20th Century American History Quiz

Question 1

What did the U.S. do during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis?

Kennedy ordered a naval and air blockade around Cuba, a quarantine against all offensive weapons.

Question 2

In the 1960s, the radical group known as “Weathermen” was involved in:

College bombings that claimed several lives.

Question 3

When was the Equal Pay Act passed by Congress?

June 10, 1963.

Question 4

What happened during the Yom Kippur War of 1973?

Syria and Egypt held a surprise attack on Israeli-held lands.

Question 5

How did the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton end?

It ended with no charge attracting a majority of votes in the Senate.

Question 6

In 1992, Ross Perot made the best third-party showing in American politics since:

Theodore Roosevelt in 1912.

Question 7

In ______, significant reform legislation was passed by Congress concerning welfare programs.

1996

Question 8

Bill Clinton was the first Democrat to win two terms as president since:

Franklin Roosevelt.

Question 9

In the 1968 presidential campaign, Richard Nixon called for:

Stability and national law and order.

Question 10

The Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade (1973) was based on a new legal interpretation of:

Privacy rights, legalizing abortion.

Question 11

The key evidence in the determination of President Richard Nixon’s guilt or innocence in the:

Watergate scandal were audiotape recordings made of most conversations in the Oval Office.

Question 12

The crisis of American hostages being held in Iran lasted:

Over one year.

Question 13

In the late 1980s, the spread of AIDS in the United States was spreading most rapidly among:

Heterosexuals.

Question 14

In 1974, former President Richard Nixon was pardoned by:

President Ford.

Question 15

In the election of 2004, the Republican strategy involved appealing mainly to:

Conservative and evangelical Christians.

Question 16

In the 1990s, opponents of globalization:

Claimed it was not economically beneficial.

Question 17

In the last months of 1949, events in the Soviet Union and China included:

Russia’s successful test of an atomic weapon.

Question 18

Which of the following was the first method of nuclear weapons delivery?

Strategic bombers.

Question 19

In 1947, the first target of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was:

The movie industry.

Question 20

Joseph McCarthy burst to national prominence by charging that there were known communists:

In the State Department.

Question 21

The Warren Commission investigation of the assassination of President John Kennedy:

Concluded Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin of Kennedy.

Question 22

The South Vietnam government in Saigon finally collapsed during the presidency of:

Gerald Ford.

Question 23

In 1972, the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty:

Was an agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union to curtail nuclear arms production during the Cold War.

Question 24

Which of the following nations became a nuclear power in the 1950s?

UK

Question 25

The Supreme Court case of Shelley v. Kraemer (1948) dealt a blow to:

Housing discrimination.