Question 1

The Beat writers of the 1950s

Accepted Answer

A)   praised rock 'n' roll as the music of a revolutionary generation.
B)   rejected the conventional world of the middle class.
C)   produced shallow, juvenile writings that had virtually no long-term significance.
D)   ended up leaving America for a self-imposed exile in Paris.

Question 2

William Levitt is noted for which of the following?

Accepted Answer

A)   The design of the modern mobile home
B)   Modular home construction
C)   On-site assembly of factory-built homes
D)   The adaptation of assembly-line methods to the process of home construction

Question 3

The Dixiecrats who attracted national attention in 1948 were

Accepted Answer

A)   southern activists who fought to end the poll tax and voter literacy requirements.
B)   teams of Carolina businessmen promoting new industry in their region.
C)   a political party made up of breakaway Democrats opposed to the Democratic Party's position on civil rights.
D)   union leaders who lobbied southern state legislatures to pass pro-union laws.

Question 4

One of the features of the classic movie Rebel Without a Cause that ties it to the 1950s is its reflection of

Accepted Answer

A)   early Cold War fears of communist corruption of American youth.
B)   parental fears that rock 'n' roll music promoted sexual promiscuity among American teenagers.
C)   popular psychological theories of the 1950s such as "the crisis of masculinity."
D)   post-World War II pacifism. C

Question 5

In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the Supreme Court ruled that

Accepted Answer

A)   states could require a period of silent meditation in public schools.
B)   racially-segregated public educational facilities were unconstitutional.
C)   pro-Communist statements expressed by a public school teacher were sufficient grounds for the teacher's dismissal.
D)   local school boards could require students to complete a sex-education course without infringing on students' religious rights.

Question 6

The Supreme Court's decision in Smith v. Allwright benefited African Americans by

Accepted Answer

A)   ending racially-discriminatory hiring practices.
B)   desegregating the nation's public schools.
C)   desegregating all public accommodations.
D)   outlawing whites-only primaries.

Question 7

One thing that the 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers, William H. Whyte's The Organization Man, and J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye had in common was that they all

Accepted Answer

A)   promoted the acceptance of family values as the salvation of American society.
B)   criticized the social conformity present in 1950s American society.
C)   reflected American fears of the Soviet Union.
D)   demonstrated the popularity of science fiction during the 1950s.

Question 8

Which of the following was accomplished during the Eisenhower years?

Accepted Answer

A)   Congress authorized construction of the interstate highway system.
B)   Federal funding was provided for civilian aviation research.
C)   The Amtrak system was created to centralize control over the nation's railroads.
D)   Congress provided the first federal grants for construction of urban mass transit facilities.

Question 9

Which of the following statements best expresses the significance of the report issued by President Truman's Committee on Civil Rights?

Accepted Answer

A)   It indicated the willingness of the president to acknowledge the federal government's responsibility to strive for racial equality.
B)   It indicated that the president was willing to respond to congressional demands that he provide a comprehensive legislative agenda to protect minority rights.
C)   It indicated the government's willingness to bow to public pressure and actively protect the rights of minorities.
D)   It indicated that the president was unwilling to support ideas that would cost him white votes in the southern states.

Question 10

Which of the following was a consequence of the Highway Act of 1956?

Accepted Answer

A)   It led to the revitalization of inner-city neighborhoods.
B)   It caused a weakening of the tourist industry.
C)   It further separated the South from the rest of the nation.
D)   It encouraged the process of suburbanization.

Question 11

The 1950 agreement known as the Treaty of Detroit between the United Auto Workers and General Motors was significant because

Accepted Answer

A)   it gave workers a greater role in company management.
B)   it paved the way for other corporations to provide workers with health insurance, pensions, and protection against inflation.
C)   organized labor obtained representation on federal and state safety inspection agencies.
D)   organized labor's use of paid lobbyists increased its influence in Congress.

