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America During the 1950s

Total questions: 23

Worksheet time: 12mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What was the GI Bill?

a)

Helped Veterans afford houses

b)

Helped people named Bill buy a house

c)

Discrimination bill against African Americans

2.

Why didn't William Levitt want to sell to African Americans?

a)

Because he thought the values of the home would drop drastically

b)

Because he wasn't allowed to by law

c)

Because they weren't veterans

3.

The first large scale suburb of affordable housing was built in New York. It was called

a)

Hollywood

b)

Anaheim

c)

Levittown

d)

Morristown

4.

The birth of the largest generation of Americans born between 1946 & 1955 was called the

a)

Hippie Generation

b)

Gen X

c)

Millenials

d)

Baby Boom

5.

The main style of music in the 1950's was

a)

jazz

b)

hip-hop

c)

country

d)

rock n roll

6.

Which of the following most accurately describes planned postwar communities like Levittown?

a)

simple, low-cost housing for the working poor in cities

b)

large country homes designed to attract buyers

c)

small suburban homes that middle class families could afford

d)

custom-designed homes built to meet the needs of individual buyers

7.

Examine the cartoon. What aspect of American society in the 1950s was the cartoonist making?

a)

high culture

b)

stay-at-home moms

c)

suburban conformity

d)

planned obsolescence

8.

Singer from Memphis, Tennessee whose music awoke of generation of young people to the sounds of rock n' roll

a)

Elvis Presley

b)

Little Richard

c)

Bill Haley and the Comets

d)

James Dean

9.

After the war, the ___?___ replaced radio and movies as the main entertainment for American families.

a)

television

b)

YouTube

c)

internet

d)

community swimming pool

10.

Suburbia as the "American Dream" represented

a)

conformity.

b)

stability.

c)

happiness.

d)

All of the above

11.
Which of following accurately describes the expected role of women in the 1950s?
a)
Politically Active 
b)
Happy Housewife
c)
Majority Income Earner
d)
Single Mothers
12.

Program that provided a wide range of financial benefits to World War 2 Veterans, many former soldiers bought homes and attended college through the program.

a)

Red Scare

b)

Beatnicks

c)

GI Bill

d)

Suburbs

13.

People who perform professional, managerial, or Administrative type work, these people usually wear suits or business attire.

a)

White Collar Jobs

b)

Blue Collar Jobs

14.
Eisenhower created this to help provide military assistance and quick evacuations from major cities.
a)
Interstate Highways
b)
Airports
c)
Subways
d)
Starbucks
15.
One of the main effects of the passage of the Interstate Highway Act of 1956 was the expansion of
a)
ridership on long-distance passenger trains
b)
 immigrant populations
c)
communities in the suburbs
d)
the airline industry
16.
During the Berlin Blockade, the U.S. flew supplies to west Berlin. This was called the __________________________.
a)
Berlin Rescue Mission
b)
NATO
c)
Berlin Airlift
d)
United Nations
17.

The spread of McDonald's fast food franchises and Holiday Inns during the 1950s contributed most directly to which of these post war trends?

a)

a population shift from small families to large families

b)

a population shift from northern states to southern states

c)

an economic shift from blue-collar jobs to white-collar jobs

d)

an economic shift from producing goods to providing services

18.

Read the statement below.

I avoid traditional jobs. I reject all forms of convention. I study Eastern religions. I groove on modern jazz.


Which type of person in the 1950s would have been most likely to say these things?

a)

a beat writer

b)

a "baby boomer"

c)

an "organization man"

d)

an abstract expressionist painter

19.

Beatnik

a)

an elderly person in the 1920s who suffered financial loss.

b)

the fact or process of converting someone or something back to a former state.

c)

­ a young person in the 1950s and early 1960s belonging to a subculture associated with the beat generation.

d)

This was a type of music which challenged earlier music and was popular to teenagers.

20.

Which of the following is the best title for the following facts:

Rapid growth of the suburbs

Passage of the interstate highway law

Popularity of drive-in theaters

a)

Boston's Big Dig

b)

Impact of the Automobile

c)

Growth of the Service Industry

d)

Results of Gasoline Shortages

21.

Popular culture and the media encouraged women to identify primarily as

a)

office workers

b)

wives and mothers

c)

career-oriented professionals

d)

equal to men

22.

Which of the following is most accurate statement about what pop culture promoted and reinforced during the 1950s?

a)

women and men both working long workdays each weekday, with the weekend off for leisure

b)

equality for African Americans in education and job opportunities

c)

access to free health care for the record number of babies being born

d)

stay-at-home moms cleaning, cooking, and taking care of children

23.

Which of the following was NOT a characteristic of the 1950's?

a)

moving to the suburbs

b)

going on vacation in a car

c)

watching TV with the family

d)

protests by women for equal rights