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CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
America in a World at War
Multiple Choice Questions
1.
In World War II, the main American strategy to fight Japan was to
A. create two offensive campaigns to attack the Japanese from two directions.
B. concentrate U.S. forces into one large offensive moving west from the Marshall Islands.
C. quickly recapture the Midway islands from the Japanese.
D. establish a strong defensive position in the Solomon Islands to lure in the Japanese.
2.
In World War II, one of the primary American commanders in the Pacific was
A. Dwight Eisenhower.
B. Omar Bradley.
C. Chester Nimitz.
D. George Marshall.
3.
The Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942
A. marked the first important victory by the United States against Japan.
B. saw the United States forced to withdraw its naval forces.
C. marked the major turning point of the war in the Pacific.
D. saw the Japanese lose most of its aircraft carriers.
4.
The Battle of Midway in 1942
A. saw the United States suffer great losses.
B. was a stunning defeat for the Japanese Navy.
C. both A and B
D. neither A nor B
5.
After 1943, the United States advanced on Japan primarily with the aid of forces from
A. England and France.
B. the Soviet Union and China.
C. the Dutch and the Soviet Union.
D. Australia and New Zealand.
6.
During World War II, the United States Army chief of staff was
A. Douglas MacArthur.
B. George Marshall.
C. Omar Bradley.
D. Dwight Eisenhower.
7.
In 1943, the country that pressed for an immediate Allied invasion of France against Germany was
A. the Soviet Union.
B. China.
C. Great Britain.
D. the United States.
8.
In 1942–1943, the British and American war effort against the Nazis concentrated on
A. freeing France from German control.
B. supporting the Russians.
C. fighting in North Africa.
D. protecting England.
9.
In 1942, the North African campaign against the Nazis saw
A. the Americans advance under the command of Omar Bradley.
B. the Americans successfully regroup from a defeat at Kasserine Pass.
C. the Germans suffered a major defeat at Stalingrad.
D. the Americans push Germans out of Egypt.
10.
In 1943, at the Casablanca Conference, the Allies decided they would next invade
A. Cyprus.
B. France.
C. Sicily.
D. Corsica.
11.
During World War II, the first Axis country to be defeated was
A. Italy.
B. Spain.
C. Austria.
D. Japan.
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12.
The Allied decisions that delayed an invasion of France left the Soviet Union
A. deeply embittered.
B. in a better position to control eastern Europe.
C. both A and B
D. neither A nor B
13.
The United States government acquired definite knowledge of the Holocaust
A. prior to World War II.
B. during the first years of the war.
C. not until the last year of the war.
D. not until the end of the war.
14.
During World War II, Allied bombers targeted
A. the crematoria at Auschwitz.
B. the railroad lines leading to Auschwitz.
C. both A and B
D. neither A nor B
15.
In regards to European Jewish refugees, between 1939 and 1945, the United States
A. refused to accept large numbers of refugees.
B. won an agreement by England to accept several thousand refugees.
C. made many efforts to help refugees escape the Nazis but not to enter the United States.
D. denied the Nazis were targeting Jews for murder.
16.
Between 1939 and 1945, the federal budget of the United States
A. doubled.
B. tripled.
C. rose five-fold.
D. rose ten-fold.
17.
During World War II, the regional impact of government spending was the greatest in the
A. North.
B. South.
C. East.
D. West.
18.
During World War II, the labor force of the United States
A. saw fifteen million people leave civilian labor for the armed forces.
B. saw the supply of civilian labor decline by twenty-five percent.
C. both A and B
D. neither A nor B
19.
During World War II, organized labor in the United States
A. lost membership as wages rose across most industries.
B. frequently used the threats of strikes to obtain higher wages.
C. agreed to freeze union membership and wages until the war was over.
D. won automatic union memberships for new defense plant workers.
20.
Throughout World War II, in organized American labor
A. no major union went on strike.
B. many states passed laws expanding the influence of unions
C. unions accepted a freeze on wages until the war ended.
D. “wildcat” strikes were quite common.
21.
The Smith-Connally Act of 1943
A. was opposed by President Franklin Roosevelt.
B. authorized the president to seize a war factory where workers had gone on strike.
C. both A and B
D. neither A nor B
22.
Over the course of World War II, inflation in the United States
A. remained low before 1941.
B. was much less serious a problem than during World War I.
C. was largely uncontrolled by the federal government.
D. was at its highest in the last year of the war.
23.
In 1943, to simplify tax collections, Congress enacted
A. automatic payroll deductions.
B. a short form for paying income taxes.
C. a sales tax.
D. a flat tax.
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24.
During World War II, the War Production Board
A. was maintained under the direction of the Department of Labor.
B. had greater authority over the American economy than its World War I counterpart.
C. had complete control over military purchases.
D. favored large over small contractors.
25.
During World War II, the National Defense Research Committee
A. by 1941, had pushed the U.S. into a position of technological superiority over Germany.
B. was headed by a scientist who was a pioneer in the development of the computer.
C. received more private funding than government money.
D. concentrated its work on developing an atomic bomb.
26.
