font size

S
M
L
XL
Worksheets

Revision: Basics of US system and Truman

Total questions: 77

Worksheet time: 46mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

At the beginning of our topic, which political party dominated the 'Deep south'?

a)

Democrats

b)

Republicans

2.

Who, within the US constitution had the power to declare war on other nations?

a)

The President

b)

Congress

c)

Supreme court

3.

What ambitious policy had Roosevelt been responsible for in order to allow the USA to recover from the Great Depression?

a)

New Frontier

b)

New Deal

c)

Fair Deal

4.

Which of these are correct reasons for many people believing that Roosevelt had increased the power of the Presidency.

a)

Use of the Nuclear weapon

b)

Role as commander in chief during WW2

c)

Negotiations on the nations behalf at wartime conferences

d)

Three election victories and 'fireside chats'

5.

Who selected the candidates to sit on the Supreme court?

a)

Congress

b)

Senate

c)

President (solely)

d)

President (with approval by the senate)

6.

What war time policy had seen the US financially support countries such as Britain and China with war materiel?

a)

Lend-lease

b)

Defenders of democracy

c)

Taft-Hartley Act

7.

Which of these were cities that had benefitted from the need to produce weapons quickly during WW2?

a)

Pittsburgh

b)

New York

c)

Detroit

d)

Chicago

8.

WASPS were often the wealthiest and most politically dominant ethnicity within the USA. But, where were the poorest white communities in the USA?

a)

Deep south

b)

Vermont

c)

Appalachian mountains

d)

The 'dust bowl'

9.

Which of these states were former 'slaveholding states' within the USA?

a)

Texas

b)

Arkansas

c)

Florida

d)

Virginia

e)

New Mexico

10.

The poorest African American inhabitants of the south often had to maintain place to live by ...

a)

sharecropping

b)

factory work

c)

working on plantations

d)

working as domestic servants

11.

Where did the Native Americans live?

a)

Kansas

b)

Indiana

c)

Reservations

d)

Ghettos

12.

What bill signed in 1944 offered low interest loans, 52 week unemployment pay for ex-servicemen and access to college or vocational courses?

a)

Taft-Hartley

b)

GI bill

c)

Cessation

13.

How many returning servicemen were there when war ended in 1945?

a)

8 million

b)

9 million

c)

10 million

d)

12 million

14.

Up until WW2, US foreign policy would be described as ...

(a)  

15.

True or false: Harry Truman had served in France in WW1?

a)

True

b)

False

16.

What state did Harry Truman grow up in?

a)

Kansas

b)

Colorado

c)

Nebraska

d)

Missouri

17.

What was the first wartime conference held between the main three allied powers?

a)

Potsdam

b)

Tehran

c)

Yalta

18.

Stalin believed that he had been promised influence over what particular territory at the Yalta conference?

a)

Albania

b)

Hungary

c)

Poland

d)

Czechoclovakia

19.

Where did the US drop atomic bombs on Japan, in order to hasten the end of WW2?

a)

Tokyo

b)

Nassaka

c)

Iwojima

d)

Nagasaki

e)

Hiroshima

20.

Why was there such distrust between Stalin and Truman by the time of the Potsdam conference?

a)

The US had not informed USSR of Atom bomb creation (But Stalin knew through spies)

b)

Kennan's long telegram

c)

Stalin and Roosevelt had built up a personal relationship

d)

Opposing ideologies (capitalism vs. communism)

21.

What did Kennan's long telegram (1946) state about the Soviet Union?

a)

That they only wanted to preserve communism in the USSR

b)

That communism was 'expansionist'

c)

That the USSR was hell bent on confronting capitalism

22.

What famous speech given by Churchill at Fulton Missouri, demonstrated the West's view of the USSR?

(a)  

23.

Which two countries was Truman increasingly concerned would fall to communism by 1947?

a)

Greece and Albania

b)

Greece and Turkey

c)

Italy and Greece

d)

Yugoslavia and Greece

24.

What term is used to describe the motives behind Truman's foreign policy?

(a)  

25.

What was the name of the speech given by Truman in 1947, explaining his willingness to defend Europe from the 'threat' of communism?

a)

Truman doctrine

b)

Eisenhower doctrine

c)

Lend-lease

26.

Truman famously stated that the Truman doctrine and Marshall aid were two halves of the same ...

(a)  

27.

