Download WWII Take Home Exam

University Academy
United States History
World War II
Take-Home Exam
Mr. Havens
This exam is due in class on Friday, February 10th.
Terms: Write your answers on the answer sheet.
1. Proposed by Secretary of State Henry Stimson as early as 1931, this foreign policy tool would allow
the United States to ban trade in weapons with aggressor nations as a way to influence world affairs
without becoming involved in war.
2. In this incident, captured American troops marched 85 miles in a tropical climate to prison camps by
the Japanese army.
3. This congressional investigation was looking in to the accusation that munitions manufacturers had
conspired to drag the United States in to World War I.
4. In response to German, Italian, and Japanese aggression, this forbade the sale of munitions to all
belligerents whenever the president should proclaim that a state of war existed.
5. The code name for the top-secret effort to develop an atomic bomb in a camp at Los Alamos, NM.
6. This German city was firebombed from bases in France to try to destroy German morale.
7. The nickname of the Allied invasion of Europe at Normandy, France in June of 1944.
8. After finally entering World War II, the United States was determined to use its economic might to
produce large quantities of materiel and become this.
9. Adding to previous legislation designed to maintain the neutrality of the United States, this law gave
the President the power to limit the sale of any goods (not just munitions) to belligerents to a cash-andcarry basis.
10. Site of the surprise attack against by the Japanese against the United States on December 7, 1941.
11. On September 1, 1945 this American battleship entered Tokyo Bay and Japan formally surrendered
on board the next day.
12. This strategy emphasized American material aid to allies as a method of helping the Allies win and,
more importantly, keeping the United States out of the war in Europe.
13. At a strategic location halfway across Pacific and close to Hawaii, Japan attacked and lost four
aircraft carriers. This was the first victory for allies, protecting Hawaii, Alaska, and the West Coast
and the myth of invincibility was broken.
14. In an effort to streamline the coordination of the various parts of the American economy that were
being harnessed for the war effort, this bureaucracy was created by President Roosevelt and led by
Donald Nelson.
15. Passed by the Congress after much debate, this gave the President the power to “sell, transfer title
to, exchange, lease, lend or otherwise dispose of, to any such government . . . .any defense article.”
Multiple Choice: Fill the bubble corresponding to the correct answer on the answer sheet.
1. “World War II was, in many ways, a continuation of World War I.” Which of the following supports this
interpretation?
A) The Versailles Treaty punished Germany for WWI, even though there were many causes for that war.
B) WWI destabilized the economies of many of the world’s richest nations, helping to lead to the Great
Depression and the rise of fascist governments.
C) The Versailles Treaty levied heavy reparations against Germany, crippling their economy and embittering
the German people.
D) WWI made it possible for communists to seize power in Russia, creating a new source of tension in the
industrialized world.
E) All of the above support the statement.
2. Which of the following is NOT a valid explanation for Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor?
A) Japan apparently underestimated Americans’ will and ability to fight in a sustained, major war.
B) Japan hoped to defeat the United States in a major war and conquer at least part of the US mainland.
C) Japan hoped to destroy the US Pacific fleet and then quickly seize the oil-rich East Indies—presenting the
U.S. with a stunning fait accompli that would be very difficult to reverse.
D) Japan was angry at the United States for the US freezing of Japanese assets and its embargo of trade with
Japan.
E) Japan believed it could win by fighting a defensive war, spread out over thousands of islands and
territories that would be very difficult for the U.S. to attack.
3. Which of the following is UNTRUE about the war in the Pacific?
A) The U.S. strategy in the Pacific was called “island-hopping”—seizing the least-defended territories from
Japan and using them as bases to attack further territories.
B) One reason for Japan’s ultimate defeat was that they were over-extended—had to defend too much
territory against the US and the Asian peoples they’d conquered.
C) The 1942 Battle of Midway was a key turning point for the U.S.—their first victory against Japan.
D) The U.S. won the largest naval battle in history at the 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf, destroying much of the
Japanese navy.
E) Japan’s first defeat was its failure to conquer the Philippines from US control under Gen. Douglas
MacArthur.
F) The U.S. engaged in massive firebombing of Japanese cities in 1944-45 to weaken Japan prior to a
planned allied invasion of the main islands of Japan.
4. African-Americans during WWII—
A) were for the first time fully integrated with white troops in the military.
B) became a truly national minority, rather than a regional one, moving to cities in greater numbers than ever
before.
C) engaged in a major March on Washington, in a failed attempt to end segregation in the defense industries.
D) joined the Republican Party in greater numbers than ever, due to their opposition to President Roosevelt.
E) engaged in all of the above.
5. WWII made many major, enduring changes to American society. Which of the following was NOT such
a change?
A) Mexican immigration increased, as they became the dominant agricultural labor force in places like
California.
B) Women gained jobs and respect during the war, often losing this status after the war and paving the way
for the revival of a women’s liberation movement.
C) Native Americans fled to their traditional reservations to avoid military service.
D) American society during and after the war became more mobile than ever before, as millions of young
men were moved about the country and settled in new locations after the war.
E) Japanese-Americans were interned in concentration camps during the war, in violation of their
Constitutional rights.
6. Sugar, nylon, gasoline, canned foods, and many other goods were rationed to the American people on the
“home front” during WWII because—
A) the Depression had left America short of many basic supplies the American people needed.
B) it was seen as a fairer way of “sharing the burden” than allowing free market capitalism to regulate prices.
C) many goods were needed for the war effort and thus were in short supply at home.
