TEACHER

Twentieth Century

United States History

Effects of Power

Benchmark

Grade 11


Title of Test: 11th Grade American History Benchmark #4

Testing Window: May 18 to May 29, 2009

Purpose:

The SJSD Assessment team emphasizes the purpose of the SJSD benchmark assessment program is to facilitate and provide information for the following in order to enhance and promote student learning:

  1. Student Achievement -- To produce information about student achievement so that parents/guardians, students and teachers have a baseline against which to monitor academic mastery of the skills and processes set forth within a particular curriculum sequence.
  1. Student Counseling -- To serve as a tool in the counseling and guidance of students for further direction and for specific academic placement.
  1. Instructional Change -- To provide teachers with the information needed to make instructional decisions, plans and changes regarding classroom objectives and program implementation.
  1. School and District Evaluation -- To provide indicators of the progress of the district toward established goals.

Assessment Director:Dr. Laura Nelson

District Subject Coordinator: Robert Nash

SJSD Curriculum Objective and Missouri Grade Level Expectations (GLEs/CLEs)for this benchmark: (Include SJSD curriculum objective-number and words & GLE coding)

4 / Effects of Power:
Describe the impact of the post-World War II period on the daily lives of contemporary Americans.
Essential Question(s):
How do we live with the past and how does it affect our future?
4-1 / Cold War:
Assess and draw conclusions regarding the Cold War and its impact on American foreign and domestic policy.
4-2 / Civil Rights:
Critique the impact of the Civil Rights Movement on American society and connect it to the rights of American people today.
4-3 / Seventies and Eighties:
Evaluate the social, economic, and political aspects of the era and connect it to future American issues.
4-4 / Nineties to Modern Times:
Evaluate the social, economic, and political aspects of the era and connect it to future American issues.

Show-Me Standards for this benchmark:

Content standards

3a-I / Analyze the evolution of American democracy, its ideas, institutions and political processes from Reconstruction to the present, including:
a. Reconstruction
b. struggle for civil rights
c. expanding role of government
d. expanding participation in political
processes / 3 / 1.6, 1.9
3a-K / Explain the importance of the following principles of government since
Reconstruction
a. majority rule and minority rights
b. constitution and civil rights
c. checks and balances / 2 / 1.10
3a-R / Identify the roles on government in the US economy (defining and protecting property right, maintaining competition, promoting goals such as full employment, stable prices, growth and justice) / 2 / 1.10
3a-W / Describe and evaluate the evolution of United States domestic and foreign policies from Reconstruction to the present, including:
isolationism
immigration policy
Manifest Destiny
imperialism
two world wars
Cold War / 3 / 1.6, 1.9, 3.5, 3.6
3a-X / Examine the wars of the twentieth-century pertinent to US history including: causes, comparisons, consequences and peace efforts / 2 / 1.6, 1.10

Process standards

1.6Discovering and evaluating patterns and relationships in information, ideas, and structures.

1.9Identifying, analyzing, and comparing the institutions, traditions, and art forms of past and present societies.

1.10Applying acquired information, ideas, and skills to different contexts as students, workers, citizens, and consumers.

3.5Reasoning inductively from a set of specific facts and deductively from general premises.

3.6Examining problems and proposed solutions from multiple perspectives.

Please answer questions 1-8 regarding the Cold War.

1. From June 1948 to May 1949, the United States answered the Berlin Blockade with an operation known as the Berlin Airlift. It was a definite political victory for the United States, as it showed the world how determined the West was to curtail Soviet control during the Cold War. Which statement defines the Berlin Airlift?

  1. The withdrawal by air of American troops from Soviet-held East Germany
  2. A massive supply of food, fuel, and supplies flown to the west sector of Berlin
  3. The transfer of over 10,000 American troops into Berlin to maintain the peace
  4. The evacuation by air of the homeless and starving people of Berlin to the West

2. From the viewpoint of the United States, what was one effect of the Korean War?

  1. Congress passed the War Powers Act as a result of the war.
  2. The United Nations had proved itself to be a working entity.
  3. The United States had halted a communist take over without starting a third world war.
  4. The United States decided to concentrate on domestic affairs and avoid further foreign entanglements.