Question 12

The aspects of elementary and high-school education that the National Defense Education Act most focused on were

Accepted Answer

A)   textbooks and equipment.
B)   school lunches and school breakfasts.
C)   ROTC and physical education programs.
D)   programs in mathematics, foreign languages, and the sciences. D

Question 13

Which of the following is true of the Civil Rights Act of 1957?

Accepted Answer

A)   It was vetoed by President Eisenhower.
B)   It suspended literacy tests for voting.
C)   It outlawed racial discrimination in public accommodations.
D)   It created the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Question 14

Which of the following was an important social trend during the 1950s?

Accepted Answer

A)   Early marriages
B)   A high divorce rate
C)   Low interest in religious activities
D)   Small families

Question 15

Which of the following is true of the 1954 Communist Control Act?

Accepted Answer

A)   It put all labor unions suspected of communist domination under surveillance.
B)   It effectively made membership in the Communist Party illegal.
C)   It provided for the internment of known communists during a national emergency.
D)   It denied employment to communists in defense-related industries.

Question 16

Within the labor movement, how did the CIO respond to the anticommunist hysteria of the late 1940s?

Accepted Answer

A)   It labeled it as un-American.
B)   It called for solidarity among all workers against management while also pledging its support for the capitalist system.
C)   It participated in it by expelling some unions for allegedly being dominated by communists.
D)   It denounced it as a management tool to weaken organized labor.

Question 17

Which of the following made possible the computer revolution?

Accepted Answer

A)   The invention of the transistor
B)   The use of radar in the Second World War
C)   The founding of IBM
D)   Funding from the federal government

Question 18

How did Senator Joseph McCarthy finally contribute to his own downfall?

Accepted Answer

A)   He charged that fellow senators were communist dupes.
B)   He took on the U.S. Army in front of millions of television viewers.
C)   He appeared on the Senate floor in an obviously inebriated state.
D)   He publicly stated that President Eisenhower was a "communist sympathizer." B

Question 19

Richard Nixon, Alger Hiss, Julius Rosenberg, and Ethel Rosenberg all gained national attention during the late 1940s and early 1950s because they were all associated with

Accepted Answer

A)   civil rights infringement trials.
B)   Cold War spy trials.
C)   Korean War profiteering trials.
D)   stock price manipulation trials.

Question 20

Which of the following was a consequence of the increased use of automated electronic processes in American industry during the 1950s?

Accepted Answer

A)   Industrial productivity increased.
B)   Small corporations could compete successfully with large corporations.
C)   White-collar workers successfully unionized.
D)   Job opportunities for women increased.

Exam 29: America at Midcentury, 1945-1960

The Beat writers of the 1950s

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

William Levitt is noted for which of the following?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The Dixiecrats who attracted national attention in 1948 were

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

One of the features of the classic movie Rebel Without a Cause that ties it to the 1950s is its reflection of

Correct AnswerverifiedC

In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the Supreme Court ruled that

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The Supreme Court's decision in Smith v. Allwright benefited African Americans by

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

One thing that the 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers, William H. Whyte's The Organization Man, and J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye had in common was that they all

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following was accomplished during the Eisenhower years?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following statements best expresses the significance of the report issued by President Truman's Committee on Civil Rights?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following was a consequence of the Highway Act of 1956?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The 1950 agreement known as the Treaty of Detroit between the United Auto Workers and General Motors was significant because

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The aspects of elementary and high-school education that the National Defense Education Act most focused on were

Correct AnswerverifiedD

Which of the following is true of the Civil Rights Act of 1957?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following was an important social trend during the 1950s?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following is true of the 1954 Communist Control Act?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Within the labor movement, how did the CIO respond to the anticommunist hysteria of the late 1940s?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following made possible the computer revolution?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

How did Senator Joseph McCarthy finally contribute to his own downfall?

Correct AnswerverifiedB

Richard Nixon, Alger Hiss, Julius Rosenberg, and Ethel Rosenberg all gained national attention during the late 1940s and early 1950s because they were all associated with

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following was a consequence of the increased use of automated electronic processes in American industry during the 1950s?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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C

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D

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B

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