Title: America in the 1960s (1960-1970)
Course: Question Banks

Q: In his inaugural address, John F. Kennedy told Americans, “[W]e stand today on the edge of a New Frontier… Beyond that frontier are the uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered pockets of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus.…” Which of these “questions” did Kennedy feel unable to answer early in his presidency?
- science and space (Incorrect. Kennedy launched the space race against the Soviet Union and committed the U.S. to placing a man on the moon within the decade.)
- peace and war (Incorrect. Kennedy adopted a strategy of “soft power” to promote peace and stability in developing nations through humanitarian aid, and a strategy of “flexible response” to counter rebellions and insurgencies.)
- poverty and surplus (Incorrect. The Kennedy administration piloted a food stamps program, expanded the National School Lunch Program, and worked toward reforms in unemployment benefits and mental health legislation to improve the quality of lives of Americans below the poverty line.)
- ignorance and prejudice (Correct! Kennedy did not immediately propose civil rights legislation because of his slim margin of victory over Richard Nixon in the 1960 election, and because of opposition from southern Democrats.)
A: ignorance and prejudice

Q: The Kennedy administration created new programs and initiatives to limit the Soviet Union’s global influence. Which of these initiatives or programs served the purposes of Kennedy’s “flexible response” strategy?
- Peace Corps (Incorrect. The Peace Corps was designed to provide humanitarian aid to developing nations as part of Kennedy’s “soft power” approach to curbing Soviet influence.)
- SNAP (Incorrect. SNAP is the more recent name for the food stamps program, which was part of Kennedy’s domestic agenda, having little connection to Cold War strategy.)
- Agency for International Development (Incorrect. The Agency for International Development supervised the distribution of foreign aid as part of Kennedy’s “soft power” approach to making developing nations into U.S. allies.)
- Green Berets (Correct! The Green Berets were a U.S. Army Special Forces unit who were trained to fight insurgencies in developing nations. Their mission aligned with Kennedy’s “flexible response” strategy to use limited military engagement to contain Soviet influence.)
A: Green Berets

Q: What was President Kennedy’s primary alternative to the Eisenhower administration’s Cold War of “mutually assured destruction” in the 1950s?
- Kennedy re-directed funding for nuclear armament into his domestic reform initiatives because he believed it was more important to win the ideological war with the Soviet Union by improving the quality of Americans’ lives. (Incorrect. The Kennedy administration addressed poverty in the U.S. through unemployment benefits, food stamps, and other reforms, but these efforts had little connection to the president’s international Cold War strategy.)
- Kennedy followed the advice of Secretary of State Dean Rusk and agreed to a “flexible response,” in which the U.S. would increase or reduce its own nuclear arms in response to the success or failure of Soviet-backed insurgencies in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. (Incorrect. Although McNamara – not Rusk – believed “flexible response” was preferable to Eisenhower’s brinkmanship strategy, the success or failure of this policy did not influence Kennedy’s view of nuclear arms reduction.)
- Kennedy believed the Alliance for Progress would negotiate arms reductions between the U.S. and Soviet Union in exchange for the distribution of humanitarian aid to nations in the Soviet sphere of influence. (Incorrect. The Alliance for Progress promoted economic and social stability in Latin America as an example of “soft power” to limit Soviet influence. It had no authority to negotiate arms reduction treaties.)
- Kennedy followed Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara’s counsel of developing tactics for limited military engagements in developing nations, while also continuing Eisenhower’s expansion of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. (Correct! Kennedy applied “flexible response” to counter rebel insurgencies in nations which might otherwise fall under Soviet influence, but he also continued to build up the U.S. nuclear arsenal in case of a direct confrontation with the Soviet Union.)
A: Kennedy followed Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara’s counsel of developing tactics for limited military engagements in developing nations, while also continuing Eisenhower’s expansion of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

Q: In the 1950s, Ho Chi Minh led the Viet Minh in a struggle to free Vietnam from French control. This was an example of
- a domino effect. (Incorrect. The “domino effect” or “domino theory” referred to the Cold War belief that the fall of one nation to Communist influence or control would result in surrounding nations also falling – like dominoes.)
- a counterinsurgency (Incorrect. The Kennedy administration counterinsurgencies – small-scale military operations – to prevent national independence movements from rising from power in developing nations.)
- a violation of the Geneva Accords. (Incorrect. The Geneva Accords ended the conflict between France and Vietnam and called for reunification of North and South Vietnam.)
- a nationalist independence movement. (Correct! Ho Chi Minh’s rebellion against French control in Vietnam was one of many national independence movements which pushed back against European colonization in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America in the 1940s and 1950s.)
A: a nationalist independence movement.

Q: The Cold War strategies of the Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations all followed a widely held belief that if one nation fell under the influence of Communism, the surrounding nations would also fall. This belief was called
- the nationalist independence theory. (Incorrect. Nationalist independence movements, such as the Viet Minh in Vietnam, sought to remove European control from developing nations.)
- the decolonization theory. (Incorrect. Decolonization was the goal of nationalist independence movements who wished to remove European control from their nations. The Vietnamese struggle against France in the 1950s was an example of decolonization.)
- the capitalist-imperialist theory. (Incorrect. Although many nationalist leaders agreed with Vladimir Lenin’s claim that imperialism was the highest form of capitalism, this belief was not held by U.S. leaders.)
- the domino theory. (Correct! In the domino theory, the successful Communist takeover of one nation would result in the spread of Communism to neighboring nations – that is, nations would quickly fall like dominoes.)
A: the domino theory.

Q: In a televised interview in 1963, President Kennedy said of South Vietnam’s struggle against North Vietnam, “In the final analysis, it is their war. …We can help them, we can give them equipment, we can send our men out there as advisors, but they have to win it, the people of Vietnam, against the communists.” The Kennedy administration tried to assist South Vietnam in all the following ways except
- by sending thousands of American ground troops. (Incorrect. This is a true statement. Approximately 16,000 American troops were stationed in South Vietnam at the end of Kennedy’s presidency in November 1963.)
- by attacking North Vietnamese supply routes by air. (Incorrect. This is a true statement. In addition to training South Vietnamese forces, U.S. air missions disrupted North Vietnamese supply routes in 1963.)
- by continuing Eisenhower’s policies of financial aid to South Vietnam. (Incorrect. This is a true statement. Kennedy continued Eisenhower’s policy of providing financial support and military advisors to South Vietnam.)
- by preventing the removal of South Vietnam’s prime minister, Ngo Dinh Diem. (Correct! This statement is false. Kennedy supported South Vietnam as a bulwark against communism in Southeast Asia, but he called for regime change in 1963 because of Diem’s unpopularity among his own citizens. Military officers assassinated Diem in the same year.)
A: by preventing the removal of South Vietnam’s prime minister, Ngo Dinh Diem.

Q: Fidel Castro became the leader of the Cuban government after the overthrow of dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959. What was the primary reason that the U.S. government wanted to remove Castro from power?
- Castro exiled thousands of Cuban citizens who poured into American cities and created overcrowding. (Incorrect. Although many wealthy and middle-class Cuban citizens fled to Miami, Florida, and other U.S. cities after the Cuban Revolution, this did not motivate Eisenhower or Kennedy to seek Castro’s removal.)
- Castro called for the nationalization of private enterprise in all nations in the Western Hemisphere. (Incorrect. Nationalization of private enterprise was one of Castro’s economic policies – together with agrarian reform and land redistribution – but he did not call for all Western nations to follow Cuba’s lead.)
- Castro’s economic policies disrupted trade relations between the U.S. and Cuba. (Incorrect. Although Castro’s nationalization of private enterprise disrupted trade relations between the U.S. and Cuba, trade was not the primary reason for the U.S. government to seek Castro’s removal.)
- Castro sought a friendly relationship with the Soviet Union. (Correct! Castro allied his government with the Soviet Union because he hoped to keep the U.S. out of Cuban affairs. This strategy backfired – Americans were alarmed by the prospect of having a Soviet ally so close to the U.S. coast.)
A: Castro sought a friendly relationship with the Soviet Union.

