Quiz for Beyond America’s Borders: 1968: A Year of Protest

Quiz for Beyond America’s Borders: 1968: A Year of Protest

1968: A Year of Protest

Choose the best answer to each question.

Question

1. Which of the following statements describes the large political protests that took place around the world in 1968?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is C. The wave of protests that shook the world during 1968 were organized by university students, who were the primary participants. The protests were not coordinated internationally, nor did they express a unified vision for changing the world.
Incorrect. The correct answer is C. The wave of protests that shook the world during 1968 were organized by university students, who were the primary participants. The protests were not coordinated internationally, nor did they express a unified vision for changing the world.

Question

2. Which of the following events catalyzed many of the protests that took place around the globe in 1968?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is B. Many students around the world were spurred to protest by the U.S. war in Vietnam and also by demands for greater social and economic justice throughout the world. Demonstrators expressed transnational solidarity by carrying the flag of Vietnam’s National Liberation Front.
Incorrect. The correct answer is B. Many students around the world were spurred to protest by the U.S. war in Vietnam and also by demands for greater social and economic justice throughout the world. Demonstrators expressed transnational solidarity by carrying the flag of Vietnam’s National Liberation Front.

Question

3. What accounted for the attacks by Mexican police against demonstrators in Mexico City that led to more than one hundred deaths in the fall of 1968?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is C. Protesters in Mexico City had been participating in large demonstrations throughout the summer, and these intensified as the October Olympic Games in Mexico City approached. Feeling pressure to clear the city before the Olympics began, Mexican police arrived in jeeps bearing machine guns and killed between one hundred and two hundred protesters. The Olympic Games commenced ten days later.
Incorrect. The correct answer is C. Protesters in Mexico City had been participating in large demonstrations throughout the summer, and these intensified as the October Olympic Games in Mexico City approached. Feeling pressure to clear the city before the Olympics began, Mexican police arrived in jeeps bearing machine guns and killed between one hundred and two hundred protesters. The Olympic Games commenced ten days later.

Question

4. How did the protests in France in May 1968 differ from those in other countries around the world that year?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is A. Protests in France were unique because they mobilized large numbers of students and workers and ultimately drew more than a million people into the streets. Workers shut down the factories, and the two groups together precipitated a deep national crisis in the spring of 1968.
Incorrect. The correct answer is A. Protests in France were unique because they mobilized large numbers of students and workers and ultimately drew more than a million people into the streets. Workers shut down the factories, and the two groups together precipitated a deep national crisis in the spring of 1968.

Question

5. What brought the wave of demonstrations across the world to an end in late 1968?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is D. Violent repression by police and government troops in many countries did not entirely eliminate protests, but, by the end of the year, many demonstrators had seen that there could be fatal consequences to their actions. The year of global protests ended with despair and fear on all sides.
Incorrect. The correct answer is D. Violent repression by police and government troops in many countries did not entirely eliminate protests, but, by the end of the year, many demonstrators had seen that there could be fatal consequences to their actions. The year of global protests ended with despair and fear on all sides.