U.S. History
Goal 10-11
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Goal 10-11 Unit test – WWII-Vietnam War Study Guide Answered
1. Why were the Lend-Lease Act and the Destroyers-for-Bases deals adopted prior to U.S.
entry into World War II? To help Allied nations without the United States entering
the war.
2. During the war, nisei who lived on the West Coast were subjected to internment
3. During the war, women in the WAACs served as nurses and radio operators.
4. The GI Bill of Rights made it possible for…veterans to attend college for free.
5. In deciding to use the atomic bomb against Japan, president Truman’s main goal was
to…end the war quickly and save American lives
6. To label someone’s activities as McCarthyism would suggest that the person’s actions
are un-American.
7. The Eisenhower Doctrine was a warning to the Soviet Union against military intervention
in….the Middle East
8. What was the main idea behind the Truman Doctrine? Eliminate the spread of
communism
9. Who would Sen. Joseph McCarthy probably consider an enemy? Julius and Ethel
Rosenberg, Alger Hiss, and the Hollywood Ten
10. Which action best illustrates the policy of isolationism followed by the United States
before it entered World War II?
A. Signing of a collective security pact with Latin American nations.
B. Passage of neutrality legislation forbidding arms sales to warring nations.
C. Embargo on the sale of gasoline and steel to Japan
D. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s exchange of American destroyers for British
naval and air bases
11. In the 1930’s, how did the United States attempt to avoid a repetition of the events
leading up to United States involvement in World War I? Passing a series of neutrality
laws
12. What did United States foreign policy experts mean in the 1960s when they talked about
“the domino theory”? If Vietnam fell to communism, surrounding nations would
follow
13. The passage of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution granted President Johnson powers by
allowing him to ……to take all measures necessary to repel attacks against United
States forces and prevent aggression in Southeast Asia
14. Which of the following statements about United States involvement in Vietnam is true?
A. Congress authorized the escalation of United States military activity in
Vietnam after communist forces allegedly attacked United States naval
vessels.
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Goal 10-11
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B. United States involvement in the war did not occur until Diem’s assassination in
1963.
C. Nixon’s expansion of the war into Cambodia drew strong support at home.
D. The Tet offensive proved the success of the containment doctrine.
15. Which of the following best characterized United States public support for the Vietnam
War?
A. increased as a result of television
B. was supported on most college
campuses
C. increased after Kennedy’s death.
D. declined after the Tet Offensive
16. This event in 1960 sent the cold war back into a “deep freeze” when American Gary
Powers was caught spying over the Soviet Union. U-2 incident
17. Which war time conference got a Soviet pledge to enter the war against Japan and a
Soviet promise of self-determination for Poland? Yalta Conference
18. Which of the following Cold War actions DOES NOT represent an American attempt to
use money to contain communism?
A. NATO
B. Marshall Plan
C. Alliance for Progress
D. Truman
Doctrine
19. What was the purpose of the War Powers Act of 1973? To limit the power of the
Executive (President), assuring presidential actions meet with Congressional
approval.
20. The 1957 launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik had which of the following effects? It
caused a demand for more emphasis on math and science in education in the United
States.
21. The Soviet Union set up the iron curtain in response to efforts from the West to reunify
Germany.
22. HUAC is best known for investigating communism in the film industry.
23. The Peace Corps, a program of volunteer assistance to developing nations, was proposed
by Kennedy and succeeded
24. Who commanded Allied forces in Europe during World War II? Dwight Eisenhower
25. Island-hopping was a strategy associated with…the war against Japan
26. The D-Day invasion was directed against the coastline of which country? France
27. The Manhattan Project was…a program to build a nuclear weapon
28. In which of the following geographical areas did Americans first face combat during
World War II? Africa (with Operation Torch)
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29. During World War II, the American economy…was increasingly regulated
30. Which military strategy did the U.S. adopt upon entering World War II? The U.S. sent a
bulk of its forces against the Germans
31. Which of the following is NOT true of the Cold War?
A. It subsided with the death of Stalin and the election of Eisenhower
B. It featured a nuclear arms race.
C. Berlin remained a point of friction between the US and the Soviet Union
D. It almost resulted in nuclear war over the issue of Soviet missiles in Cuba.
32. Which of the following best describes the effect of the Vietnam War on America?
A. America’s commitment to an internationalist foreign policy was strengthened
B. Americans became more appreciative of the help and loyal support of America’s
NATO allies
C. There was an increasing distrust and disrespect toward the U.S. government
and toward authority in general
D. As in World War II, Americans put aside their differences and united behind the
war effort
33. Which incident during the 1960s came the closest to causing a U.S.-Soviet war? Cuban
Missile Crisis
34. Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson used Domino theory to justify American
efforts to stop communism in Vietnam?
