Desegregation, Economic Boom, and Cold War Conflicts (1940s–1960s)

Posted on Oct 29, 2025 in History

Civil Rights Pioneers and Political Divisions

7.3.2: Early Civil Rights Leaders and Ideological Conflicts

Which African American player helped desegregate the sport of baseball?
Jackie Robinson
Which African American leader visited the Soviet Union and felt welcome there?
Paul Robeson
Which African American baseball pioneer fought racism by personal achievement?
Jackie Robinson
How did A. Philip Randolph get President Truman to change the way the military treated its Black soldiers?
He threatened to organize a march on Washington.
How did A. Philip Randolph get President Truman to change the way the military treated its Black soldiers?
He promised to fight against the draft if changes were not made.
How did A. Philip Randolph finally get President Truman to change the way the military treated its Black soldiers?
He planned a protest march in front of the White House.
Which African American leader joined, and then left the Communist Party?
Bayard Rustin
Which is true about Bayard Rustin?
He joined then left the Communist Party.
Which leader briefly joined the Communist Party?
Bayard Rustin
How did Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson differ?
Robeson spoke well of the Soviet Union; Robinson did not.
How did Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson differ?
Robeson took a more radical approach to equality than Robinson.
How did Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson differ?
Robinson’s stand made him more popular than Robeson.
How did the views of W. E. B. Du Bois change as he grew older?
He became more of a believer in the ideas of Communism.
As W. E. B. Du Bois grew older, he increasingly supported:
Communism
W. E. B. Du Bois became a supporter of ___________ as he got older.
Communism
Why did many African Americans turn to the Communist Party of the United States?
It promised economic equality for people no matter their race.
What was Paul Robeson’s point in testifying before the House Un-American Activities Committee?
That racial inequality was against American principles.
Paul Robeson testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee to argue that:
Racial inequality was against American principles.
A. Philip Randolph argued that requiring African Americans to fight for democracy in other countries was unfair because:
They were denied rights in their own country.
In signing Jackie Robinson to play major league baseball, Branch Rickey felt that his ____________ was just as important as his baseball skills.
Character
What was true about Jackie Robinson?
He suffered bad treatment but led the way for others.
What was true of the desegregation of the armed forces under President Truman?
It was done by executive order.
How did Bill Russell differ from Jackie Robinson?
Russell spoke out against racism more.
What was the result of Bill Russell speaking out about racism and a lack of equality in America?
He became less popular around the nation.

7.3.4: NAACP and the Fight for School Desegregation

How did the NAACP fight segregation?
By proving that schools were not equal.
How did the NAACP fight segregation?
By bringing lawsuits.
How did the NAACP fight segregation?
By fighting inequality in public schools.
Which African American leader became a justice in the Supreme Court?
Thurgood Marshall
Which Supreme Court Justice decided against school segregation in Brown v. Board of Education?
Earl Warren
Which American political leader was against integration in the Arkansas schools?
Orval Faubus
How did the “doll study” help the cause of integration?
It showed that segregation damaged children’s emotions.
Why was the “doll study” important?
It showed that racist attitudes did emotional damage.
Which color doll did African American children most prefer?
White
How did Felix Frankfurter stand on Brown v. Board of Education?
He wanted time to convince more justices.
Why did Earl Warren become Chief Justice?
Fred Vinson died unexpectedly.
How did Earl Warren stand on Brown v. Board of Education?
He was for ending segregation.
In 1954, the Supreme Court decided that:
Schools needed to desegregate.
What did the Supreme Court order U.S. schools to do in 1954?
Stop segregation, as it was unconstitutional.
What did the Supreme Court order U.S. schools to do in 1954?
Stop segregating schools, because this was not constitutional.
NAACP lawyers began their desegregation efforts by focusing on:
Law schools.
What was the advantage to the NAACP legal team in obtaining desegregated law schools?
States were unlikely to want to spend money to make Black schools equal.
What was an argument about segregation made by Thurgood Marshall before the Supreme Court?
African American students suffered damage from being treated differently.
Which is true about President Eisenhower?
He sent troops to support desegregation.
How did Eisenhower respond to southern resistance to desegregate schools?
He sent in troops.
What was Eisenhower’s response to southern efforts to resist desegregation in Little Rock, Arkansas?
He sent troops to protect the students as they entered the school.
Why did Justice Frankfurter want added time for the Supreme Court to decide on Brown v. Board of Education?
He wanted to present a united decision to the nation.
The Brown v. Board of Education decision ended public school segregation on the basis of the Fourteenth Amendment, which says that all citizens deserve _____________ under the law.
Equal protection
In the Brown ruling, the Supreme Court required public schools to desegregate:
“With all deliberate speed.”

