Higher Level Multiple Choice Questions
Volume II Enhanced
Chapter Eleven, Passing the Torch
1. The presidential election of 1960 represented a historic moment because:
A. it was the first election in American history in which a Roman Catholic ran on a major party ticket.
B. it represented a generational shift with (for the first time) both candidates being born in the 20th century.
C. both candidates came from very humble circumstances, showing the vibrancy of America’s democracy.
D. both candidates had previously served the nation in the role of Vice President.
2. When the invaders at the Bay of Pigs began to be repelled, President Kennedy:
A. ordered the secret aerial bombardment of Cuban defense sites.
B. steadfastly denied any U.S. involvement in the invasion.
C. ordered a naval blockade, or “quarantine,” be placed around Cuba.
D. withdrew U.S. air support, thereby insuring that the invasion would fail.
3. President Kennedy vigorously supported the U.S. space program because:
A. he believed space colonies would be crucial to the survival of the human race in the event of a nuclear war.
B. he saw the space race as a crucial area of competition with the Soviet Union and the source of positive propaganda around the world.
C. he had been a pilot himself and had a deep passion for all things aeronautic.
D. he believed spin-off technology from the program would be a boost to the U.S. economy.
4. Which of the following reflects President Kennedy’s response to the Soviet construction of the Berlin Wall?
A. He ordered a series of tunnels to be constructed to aid those in East Berlin still desiring to escape to the West.
B. He ordered an around-the-clock airlift of supplies of all types to the people trapped behind the wall in East Berlin.
C. In a sense, he was relieved because the Wall ended a crisis that quite likely could have led to war.
D. He ordered a naval blockade of Soviet ports in retaliation.
5. A key to defusing the Cuban Missile Crisis ended up being:
A. Kennedy’s secret agreement to dismantle U.S. missiles in Turkey that were aimed at the Soviet Union.
B. the intervention and negotiation skills of Ralph Bunche of the United Nations.
C. Kennedy’s face-to-face meeting with Khrushchev in Vienna.
D. Khrushchev’s secret agreement to leave the missiles, but to remove their nuclear warheads.
6. Which of the following best reflects President Lyndon Johnson’s actions in the area of civil rights?
A. He stepped away from his southern traditions and vigorously supported civil rights and voting rights laws.
B. To maintain traditional Democratic support in the “Solid South,” he delayed civil rights legislation to a large degree.
C. He helped begin the civil rights movement with his historic order to desegregate the armed forces.
D. He supported a voting rights bill, but vetoed a civil rights bill, arguing that such a matter is left to the states by the Constitution.
7. Although he lost by a landslide, Barry Goldwater’s 1964 presidential campaign was significant because:
A. his criticism of the Vietnam War helped escalate anti-war protests across the nation.
B. a Democrat had not lost so convincingly since Herbert Hoover defeated Al Smith in 1928.
C. it launched a new conservative movement that questioned the growth of the federal government in to Americans’ daily lives.
D. it was the first election in which the major candidates debated one another on national television.
8. Which of the following represent important aspects of the “Great Society” program?
A. large defense expenditures, changing the voting age to 18
B. federal writers project, development of the Tennessee Valley
C. support for South Vietnam, the interstate highway system
D. anti-poverty laws, housing and urban development
9. America’s wars in Korea and Vietnam were similar in each of the following ways EXCEPT:
A. both were fought without a Congressional declaration of war.
B. both ended with truces that left the nations divided.
C. both were unpopular with the American public.
D. both began with communist attempts to unify a nation.
10. The 1968 Apollo 8 mission to orbit the moon was significant because:
A. it was marked by a near-disaster than nearly left the crew stranded in space.
B. it was America’s first space program tragedy, with three astronauts killed on the launch pad during a flight rehearsal.
C. its success as an unmanned mission showed that the next manned mission to the moon could be successful.
D. it was one event that all Americans seemed to celebrate in a year marked by deep societal divisions.