InQuizitive: Chapter 28: America in the Fifties

Where was Eisenhower relatively successful in handling foreign crises?

- E. GER. - Egypt

Complete the passage below describing a crucial project launched by the Eisenhower administration. A few of the major programs launched by the Eisenhower administration strongly resembled the public works projects of the 1930s that were created as part of the New Deal. The Federal-Aid Highway Act, for instance, implemented the largest national system of connected highways that not only aided defense efforts, but also completely transformed American life.

- New Deal - Federal-Aid Highway Act - national

Complete the passage below describing a crucial factor that contributed to the postwar economic boom in the 1950s. In the years soon after the Second World War, Americans embraced consumption on a large scale, made easier by the invention of credit cards. This period was different from past economic booms in that it allowed many blue-collar workers to enter the middle class.

- Second World War - consumption - middle class

Complete the passage below describing the Suez crisis that occurred in the Middle East during the Eisenhower administration. Nasser's rise to power in Egypt created tensions in the region as his regime urged the British to withdraw from the Suez Canal. The United States supported this insistence, but Nasser's attempts to acquire weapons from the Soviet Union further complicated the U.S.-Egyptian relationship. Eisenhower offered to fund a crucial dam for Nasser; however, increased trade between Egypt and the Soviet Union led the administration to rescind the offer. This prompted Nasser to occupy the Suez Canal and deny access to ships headed to Israel, resulting in an Israeli, British, and French invasion of Egypt.

- Suez Canal - weapons - dam

Complete the passage below describing the housing revolution that took place in America during the postwar economic boom. The shortage of housing within cities incentivized the development of many housing communities across the country for the middle class, an expanding group of predominantly white Americans. As a wave of black southerners migrated north to cities, an increasing number of white Americans chose suburbia.

- middle class - black southerners - suburbia

Identify some of the roles and expectations of women in the postwar America of the 1950s.

Correct answers: - A soaring birthrate reinforced the idea that a woman's place was in the home. - Though millions of women occupied traditionally male jobs during the war, the return of veterans essentially forced women out of these roles and back into the domestic sphere. - The advertisement industry contributed to public pressure on women to return to the home by promoting an ideal of the middle-class housewife. Incorrect answers: - The media tended to emphasize the similarities between American women and Soviet women. - The average age of marriage for women rose dramatically because the horrors of war had made women less likely to want to start families.

For fifteen years, the NAACP had attempted to employ the courts as a tool for ending racial segregation. Identify the Supreme Court cases that challenged the separate-but-equal doctrine established by the Supreme Court in 1896.

Correct answers: - Brown v. Board of Education - Sweatt v. Painter Incorrect answers: - Plessy v. Ferguson - "Southern Manifesto"

Watch the author video featuring David Shi before answering the question below. Which of the following accurately describe Eisenhower's approach to foreign policy?

Correct answers: - Despite his background as an army general, Eisenhower ironically was most concerned with constraining American military involvement abroad. - Eisenhower prized diplomacy, such as through his efforts to broker a peace settlement during the Suez crisis in Egypt to avoid a full-fledged war. Incorrect answers: - As a former army general, President Eisenhower supported a political agenda that centered on intense military involvement to prove the might of the United States as a military power compared to that of the Soviets. - President Eisenhower was quick to intervene in conflicts and offer military aid, as he did for France while it was besieged in the battle of Dien Bien Phu.

Describe Eisenhower's "moderate Republicanism," particularly his intentions to alter the balance between state and federal power.

Correct answers: - Eisenhower sought to curb the ability of the federal government to engage in social and political planning. - Eisenhower sought to reinstate the power of state governments. - Eisenhower sought a "middle way" that emphasized consensus and compromise. Incorrect answers: - Eisenhower sought to dismantle the New Deal and restore traditional conservative principles. - Eisenhower sought to expand the scope of the federal government by broadening New Deal programs. - Eisenhower sought to limit the authority of the states and redirect funds to programs that would benefit the entire nation.

Identify the philosophy and specific policy goals that Eisenhower sought to execute as part of his "dynamic conservatism" program, in which he was "conservative when it comes to money and liberal when it comes to human beings."

Correct answers: - He planned to execute a fiscally conservative and socially liberal agenda. - He approved additional public housing projects and extended Social Security benefits to citizens who had previously been excluded. Incorrect answers: - He sought to increase tax rates on the top 50 percent of Americans. - He sought to increase defense spending.

Which of the following were part of Dwight Eisenhower's "middle way" presidential campaign platform?

Correct answers: - He promised to balance the federal budget and trim taxes. - He promised to reduce the national debt and cut military expenses. Incorrect answers: - He promised to dismantle all the New Deal and Fair Deal programs. - He promised to eliminate labor laws and decrease the minimum wage average. - He promised to enlarge the role of the federal bureaucracy and give more power to the executive branch.