How much money was distributed to help rebuild European nations as a result of the Marshall plan?

a)

$12.5 billion

b)

$12 billion

c)

$13.5 billion

d)

$14 billion

28.

What political crises was sparked by the joining of three zones of occupation known as trizonia within Berlin?

a)

Berlin wall crisis

b)

Brain drain

c)

Berlin blockade

d)

Operation vittels

29.

By what year had the Berlin blockade ended?

a)

1948

b)

1947

c)

1949

30.

What defence pact was agreed by Western European powers in 1949?

a)

United nations

b)

NATO

c)

SEATO

31.

What was the Warsaw Pact, set up in 1955?

a)

An agreement to be directly ruled by Stalin

b)

A defence alliance to match NATO

c)

A way of providing economic aid

32.

Who was the leader of nationalist China?

a)

Chiang-Kai Shek

b)

Kim Il Sung

c)

Mao Ze Dong

33.

Who was the leader of the Chinese Communist party?

a)

Chiang Kai Shek

b)

Mao Ze Dong

c)

Kim Il Sung

34.

What island did nationalist forces hang onto, China still believes it is part of their land?

a)

Korea

b)

Taiwan

c)

Taipei

d)

Tibet

35.

In 1948, the US government gave how much money to the Chinese nationalists?

a)

$500 million

b)

$2 billion

c)

$400 million

d)

$13.5 billion

36.

On the 25th June in what year did the Korean War begin?

a)

1947

b)

1948

c)

1949

d)

1950

37.

What organisation did Truman use to declare war in Korea?

a)

NATO

b)

SEATO

c)

United nations

38.

Select the reasons why the Asian powers in the UN could not stop a declaration of war in Korea.

a)

The UN had been established by the United states at the end of the war

b)

Soviet Union had no seat within the UN

c)

Communist China was not represented in the UN

d)

Soviets couldn't veto because they were not present as protest at Communist China not having own seat

39.

Where in Asia did Truman support imperial powers in their quest to maintain power?

a)

Japan

b)

North Korea

c)

Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia)

40.

In 1945, Korea had been divided between the USA and the USSR at what parallel?

a)

17th parallel

b)

18th parallel

c)

25th parallel

d)

38th parallel

41.

Who was originally in charge of the UN forces in Korea?

a)

General Eisenhower

b)

General Marshall

c)

General Douglas Macarthur

42.

True or false: At the beginning of the war the communist northern forces managed to take the southern capital Seoul

a)

True

b)

False

43.

Who was the leader of North Korea?

a)

Josef Stalin

b)

Kim Il Sung

c)

Mao Ze Ding

44.

Select the reasons why the United states fought in Korea.

a)

By 1949 the USSR also had an Atomic bomb

b)

Defence paper NSC 68 stated need for US military action

c)

Failure of containment in Asia could damage strength of Europe

d)

Easy to use the UN and gain support from other allies

45.

What year had Truman lost China to communism?

a)

1948

b)

1946

c)

1949

46.

Select the differences in US behaviour towards Japan compared to elsewhere in Asia.

a)

Those involved in WW2 hunted down mercilessly

b)

A no-war clause was put into constitution

c)

$500 million put into the country to westernise and rebuild

47.

How high was inflation by 1946?

a)

20%

b)

25%

c)

30%

48.

Which organisation (that could have frozen prices) did Truman fail to get renewed in congress?

a)

Office for fixation administration

b)

Office of Price Administration

c)

NRA

49.

By 1945 what percentage of US workers were in a Union?

a)

25%

b)

35%

c)

28%

d)

38%

50.

Which of these statements are true of the Taft Hartley Act?

a)

The president could order a cooling off period before a strike

b)

The Republicans overrode the Presidential veto to pass the act

c)

Unions were no longer able to sign up working members

d)

The whole of the USA steel industry stopped as a result of the act

51.

True or false: Truman was able to get a majority of his legislation through congress

a)

True

b)

False

52.

Why was Truman able to win the 1949 election?

a)

The rural vote (Truman came from a farming state)

b)

Thomas E Dewey's speeches were too simple

c)

Truman's whistle stop tour saw him travel 30,000 miles

d)

Southern democrats campaigned on behalf of Truman

53.

Who was the Southern Democrat that ran against Truman in 1949

a)

George Wallace

b)

Orval Faubus

c)

Strom Thurmond

54.