Q: In 1961, President Kennedy approved a plan to remove Castro from power, which the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had developed under the Eisenhower administration. Which of the following statements most accurately describes the CIA plan?
- To impose economic sanctions on Cuba, forcing Castro to resign without the need for U.S. military intervention. (Incorrect. Although the CIA wanted to avoid a direct U.S. military invasion of the small island, this did not mean economic sanctions were the only alternative.)
- To send a special unit of the Green Berets to land at the Bay of Pigs, march into Havana, and capture Castro with minimal ground fighting. (Incorrect. The Green Berets were a special counterinsurgency unit created by the Kennedy administration to thwart nationalist independence movements, not to remove Communist leaders who were already in power.)
- To launch an air attack on the Cuban military base at the Bay of Pigs, which would make it possible for the Cuban people to overthrow his government without further U.S. assistance. (Incorrect. Although the CIA’s plan included air power, the agency wished to avoid direct U.S. military engagement in Cuba. The Bay of Pigs held no special military significance.)
- To train a small unit of Cuban exiles to storm the Bay of Pigs with U.S. air support, which would inspire an uprising among the Cuban people. (Correct! The CIA wanted to avoid international criticism by training Cuban emigres for the invasion, rather than sending U.S. military units. This small insurgency, the CIA hoped, would inspire a larger national uprising against Castro’s government.)
A: To train a small unit of Cuban exiles to storm the Bay of Pigs with U.S. air support, which would inspire an uprising among the Cuban people.

Q: What was the outcome of the Bay of Pigs invasion on April 17, 1961? Choose the best answer.
- A combined force of Cuban exiles, Green Berets, and CIA operatives landed at the Bay of Pigs. They were quickly killed or captured, and no national uprising followed the invasion. (Incorrect. The insurgents who landed at the Bay of Pigs were trained by the CIA, but no Green Berets or CIA operatives joined in the actual invasion. The CIA hoped to keep the U.S. military out of the operation.)
- CIA-trained Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs with air support from U.S. fighter jets. The insurgents were defeated because Kennedy ordered the jet pilots not to fire on Castro’s army. (Incorrect. Although air support for the Cuban exiles was part of the original CIA plan, no jets were involved in the Bay of Pigs invasion.)
- Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs and marched to Havana. They were killed or captured in the capital city, and Castro called for the Soviet Union to retaliate against the U.S. for plotting the invasion. (Incorrect. The Cuban exiles were defeated at the Bay of Pigs, and never made it to Havana.)
- CIA-trained Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs without air support from the U.S. military. They were quickly killed or captured, and no national uprising followed the invasion. (Correct! President Kennedy canceled U.S. military air support for the insurgents because he feared the Soviet Union might retaliate for direct U.S. intervention in Cuba.)
A: CIA-trained Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs without air support from the U.S. military. They were quickly killed or captured, and no national uprising followed the invasion.

Q: Which of the following statements most accurately describes the relationship between the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962?
- The Bay of Pigs invasion damaged Fidel Castro’s army, prompting the Soviet Union to send nuclear warheads to defend Cuba. (Incorrect. The Cuban exiles who landed at the Bay of Pigs were quickly killed or captured and did not inflict serious damage on Castro’s army.)
- The Bay of Pigs invasion was such a failure that President Kennedy decided to abandon his flexible response strategy, emboldening the Soviet Union to install nuclear warheads in Cuba. (Incorrect. Kennedy’s “flexible response” strategy referred to small-scale, counterinsurgency military engagements which were intended to prevent Communist sympathizers from rising to power around the world. The Bay of Pigs plan pre-dated the Kennedy administration and was designed to remove Castro after he had already taken control in Cuba.)
- The Bay of Pigs invasion was designed to distract the Soviet Union from nationalist independence movements in Southeast Asia, giving the Kennedy administration a chance to defeat Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam. (Incorrect. The Bay of Pigs plan pre-dated the Kennedy administration and was designed to remove Fidel Castro from power in Cuba. The invasion had little no direct connection to the conflict between North and South Vietnam, although both fit into Kennedy’s goal of proportional responses to Communist sympathizers around the world.)
- The Bay of Pigs invasion emphasized the strategic importance of Cuba in the Cold War and prompted the Soviet Union to assist in defending the island from future U.S. interference. (Correct! The Soviet Union viewed Fidel Castro’s Communist government as an ally and sent troops and technicians to prevent a second U.S. invasion of Cuba. This alliance opened the door for the installation of Soviet warheads in Cuba.)
A: The Bay of Pigs invasion emphasized the strategic importance of Cuba in the Cold War and prompted the Soviet Union to assist in defending the island from future U.S. interference.

Q: Which of the following statements most accurately describes the Kennedy administration’s attempts to prevent the Cuban Missile Crisis from igniting war with the Soviet Union?
- President Kennedy sent his brother, Robert Kennedy, to Moscow to engage in peace negotiations with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev (Incorrect. Although Robert Kennedy – who was the U.S. Attorney General in his brother’s administration – played an important role in ending the Cuban Missile Crisis, he did not meet with Khrushchev in Moscow.)
- President Kennedy directed the U.S. Navy to form a blockade around the island of Cuba to cut off all trade, persuading Fidel Castro to give up the Soviet warheads in exchange for food and supplies for Cuban citizens. (Incorrect. Although Kennedy sent a naval “quarantine” to Cuba, his purpose was to block Soviet ships, not to starve Castro into an agreement.)
- President Kennedy sent his brother, Robert Kennedy, to persuade Fidel Castro to end his alliance with the Soviet Union and turn over the Soviet missiles to the U.S. (Incorrect. Although Robert Kennedy played an important role in ending the Cuban Missile Crisis, no one in the administration negotiated with Castro.)
- President Kennedy ordered a naval quarantine to prevent Soviet ships from reaching Cuba, while his brother, Robert Kennedy, negotiated a peaceful resolution of the crisis with Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin. (Correct! President Kennedy chose to use the term “quarantine” because “blockade” refers to an act of war. Meanwhile, Robert Kennedy and Dobrynin worked toward a compromise which would allow both sides to retreat from a nuclear confrontation.)
A: President Kennedy ordered a naval quarantine to prevent Soviet ships from reaching Cuba, while his brother, Robert Kennedy, negotiated a peaceful resolution of the crisis with Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin.

Q: Which of the following statements most accurately summarizes the immediate outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
- Robert Kennedy and Anatoly Dobrynin agreed to install a telephone hotline in the White House so President Kennedy could begin diplomatic talks with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev. (Incorrect. Although a telephone hotline between the president and Khrushchev was later established, it was not part of the agreement to resolve the Cuban Missile Crisis.)
- President Kennedy and Soviet premier Khrushchev signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty, which required the removal of missiles from Cuba as well as Turkey. (Incorrect. Signed in 1963 – one year after the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis – the Limited Test Ban Treaty prohibited tests of nuclear weapons in Earth’s atmosphere.)
- President Kennedy agreed to allow the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba in exchange for Khrushchev’s promise to allow the presence of U.S. missiles in Turkey. (Incorrect. Although nuclear weapons in Cuba and Turkey were sources of tension between the two superpowers, neither side was willing to maintain the status quo.)
- Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba if President Kennedy agreed not to invade Cuba again, and to remove U.S. missiles from Turkey. (Correct! The agreement allowed both the U.S. and Soviet Union to retreat from the brink of nuclear war without either side appearing to have been intimidated by the other. Kennedy’s promise to remove U.S. missiles from Turkey was kept secret from the public.)
A: Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba if President Kennedy agreed not to invade Cuba again, and to remove U.S. missiles from Turkey.