Identify actions President Eisenhower took to meet his promise of a "middle way between untrammeled freedom of the individual and the demands of the welfare of the whole nation."

Correct answers: - He sought to trim the bureaucracy of the federal government. - He expanded the number of people eligible for Social Security. - He worked to balance the budget. Incorrect answers: - He increased military spending. - He pledged to dismantle the excessive programs of the New Deal.

Court-ordered integration inspired "massive resistance" among many whites, especially in the South. Which of the following statements accurately describe the response to the events that took place at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in the fall of 1957?

Correct answers: - The Eisenhower administration sent 1,000 paratroopers to protect the black students attempting to enter their school building that had just been desegregated. - Some southern politicians called for President Eisenhower's impeachment and removal over the way he handled the events at Little Rock. - The angry reactions of southern politicians helped lead to further court proceedings in Arkansas and Virginia over integration. Incorrect answers: - Despite a highly publicized first day, desegregation at the school was immediate and continued to go smoothly, as the high school remained open and integrated.

What was the relationship between World War II and the Great Depression in the United States?

Correct answers: - The end of the war allowed the government to transfer many federal defense plants to civilian owners, which helped stimulate the exceptional productivity of American manufacturing and, thus, economic growth. - The devastation the war had on other industrial countries compared to the United States created an American monopoly on international trade. - Huge federal expenses during World War II and the Korean War pushed the economy out of the Great Depression. Incorrect answers: - The end of the war resulted in such a decrease in the military budget that it was no longer a major percentage of the national budget and allowed the government to focus solely on rebuilding domestic programs. - The cost of the war prolonged the Great Depression, as it took many years during the 1950s for the government to afford to begin major spending again.

Identify the ways in which the federal government contributed to the dramatic growth of the postwar American economy.

Correct answers: - The federal government reallocated war-related plants to civilian owners. - The federal government provided loans for home buyers and spent a tremendous amount on highways, water, and sanitation that promoted a boom in suburban development. - The GI Bill of Rights provided a pathway for social mobility for millions of veterans. - Research for military efforts helped create thriving new industries. Incorrect answers: - The decrease in the military budget allowed the government to allocate more funds to public works projects.

Which of the following statements accurately describes the stance that the literary community tended to express regarding postwar society in the United States?

Correct answers: - The upper-middle-class white suburbs were a frequent literary target. - The literary community often saw Americans as having become self-centered, embracing a culture of conformity and consumerism. Incorrect answers: - The literary community tended to criticize lower-class Americans for having become the most preoccupied with comfort and conformity. - A point of major celebration among the literary community was that the horrors of World War II had resulted in a decade of American selflessness and community service.

The novelist Norman Mailer said that the 1950s were "one of the worst decades in the history of man." What does this quotation reveal about postwar American society?

Correct answers: - These words spoke to the wave of criticism among writers and artists who rejected the consumer-driven culture of middle-class America. - These words referred to the sameness and mediocrity that many writers felt plagued American life. - These words embodied the feelings of many novelists who attacked the uniformity and conformity of suburban life. Incorrect answers: - These words embodied the criticisms of the decade as one overly concerned with addressing social issues.

Identify the factors that were blamed for the rise of teen delinquency during the fifties.

Correct answers: - the emergence of rock 'n' roll as a popular music form, which had the ability to bring together various cultures and races - the increased popularity of Elvis Presley, who was said to be leading adolescents in a social revolt - the increased access to the automobile, which provided teenagers greater overall freedom from parental supervision Incorrect answers: - the close proximity of suburban homes that enabled teens to congregate and rebel together

Analyze the image below. This image illustrates which of the following changes that took place in American society during the 1950s?

Correct answers: - the growth of American consumerism centered on the home - television watching becoming a common American leisure activity Incorrect answers: - the broad societal rejection of women's rational roles as homemaker - declining birthrates and an increase in childless households

In his 1958 book The Affluent Society, John Galbraith criticized the widespread belief that major social problems in America were being rectified by the country's economic prosperity. Identify some of the chronic social problems America faced in the postwar era.

Correct answers: Almost 50 percent of African Americans fell below the poverty line. Twenty-five percent of Americans lacked any financial assets. More than half of Americans lacked savings accounts. Incorrect answers: - African Americans left the inner cities as jobs in the suburbs became more plentiful.

Eisenhower believed the power of the president should be limited to proposing policy, while Congress should enjoy broader powers such as executing the laws.

False

Global competition increased after the war. Throughout the fifties, America faced major challenges in its efforts to maintain a profitable trade in manufactured goods.

False

President Eisenhower exercised tremendous leadership on behalf of the civil rights movement by encouraging the Supreme Court to take on the case of Brown v. Board of Education.

False

The Eisenhower Doctrine attempted to initiate an isolationist policy when it came to the Middle East.

False