Study Guide for 1950s-1960s Test

US History Test Format

• 40 Multiple Choice Questions
• 10 Document-Based Questions
• 1 Discussion Question

What to Study

Quizzes and Slideshows

• Cold War Quiz (available in OnCampus)
• Liberal Hour Quiz (available in OnCampus)
• Cold War/USSR Slideshow
  • Review all slides and videos
• Liberal Hour Slideshow
  • Review all slides and videos

Important Terms

• Cold War
• Redlining
• Mutually Assured Destruction
• Berlin Airlift
• Containment
• Truman Doctrine
• Marshall Plan
• McCarthyism
• Baby Boom
• Suburbanization
• NAACP
• SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference)
• SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)
• CORE (Congress of Racial Equality)
• Black Panthers
• Sit-ins
• Freedom Rides
• Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Voting Rights Act of 1965

Key Events

• March on Washington (1963)
• Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-56)
• Freedom Summer (1964)
• Selma to Montgomery March (1965)

Important Documents and Speeches

• SNCC Founding Document
• JFK’s Speeches (important for document-based questions)
• Vietnam War Protest Songs

Possible Discussion Questions

• You will select one of two questions.
• Develop a thesis with at least two supporting pieces of evidence and an explanation connecting them.
• Write a well-developed paragraph of at least 7 sentences.

Potential Questions

1. Liberal Hour of the 1960s
   • Evaluate benefits/risks of trusting federal programs and leadership.
   • Use historical details as evidence.
2. Political Leadership and Social Change
   • Assess the extent of political leadership in accelerating social progress.
   • Use historical details as evidence.
3. Fear as a Driving Force During the Cold War
   • Consider fear’s role in limiting freedoms vs. uniting Americans.
   • Use historical details as evidence.
4. The Suburban Ideal of the 1950s
   • Analyze how it reflects or contradicts American values like equality, individualism, and freedom.
   • Use historical details as evidence.