7.3.7: Nonviolent Resistance and Mass Action

What happened to the men who were accused of shooting Emmett Till?
They were found not guilty.
What happened to the man who shot Lamar Smith in public?
He was never charged with the crime.
What happened to the men who killed John Earl Reese in Texas?
They were found guilty, but never went to jail.
How did civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. develop a nonviolent strategy?
They learned this from the success of Gandhi.
What principle did Martin Luther King Jr. and others learn from the political strategy of Gandhi?
Break the law, go to jail, but do not be violent.
What principle did Martin Luther King Jr. and others learn from the political strategy of Gandhi?
Nonviolent resistance
How did James Farmer help the cause of civil rights?
He organized the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE).
Who organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)?
Martin Luther King Jr.
Which was a new form of protest started by James Farmer and CORE in 1961?
Freedom rides through the South
What short-term effect did sit-ins and other civil rights protests have on life in the South?
Segregationists became more violent.
What short-term effect did sit-ins and other civil rights protests have on life in the South?
Businesses suffered from the mass actions.
What short-term effect did sit-ins and other civil rights protests have on life in the South?
Civil rights leaders were arrested.
Which of the following was not one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s goals?
To end segregation by any means necessary.
Martin Luther King Jr. thought that whites and blacks:
Could live together in peace.
Which of the following was not one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s goals?
To encourage blacks to go “back to Africa.”
The Montgomery bus boycott raised public awareness of which civil rights leader?
Martin Luther King Jr.
What helped protesters win the Montgomery bus boycott?
The majority of bus riders were African Americans committed to the boycott.
What was used to discourage the protesters involved in the Montgomery bus boycott?
All of the above
What was an effect of peaceful protests organized by Martin Luther King Jr.?
The violence used by segregationists against the protests was broadcast across the country.
What was an activity of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)?
It trained activists how to respond to poor treatment and arrest during protests.
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) played a major role in sit-ins, _______________, and the March on Washington.
Freedom rides
When Americans saw images of the violence in Birmingham in 1963, they were:
Shocked by the violent methods of southerners.
What was an effect of protests and violence in Birmingham in 1963?
Americans were shocked by the methods used to protect segregation.
When southerners used violence to stop peaceful protesters, most Americans were:
Shocked.

Post-World War II America: Economy and Society

7.4.2: The Postwar Economic Boom

What did the G.I. Bill help ex-soldiers to do?
Look for work.
What did the G.I. Bill help ex-soldiers to do?
Get an education.
What did the G.I. Bill help ex-soldiers to do?
Buy a house.
Which was not a result of the baby boom that followed World War II?
Men began to have increased health problems.
Which was not a result of the baby boom that followed World War II?
More women had to get second jobs.
Which was not a challenge of the baby boom that followed World War II?
Teachers were fired as enrollment dropped.
In the “kitchen debate,” Richard Nixon argued:
That the American system was designed to take advantage of new technology.
In the “kitchen debate,” Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev argued that:
American houses were built poorly so builders could sell more homes in the future.
What point did both Nikita Khrushchev and Richard Nixon both try to make in the “kitchen debate”?
That working-class people could afford to buy houses.
How did the baby boom affect the U.S. economy?
Growing families increased the demand for products.
How did the G.I. Bill affect colleges?
All of the above
The G.I. Bill was created because government officials worried that huge numbers of veterans without _____________ would be a strain on the economy.
Jobs or homes
By the late 1940s, the United States produced ________ of all the economic output in the world.
One half
What was true of the U.S. economy after World War II?
It was the strongest economy in the world.
What was true about the economic boom after World War II?
The American economy became the world’s strongest.
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev claimed:
History was on his side.
Which was a claim of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev?
That history was on his side.
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev believed that:
History was on his side.
Starting in the economic boom after World War II, advertising:
Showed a lifestyle that consumers tried to copy.
During the economic boom, advertisers:
Tried to show a lifestyle that consumers would want to copy.
Advertising in the 1950s and 1960s was typically designed to:
Play on the hopes and fears of consumers.
Why did home ownership increase after World War II?
All of the above
Why were more Americans able to buy homes after World War II?
People were more willing to take on debt.
During the postwar years, the middle class was:
Growing in numbers.