During World War II, the effectiveness of German U-boats was ended by the development of
A. sonar.
B. radar.
C. both A and B
D. neither A nor B
27.
During World War II, Germany held the technological edge over the Allies in
A. centimetric radar.
B. rocket-propelled bombs.
C. ocean mine detection.
D. aircraft bombers.
28.
During World War II, the Allied development of Gee navigation system
A. was first used in the last months of the war.
B. sent a sonic message telling pilots they were in range of their targets.
C. used electronic pulses to plot course location.
D. proved ineffective at sea.
29.
During World War II, all of the following were Allied advances in intelligence-gathering EXCEPT the
A. creation of the Enigma machine for coded communications.
B. introduction of punched-hole card technology.
C. creation of the first programmable, digital computer.
D. breaking of both the German and the Japanese codes early in the war.
30.
During World War II, the Fair Employment Practices Commission was created
A. to help southern African Americans move to northern cities to take war jobs.
B. by President Roosevelt to stop black protesters from marching on the capital.
C. after serious racial rioting broke out in several northern industrial cities.
D. and led by A. Philip Randolph.
31.
During World War II, the United States military
A. used quotas to limit the number of black servicemen in the military.
B. excluded blacks from combat duty.
C. began to relax its practices of racial segregation.
D. allowed blacks into all branches of the military for the first time.
32.
During World War II, American Indians
A. saw government war contracts bring a higher standard of living to many reservations.
B. were excluded from military service.
C. were pushed out of white society and back onto the reservations.
D. saw the war effort undermine efforts to revitalize tribal traditions.
33.
In 1942, the United States and Mexico agreed to the bracero program which
A. increased the number of Mexican immigrants the United States would accept as new citizens.
B. allowed United States businesses to establish war production factories in Mexico.
C. admitted contract Mexican contract laborers into the United States for a limited time.
D. accepted Mexican citizens into the United States armed forces.
34.
In 1943, the “zoot-suit riots” in Los Angeles
A. resulted from tensions between the African American and Mexican American communities.
B. led the city to prohibit the wearing of zoot suits.
C. both A and B
D. neither A nor B
35.
In 1942, when the United States interned Japanese Americans in “relocation centers”
A. all of the affected Japanese were American citizens.
B. the west coast of the United States was not an important military region.
C. all of those affected were first generation Japanese immigrants.
D. there was no evidence that the Japanese Americans were a domestic security risk.
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36.
All of the following statements regarding the internment of Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II are true EXCEPT
A. the United States government has always defended its actions.
B. the order for internment was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1944.
C. most of those interned lost all their property and possessions.
D. the internment camps were essentially prisons.
37.
During World War II, Chinese Americans
A. were drafted in a higher proportion than any other national group.
B. received a favorable image in U.S. government propaganda.
C. both A and B
D. neither A nor B
38.
During World War II, American women who worked outside the home
A. tended to be older than women who worked in the past.
B. were barred from unions.
A. were not allowed have children under the age of three in their care.
D. all of the above
39.
During World War II, in the United States, all of the following societal events experienced a rise in their rate of occurrence EXCEPT
A. prostitution.
B. high school enrollment.
C. divorce.
D. juvenile crime.
40.
During World War II, American shoppers
A. faced many shortages of consumer goods.
B. made consumerism a powerful force in society.
C. both A and B
D. neither A nor B
41.
In the 1940s, swing music
A. was a new form of jazz.
B. originated in Latin America.
C. grew out of the square dance.
D. first appeared in the United States in Kansas City.
42.
During World War II, the United States military services
A. saw the major purpose of the USO to bring new recruits into the armed forces.
B. tolerated homosexuality.
C. tolerated illicit heterosexual relationships.
D. encouraged USO women to form relationships with servicemen.
43.
During World War II, Congress abolished the
A. Civilian Conservation Corps.
B. Works Progress Administration.
A. both A and B
D. neither A nor B
44.
A significant issue in the 1944 election was
A. the domestic economy.
B. corruption charges involving the White House.
C. the strategy of the war.
D. civil rights.
45.
In the 1944 elections
A. Republicans gained control of the Senate.
B. President Franklin Roosevelt was too ill to campaign.
C. Democrats increased their control of the Congress.
D. Thomas Dewey nearly won the electoral vote.
46.
All of the following statements regarding the Allied invasion of France in June 1944 are true EXCEPT
A. the attack saw the largest number of naval vessels and armaments ever assembled in one place.
B. the landing was made across the narrowest part of the English Channel.
C. Allied paratroopers were dropped behind German lines prior to the beach landings.
D. within a week, German forces had been dislodged from most of the Normandy coast.
47.
In August 1944, the Allies liberated from German occupation the city of
A. Rome.
B. Warsaw.
C. Stockholm.
D. Paris.
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48.
In February 1945, an Allied bombing attack on Dresden, Germany
A. destroyed most of the previously undamaged city.
B. killed more than 135,000 people, nearly all civilians.
C. both A and B
D. neither A nor B
49.
The Battle of the Bulge
A. began in the Spring of 1945.
B. saw the American army drive deep into Germany.
C. was the last major battle on the western front.
D. all of the above
50.