Q: The U.S. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1960 because segregation and discrimination might damage relationships with potential Cold War allies in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. What did this act do?
- Prohibited poll taxes, which southerners used to prevent Black citizens from voting. (Incorrect. Although President Kennedy later sought a constitutional amendment to outlaw poll taxes, the Civil Rights Act of 1960 did not address this problem.)
- Brought an end to the Battle of Ole Miss and allowed James Meredith to enroll in the University of Mississippi. (Incorrect. James Meredith challenged segregation at the University of Mississippi in 1962 -- two years after the Civil Rights Act of 1960 -- sparking clashes between segregationists and U.S. troops on the campus.)
- Required civil rights activists to conduct voter registration drives instead of boycotts and marches. (Incorrect. Although the Kennedy administration preferred voter registration drives to sit-ins, marches and boycotts, the Civil Rights Act of 1960 did not place any limits on these protest activities.)
- Allowed federal courts to appoint referees to make sure all qualified citizens could register to vote. (Correct! The Civil Rights Act of 1960 was the first step in ensuring Black citizens had equal opportunities to vote. The passage of this act encouraged President Kennedy to seek a constitutional amendment banning poll taxes, which were used to prevent low-income citizens from voting.)
A: Allowed federal courts to appoint referees to make sure all qualified citizens could register to vote.

Q: President Lyndon B. Johnson used his skills as a former legislator to break a filibuster in the U.S. Senate, securing passage of legislation to end discrimination in schools, employment, public accommodations, and federally funded programs. What was this legislation called?
- Twenty-Fourth Amendment (Incorrect. The Twenty-Fourth Amendment, which was ratified in 1964, banned the use of poll taxes to prevent low-income citizens from voting.)
- Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Incorrect. The Civil Rights Bill of 1968 only addressed housing discrimination.)
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (Incorrect. The EEOC was created to address employment discrimination and was included within the legislative package which Johnson helped to pass.)
- Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Correct! President Kennedy had ushered this through the U.S. House of Representatives before his assassination in November 1963. His successor, Johnson, pushed the bill through the Senate in 1964.)
A: Civil Rights Act of 1964

Q: State police blocked civil rights activists from marching in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965, an event which came to be called “Bloody Sunday.” Which of the following statements most accurately describes the significance of this event in civil rights history?
- The events in Selma resulted in the establishment of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in neighboring Mississippi. (Incorrect. CORE was a student organization which predated the Selma march, and which participated in Freedom Summer registration drives in Mississippi in 1964.)
- . Police mistreatment of the Selma marchers gained support for their cause, leading to the ratification of the Twenty-Fourth later in 1964. (Incorrect. The Twenty-Fourth Amendment – which banned the use of poll taxes to prevent low-income citizens from voting -- was ratified in January 1964, two months before “Bloody Sunday.”)
- The events in Selma motivated President Johnson to send federal troops and to impose martial law in Alabama. (Incorrect. Johnson was frustrated by Governor George Wallace’s refusal to send the Alabama National Guard to Selma. However, Johnson responded with legislation rather than military force.)
- Police mistreatment of the Selma marchers gained support for their cause and motivated President Johnson to introduce the Voting Rights Act of 1965. (Correct! Americans urged their congressmen to prioritize a voting rights bill after watching the violence in Selma on television. President Johnson introduced the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibited state and local governments from disenfranchising Black voters.)
A: Police mistreatment of the Selma marchers gained support for their cause and motivated President Johnson to introduce the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Q: Civil rights activist Ella Baker promoted grassroots campaigns to protest segregation in public accommodations, rather than waiting for leaders in the Civil Rights Movement to accomplish the same goals. Baker’s concept was called
- “freedom rides.” (Incorrect. Freedom Rides were a specific form of protest in which students tested the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling against segregation in public transportation.)
- “Free by ’63.” (Incorrect. “Free by ‘63” was a slogan used by civil rights activists in the mid-1960s, calling to mind the centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.)
- “the sit-in movement.” (Incorrect. Sit-ins were a form of protest in which Black students sat at lunch counters in Woolworth’s and other segregated eateries. Sit-ins predated, and helped to inspire, Baker’s ideas about grassroots activism.)
- “participatory democracy.” (Correct! Baker was influenced by student sit-ins at segregated lunch counters. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), formed in 1960, was inspired by Baker’s ideas to organize “pray-ins” at churches, “sleep-ins” at motels, and “read-ins” at libraries.)
A: “participatory democracy.”

Q: Which of the following statements most accurately describes the goal of the 1961 Freedom Rides?
- To inspire other student activists to challenge segregation via sit-ins. (Incorrect. Although the Freedom Rides drew national attention to segregation in public transportation, this was not the riders’ primary goal.)
- To put pressure on the Kennedy administration to enforce the Civil Rights Act of 1960. (Incorrect. The Civil Rights Act of 1960 ensured all citizens could register to vote if they wished and did not address discrimination in public transportation.)
- To demonstrate “participatory democracy” as an effective protest strategy. (Incorrect. Although the Freedom Rides fit into Ella Baker’s concept of grassroots activism, the riders had a more specific goal in mind than simply demonstrating participatory democracy in action.)
- To test whether the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling against segregation on buses and trains would be enforced in the South. (Correct! Many southern states had ignored the Supreme Court’s 1960 ruling that segregation in interstate transportation was unconstitutional. Buses, as well as waiting rooms and terminals in the South, were still segregated when the Freedom Rides occurred in 1961.)
A: To test whether the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling against segregation on buses and trains would be enforced in the South.

Q: The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) was organized in 1964 in response to
- Martin Luther King, Jr.’s call for nonviolent resistance in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” (Incorrect. Although King believed in nonviolent resistance to discriminatory laws and practices, the letter he had composed from a jail in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 had argued for the urgency of civil rights objectives over calls for gradual change.)
- violent pushback from segregationists during Freedom Summer activities in Mississippi. (Freedom Summer voter registration drives and the creation of “freedom schools” in Mississippi provoked harassment and violence from segregationists in 1964. However, violent opposition to civil rights goals was not the primary motivation for the formation of the MFDP.)
- efforts to disenfranchise Black voters via poll taxes in Mississippi. (Incorrect. Poll taxes, which were banned by the Twenty-Fourth Amendment in 1964, had been used in southern states to prevent low-income citizens from voting. The MFDP was formed with a broader goal in mind than simply enforcing the amendment.)
- efforts to disenfranchise Black voters by the Mississippi Democratic Party. (Correct! Despite ratification of the Twenty-Fourth Amendment banning poll taxes, Black voters continued to face disenfranchisement from established political parties in the South. When MFDP members tried to unseat the regular Mississippi delegates at the Democratic National Convention, they were relegated to the role of nonvoting observers.)
A: efforts to disenfranchise Black voters by the Mississippi Democratic Party.

Q: The Freedom Rides in 1961 sparked violent reprisals from segregationists in southern states. What sort of violence did the freedom riders encounter during the Alabama portion of their journey?
- Freedom rider John Lewis was beaten by a mob. (Incorrect. Lewis was attacked at Rock Hill, South Carolina, before the buses reached Alabama.)
- Police arrested the freedom riders at the Birmingham bus station, bringing an end to the campaign. (Incorrect. Some of the freedom riders were arrested for trying to desegregate a bus station in Jackson, Mississippi, after passing through Alabama.)
- Members of the Interstate Commerce Commission firebombed the buses and drove the freedom riders out of Alabama. (Incorrect. Far from a hostile opponent, the Interstate Commerce Commission was organized in November 1961 to enforce integration on buses and trains.)
- One of the buses was firebombed, and Ku Klux Klan members tried to intimidate the freedom riders at a bus station. (Correct! The Freedom Rides were divided into two groups, and both encountered violent opposition in Alabama. The first group lost one of their buses to a firebomb near Anniston, and the second group was threatened by Klansmen when they tried to disembark at a station in Birmingham.)
A: One of the buses was firebombed, and Ku Klux Klan members tried to intimidate the freedom riders at a bus station.