7.4.5: Suburban Growth and White Flight

Why did cities have a higher percentage of minorities making up the total population in the 1950s?
White Americans were moving to the suburbs.
What caused the higher percentage of minorities in cities in the 1950s?
White flight
What was one result of the growth of suburbs?
Cities became poorer.
Which statement is true?
The growth of suburbs offered many opportunities for business owners.
Which statement is true?
The growth of suburbs caused many new types of business to do well.
Which statement is true?
The growth of suburbs encouraged innovation in business.
Which of the following was not a reason for the growth of suburbs?
Too little diversity in cities
Which of the following is a reason for the growth of the suburbs?
All of the above
Which of the following was not a reason for the growth of suburbs?
There were no jobs in the cities.
Which was true about the income of African American families?
They made a little more than half of what white families made.
Why were African American families less likely to move to the suburbs?
They faced discrimination from banks.
What was a cause of the limited diversity in the suburbs?
African Americans were not allowed in many suburbs.
What factor helped the suburbs grow?
Problems in the cities
What contributed to the postwar construction boom?
Few houses were built during the Great Depression.
What contributed to the growth of suburbs?
All of the above
Suburbs tended to have:
Little diversity
Why did suburbs tend to have little diversity?
Only white families could afford to buy a house in the suburbs.
What was one reason African American families did not make as much money as white families?
They lacked proper education.
After World War II, population in the cities and suburbs:
Increased
After World War II, population in rural areas:
Decreased.
After World War II, what happened to the population in cities and suburbs?
It increased.
What is white flight?
When whites move out of neighborhoods after minorities move in.
What is one effect of white flight?
Cities become poorer.
What was one effect of white flight?
Whites moved to the suburbs.

The Kennedy and Johnson Administrations

8.1.2: Kennedy’s New Frontier and Soft Power

How did young Americans respond to John F. Kennedy’s challenge?
They became active in politics.
How did young Americans respond to John F. Kennedy’s challenge?
They became more involved in social action.
How did young Americans respond to John F. Kennedy’s challenge?
They joined the Peace Corps.
Which of these measures did President Kennedy succeed in passing?
A higher minimum wage
Which of these measures did President Kennedy succeed in passing?
A space program
Which of these measures did President Kennedy succeed in passing?
Urban renewal
Why did SNCC organize sit-ins?
To show their determination to win civil rights.
Why did SNCC organize sit-ins?
To pressure the government to support civil rights.
Why did SNCC organize sit-ins?
To give publicity to the struggle for civil rights.
Which statement about President Kennedy’s actions on civil rights is true?
He acted cautiously until pushed by civil rights groups.
Which statement about John F. Kennedy’s actions on civil rights is true?
He cautiously supported civil rights.
Which statement about Lyndon Johnson’s actions as president is true?
He tried to continue Kennedy’s policies.
Which leader told Americans to ask what they could do for their country?
John F. Kennedy
Which leader declared that “the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans”?
John F. Kennedy
In 1960, _____ was elected president.
John F. Kennedy
What was true about President Kennedy’s victory in the 1960 presidential election?
He won by a small number of votes.
What was a part of President Kennedy’s “New Frontier”?
All of the above
What was true of Kennedy’s presidency?
His domestic concerns largely took a backseat to foreign policy issues.
What was a goal of President Kennedy’s Peace Corps?
Improving America’s image
The Peace Corps:
Improved the United States’ image around the world.
Which of these statements about the Peace Corps is true?
It is an example of soft power.
In 1961, President Kennedy took action to prevent the Soviet Union from:
Forcing West Berlin to become a part of East Germany.
In 1961, the Soviet Union attempted:
To take over West Berlin.
In 1961, the Soviet Union:
Failed to take control of West Berlin.

8.1.4: The Vietnam War and Domestic Division

How did young American men protest the Vietnam War?
By taking part in demonstrations.
Which act was a protest against the Vietnam War?
Joining a march
Which act was a protest against the Vietnam War?
Demonstrating at a mass rally.
Why did President Johnson believe that it was important for the United States to win in Vietnam?
To prevent Communism from spreading.
Why did President Johnson believe that it was important for the United States to win in Vietnam?
He feared a Communist takeover in Southeast Asia if the United States left Vietnam.
Why did President Johnson believe that it was important for the United States to win in Vietnam?
He believed in the domino theory.
The events of 1968 showed that Americans’ views on politics were:
Deeply divided.
What did the events of 1968 show about Americans’ views on politics?
They were deeply divided.
What did the events of 1968 show about Americans’ views on politics at the time?
Their deep divisions could lead to violence.
What was combat like in Vietnam?
Most fighting took place in thick forests.
What was the main goal of American combat soldiers in Vietnam?
To kill as many enemy soldiers as possible.
What was combat like for American combat soldiers in Vietnam?
It was difficult to know who the enemy was.
Which statement about the draft during the Vietnam War is true?
Many young men were drafted.
Which statement about the draft during the Vietnam War is true?
College students could avoid the draft.
Which statement about the draft during the Vietnam War is true?
Some Americans avoided the draft by leaving the country.
What did the United States do in response to the Geneva Accords?
It prevented elections in South Vietnam.
In 1963 the United States stopped its support for the leader of South Vietnam because:
He refused to reform his government.
The United States prevented an election in South Vietnam because:
A Communist candidate would likely win.
What was true about President Johnson’s attitude toward Vietnam?
He had been against American involvement before becoming president.
What was true about President Johnson’s attitude toward Vietnam?
He felt that taking out troops would be a defeat for the United States.
Republican “hawks” called for _____ in Vietnam.
Total war