Truman's fair deal did have some successes including:

a)

Medicare health care insurance

b)

Social security extended

c)

Minimum wage increase

d)

Urban housing for lower income

55.

Who was in charge of the FBI in the 40s and 50s and helped increase the red scare?

a)

Joseph McCarthy

b)

J Edgar Hoover

c)

Herbert Hoover

56.

HUAC stood for ...

a)

House Uncommunist action committee

b)

House un-american activities committee

c)

House ultra-anti-communist committee

57.

What prominent Republican politician was a member of HUAC

a)

Dwight D. Eisenhower

b)

Richard Nixon

c)

Senator McCarthy

58.

True or false: McCarthyism and HUAC are separate, but both concerned about communism

a)

True

b)

False

59.

Which US group in particular gained a lot of scrutiny from HUAC

a)

African-Americans

b)

Communists

c)

Hollywood

d)

Washington

60.

Which of these are true of McCarthy

a)

He was a war hero

b)

He was from a poor Irish farming background

c)

He defeated election opponents using anti-communist propaganda

d)

He gave his 'enemy from within speech' in 1950

61.

Which play was written by Arthur Miller as a criticism of HUAC and McCarthy

a)

Salem witch trials

b)

Crucible

c)

Two men and a door

62.

Which of these are the names of spies unearthed during Truman's presidency

a)

Alger Hiss

b)

Ethel Rosenberg

c)

Julius Rosenberg

d)

Fidel Castro

63.

Which of these are reasons as to why McCarthy was able to get away with the hysteria he created

a)

Land in Asia was being lost to communism

b)

Truman needed a scared country to pass many of his foreign policy objectives

c)

McCarthy was fed information from J. Edgar Hoover

d)

Fear o Communism and been widespread from as far back as the 1920s

64.

Which of these latin terms means 'in law'?

a)

De jure

b)

De facto

65.

Which of these terms means 'in reality'?

a)

De facto

b)

De jure

66.

Which of these factors prevented African Americans from voting in the South?

a)

White officials controlled voting system

b)

Physical intimidation

c)

It was illegal for African Americans to vote

d)

Impossible questions were asked such as 'how many bubbles in a bar of soap?'

e)

Taxes were levied making it economically difficult to vote

67.

Why were African Americans less likely to benefit from the GI Bill of rights?

a)

They weren't allowed to it was only for whites

b)

Giving out the benefits was the responsibility of the states

c)

Not always made aware of higher education chances

d)

The candidates had to earn a certain amount before qualifying

68.

What did the 'Plessy Vs. Ferguson' case show to be legal according to white southerners?

a)

Jim Crow

b)

Lesser voting rights

c)

KKK

69.

Which of these groups were actively campaigning for Civil Rights improvements under Truman?

a)

SCLC

b)

SNCC

c)

CORE

d)

NAACP

70.

Which of these cases by the NAACP successfully showed segregation in interstate travel to be illegal

a)

Sweatt vs, Paynter

b)

Morgan vs. Virginia

c)

Shelley vs. Kraemer

71.

Which of these NAACP cases proved that covenants banning ethnic minorities from living in certain neighbourhoods were illegal

a)

Sweatt vs. Paynter

b)

Morgan vs. Virgina

c)

Shelley vs. Kraemer

72.

Truman showed moral leadership over Civil Rights. True or false?

a)

True

b)

False

73.

What was the name of the Civil Rights report administered by Truman in 1947?

a)

'To secure our hopes'

b)

'To secure these rights'

c)

'To secure our rights'

74.

In 1947 CORE insitigated their 'rides of reconciliation' campaign. In what ways was this different from the actions of the NAACP?

a)

Relied solely on challenging in court

b)

Aimed at provoking southerners to break laws

c)

Wanted to prove that de facto and de jure were completely different

75.

In 1948, Truman issued an executive order that did what?

a)

Ban segregation in armed forces

b)

ban segregation in armed forces and federal work places

c)

Ban Jim Crow

76.

What was the name of the African American soldier assaulted on a bus when returning from WW2?

a)

Emmett Till

b)

Isaac Woodard

c)

Bernd Rustyn

77.

Select the successes of Truman's presidency

a)

8 million veterans went to college

b)

Unemployment very low

c)

By end of the 1940s 80% of world's cars made in USA

d)

Minimum wage had increased

e)

Korean war had been ended