Q: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) launched peaceful protests in 186 southern cities in 1963. What SCLC tactic was illustrated when police turned fire hoses and dogs on peaceful demonstrators in Birmingham, Alabama?
- Exposing police brutality. (Incorrect. The SCLC wanted to expose the brutality of the entire Jim Crow system rather than the Birmingham police department.)
- Pressuring state governments to pass civil rights legislation. (Incorrect. King believed federal legislation was necessary precisely because state lawmakers remained committed to the status quo.)
- Hurting America’s reputation among potential Cold War allies. (Incorrect. Although some in Washington, D.C. believed civil rights demonstrations made it less likely for developing nations to become U.S. allies, this was not a tactic or goal of the SCLC.)
- Provoking hostile responses from White southerners. (Correct! King wanted to show the inhumanity of Jim Crow by contrasting nonviolent activism with violent responses from segregationists. King wrote his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” in part, to defend this tactic over the objections of clergymen who found SCLC methods too radical.)
A: Provoking hostile responses from White southerners.

Q: The Ku Klux Klan murdered three college students in Mississippi in response to what civil rights initiative in 1964?
- Freedom Rides (Incorrect. The Freedom Rides had tested the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against segregation in public transportation three years earlier, in 1961.)
- SCLC nonviolence (The Southern Christian Leadership Conference had organized 186 nonviolent demonstrations in southern cities in 1963, one year before the Klan murders in Mississippi.)
- Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (The MFDP was organized in 1964 as an alternative to the established Mississippi Democratic Party, which was committed to disenfranchising Black voters. The three Klan victims were not directly involved in the new party.)
- Freedom Summer (Correct! Klan murder victims James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman were among hundreds of volunteers who converged in Mississippi to assist in CORE and SNCC voter registrations drives, “freedom schools,” and other activities. In addition to the murders, opponents of Freedom Summer harassed volunteers and burned Black homes and churches.)
A: Freedom Summer

Q: In contrast to Martin Luther King, Jr.’ philosophy of nonviolence, Malcolm X encouraged Black Americans to arm themselves for defensive purposes. How did the goals of Malcolm X also differ from those of King and other mainstream civil rights leaders?
- Malcolm X wanted to convert all Black Americans to the Muslim faith, in contrast to King’s desire to convert them to Protestant Christianity. (Incorrect. King and Malcolm X were influenced by their different religious faiths, but neither saw religious proselytizing as a primary goal of activism.)
- Malcolm X rejected the phrase “New Negro” to describe Black activists. (Incorrect. The “New Negro” concept dated back to the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and referred to Black Americans who actively sought change. King’s marches and peaceful protests fit this concept, and Malcolm X used the phrase to describe Black frustration in 1961.)
- Malcolm X founded the Black Panther Party as a radical alternative to King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference. (Incorrect. The Black Panthers were organized in California one year after Malcolm X was assassinated by Nation of Islam members in 1965.)
- Malcolm X advocated Black separatism rather than racial integration. (Correct! Malcolm X believed Black citizens could attain economic independence and solve community problems without engaging White society. This was a radical departure from King’s focus on integration and cooperation between Black and White citizens.)
A: Malcolm X advocated Black separatism rather than racial integration.

Q: In 1966, Stokely Carmichael called for Black self-determination in politics, economics, and social structures to replace the earlier civil rights goal of integration. What was this new interpretation of Black freedom called?
- Organization of Afro-American Unity (Incorrect. The OAAU was founded by Malcolm X in 1964 to emphasize the common struggles of Black Americans and citizens of African nations.)
- Survival Programs (Incorrect. “Survival programs” were efforts by the Black Panther Party to improve the quality of life in Black communities by providing food, medical care, and drug rehabilitation.)
- Black Pride (Incorrect. Black Pride referred to a movement in the 1960s to recover African culture and values.)
- Black Power (Correct! Carmichael was frustrated by the slow progress of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Freedom Now!” movement. “Black Power” became the slogan for Black self-determination, which was strongly influenced by Malcolm X’s philosophy of Black separatism.)
A: Black Power

Q: Which of the following statements most accurately describes the similarities between the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU), which Malcolm X founded in 1964, and the Black Panther Party, which Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded in 1966?
- Both organizations used the slogan “Black Pride” to describe their goals. (Incorrect. Black Pride referred to a specific movement to recover African culture and values among Black Americans throughout the 1960s.)
- Both organizations advocated violence to achieve integration. (Incorrect. Malcolm X and the Black Panthers abandoned Martin Luther King, Jr.’s philosophy of nonviolence. However, neither organization tried to achieve integration through either peaceful or violent means.)
- Both organizations excluded Black women from leadership roles. (Incorrect. Women assumed leadership roles in the Black Panther Party and even outnumbered male members by the late 1960s.)
- Both organizations identified the struggles of Black Americans with those of non-White people in other countries. (Correct! The OAAU emphasized the common problems of Black Americans and people in African nations. The Black Panthers claimed solidarity with “other people of color in the world” whose experiences of government oppression, they believed, were like those of African Americans.)
A: Both organizations identified the struggles of Black Americans with those of non-White people in other countries.

Q: Maulana Karenga founded the US Organization in 1965 to promote traditional African values such as umoja (unity) ujamaa (collective economics). The US Organization pursued the goals of which social movement?
- Kwanzaa (Incorrect. Kwanzaa is an Afro-centric holiday which the US Organization promoted as an alternative to the Western holiday of Christmas.)
- Freedom Now! (“Freedom Now!” was a slogan used by Martin Luther King, Jr., which was replaced by “Black Power” as disillusioned activists like Stokely Carmichael promoted separatism and self-determination instead of integration.)
- Black separatism (Incorrect. Black separatism was the philosophy of Malcolm X, who believed Black Americans should abandon King’s goal of integration and solve community problems apart from White society.)
- Black Pride (Correct! Black Pride promoted solidarity and self-esteem through the recovery of African culture and heritage. The US Organization’s promotion of <em>umoja</em> and <em>ujamaa</em> contrasted sharply with the Western values of individualism and capitalism.)
A: Black Pride

Q: The Black separatism of Malcolm X influenced the Black Power movement of the late 1960s. Which of the following statements most accurately describes how the two philosophies were alike?
- Both philosophies legitimized violence as a strategy for ending segregation. (Incorrect. Malcolm X urged Black Americans to arm themselves for the purposes of self-defense, and the Black Power movement included some groups who believed violence was acceptable in the pursuit of Black liberation. Integration was never the goal, however.)
- Both philosophies followed the 10-Point Plan for community improvement. (Incorrect. The 10-Point Plan was specifically created by the Black Panther Party, which was founded in California in 1966. The plan included “survival programs,” in which the Black Panthers provided food, drug rehabilitation and other services to Black communities.)
- Both philosophies encouraged Black women to become leaders in Black Power organizations. (Incorrect. Although women were active members and leaders in the Black Panther Party -- a Black Power organization founded in 1966 -- the philosophies of Black separatism and Black Power were not concerned with gender roles.)
- Both philosophies promoted Black self-determination apart from White society. (Correct! In contrast to Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X believed Black communities should distance themselves from White society. Carmichael’s “Black Power” was an umbrella term which covered political, economic, and social independence from White power structures.)
A: Both philosophies promoted Black self-determination apart from White society.