In April 1945, American and British forces halted their advance on Germany at the Elbe River
A. because their supply lines had become overextended.
B. to wait for the Russian army to arrive.
C. due to fierce German resistance.
D. at the announcement that President Franklin Roosevelt had died.
51.
In February 1944, American naval forces won a series of victories in the Marshall Islands under the command of
A. Chester Nimitz.
B. Douglas MacArthur.
C. Omar Bradley.
D. Joseph Stilwell.
52.
The 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf
A. was the largest naval engagement in history.
B. saw Japanese forces sink four American aircraft carriers.
C. was the only time German and Japanese naval forces fought together.
D. included the American capture of Okinawa.
53.
The 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima
A. was the costliest in the history of the United States Marines.
B. was of no strategic value for the United States.
C. both A and B
D. neither A nor B
54.
In mid-1945, evidence of Japan’s desperation to continue the war included
A. sending thousands of pilots on suicide missions.
B. nighttime attacks by Japanese troops against American lines.
C. both A and B
D. neither A nor B
55.
In 1939, the first steps toward the creation of an atomic bomb were taken by
A. the Soviet Union.
B. Great Britain.
C. the United States.
D. Nazi Germany.
56.
All of the following statements regarding the Allied development of an atomic bomb during World War II are true EXCEPT
A. the program was code named the Manhattan Project.
B. plutonium was a practical fuel for the bomb.
C. the program proceeded at a faster pace than had been expected.
D. Albert Einstein was in charge of the program.
57.
In 1945, the first atomic explosion in history took place in
A. Hiroshima, Japan.
B. the Bikini Islands.
C. Alamogordo, New Mexico.
D. the Salt Lake desert in Utah.
58.
Prior to ordering the use of an atomic bomb against Japan, President Harry Truman
A. sent evidence of a test explosion to the Japanese government.
B. issued an ultimatum to Japan to surrender or face utter devastation.
C. warned the Japanese about the atomic bomb but sent no evidence of its effect.
D. did not send any kind of message to Japan.
59.
In August 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan because
A. the Japanese did not surrender after the first bomb was dropped.
B. the Soviet Union announced it would not enter into war against Japan.
C. the Japanese government announced it would surrender no matter what the cost.
D. the emperor of Japan asked the United States for more time to consider surrendering.
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60.
In 1945, the Japanese surrender to the United States
A. was announced a few days after a second atomic bomb had been dropped.
B. was formally signed on the American battleship Missouri.
C. both A and B
D. neither A nor B
61.
Casualties in World War II
A. saw fourteen million combatants die.
B. saw more than one million Americans killed or wounded.
C. both A and B
D. neither A nor B
True/False Questions
62.
Despite the power of prewar isolationism, there was a large degree of unity once the United States was involved in World War II.
63.
In June 1942, the United States gained control of the central Pacific with the battle of Midway.
64.
At first, the United States and Britain were not in agreement on where to strike at the Nazis.
65.
The Soviet Union favored the Allied African campaign as a way to divert German resources from the eastern front.
66.
The Allied invasion of Sicily led to the collapse of the Mussolini government.
67.
The United States government consistently resisted calls to make an Allied effort to save Jews caught in the Holocaust.
68.
The federal government’s budget in 1945 had increased more than ten-fold from 1939.
69.
During World War II, six million Americans joined the armed forces.
70.
World War II gave a great boost to union membership, even though the government extracted “no-strike” pledges from unions for the duration of the
war.
71.
Congress enacted a system of automatic tax withholding through payroll deductions as a wartime measure.
72.
By the end of 1942, Allied technology had caught up with Germany and Japan.
73.
The Allied introduction of an “acoustic” mine was a major advance in naval warfare.
74.
Germany’s rocket-propelled bombs caused more psychological harm than actual damage in England.
75.
American intelligence broke the Japanese coding system prior to Pearl Harbor.
76.
The black strategy for social and economic improvement during World War II was to gain favor with the Roosevelt administration rather than make
demands of it.
77.
At the start of World War II, black leaders carried out a massive march on Washington to call attention to racial discrimination.
78.
Native American languages were useful in American military communications.
79.
The braceros program allowed Mexicans to enter the United States and become citizens if they agreed to work in war plants for the duration of the
war.
80.
The repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Acts in 1943 resulted in a flood of Chinese immigrants into the United States.
81.
During World War II, most jobs were categorized by gender.
82.
Working mothers during World War II usually relied on private child-care facilities.
83.
Swing music was a product of the African American music world.
84.
The 1944 presidential campaign revolved primarily around domestic, rather than foreign, policy issues.
85.
During the 1944 presidential campaign, Franklin Roosevelt was gravely ill.
86.
Congress abolished both the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Association during World War II.
87.
Near the end of World War II, American, British, and Russian troops battled Nazi troops in the streets of Berlin.
88.
Harry Truman did not know of the existence of the Manhattan Project at the time that he became president.
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89.
The United States was preparing to drop an atomic bomb on Germany when it surrendered.
90.
The dropping of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was followed by the firebombing of Tokyo.
91.
When President Truman ordered the use of the atomic bomb he believed he was making a simple military decision.
533