35. Which activity by the Viet Cong caused American troops the most difficulty? Guerilla
tactics
36. The buildup of the American military effort in Vietnam during the mid-1960s was known
as…escalation
37. The battle at which location was considered to be the turning point of U.S. military
involvement in Vietnam? Dien Bien Phu
38. Most Americans saw the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis as a victory for the U.S.
But Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, claimed it was a Soviet victory because…the U.S.
promised not to plan or execute an attempt to overthrow communist rule in Cuba.
39. Which caused many Americans to increasingly condemn U.S. involvement in Vietnam as
“immoral”? The government of South Vietnam seemed to lack popular support
40. Critics of the Bay of Pigs invasion claimed it was a violation of the…Good Neighbor
Policy
41. Which individual was most widely accused of using “big lie” tactics during the early
1950s? Joseph McCarthy
42. Which represented the greatest foreign policy setback of the Eisenhower administration?
The U-2 spyplane incident
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43. Which policy of the 1950s is best associated with “brinkmanship”? The threat of
massive retaliation
44. Which of the following were provisions of the Geneva Accords of 1954?
I. Ho Chi Minh began attacks on South Vietnam
II. France agreed to give Vietnam its independence
III. Vietnam was to be temporarily divided into two parts
A. I and II
B. I and III
C. II and III
D. I, II, and III
45. The accumulation of war bonds during World War II and the scarcity of consumer goods
at the end of the war led to…inflation
46. Who coined the expression “iron curtain”? Winston Churchill
47. What Soviet action resulted in the Berlin Airlift? The Soviets blocked roads and
railroads across East Germany which connected West Germany to Berlin.
48. Understanding that communism has its greatest appeal to those who are hungry and poor,
the U.S. announced its…Marshall Plan and Point Four program
49. The U.N. was able to halt aggression in…Korea
50. Arab resentment towards the U.S. grew in 1948 when…the U.S. recognized the state of
Israel.
51. In which country did foreign policy efforts by the Truman administration fail? China
52. Which development(s) caused President Truman to issue the Truman Doctrine in 1947?
A. Communists seized power in China
B. The Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb
C. Communist rebels threatened to seize power in Greece and Turkey
D. All of the above
Identifications: Regular will identify 3 and Honors will identify 5 on your own sheet of
paper
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Iron Curtain: a term first used by Winston Churchill in a speech. The term came to be
commonly used in reference to the dividing line between the democracies of Western
Europe and Stalin’s communist ruled East.
Truman Doctrine: introduced in 1947 by President Truman which reaffirmed Kennan’s
idea of containment and stated that the United States would not hesitate to intervene and
aid nations overseas to resist communism.
Rosie the Riveter: a symbol of women who had entered the workforce to fill the gap left
vacant by men serving in the war (usually factory jobs). Also a popular song of the same
name at that time.
War Production Board (WPB): established by Roosevelt which re-directed raw materials
and resources from the production of civilian consumer goods to the production of
materials needed for waging war against Germany and Japan.
Battle of Britain: went from July to October of 1940 when thousands of German planes
bombed British airfields and cities. Their Royal Air Force were able to fight off the
German assault and resist long enough to force Hitler to give up his plans of invading
Great Britain. Also this is the first time radar is used during war to help detect when
enemies are approaching.
D-Day (Operation Overlord): took place on June 6, 1944 where the allied forces hit the
beaches of Normandy, France, where the first soldiers ashore received overwhelming
gunfire. Despite suffering heavy losses, it took the Allies less than a week to get over
500,000 troops ashore. From their established foothold, these forces were able to
advance further into France. On August 25, 1944, the Allies fought their way into Paris,
liberating the city from four years of German occupation.
Benito Mussolini: Totalitarian leader who came to power in Italy in the early 20s and
established a facist government. He eventually formed an alliance with Hitler and
Germany. He was executed after WWII.
Warsaw Pact: Alliance of communist nations in eastern Europe. It formed in 1955 as a
response to NATO expanding.
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC): Committee established by Congress
in 1948 for the purpose of investigating those accused of being communists.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg: US couple accused of passing secrets about the atomic bomb
to the Soviets. They were convicted and executed.