Q: The 1965 Watts Riots in Los Angeles, California resulted in the deaths of thirty-four people and the destruction of thousands of businesses. Which of the following statements most accurately explains the factors behind more than three hundred similar riots which occurred in U.S. cities between 1964 and 1968?
- The influence of Malcolm X, who had urged Black Americans to abandon Martin Luther King, Jr.’s philosophy of nonviolence. (Incorrect. Malcolm X had encouraged the use of weapons for self-defense, not for rioting.)
- The failure of the Civil Rights Movement to achieve integration of schools and public transportation. (Incorrect. The failure of the Civil Rights Movement to address other concerns played a role in urban unrest, but the integration of schools and public transportation were not matters of primary concern for the rioters.)
- The influence of African collectivist values over Western individualism and capitalism. (Incorrect. The Black Pride movement of the 1960s encouraged recovery of African culture and values as a means of boosting Black self-esteem. This movement had no connection to urban violence.)
- Frustration with poor housing, healthcare and job opportunities. (Correct! Black neighborhoods in large cities continued to suffer from the effects of discrimination and poverty, despite President Johnson’s Great Society programs, which were meant to improve the quality of life for low-income Americans. The failure of the mainstream Civil Rights Movement to address these urban problems led to the Black Movement in the mid-1960s.)
A: Frustration with poor housing, healthcare and job opportunities.

Q: President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal was meant to ameliorate the effects of the Great Depression on all Americans in the 1930s. Which of the following statements most accurately describes the different rationale for President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society in the 1960s?
- Economic impacts because of the growing conflict in Vietnam. (Incorrect. Johnson’s escalation of the Vietnam conflict would strain federal funding of Great Society programs, but otherwise there was no connection between the conflict and Johnson’s vision for domestic reforms.)
- Failure of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to fully integrate the South. (Incorrect. The Civil Rights Act prohibited discrimination based on race other factors. The act might be considered part of the Great Society legislative package of 1964-1965, but segregation was only one of many social problems which the Johnson administration hoped to address.)
- Laws from the 1920s which blocked all immigration into the U.S. (Incorrect. Earlier legislation had restricted immigration from Asia and had favored immigration from certain regions of Europe. The Immigration and Nationality Act of the 1960s lifted some of these restrictions, immigration reform was not central to the Great Society agenda.)
- Inequality of opportunity in an otherwise prosperous economy. (Correct! Whereas the Great Depression had devastated the entire American economy and impacted everyone, the 1960s presented a different context in which many Americans lived affluent lives while people in racial and ethnic minority groups faced unequal access to employment and education. The Great Society was meant to harness American affluence for the sake of equal opportunity.)
A: Inequality of opportunity in an otherwise prosperous economy.

Q: The Economic Opportunity Act (EOA) of 1964 provided funding for employment and education programs in impoverished communities. One of the EOA programs, Community Action, promoted “maximum feasible participation” which meant
- allowing immigrants from Asia to come to the U.S. (Incorrect. The Immigration and Nationality Act lifted restrictions on immigrants from Asian nations. The EOA addressed poverty, housing, and employment issues, not immigration quotas.)
- subsidizing schools in low-income communities. (Incorrect. Federal funding for public schools and universities was provided through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Higher Education Act. Both were passed one year after the EOA was signed into law to improve employment and housing opportunities for low-income communities.)
- encouraging citizens to participate in Medicare and Medicaid. (Incorrect. Medicare, a national insurance program for elderly citizens, and Medicaid, which subsidized healthcare for low-income citizens, were created in 1965. The EOA and its programs did not address access to healthcare.)
- allowing recipients to administer the program. (Correct! Community Action allowed impoverished citizens to take leadership roles in federal anti-poverty efforts, rather than leaving administration to a few elites. Community Action planners believed “maximum feasible participation” would foster grassroots efforts to expand and localize the War on Poverty.)
A: allowing recipients to administer the program.

Q: In his 1964 speech at the University of Michigan, President Johnson called for an end to poverty and racial injustice and challenged the college graduates to “enrich and elevate our national life, and to advance the quality of our American civilization.” Which Great Society programs were intended to “enrich and elevate” American life rather than to solve practical problems?
- Medicare and Medicaid (Incorrect. Medicare provided health insurance to citizens over the age of 65 and citizens with disabilities. Medicaid was created in the same year (1965) to subsidize healthcare for low-income citizens.)
- Higher Education Act (Incorrect. The Higher Education Act of 1965 provided funding for universities, and loans and scholarships for low-income students. This act followed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which provided $1 billion to public schools to improve educational access for low-income students.)
- Community Action (Incorrect. Community Action was an antipoverty program under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, which encouraged low-income citizens to take on leadership and administrative roles in federal anti-poverty initiatives.)
- National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities (Correct! These two programs – which have continued into the 21st century – were created to enrich American culture through federal investments in the creative arts.)
A: National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities

Q: Following reports of North Vietnamese attacks on two U.S. destroyers, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in August 1964, which authorized President Johnson to use military force in Vietnam without a congressional declaration of war. How did the resolution transform the U.S. role in Vietnam?
- The U.S. abandoned its policy of containment. (Incorrect. Both Presidents Kennedy and Johnson wanted to contain Communism, that is, to prevent it from spreading through Southeast Asia per the Cold War “domino theory.” However, Johnson’s approach to containment was different from Kennedy’s proportional response strategy.)
- The U.S. withdrew all naval destroyers and air power from Vietnam. (Incorrect. President Kennedy had used air power to support South Vietnam against aggression from North Vietnam. Far from stepping back, the 1964 resolution opened the doors for an increased U.S. military presence in Southeast Asia.)
- The U.S. ended its alliance with South Vietnam. (Incorrect. The U.S. continued to support South Vietnam in its struggle to prevent the Communist North Vietnamese from dominating Southeast Asia. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution changed the ways in which the U.S. assisted in this struggle.)
- The U.S. changed from an advisor to a combatant. (Correct! Presidents Kennedy and Johnson both believed in containment – the need to prevent the Communist North Vietnamese from taking over Southeast Asia. In line with his strategy of proportional response, Kennedy had sent military advisors and limited air power to assist South Vietnam. Johnson, empowered by the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, began to send troops to fight the North Vietnamese rather than simply advise the South Vietnamese.)
A: The U.S. changed from an advisor to a combatant.

Q: North Vietnam launched the Tet Offensive in 1968, brazenly attacking one hundred South Vietnamese cities until U.S. troops pushed them back. What effect did media coverage of the Tet Offensive have on public perception of the war?
- Americans supported expanding the draft to defeat North Vietnam. (Incorrect. The military draft was controversial throughout the Vietnam War as families watched their sons, brothers and husbands placed in harm’s way for unclear objectives. The U.S. victory in the Tet Offensive did not change opposition to the draft.)
- Americans began to sympathize with the Communist North Vietnamese over the South Vietnamese. (Incorrect. Despite growing opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam conflict, the brutality of the Tet Offensive did little to change mainstream opinions about which side was right or wrong. Mainstream American opinion continued to oppose Communism, even as they questioned Johnson’s strategy for containing it in Southeast Asia.)
- Americans called for Johnson to escalate bombing to punish North Vietnam. (Incorrect. From 1965-1968, President Johnson had deployed more than 200,000 U.S. troops to Southeast Asia and had engaged in a bombing campaign to end North Vietnamese support for an insurgency in South Vietnam. War-weary Americans wanted the conflict to end more than they wanted to punish North Vietnam for the Tet Offensive.)
- Americans doubted the claims of Johnson and General William Westmoreland that the war could ever be won. (Correct! Americans had supported Johnson’s deployment of troops after the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964. As the war dragged on and more and more young men were drafted, this perception began to change. Graphic television coverage from the Tet Offensive created deep distrust of the Johnson administration and prompted Walter Cronkite to declare the war could only end in a stalemate.)
A: Americans doubted the claims of Johnson and General William Westmoreland that the war could ever be won.

