Write your answer choices on a piece of paper, then click on the "Answer Key" button at the end to check and grade your test.

1.  All of these were causes of the Great Depression in the United States EXCEPT:

A. the crash of the stock market in 1929 
B. factories unable to produce enough products for people to buy
C. high tariffs on imports from other nations
D. reduced international trade

2.  What was a "bank run" in the early 1930s?

A. People rushed to get their money out of a bank they fear might go broke.
B. Banks borrowed money to invest in stocks, hoping to make more money.
C. People rushed to banks to borrow money before interest rates went up.
D. Banks ran out of money to loan.

3.  Which of these best describes the views of President Herbert Hoover as the Great Depression began?

A. The economy will improve on its own if we give business a little boost.
B. The government has a responsibility to create jobs for the unemployed.
C. The government must take control of the nation’s economy.
D. Welfare and relief programs must be greatly expanded by the federal government.

4. Why did President Franklin Roosevelt and Congress create the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression?

A. to encourage families to save money by growing their own food
B. to create jobs for unemployed young men
C. to force businesses to conserve electricity and coal
D. to help farmers plant and harvest crops

5.  Which of these New Deal programs or laws has had the longest-lasting impact on American life?

A. The Civilian Conservation Corps 
B. Works Progress Administration
C. Agriculture Adjustment Act
D. Social Security Act

6.  How did the New Deal program based on the Agriculture Adjustment Act attempt to solve the problem of excessively low prices for farm products?

A. The federal government encouraged citizens to start “Victory Gardens.”
B. The federal government paid farmers money not to plant some of their land.
C. The federal government required grocery stores to offer higher payments to farmers.
D. The federal government hired young men to do soil conservation work.

7. What was the main impact of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs on American government?

A. Federal and state governments were forced to cut back their activities.
B. The federal government became far more active in the nation’s economy.
C. State governments were told to take over the job of helping the unemployed.
D. The New Deal created no real change in government powers and responsibilities.

8.  Which of the states listed below was hit hardest by the “Dust Bowl” of the 1930s?

A. Georgia
B. Ohio
C. Oklahoma 
D. California

9.  What was the main objection that his critics made of President Roosevelt’s programs and policies during the 1930s?

A. They said Roosevelt's policies favored the rich.
B. They said many of his programs were too much like socialism.
C. They said he didn't communicate with the American people very well.
D. They said he didn't have the nerve to deal with the trouble growing in Europe.

10.  As Hitler began his first steps to expand German territory in the late 1930s, English and French leaders made no real effort to stop him.  Their decision not to challenge Hitler is called a policy of:

A. aversion 
B. opportunism 
C. co-dependency
D. appeasement

11.  All of these belong on a list of the basic beliefs of the government system called fascism EXCEPT:

A. war helps build a nation’s power and spirit
B. a dictator is needed for strong leadership
C. individuals have basic rights to liberty and justice
D. the government must have the power to command obedience

12. "The Holocaust" is the term for

A. the deadly air attacks by Germany against Great Britain early in the war.
B. the jailing of political opponents in the mid-1930s by Mussolini.
C. the deliberate killing of an estimated six million Jews by the Nazis.
D. the deliberate air attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese.

13.  When did America enter World War II?

A. when Hitler took over Poland
B. when England declared war on Germany
C. when Hitler took over France
D. when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor

14.  What was Roosevelt's Lend-Lease program designed to do?

A. to send war supplies to help England and Russia even before we entered the war
B. to get citizens to buy special war bonds to help finance the war effort
C. to get farmers to increase the amount of land they planted
D. to send volunteer pilots to help the Chinese defend themselves from Japanese attacks

15.  What does the term "blitzkrieg" mean?

A. It was the name of Hitler's plan to exterminate the Jews of Europe.
B. It was the name for the German method of very rapid military attacks.
C. It was the name of Japan's suicide bombers.
D. It was the code name of the first working atomic bomb.

16.  What was the purpose of rationing coupons during World War II?

A. They made sure everyone got an equal share of products in short supply, such as sugar.
B. They were used to encourage people to enlist in the armed forces.
C. They were used to educate people about defense procedures in case of an attack.
D. They were used to encourage people to collect aluminum and other metals.

17.  Rosie the Riveter was

A. a new kind of tank developed for use against Germany.
B. a soldiers’ disease caused by days spent in wet trenches.
C. a poster figure that represented women factory workers during the war.
D. a lawyer who helped prosecute German war criminals.

18.  What was the Manhattan Project?

A. the code name for the American effort to build an atomic bomb
B. the nickname for efforts by Broadway stars to entertain American soldiers 
C. the effort to keep German submarines away from America’s coastal cities
D. the project to develop posters and artwork supporting the war effort

19.  Where was the main attack by the Allies against Hitler’s forces on D-Day?

A. At El Alamein, in North Africa.
B. Near Rome, in Italy.
C. At Normandy, a region of France.
D. Near Amsterdam, in Denmark.

20.  What were the years of American involvement in World War II?

A. 1938 - 1941
B. 1941 - 1945
C. 1944 - 1947
D. 1945 - 1948

21.  Which of these is NOT a true statement about World War II?

A. The Battle of Midway was a victory for America in the Pacific.
B. Harry Truman became president after Franklin Roosevelt died in office.
C. Japan was defeated before Germany.
D. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the only Japanese cities hit with atomic bombs.

22.  What was the goal of the Marshall Plan in the years after World War II?

A.  to write a new constitution for Japan
B.  to help rebuild the European nations 
C.  to punish the Axis Powers for their aggression
D.  to begin trials of the main Axis leaders for “crimes against humanity”
 

23.  What was the basic aim of the United States policy after World War Two called containment?

A. to keep prices from rapidly rising as war bonds were cashed in
B. to keep U.S. involvement in conflicts overseas to a minimum 
C. to prevent the further spread of communism 
D. to keep war criminals from escaping to South America

24.  What was the Cold War?

A. the struggle between Russia and America after World War II
B. the name for the 1948 elections in the United States 
C. the name of the effort to change the Japanese government after World War II
D. the name for fighting at the end of World War Two in northern Germany
 

25.  Why was the organization called the United Nations created?

A. to hold fair trials for war criminals arrested in Germany and Japan
B. to defend the nations of the North Atlantic region from attack
C. to create a place for all nations to meet and solve international problems
D. to coordinate and restore word trade after World War II
 

Copyright 2001, 2016 by David Burns
www.fasttrackteaching.com