AQA A-level History · 2Q

The American Dream: reality and illusion, 1945–1980

50 exam-style questions with answers for 2Q The American Dream: reality and illusion, 1945–1980 in AQA A-level History (spec 7042). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below. Not official AQA material.

All 50 questions and answers

Question 1 · Spec 2Q, Part one
State two features of the USA in 1945. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: the world’s largest economy (1); sole atomic power (1); a strong presidency after Roosevelt (1); full employment (1).
Question 2 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What was the Truman Doctrine (1947)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A pledge to support free peoples resisting communism.
Question 3 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What was the Marshall Plan? [1 mark]
Answer:
US economic aid to rebuild Europe from 1948.
Question 4 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What was the Taft-Hartley Act (1947)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A law restricting trade union power, passed over Truman’s veto.
Question 5 · Spec 2Q, Part one
Why did Truman win the 1948 election? [1 mark]
Answer:
He campaigned hard against the ‘do-nothing’ Republican Congress and held the New Deal coalition together.
Question 6 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What was Executive Order 9981 (1948)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Truman’s order to desegregate the armed forces.
Question 7 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What was the Fair Deal? [1 mark]
Answer:
Truman’s programme of welfare and civil rights, much of it blocked by Congress.
Question 8 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What was the Loyalty Review Board (1947)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Truman’s screening of federal employees for communist links.
Question 9 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What was the Hiss case? [1 mark]
Answer:
Alger Hiss, a State Department official, was convicted of perjury in 1950 over spying allegations.
Question 10 · Spec 2Q, Part one
Define the term ‘dynamic conservatism’. [1 mark]
Answer:
Eisenhower’s approach of keeping New Deal reforms while limiting government growth.
Question 11 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What was the Interstate Highway Act (1956)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A federal programme to build a national road network.
Question 12 · Spec 2Q, Part one
State two features of the 1950s consumer society. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: suburbs, eg Levittown (1); television (1); cars (1); advertising and credit (1).
Question 13 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What did Brown v Board of Education (1954) decide? [1 mark]
Answer:
That school segregation was unconstitutional.
Question 14 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What was the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A year-long boycott leading to the end of bus segregation in Montgomery.
Question 15 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What happened at Little Rock (1957)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Eisenhower sent troops to protect Black students integrating Central High School.
Question 16 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What was the Civil Rights Act (1957)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The first civil rights law since Reconstruction, setting up a Civil Rights Commission.
Question 17 · Spec 2Q, Part one
Why did Kennedy win the 1960 election? [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: TV debates (1); youth and charisma (1); Johnson as running mate helped in the South (1); concerns about the ‘missile gap’ (1).
Question 18 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What was the New Frontier? [1 mark]
Answer:
Kennedy’s domestic programme, including space and anti-poverty plans.
Question 19 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What were the Freedom Rides (1961)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Integrated bus journeys through the South to test desegregation, met with violence.
Question 20 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What happened in Birmingham (1963)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Police used dogs and fire hoses on protesters, increasing support for civil rights.
Question 21 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What was the March on Washington (1963)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A mass rally where King gave the ‘I have a dream’ speech.
Question 22 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What was the Bay of Pigs (1961)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A failed CIA-backed invasion of Cuba.
Question 23 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What was the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A confrontation over Soviet missiles on Cuba, resolved by their removal.
Question 24 · Spec 2Q, Part one
When was Kennedy assassinated? [1 mark]
Answer:
November 1963.
Question 25 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What was McCarthyism? [1 mark]
Answer:
Senator McCarthy’s anti-communist accusations, 1950–1954.
Question 26 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What was the GI Bill (1944)? [1 mark]
Answer:
It gave veterans education and housing benefits.
Question 27 · Spec 2Q, Part one
What was the Emmett Till case (1955)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The murder of a Black teenager in Mississippi, which shocked the nation.
Question 28 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What did the Civil Rights Act (1964) do? [1 mark]
Answer:
It banned discrimination in public places and employment.
Question 29 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What did the Voting Rights Act (1965) do? [1 mark]
Answer:
It banned literacy tests and protected Black voters.
Question 30 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What was Medicare? [1 mark]
Answer:
Federal health insurance for the over-65s (1965).
Question 31 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What was the War on Poverty? [1 mark]
Answer:
Johnson’s programmes to tackle poverty, eg Head Start.
Question 32 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What were the Watts riots (1965)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Riots in Los Angeles, one of many urban riots in the 1960s.
Question 33 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What was the Kerner Commission (1968)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A report blaming riots on white racism and urban poverty.
Question 34 · Spec 2Q, Part two
Who were the Black Panthers? [1 mark]
Answer:
A Black Power group founded in 1966 promoting armed self-defence.
Question 35 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What was The Feminine Mystique (1963)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Betty Friedan’s book criticising women’s confinement to domestic roles.
Question 36 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What was the Tet Offensive (1968)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A communist offensive that turned US opinion against the Vietnam War.
Question 37 · Spec 2Q, Part two
Why did Nixon win in 1968? [2 marks]
Answer:
Democrats were divided over Vietnam and after the Chicago convention (1); he appealed to the ‘silent majority’ (1).
Question 38 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What was the Southern Strategy? [1 mark]
Answer:
Nixon’s appeal to white Southern voters.
Question 39 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What were the Kent State shootings (1970)? [1 mark]
Answer:
National Guardsmen killed four student protesters.
Question 40 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What was Vietnamisation? [1 mark]
Answer:
Withdrawing US troops while strengthening the South Vietnamese army.
Question 41 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What was Watergate? [1 mark]
Answer:
The scandal that led to Nixon’s resignation in 1974.
Question 42 · Spec 2Q, Part two
Why did Ford pardon Nixon? [1 mark]
Answer:
To end the national crisis, though it damaged Ford’s popularity.
Question 43 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What was the Camp David Accords (1978)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Carter’s brokering of peace between Egypt and Israel.
Question 44 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What was the Iran hostage crisis (1979–1981)? [1 mark]
Answer:
US diplomats were held in Tehran, damaging Carter.
Question 45 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What was the ‘crisis of confidence’ speech (1979)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Carter’s ‘malaise’ speech about American pessimism.
Question 46 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What was stagflation? [1 mark]
Answer:
High inflation combined with economic stagnation in the 1970s.
Question 47 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What was the Bakke case (1978)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A Supreme Court ruling allowing affirmative action but banning racial quotas.
Question 48 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What was the Equal Rights Amendment? [1 mark]
Answer:
A proposed amendment for sex equality, passed by Congress in 1972 but not ratified.
Question 49 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What was Roe v Wade (1973)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The ruling recognising a right to abortion.
Question 50 · Spec 2Q, Part two
What was Stonewall (1969)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Riots in New York that began the modern gay rights movement.

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The American Dream: reality and illusion, 1945–1980

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