| A | B |
|---|
| What was the political situation in Korea after WWII? | Potsdam Conference temporarily divided Korea at the 38th parallel, without Korean participation in discussion. Soviets controlled North Korea and installed Communist leader Kim II-sung. Americans controlled South Korea, and established pro-Western, anti-Communist leader Syngman Rhee. |
| June 1950 - What event triggered the Korean War? | Communist North Korea invaded non-Communist South Korea. |
| What was the role of the United Nations in this conflict? How many other countries supported U.S.? | Propel the attack and establish peace; 14 other countries assisted, but U.S. supplied most troops. |
| How successful was General MacArthur? | Repelled attacked and asked permission to move to North Korea. Truman reluctantly agreed, but told him to stay away from Chinese border. |
| How did Truman and McArthur disagree on war strategy? | Truman wanted a limited war; McArthur wanted all-out war against China. |
| What is armistice? | A temporary suspension of hostilities by agreement of the warring parties; a truce. |
| What was the HUAC? What was their purpose? | The House of Representatives Un-American Activies Committee. In 1947, the committee held nine days of hearings into alleged communist propaganda and influenced in the Hollywood motion picture industry. |
| Why were the "Hollywood Ten" imprisoned? | Refusing to answer questions from HUAC as they saw the questioning process as unconstitutional, ignoring basic civil rights. |
| Explain "blacklisting"? | Not able to work in the field again; boycotted by the film studios; happened to hundreds in the entertainment industry. |
| President Truman said: "we are working quietly but effectively, without headlines or hysteria, against Communist subversion in this country wherever it appears, and we are doing this within the framework of the democratic liberties we cherish. That is the way this administration is fighting communism. That is the way it is going to continue to fight communism. Now I am going to tell you how we are not going to fight communism. We are not going to transform our fine FBI into a Gestapo secret police. That is what some people would like to do. We are not going to try to control what our people read and say and think. We are not going to turn the United States into a right-wing totalitarian country in order to deal with a left-wing totalitarian threat. In short, we are not going to end democracy. We are going to keep the Bill of Rights on the books." Despite his objectitons, what bill did Congress pass? What did it do? Why did Truman call it: "the greatest danger of freedom of speech, press and assembly since 1798"? | The Internal Security Bill of 1950. Increased government power over potential "security risks". Limited civil rights. |
| Who was Alger Hiss and what was he accused of? | A U.S. State Department worker accused of espionage for the Soviets. |
| What sentence did the Rosenburgs receive when the were convicted of espionage? What sis their sympathizers say was the real reason for the harsh sentence? | Executed. Anti-semetism. |
| "Your country is sick with fear. You're afraid of the shadow of your own bomb," philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre said. How does this statment characterize the atmosphere of America in the 1950s? | Red Scare: Fear of "mutually assured destructin". People were terrified because of the possession of atomic weapons by both superpowers meant the stakes were high if they went to war. |
| What unsubstantiated claims did American Senator Joseph McCarthy make during the 1950s? | Hundreds of government workers were communists and Soviet spies. |
| Define McCarthyism? | The practice of publicizing accusations of political disloyalty or subversion with insufficient regard to evidence. |
| How was McCarthy discredited? | The media proved he was lying. |