Q: Since the 1960s, historians have associated the phrase “guns vs. butter” with the Johnson administration and the Vietnam War, although the concept can be traced back to the First World War. Why is the phrase closely identified with President Johnson?
- Johnson’s Great Society programs were hindered by violent riots in major U.S. cities and protests over the military draft. (Incorrect. Although Johnson’s management of the Vietnam War ignited protests from peace activists -- and Black frustration erupted in urban riots throughout the 1960s -- these events were unconnected to Johnson’s “guns vs. butter” dilemma.)
- Johnson had to decide whether to assist South Vietnam by sending food and supplies, or by deploying U.S. troops to fight against North Vietnam. (Incorrect. Providing food to South Vietnam was never part of the Johnson administration’s strategy to contain Communism in the region.)
- Johnson had to confront North Vietnamese aggression to circumvent disruption of trade between the U.S. and Southeast Asia. (Incorrect. Johnson believed military action against the North Vietnamese was crucial to the Cold War strategy of containment. International trade was not a factor in Johnson’s decision to entrench the U.S. military in Vietnam.)
- Johnson’s escalation of the Vietnam War strained the federal government’s ability to fund his Great Society social programs. (Correct! “Guns vs. butter” refers to the dilemma governments face when attempting to fund military campaigns and social welfare projects at the same time. Johnson initially believed the U.S. could afford both the Great Society and the Vietnam War. However, toward the end of his presidency, Johnson chose “guns” over “butter” because he feared losing the Vietnam War would damage the U.S. reputation as well as his own legacy.)
A: Johnson’s escalation of the Vietnam War strained the federal government’s ability to fund his Great Society social programs.

Q: The Chicano Movement’s goals included improved working conditions for farm laborers and the restoration of lands lost in the Mexican-American War. Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales and other leaders of the movement framed these goals in the context of cultural nationalism in a document called the
- La Raza Unida. (Incorrect. La Raza Unida was a political party born out of the Chicano Movement which was composed mostly of college students.)
- Chicano Moratorium. (Incorrect. The Chicano Moratorium was a series of mass protests in major U.S. cities calling for withdrawal from the Vietnam War because of the disproportionate mortality rate of Mexican American draftees.)
- Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (Incorrect. The Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDF) and the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) were organizations which supported the Chicano Movement, modeled after similar organizations of the Civil Rights Movement.)
- Plan Espiritual de Aztlan. (Correct! El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan was a nationalist manifesto in which Gonzales and the poet Alurista called for Mexican Americans to reclaim their cultural heritage -- as well as the lands of the Southwest (“Aztlan”) -- from White American culture.)
A: Plan Espiritual de Aztlan.

Q: In 1962, Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) – later called the United Farm Workers of America (UFWA) -- to improve working conditions for California grape pickers. What did the three-year collective bargaining agreement between the UFWA and the grape industry in 1970 demonstrate?
- The effectiveness of violent marches and riots in Sacramento. (Incorrect. Chavez and Huerta believed in nonviolent tactics such as strikes and boycotts to achieve better treatment of farm workers. Although Chavez led a protest march from Delano, California to the state capital in 1966, this demonstration was peaceful.)
- The failure of American consumers to boycott California grapes. (Incorrect. When Chavez and Huerta called for a nationwide boycott of California grapes, the economic damage to the grape industry was significant, and it was one of the factors which led to the 1970 agreement.)
- The willingness of California landowners to negotiate with labor unions. (Incorrect. California farm workers had tried to unionize for roughly a century, without success. The long-standing unwillingness of landowners to negotiate with farm workers lent historical significance to the 1970 collective bargaining agreement.)
- The effectiveness of strikes and boycotts. (Correct! Chavez, like Martin Luther King, Jr., believed in nonviolent tactics – in the case of California grape pickers, this meant strikes and boycotts. The 1970 collective bargaining agreement demonstrated that strikes and boycotts could be effective in the struggle for the farm workers’ rights.)
A: The effectiveness of strikes and boycotts.

Q: An estimated 30,000 Mexican Americans marched in the streets of Los Angeles in the National Chicano Moratorium Against the Vietnam War in 1970. What was the primary reason for Mexican American opposition to the war?
- Failure to enforce the Supreme Court’s ruling in Hernandez v. Texas. (Incorrect. Hernandez v. Texas extended the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections against discrimination to Mexican Americans and had no connection to the Vietnam War.)
- The influence of Rodolfo Gonzales’ Crusade for Justice. (Incorrect. The Crusade for Justice, which had occurred in Denver, Colorado, in 1965, sought jobs, legal services and healthcare for Mexican Americans. This had little connection to the antiwar protests five years later.)
- The influence of Cesar Chavez’s philosophy of nonviolence. (Throughout the 1960s, Cesar Chavez had applied the general principle of nonviolent protest -- strikes, boycotts, and marches -- to the specific context of grape pickers’ rights in California. Mexican American opposition to the Vietnam War had little connection with farm workers’ rights.)
- Disproportionate mortality rates among Mexican American draftees. (Correct! Lack of access to higher education made young Mexican Americans more likely to be drafted. Whereas Mexican Americans made up about 10 percent of the population in the Southwest, they made up about 20 percent of casualties in Vietnam. The marches began peacefully in East Los Angeles, then devolved into clashes with the L.A. police, who confronted the protestors with tear gas because they feared a repeat of the Watts Riots of 1965.)
A: Disproportionate mortality rates among Mexican American draftees.

Q: The New Left movement – which attracted many disaffected college students in the 1960s – had some goals in common with the Democratic Party, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Chicano Movement. Which New Left goal was not shared by other reform organizations and movements?
- Withdrawal from the Vietnam War. (Incorrect. Certain leaders in the Democratic Party and the Civil Rights Movement (such as Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.) also called for an end to U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The Chicano Moratorium was organized for this very purpose.)
- Resolving economic disparities in a prosperous society. (Incorrect. The Democratic administration of President Johnson tried to solve economic inequality through the Great Society, and disparities provided some of the motivation behind the Civil Rights and Chicano movements.)
- Exposing police brutality. (Incorrect. Although police treatment of Black Americans was not central to the Civil Rights Movement, the issue did factor into the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s strategy of pitting nonviolent activists against opponents who were often in uniform.)
- Liberalization of drug policies. (Correct! The mainstream Democratic Party and civil rights organizations had never called for legalization of recreational drug use, nor for liberalization of penalties for offenders.)
A: Liberalization of drug policies.

Q: In the 1962 Port Huron statement, Thomas Hayden of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) embraced socialism and wrote the U.S. economy was “of such social importance that its major resources and means of production should be open to democratic participation and subject to democratic social regulation.” The SDS tried to apply social regulation to poverty in Chicago, Illinois by means of
- teach-ins. (Incorrect. “Teach-ins” began at the University of Michigan as 24-hour debates on the pros and cons of U.S. participation in the Vietnam War. The concept spread to other college campuses and evolved into mass demonstrations against the war.)
- nonconformist radicalism. (Incorrect. “Nonconformist radicalism” can describe general cultural motifs of university students who rebelled against their middle-class backgrounds in the 1960s. Wearing blue jeans was an example of generational nonconformity, while the Port Huron statement was an expression of nonconformist radicalism.)
- Free Speech Movement. (Incorrect. The Free Speech Movement began at the University of California, Berkeley in 1964 to protest campus restrictions on political fundraising and advocacy. This was not an initiative of the SDS, which was formed at the University of Michigan in 1960.)
- community organization. (Correct! Broadly, “community organization” refers to organized coordination between public and private agencies to accomplish social welfare goals. The SDS used community organizations such as JOIN (Jobs or Income Now) to address poverty in Chicago, as well as to pursue other goals such as resistance to the displacement of low-income residents and founding recreational clubs for urban youth.)
A: community organization.

