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Quiz for McCarthyism and the Hollywood Ten

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Choose the best answer to each question.

Question

1. After reading Ronald Reagan’s testimony before HUAC (Document 24.6), which of the following statements would Reagan most likely have agreed with regarding how to deal with the Communist Party’s influence in America?

Get rid of the Communist Party by criminalizing membership.

Allow Communists to do as they please because they are American citizens.

Prevent Communist ideology from spreading through lawful avenues.

Create a government organization to collect information on possible communist sympathizers.

Correct: The answer is c. Reagan would most likely have agreed with preventing Communist ideology from spreading through lawful avenues. He called for public opposition to people and groups promoting communism.

Incorrect: The answer is c. Reagan would most likely have agreed with preventing Communist ideology from spreading through lawful avenues. He called for public opposition to people and groups promoting communism.

Question

2. What did John Howard Lawson compare HUAC’s techniques to in his testimony (see Document 24.7)?

Stalinist Russia

Nazi Germany

Salem witch trials

Sandinistas

Correct: The answer is c. Lawson compared HUAC’s interrogation techniques to Hitler’s Nazi state in Germany.

Incorrect: The answer is c. Lawson compared HUAC’s interrogation techniques to Hitler’s Nazi state in Germany.

Question

3. What statement was Herblock trying to make with his cartoon “Fire!” (see Document 24.8)?

Manufactured hysteria was being used to put out the flames of communism.

Democracy must be preserved by any means, including hysteria.

The hysteria surrounding communism was resulting in the loss of liberty.

Communist hysteria must be extinguished before it takes over America.

Correct: The answer is c. The cartoon illustrates the message that the hysteria surrounding communism was resulting in the loss of liberty.

Incorrect: The answer is c. The cartoon illustrates the message that the hysteria surrounding communism was resulting in the loss of liberty.

Question

4. According to Lillian Hellman’s letter to HUAC (Document 24.9), what happened to someone who answered questions about himself or herself to HUAC?

They were blacklisted.

Their testimony was kept confidential.

Their words were used against them in a court of law.

They lost the privilege of the Fifth Amendment.

Correct: The answer is d. When individuals answered HUAC’s questions about themselves, they lost the privilege of the Fifth Amendment. They were legally forced to answer questions about other people. If individuals chose to answer HUAC’s questions but then refused to answer questions about others, they could be cited for contempt.

Incorrect: The answer is d. When individuals answered HUAC’s questions about themselves, they lost the privilege of the Fifth Amendment. They were legally forced to answer questions about other people. If individuals chose to answer HUAC’s questions but then refused to answer questions about others, they could be cited for contempt.

Question

5. What did Arthur Miller suggest was the central belief that amplified and propagated the fear during the 1950s in America (see Document 24.10)?

The Soviets atomic technology was superior to American technology.

There was a great conspiracy organized to destabilize the American government.

Soviet spies had infiltrated the ranks of American citizens and were sending back crucial intelligence to Russia.

Communism was politically attractive enough to shift American political ideas and result in the loss of an American identity.

Correct: The answer is b. Miller suggested that “the heart of the darkness was the belief that a[n]…organized conspiracy was in place…to undermine the American government.”

Incorrect: The answer is b. Miller suggested that “the heart of the darkness was the belief that a[n]…organized conspiracy was in place…to undermine the American government.”