D) FDR’s New Deal program was attempting to regulate all aspects of life in America.
E) all of the above. F) only A & B above. G) only B & C above.
H)only C & D above.
7. A post-war economic boom followed WWII because—
A) U.S. industry grew tremendously during the war and continued to grow after the war by selling goods to
the many nations badly damaged by the war.
B) America reached full employment during the war, ending the Great Depression.
C) savings grew during the war that could be spent after the war, once desired goods were no longer rationed.
D) America had emerged from the war with its cities and industries largely undamaged.
E) all of the above.
8. The Manhattan Project—
A) resulted in the only wartime use of nuclear weapons so far, as atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, Japan.
B) was the failed secret plan for invading Japan.
C) delayed the end of WWII by causing the United States to pursue costly, unworkable weapons of mass
destruction.
D) was the code name for the D-Day invasion of Europe.
E) led to the defeat of Hitler’s Germany.
9. Throughout the early years of WWII, Stalin urged his allies most of all —
A) to start a major “second front” in western Europe against Germany.
B) to send military and food aid to his embattled country.
C) to rescue the Jews and Slavs from the concentration camps of Germany.
D) to conquer Japan quickly, so they could turn their full efforts against defeating Nazi Germany.
E) to invade North Africa.
10. The Supreme Allied Commander of the D-Day invasion was—
A) Gen. Charles de Gaulle. B) Gen. George Patton.
C) Gen. Douglass MacArthur.
D) Gen. Omar Bradley.
E) Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.
11. Which of the following is true of the Bataan Death March?
A) Thousands of European Jews, gypsies, and homosexuals were marched to death camps by Hitler’s SS
troops.
B) This referred to Allied soldiers who had received orders for combat duty and were to suffer the horrors of
trench warfare.
C) American and Filipino prisoners of war were force marched to prison camps by Japanese troops, with
thousands dying along the way.
D) This was used to refer to D-Day because deaths were so high among Allied soldiers who marched onto
the beaches at Normandy.
12. This battle was a turning point in the Pacific war and relieved the Japanese threat to the U.S. Navy base at
Honolulu.
A) The Battle of the Coral Sea
B) The Battle of Guadalcanal
C) The Battle of Midway
D) The Battle of Okinawa
13. U.S. strategy during the Second World War called for
A) the United States to concentrate its forces in the Pacific while Great Britain and Russia fought the war in
Europe.
B) the defeat first of Germany and then of Japan.
C) a buildup of armaments in the Western Hemisphere so that the United States could withstand an Axis
attack.
D) a negotiated settlement in Europe if possible while seeking the unconditional surrender of Japan.
14. Which of the following stalled German advances in eastern Europe and placed German forces on the
defensive for the rest of the Second World War?
A) The Allied invasion of Poland
B) The liberation of France
C) The battle for Aachen
D) The battle for Stalingrad
15. During the Second World War, the personal income of most American workers
A) declined in real terms because of higher taxes.
B) increased, but was eaten up by the high rate of inflation
C) was lower than that of workers in other industrialized nations.
D) reached new highs
16. The internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War was based on
A) conviction for espionage and sedition.
B) well-documented conspiracies to sabotage the American war effort.
C) their ethnic origin.
D) evidence of their support for the Japanese war effort against the United States.
17. “Arms Sales to Warring Nations Banned” “Americans Forbidden to Travel on Ships of Warring Nations”
“Loans to Nations at War Forbidden” “War Materials Sold Only on Cash-and-Carry Basis” These headlines
from the 1930s reflect the efforts of the United States to
A) maintain freedom of the seas
B) send military supplies to the League of Nations
C) limit the spread of international communism
D) avoid participation in European wars
18. Which of the following was an agreement reached at the Yalta Conference?
A) The United States and Great Britain would enter into a treaty of friendship with Mao Zedong of China.
B) Poland would be a protectorate under Russian domination and with a pro-Soviet government.
C) Germany would be divided into two zones, one controlled by the western Allies and the other by the
Soviet Union.
D) Russia would declare war on Japan shortly after Hitler’s defeat.
19. President Truman became more bold at the Potsdam Conference when he
A) learned that the atomic bomb test in New Mexico had been successful.
B) learned that the Japanese had bowed to the Americans’ demand for an unconditional surrender.
C) received news that Congress had adopted a joint resolution endorsing his foreign policy objectives.
D) received news that his standing in American public opinion polls had dramatically improved.
20. The decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan was
A) made by President Truman only after he consulted with Great Britain and the Soviet Union.
B) reached by President Truman only after weeks of agonizing soul-searching.
C) made by President Truman over the nearly unanimous opposition of his advisers.
D) influenced by the possibility that it would quickly end the war with Japan and save American lives.
Short Answer:
On August 6, 1945, a single bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, killing 80,000 people immediately and about
60,000 more within six months. On August 9, a second atomic bomb that ultimately killed about 70,000
people was dropped on Nagasaki.
Using the documents you read and the arguments we developed in class, argue in favor of one of the
following two propositions:
A. The United States should have dropped the atomic bombs. OR
B. The United States should not have dropped the atomic bombs but should have invaded Japan with
traditional forces.
- You need to present at least three different arguments in support of the proposition you have chosen.
- Pay special attention to grammar, spelling, and usage.
- If you need to cite one of the documents that we read in class, simply use the document number (#9).
- Your essay must be written in MLA format and submitted to Turnitin.com by Friday 2/10 at 11:59 pm.