Quiz for Sources for America’s History, Part 8

Question

1. NSC-68 (Document P8-1), issued by the National Security Council of the United States in 1950, made a case for the expansion and intensification of which of the following post-World War II programs?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is d. NSC-68, issued after the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic weapon, called for a significant increase in the size and scope of American programs that were aimed at containing the global expansion of communism.
Incorrect. The answer is d. NSC-68, issued after the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic weapon, called for a significant increase in the size and scope of American programs that were aimed at containing the global expansion of communism.

Question

2. In his 1953 letter to the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Document P8-2), John D. Peurifoy made a case for which of the following new directions for U.S. foreign policy?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is a. In his letter, John D. Peurifoy made a case for the United States to use covert operations to sponsor a military coup d’état against a democratically elected leader who he claimed had communist leanings. Puerifoy argued that this action was necessary to prevent the spread of communism in the western hemisphere, and after it engineered the 1954 coup in Guatemala, the United States used this strategy to eliminate other so-called communist threats in other parts of the Americas in the latter half of the twentieth century.
Incorrect. The answer is a. In his letter, John D. Peurifoy made a case for the United States to use covert operations to sponsor a military coup d’état against a democratically elected leader who he claimed had communist leanings. Puerifoy argued that this action was necessary to prevent the spread of communism in the western hemisphere, and after it engineered the 1954 coup in Guatemala, the United States used this strategy to eliminate other so-called communist threats in other parts of the Americas in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Question

3. In his speech to the United Nations in September 1961 (Document P8-3), John F. Kennedy called for a “peace race” through which the United States and the Soviet Union would gradually achieve nuclear disarmament, but he also cited numerous situations that threatened the cause of international peace at that moment in time. According to Kennedy, the chief threats to world peace stemmed from which of the following sources?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is c. Kennedy cited events in Southeast Asia and Berlin as the most recent and significant threats to world peace and went on to talk about the dangers posed by colonialism and wars for national liberation. However, he made clear at several points during the speech that communism was at the root of all these threats, stating that communists had essentially colonized Eastern Europe and incited the so-called wars of national liberation.
Incorrect. The answer is c. Kennedy cited events in Southeast Asia and Berlin as the most recent and significant threats to world peace and went on to talk about the dangers posed by colonialism and wars for national liberation. However, he made clear at several points during the speech that communism was at the root of all these threats, stating that communists had essentially colonized Eastern Europe and incited the so-called wars of national liberation.

Question

4. The exchange of letters between Lyndon Johnson and Ho Chi Minh in 1967 (Document P8-4) revealed that, whereas Johnson believed that U.S. troops were aiding South Vietnam in its fight for independence from North Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh perceived the Americans as

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is b. These two letters reveal the vastly different perspectives of these two leaders on the Vietnam War. Although Johnson assumed that he was fighting with the South Vietnamese to liberate them from North Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh clearly perceived the United States as the aggressors who had intervened in a democratic and sovereign Vietnam with the intention of exploiting its resources and its people.
Incorrect. The answer is b. These two letters reveal the vastly different perspectives of these two leaders on the Vietnam War. Although Johnson assumed that he was fighting with the South Vietnamese to liberate them from North Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh clearly perceived the United States as the aggressors who had intervened in a democratic and sovereign Vietnam with the intention of exploiting its resources and its people.

Question

5. Based on its coverage of U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s trip to Africa in 1976 (Document P8-5), Ebony magazine perceived Kissinger and his agenda in African nations in which of the following ways?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is c. Ebony’s article clearly expressed the view that Kissinger’s actions in Africa were at least somewhat suspect. Kissinger’s promises and the inconsistent responses of African leaders to his visit led the author to express the point of view that Kissinger’s agenda in Africa might have been motivated by Cold War expediency and not an authentic concern with African problems.
Incorrect. The answer is c. Ebony’s article clearly expressed the view that Kissinger’s actions in Africa were at least somewhat suspect. Kissinger’s promises and the inconsistent responses of African leaders to his visit led the author to express the point of view that Kissinger’s agenda in Africa might have been motivated by Cold War expediency and not an authentic concern with African problems.

Question

6. What does the photograph of the Iranian demonstrators outside the embattled U.S. Embassy in Tehran (Document P8-6) suggest about how this group of Iranians viewed the United States in 1979?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is c. The protesters in the photograph, most of whom appear to embrace secular values and Western clothing and products, carry signs that refer to Vietnam and Watergate and that call attention to the U.S.’s long support for the autocratic Shah. The signs support the idea that the protesters regarded the United States as a corrupt power that had manipulated the nation of Iran for its own interests during the Cold War years.
Incorrect. The answer is c. The protesters in the photograph, most of whom appear to embrace secular values and Western clothing and products, carry signs that refer to Vietnam and Watergate and that call attention to the U.S.’s long support for the autocratic Shah. The signs support the idea that the protesters regarded the United States as a corrupt power that had manipulated the nation of Iran for its own interests during the Cold War years.