U. S. History Semester II Review
1. What effect did the baby boom after World War II have on America?
2. What caused the U.S. to airlift supplies to West Berlin in the 1940’s? This could be seen as the start of what
war?
3. What were the goals of the Marshall Plan (1948)?
4. What was the purpose of the GI Bill which was passed by the U.S. government during WWII?
5. Why did America provide military aid to Ngo Dinh Diem’s government? What theory was used to justify this
action?
6. Explain the Truman Doctrine. How is it related to the policy of containment after WWII?
7. Why did the United States get involved in the Korean War?
8. Why did the U.S. get involved in the Cold War?
9. Describe McCarthyism. How did it affect the public’s view of politicians?
10. What did Martin Luther King, Jr., do to gain prominence in the Civil Rights movement?
11. List 5 things that signaled the beginning of the modern civil rights movement.
12. What was the result of the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)? Which
ruling did this overturn?
13. What major discovery was made by Dr. Jonas Salk in 1955?
14. What types of non-violent activities were designed to oppose segregation in America in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s?
15. The United States began a trade embargo against Cuba in the 1960’s that still goes on today. What was the
purpose of the embargo?
16. What was the importance of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
17. Who was Cesar Chavez? Why did he create the United Farm Workers Organization Committee?
18. Why was the Launching of Sputnik such an important event?
19. What school programs did Congress emphasize as a matter of national security due to the launch of Sputnik?
20. Describe the Russian and the American roles in the Cuban Missile crisis? How was the threat stopped?
21. Describe how the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and the secret bombing of Cambodia affected the balance of power
between the legislative and executive branches of government.
22. Describe the importance of the following court cases:
a. Reynolds v. Sims
b. Gideon v. Wainwright
c. Escobedo v. Illinois
d. Mapp v. Ohio
e. Miranda v. Arizona
23. From 1960 to the present what has been the main direction of migration in America? How did the Interstate
Highway Act of 1956 contribute to this migration?
24. Why did President John F. Kennedy create the Peace Corps?
25. Who shot John F. Kennedy?
26. What was the main source of social conflict in the 1960’s and 1970’s in America?
27. What military action and debate led to the passage of the 26th amendment and the change of the voting age to
18?
28. How did television coverage of the Vietnam War affect the civilian population in America?
29. Why didn’t Lyndon B. Johnson get out of the war with Vietnam if it was such an unpopular war?
30. What was the intent of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society policies?
31. Explain the Tet offensive of 1968 and how it affected the U.S. public.
32. Explain the purpose of the following
a. Equal Pay Act
b. Title IX
c. Proposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
33. Why did OPEC place an oil embargo against the U.S. in the 1970’s? What were the results of this embargo?
34. Describe the significance of Richard Nixon’s visit to China in 1972.
35. What was the intent of the War Powers Act of 1973? What did congress require of the president that would
change the balance of power between them?
36. What events led to Richard Nixon’s resignation?
37. Define Détente.
38. What was the importance of the Camp David Accords (1978) led by President Jimmy Carter?
39. What did the fall of the Berlin Wall signal?
40. Describe Watergate and the Iran-Contra affair. How did these events effect Americans trust of their elected
officials?
41. Why did Ronald Reagan ask congress to lower tax rates on businesses and wealthy Americans? What did he
expect to happen as a result of this legislation?
42. Define impeachment. How can this process be used as a check and balance on presidential power?
43. Why did the U.S. intervene in Haiti and Bosnia in the 1990’s?
44. How did the U.S. foreign policy change after the September 11 attacks?
45. Why was the Department of Homeland Security created?
46. Create a time line that shows the major events from WWII to the attack on the twin towers.