3. The Eisenhower-Dulles defense policy relied on which of the following military postures?

  1. Increased conventional forces
  2. Increased military forces at all levels
  3. Increased naval forces with particular emphasis on surface vessels
  4. Increased nuclear weaponry and air power with decreased conventional forces

4. The period from 1950 to 1954 was known for the fear of communism within the United States and there were congressional investigations for communists in the United States government. Accusations were widespread and the theme was always the same: Communists had infiltrated the government in every area and had actually thrived within the administration of Harry Truman. What was a result of this era?

  1. America was finally safe for democracy, as promised by President Wilson.
  2. The United States Army was found guilty of a large spread communist conspiracy.
  3. Many official careers were ruined and over 600 state department employees were forced to retire.
  4. Hearings and investigations are still being conducted today, as a result of evidence found over time.

5. After World War II, the Cold War and a fear of communists, real and imagined, causes America to enter a period that reminded many historians of the days of the Salem witch-hunts. Which term defined this period?

  1. Isolationism
  2. McCarthyism
  3. Liberalism
  4. Conservatism

6. The 1961 Bay of Pigs crisis took place during the Kennedy Administration. It involved a failed invasion off the southern coast of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. What was the purpose of this mission?

  1. To stop a secret drug ring from exporting cocaine to Florida.
  2. To halt the installment of Soviet nuclear missiles near Havana.
  3. To capture Fidel Castro and bring him to the United States to stand trial.
  4. To land secretly and inspire a public uprising against Castro, removing him from power.

7. American public opinion began to turn sharply against the Vietnam War after television showed dramatic scenes which differed from the official news releases of the Pentagon. What was the 1968 event that so moved public opinion?

  1. The Gulf of Tonkin incident
  2. The invasion of Cambodia
  3. The My Lai Massacre
  4. The Tet Offensive

8. The war in Vietnam created political, economic, and social changes in the United States. Identify a political change that occurred as a result of American involvement in Vietnam.

  1. The president was restricted to two four-terms.
  2. The draft was outlawed for use by the United States government.
  3. An act was passed which made it illegal for tax money to by used in foreign wars.
  4. An act was passed to keep the president from involving the United States in foreign was by executive action.

Please answer questions 9-15 regarding the Civil Rights movement.

9. Harry Truman was a strong supporter if equal rights for African Americans. What action did he take early in his term to show this support?

  1. He integrated all public schools in Washington, D.C.
  2. He appointed the first black American to a cabinet post.
  3. He began the desegregation of the armed forces during World War II.
  4. He sent United States troops to Arkansas to aid in school desegregation.

10. In 1954, the Supreme Court overruled the Plessy v. Ferguson case in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. This was a monumental decision in terms of education for blacks. What was the ruling?

  1. Segregated education was unequal by its very nature.
  2. The system of busing blacks to white schools was legalized.
  3. “Separate but equal” public schools were constitutionalized.
  4. Blacks were guaranteed a free education from kindergarten through college.

11. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, a new strategy known as a “sit-in” became popular among the nation’s youth. Students at universities and colleges throughout the country began using this nonviolent tactic to bring about change. Why did students in the 1950s use this procedure?

  1. To fill all seats on segregated buses, so working whites could not ride.
  2. To be on guard outside integrated schools to help if and when needed.
  3. To block entrances to those stores refusing to do business with whites.
  4. To integrate the nation’s lunch counters through the use of massive boycotting.

12. A rage of racial riots occurred in the 1960s in such cities as Newark, New Jersey; Detroit, Michigan; and Los Angeles, California. What was one reason large western and northern cities suffered most from African-American problems and the emergence of black power?

  1. Black urban dwellers were discouraged and left large cities to return to the farms of the South.
  2. The hot, humid summers bred frustration and restlessness among all populations in the cities.
  3. Over two-thirds of the total black population had migrated to these areas since 1900, looking for jobs.
  4. The South had finally integrated satisfactorily and only the North had refused to accept the black as an equal.

13. In the early 1960s, the civil rights movement took a new direction. How did African Americans feel regarding their image?

  1. Incidents of social unacceptance increased.
  2. The term ‘colored’ to describe blacks was adopted.
  3. The original race description of “Negro” once more came into use.
  4. Feelings of black self-esteem evolved, as well as a pride of ancestry.