Q: Mario Savio, one of the student leaders of the Free Speech Movement at the University of California, Berkeley, delivered a speech to fellow students in December 1964 in which he said, “There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part…and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels…and you've got to make it stop.” What issue did the Berkeley students hope to address through civil disobedience?
- Vietnam War (Incorrect. Opposition to the war motivated student protests at Berkeley and colleges throughout the nation, but this was secondary to the more immediate goals of the Free Speech Movement in 1964-1965.)
- Urban renewal projects that displaced low-income residents (Incorrect. The displacement of low-income city dwellers was a concern of the JOIN (Jobs or Income Now), which the Students for a Democratic Society organized in Chicago, Illinois in 1964.)
- Segregation in student housing (Incorrect. Although student activists generally opposed all forms of racial and ethnic discrimination, segregation was not a primary concern of the Free Speech Movement.)
- Restrictions on campus political activities (Correct! Berkeley administrators had banned political activism on or near the campus in response to media coverage of the arrests of Berkeley students in off-campus demonstrations. The arrest of a student for distributing political literature on campus in October 1964 led to a mass student sit-in a few months later, in which Savio gave his famous speech about the university “machine.”)
A: Restrictions on campus political activities

Q: Which of the following statements describes the major shortcoming of the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, which explored ways in which federal legislation might address gender-based discrimination?
- The commission refused to approve use of the birth control pill. (Incorrect. The birth control pill was approved by the U.S. Drug and Food Administration in 1960 as the first medicine designed to be taken by people who were not sick. Although many states banned the pill soon after FDA approval, the President’s Commission did not address this issue.)
- The commission believed consciousness-raising about women’s concerns would be more effective than passing new laws. (Incorrect. The commission’s report led to Title VII of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964, which prohibited gender-based employment discrimination. “Consciousness-raising” referred to the feminist strategy in which women met to share their experiences and to build networks of activists.)
- The commission reported on problems which were only experienced by housewives, not working women. (Incorrect. The President’s Commission recommended changes in employment practices, tax policies and labor laws, as well as services intended to help women fulfill their roles as wives and mothers.)
- The commission focused on problems affecting White, middle-class women. (Correct! The commission reported on unequal wages and other issues which resonated with White working women, leading to Title VII’s prohibition on gender-based employment discrimination in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The commission did not address the problems of non-White women who lacked access to government or union advocacy.)
A: The commission focused on problems affecting White, middle-class women.

Q: Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique and co-founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW), identified “the problem that has no name,” which many women of color did find to be relevant to their experiences. What was this nameless problem?
- Discrimination against women in the workplace. (Incorrect. The President’s Commission on the Status of Women (1961-1963) had identified wage gaps and other forms of gender-based employment discrimination. <em>The Feminine Mystique</em> pointed out an issue which had no legislative solution.)
- Lack of access to the birth control pill. (Incorrect. The pill was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1960, although many states chose to make it illegal. NOW focused on reproductive choice as a means of women’s liberation, but this was not central to Friedan’s thesis in <em>The Feminine Mystique</em>.)
- Inability of low-income women to fight the termination of welfare benefits. (Incorrect. Black activists such as Johnnie Tillmon and the National Welfare Right Organization sought greater control over welfare policy and fair administrative hearings prior to termination of benefits. In contrast, Friedan and NOW did not view poverty and welfare as major concerns of the women’s rights movement.)
- Unfulfillment and isolation among homemakers. (Correct! Friedan believed women who fulfilled the traditional roles of wives and mothers were robbed of opportunities of personal development and creative work outside of the home. Many women of color – who worked long hours just to make ends meet – could not relate to the discontent of suburban, middle-class women and created their own groups apart from NOW, such as the National Welfare Rights Organization.)
A: Unfulfillment and isolation among homemakers.

Q: Carol Hanisch used the phrase “the personal is political” to indicate social inequality was the root cause of many struggles which women faced in the U.S. Consciousness-raising groups allowed women to share their stories, raising self-awareness and validating their experiences. How did personal interaction in consciousness-raising groups bolster political activism?
- By encouraging women to leave their roles as homemakers to pursue careers. (Incorrect. Although feminists such as Betty Friedan and Carol Hanisch believed social pressure stifled women’s personal growth by forcing them into the homemaker role, the decision to leave the home for the workplace was personal, rather than political, in nature.)
- By ensuring passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. (Incorrect. Passage of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was a goal of the National Organization for Women (NOW). The amendment – which was never passed – would have invalidated federal and state laws which activists viewed as discriminatory toward women.)
- By fostering cooperation between White, Black, lesbian, and transgender women. (Incorrect. Tensions between the different factions would lead to internal strife in the feminist movement in the 1970s. The movement would also face a backlash from women who valued their traditional roles as homemakers.)
- By creating networks of women who could be mobilized to protest social inequality. (Correct! In addition to gathering personal stories which could be used to animate the feminist movement, consciousness-raising groups brought women together and made it easier for leaders in the movement to organize protest demonstrations.)
A: By creating networks of women who could be mobilized to protest social inequality.

Q: The acronym N.A.M.E. stands for four criteria which historians use to determine whether an event has historical significance. Thirteen Days, a film released in 2000, tells the story of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 and depicts President Kennedy as a peacemaker in the Cold War. Which of the four criteria can historians gauge by examining Hollywood films like this one?
- Novelty (Incorrect. Novelty refers to the unprecedented nature of an event. For example, the Chicano Moratorium in 1970 was novel because the disproportionate number of Mexican American casualties in the Vietnam War resulted in the largest Mexican American protest demonstration to that time. Hollywood depictions of historical events do not inform historians’ understanding of the actual novelty of the events.)
- Applicability (Incorrect. Applicability refers to the contemporary relevance of an event. Although the filmmaker of <em>Thirteen Days</em> might have wished to depict President Kennedy as a model for contemporary leadership, historians are more likely to gauge the applicability of the Cuban Missile Crisis through comparisons and contrasts with more recent presidents who faced similar military dilemmas.)
- Effect (Incorrect. Effect refers to the long-term impacts of an event on many people. Kennedy’s handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis may have averted nuclear war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, leading to a telephone hotline and treaties between the two superpowers. However, Hollywood films do not inform historians’ interpretations of the effects of an event.)
- Memory (Correct! Memory can refer to the way in which participants and witnesses remember events in oral interviews with historians. More broadly, however, memory can refer to the way in which popular culture remembers the past. <em>Thirteen Days</em> reflects the collective 21st century memory of President Kennedy as a peacemaker by focusing on his success in the Cuban Missile Crisis – omitting the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion and the early policies which led to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.)
A: Memory

Q: “The Five R’s” are qualities which might make an event historically significant. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution of 1964 fits the criteria of Resulting in Change, because it gave President Johnson authority to escalate the U.S. role in Vietnam. When the National Security Agency later admitted the two U.S. naval destroyers were not fired on by North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin, the event which precipitated the Resolution fit which of the other Five R’s?
- Remarkable (Incorrect. A Remarkable event is one in which people of the time took special note. Although newspaper readers found the reports of North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. boats remarkable in 1964, the later doubt which was cast on the official account shifted the criteria for gauging the significance of the incident.)
- Resonant (Incorrect. A Resonant event is one which connects with similar events or beliefs in the present time. Although the Gulf of Tonkin incident has sometimes been compared to other instances in which the U.S. government seems less than honest about its reasons for going to war – notably as it came up in discussions about President George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003 -- the resonance of the Gulf of Tonkin incident does not give it historical significance apart from these comparisons.)
- Remembered (Incorrect. A Remembered event is important within the collective memory of the people who were alive at the time. The Gulf of Tonkin incident was memorable and lent some rationale to President Johnson’s decision to escalate the U.S. role in Vietnam. However, later information which cast doubt on the official account changed the criteria for gauging the incident’s significance.)
- Revealing (Correct! Reports by crews of the naval destroyers USS Maddox and the USS Turner Joy that they had been fired on by North Vietnamese torpedo boats might have fit the criteria of Resulting in Change because they resulted in congressional passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. However, the later revelation of the inaccuracy of the reports made the incident Revealing because it undermined President Johnson’s rationale for entrenching the U.S. in the Vietnam War.)
A: Revealing

