Chapter Chronology

Quiz for Seeking the American Promise: “An Immigrant Scientist Encounters the Anti-Communist Crusade”

Select the best answer for each question. Click the “submit” button for each question to turn in your work.

Question

1. What does Qian Xuesen’s 1935 decision to leave his native China to pursue graduate school in the United States suggest about the state of science and engineering in the United States in that period?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is c. When he decided to attend graduate school to study aviation, Qian left China because his native country was far behind other countries in this field. His decision, then, to attend MIT and Caltech suggests that the United States was a world leader in scientific and engineering education and innovation in the 1930s, which is why a brilliant student like Qian would want to come here to study.
Incorrect. The answer is c. When he decided to attend graduate school to study aviation, Qian left China because his native country was far behind other countries in this field. His decision, then, to attend MIT and Caltech suggests that the United States was a world leader in scientific and engineering education and innovation in the 1930s, which is why a brilliant student like Qian would want to come here to study.

Question

2. The United States government revoked Qian Xuesen’s security clearance in 1950 in response to

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is d. The United States government had given Qian security clearance in 1942 to enable him to work on secret military projects. However, one year after applying for United States citizenship in 1949, Qian’s security clearance was suddenly revoked, and the FBI began interrogating him about his social interactions with Chinese Communists. The event that spurred the government to revoke Qian’s clearance was the success of Mao Zedong and the Communist party in taking control of the Chinese government.
Incorrect. The answer is d. The United States government had given Qian security clearance in 1942 to enable him to work on secret military projects. However, one year after applying for United States citizenship in 1949, Qian’s security clearance was suddenly revoked, and the FBI began interrogating him about his social interactions with Chinese Communists. The event that spurred the government to revoke Qian’s clearance was the success of Mao Zedong and the Communist party in taking control of the Chinese government.

Question

3. Although in the 1950s Caltech administrators faithfully defended Qian Xuesen’s integrity and loyalty to the United States, some of his colleagues avoided Qian because

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is b. Despite Qian’s ardent support from the Caltech faculty, some of Qian’s colleagues started to avoid him on campus because they worried that they might get caught up in the investigation and get accused of being a Communist, too. This fear illustrates how strongly and severely the United States government worked to root out Communists during the Cold War Red scare—that the mere association with a suspected Communist could be enough to earn a colleague the same accusation.
Incorrect. The answer is b. Despite Qian’s ardent support from the Caltech faculty, some of Qian’s colleagues started to avoid him on campus because they worried that they might get caught up in the investigation and get accused of being a Communist, too. This fear illustrates how strongly and severely the United States government worked to root out Communists during the Cold War Red scare—that the mere association with a suspected Communist could be enough to earn a colleague the same accusation.

Question

4. Why might the United States government have found it particularly dangerous for Qian Xuesen to be a Communist, relative to other suspected Communists living in the United States?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is d. If Qian was a Communist, he was a danger to the United States because his security clearance gave him access to valuable, secret military information—information that could be extremely dangerous if it fell into the hands of the Chinese. For this reason, Qian’s unique position as both a Chinese national and a scientist with access to United States military intelligence made him seem to the FBI like a particularly strong threat to the United States.
Incorrect. The answer is d. If Qian was a Communist, he was a danger to the United States because his security clearance gave him access to valuable, secret military information—information that could be extremely dangerous if it fell into the hands of the Chinese. For this reason, Qian’s unique position as both a Chinese national and a scientist with access to United States military intelligence made him seem to the FBI like a particularly strong threat to the United States.

Question

5. What is the historical significance of Qian Xuesen’s arrest, interrogation, and eventual deportation, due to the United States government’s suspicion that he was a Communist?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is a. Qian’s story illustrates the great lengths the United States government went to during the Cold War to hunt down suspected Communists, even if the evidence was thin. Thanks to the Red scare, the United States not only lost Qian’s brilliant mind, it delivered him straight to the supposed enemy—the Chinese.
Incorrect. The answer is a. Qian’s story illustrates the great lengths the United States government went to during the Cold War to hunt down suspected Communists, even if the evidence was thin. Thanks to the Red scare, the United States not only lost Qian’s brilliant mind, it delivered him straight to the supposed enemy—the Chinese.