14. During the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, city officials pressured and harassed blacks to give up the boycott. The leader of the boycotters of the black community urged them to hold on. “This is not a war between the white and the Negro,” he said, “but a conflict between justice and injustice.” Who was this leader?

  1. Stokley Carmichael
  2. Jesse Jackson
  3. Martin Luther King, Jr.
  4. Roy Wilkins

15. What was one regulation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

  1. It prohibited the use of literacy tests as a voting requirement.
  2. It declared all blacks must be educated through the sixth grade.
  3. It empowered the Attorney General to challenge the state poll taxes.
  4. It empowered the Attorney General to send federal examiners to any county practicing voting discrimination.

Please answer questions 16-20 regarding the modern era.

16. Both sides in the abortion controversy have resorted to the use of emotional terms, such as “pro-choice” and “pro-life.” These tactics have done little to resolve the issue. In fact, they may have worsened the conflict by implying that one side is all-good and the other all evil. Which of the following identifies the fundamental question which divides people on the difficult question of abortion?

  1. When does life begin?
  2. Who should pay for the cost of abortions?
  3. Is the right to privacy implied in the Constitution?
  4. Should minor children be required to have a parental permission for an abortion?

17. Legislation forbidding employers to discriminate age, sex, or race greatly aided women in the job market. What piece of legislation was responsible for women being able to successfully compete for jobs?

  1. Civil Rights Act of 1964
  2. The Nineteenth Amendment
  3. The Twenty-third Amendment
  4. Voting Rights Act of 1965

18. In 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment was submitted for passage and ratification. The amendment provided that “equality under the law shall not be denied on account of sex.” What is the status of the Equal Rights Amendment?

  1. The amendment passed and is now law.
  2. The amendment did not receive enough votes for ratification and died.
  3. The amendment never got out of Congress, giving the states no opportunity to ratify it.
  4. The amendment was passed by Congress and is now before the states for ratification.

19. During Reagan's presidency, federal spending increased most for

  1. defense and the military.
  2. environmental protection.
  3. job training and school loans.
  4. urban mass transit in major cities.

Use the passage to answer question 20.

Each State Is Like a Game

Since he first read about the controversy in Life Magazine in the 1960's, Dr. [Alan Natapoff, a physicistat the Massachusetts Institute of Technology] has been using baseball to illustrate the essentialworth of the Electoral College.

In the World Series, he says, the team that scores the most runs overall is like a candidate who getsthe most popular votes. But to win the Series, that team needs to win the most games. After all theAtlanta Braves in this year's Series scored more runs (26) than the New York Yankees (18), but not inthe right combination to win the championship.

In a game that isn't close, the probability is small that one more run (vote) for the team that is ahead willultimately change the game's outcome, as a Republican voting for Bob Dole in heavily RepublicanUtah will find. In a more competitive game, however, the value of an additional run (vote) increasessubstantially.

In a nail-biting game (a close election in a state with a lot of electoral votes) the value of each additionalrun (vote) is at its greatest. If California, with 54 electoral votes, is closely contested, each popularvote for either President Clinton or Mr. Dole might clinch the election. (Truman won California by17,865 votes in 1948 out of more than 4 million cast.)

A run early in the season is worth less than one in Game Six of the World Series. And in a 15-to-2 rout,the 4th home run is less important than the first. Why? Because a team can't take the extra 12 runs andshift them to the next day's game.

Similarly, in the contest for electoral votes, a candidate can't take some of his overwhelming popularvote in Texas and shift it to a close race in Oregon; each race is a separate game. Otherwise,Democrats would concentrate their efforts on big Democratic states and Republicans would targetbig Republican states in a mad rush to pile up votes.

All this doesn't mean that a large popular vote isn't important. A baseball player wants to win games,but he also wants to improve his own statistics, as a bargaining chip for contract talks or a rationale forentry into the Hall of Fame. And a candidate wants a lot of votes to claim a mandate.

20. To what does Dr. Natapoff compare the candidate who gets the most popular votes in a presidentialelection?

  1. He compares the candidate to the baseball team that gets the most wins over the course of a season.
  2. He compares the candidate to the baseball team that scores the most runs over the course of a season.
  3. He compares the candidate to the baseball team that gets the most runs over the course of the entire World Series.
  4. He compares the candidate to the baseball team that gets the most wins over the course of the entire World Series.