Q: Historical significance is most often assigned to an event or series of events which fit the criteria of Effect (N.A.M.E.) as well as Resulting in Change (“The Five R’s”). Based on your study of social turmoil in the 1960s, which of the following events most closely fits both criteria?
- The Tet Offensive (Incorrect. The North Vietnamese Tet Offensive in 1968 fit one of these criteria – Resulting in Change – because it changed public perception about the honesty of President Johnson and the probability of victory in the Vietnam War. However, it was not significant for having a far-reaching Effect on many people after the war had ended.)
- The Feminine Mystique (Incorrect. Betty Friedan’s thesis in <em>The Feminine Mystique</em> – that traditional gender roles forced women into unfulfillment and isolation as homemakers – had a lasting impact on the feminist movement by re-framing women’s struggles as social problems. Although the National Organization for Women, which Friedan co-founded, arguably brought changes which affected many women from the 1960s to the present time, the impact of her book was limited to the concerns of White, middle-class housewives.)
- University “teach-ins” (Incorrect. “Teach-ins” began as 24-hour debates on the Vietnam War at college campuses across the U.S. and evolved into massive anti-war protests. Although the “teach-ins” no doubt affected thousands of students who participated in them, they did not result in changes to U.S. policy in Vietnam and had little impact on subsequent generations.)
- The Great Society (Correct! The Great Society – legislation and social programs which President Johnson pushed through the U.S. Congress – radically changed the constitutional relationship between citizens, states, and the federal government, replacing the Founders’ concept of “rights” as protected liberties into entitlements which the federal government bestowed. The Great Society affected many people by providing medical care for elderly citizens, funding for public schools, and reducing the number of citizens living below the poverty line. Although the Vietnam War drained funding for many Great Society programs, the legislation remains in place and continues to affect American lives in the 21st century.)
A: The Great Society

Q: President Kennedy sent troops to the University of Mississippi in 1962 to quell riots which broke out after James Meredith, a Black student, tried to register at the segregated school. Similar violence resulted when two Black students tried to enroll at the University of Alabama in 1963. How did these two events fit the criteria for historical significance by resulting in change?
- The campus riots motivated Martin Luther King, Jr. to start the Civil Rights Movement. (Incorrect. Most historians trace the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement to 1955, when Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, prompting King to organize a bus boycott.)
- The campus riots persuaded two-thirds of the states to ratify the Twenty-Fourth Amendment in 1964. (Incorrect. The Twenty-Fourth Amendment prohibited the imposition of poll taxes on voters. Like the Civil Rights Act of 1960 and the later Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Twenty-Fourth Amendment was intended to prevent states from disenfranchising Black voters and had little connection to the issue of segregation on college campuses.)
- The campus riots caused Stokely Carmichael to call for Black Power and Black separatism. (Incorrect. Black Power was a philosophy which called for Black self-determination in political, economic, and social terms. Carmichael was influenced by Malcolm X’s ideology of Black separatism, and his general frustration with the slow pace of change via nonviolence and racial cooperation led him to embrace Black Power in the latter 1960s.)
- The campus riots moved President Kennedy to introduce sweeping civil rights legislation. (Correct! Whereas the Civil Rights Act of 1960 had enabled federal courts to appoint referees to ensure voting rights, the “Battle of Ole Miss” and the University of Alabama riots meet the criteria of resulting in change because they motivated Kennedy to introduce a second, more comprehensive bill prohibiting discrimination in public places. Kennedy did not live to see his bill pass as the Civil Rights Act of 1964.)
A: The campus riots moved President Kennedy to introduce sweeping civil rights legislation.

Q: The “Freedom Summer murders” in Mississippi have historical significance because they helped to secure passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The murders of three activists led to annual memorial gatherings in Neshoba County, Mississippi, and a film about the crimes, Mississippi Burning, released in 1988. The annual gatherings and the film can help us gauge the historical significance of the murders by
- showing the effects of the event on later generations. (Incorrect. Historians can measure the significance of an event by looking at the number of people who were impacted by it, and the depth of this impact. The Freedom Summer murders had a deep impact on civil rights activists in the 1960s, and the subsequent federal legislation has affected Black Americans into the 21st century. However, the Neshoba County memorial gatherings and the 1988 film do not help historians gauge these effects.)
- revealing the depth of anti-civil rights animosity in the South. (Incorrect. Historians find significance in events which reveal some aspect of the time in which they occur, or which challenge earlier historical interpretations in some way. The Freedom Summer murders helped to open the eyes of mainstream Americans and federal lawmakers to the animosity of Jim Crow proponents in the South. However, the Neshoba County gatherings and the 1988 film do not reveal new aspects of the past or challenge historical interpretations of the events.)
- demonstrating the applicability of the murders to contemporary issues. (Incorrect. Historians can gauge the significance of an event by looking at its relevance or applicability to contemporary events or problems. Although historians have sometimes drawn parallels between the Freedom Summer murders in 1964, and later concerns such as police brutality in the 21st century, the annual gatherings in Neshoba County and the 1988 film do not inform these comparisons.)
- showing the importance of the event in collective memory. (Correct! Historians can gauge the significance of an event by looking at the way it has been remembered, or the importance it holds in the collective memory of a particular group. The annual gatherings in Neshoba County show the importance of the Freedom Summer murders in the memory of civil rights activists, who held up the three victims as martyrs to their cause. In a different way, <em>Mississippi Burning</em> can tell historians how popular culture remembered the murders in 1988.)
A: showing the importance of the event in collective memory.

Q: Many Americans remember Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech from the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, as a defining moment of the Civil Rights Movement. Prompted by Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson to “tell them about the dream,” King abandoned his prepared remarks and described his vision for an integrated society with the repeated refrain, “I have a dream today…” Which of the following statements explains how King’s improvised remarks have historical significance beyond the specific goals of the March on Washington?
- “I have a dream” inspired lawmakers to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (Incorrect. More than 200,000 Black and White activists joined the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in support of President Kennedy’s proposed civil rights legislation. King’s speech won public support for the legislation, which became the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, this does not explain the intrinsic historical significance of King’s “I have a dream” refrain.)
- “I have a dream” inspired Lyndon Johnson to propose new civil rights legislation after President Kennedy’s death in November 1963. (Incorrect. President Johnson used his skills as a former Senate majority leader to secure passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The March on Washington in 1963 swayed public opinion in favor of Kennedy’s proposed legislation, but Johnson’s determination to push the two bills through Congress was part of his broader vision of the “Great Society,” in which the federal government would try to address a variety of social problems beyond segregation and voter suppression.)
- “I have a dream” reveals the goals and philosophy of the Civil Rights Movement. (Incorrect. Incorrect. Historians may judge an event to be significant if it reveals new aspects of the past and challenges common perceptions. King’s speech at the March on Washington expressed some of the goals of the Civil Rights Movement – integration, equal treatment under the law for Black Americans – as well as his personal philosophy of nonviolence and his desire for racial harmony. “I have a dream” refers to these goals and ideas, but the phrase does not challenge historians’ common understanding of the Civil Rights Movement or the 1960s.)
- “I have a dream” has resonated with diverse groups of people over a long period of time. (Correct! Resonance is one of the “Five R’s” which describe the qualities of historically significant events. King’s “dream” of racial harmony in the U.S. has resonated with people and movements around the world since 1963 and has often served as a standard for judging the success or failure of reform movements. “I have a dream” has become an iconic shorthand for the goals of people in all times and places who seek peace and equality beyond the goals of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement.)
A: “I have a dream” has resonated with diverse groups of people over a long period of time.