History · Civics Polity

Postwar US Foreign Policy

1,876 Questions

Study the evolution of global geopolitics through questions on postwar United States foreign policy. This includes key Cold War events, international coalitions, and diplomatic doctrines. Use these practice questions to master modern history for your upcoming assessments.

Cold War conflictsUS international relationsNuclear weapons programsDiplomatic doctrines

Postwar US Foreign Policy Questions

Multiple choice nationalist movement in indo china national liberation movements in the colonies recent social movements social movements in our time

Why were the Vietcong (The National Liberation Front) a frustrating enemy for the American military? 

  1. They were better skilled helicopter pilots.

  2. They were equipped with superior weapons.

  3. Their propaganda campaigns won "the hearts and minds" of the South Vietnamese.

  4. They worked as spies for both the U.S. and North Vietnamese.

  5. They could quickly fade into the landscape because they used the terrain to their advantage.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Multiple choice nationalist movement in indo china national liberation movements in the colonies recent social movements social movements in our time

President John F. Kennedy was a committed Cold War president, yet also understood the complexities of entering the Vietnamese civil war. 
Which of the following actions did Kennedy take which illustrated a measured step with respect to containing the spread of communism into South Vietnam?  

  1. He reinstated the military draft, calling nearly 100,000 American men into the reserves.

  2. He ordered 400 Special Forces (Green Berets) to South Vietnam in the role as "advisors" with the goal of training the South Vietnamese military.

  3. He called for a United Nations' Security Council referendum vote to halt the aggressive North Vietnamese.

  4. He authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in North Vietnam in an effort to topple the communist government in power.

  5. He issued an executive order placing a 6-month moratorium on aid to South Vietnam, hoping the South Vietnamese military would be able to defeat the North in a timely fashion.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Multiple choice nationalist movement in indo china national liberation movements in the colonies recent social movements social movements in our time

All the following were beliefs of the "Hawks" EXCEPT.

  1. The U.S. should consider using its nuclear arsenal in an attempt to stop North Vietnamese aggression into South Vietnam.

  2. America needs to stop the spread of Communism.

  3. America needs to honor its long-term commitment to South Vietnam and keep fighting.

  4. America should execute the war vigorously without limitations.

  5. America will look weak to the Soviet Union and China if it doesn't continue to fight the Communists in Vietnam.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Multiple choice nationalist movement in indo china national liberation movements in the colonies recent social movements social movements in our time

The photograph above shows a meeting between President Richard M. Nixon and Soviet Secretary Leonid Brezhnev held in May,1972.
What important issue did both leaders meet and sign an agreement about at that time?

  1. The limitation of both nations' involvement in the Vietnam War.

  2. The limitation of nuclear weapons.

  3. An agreement to lift the embargo of wheat sales to the Soviet Union.

  4. The persecution of Soviet Jews by the Kremlin.

  5. An alliance against the encroaching power of The People's Republic of China.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Multiple choice nationalist movement in indo china national liberation movements in the colonies recent social movements social movements in our time

"The Tiger doesn't need to land one mighty killing blow. If the Tiger does not stop fighting the Elephant, the Elephant will die of exhaustion."

The above quote is referred in the context of which war?

  1. the Korean War

  2. World War I

  3. World War II

  4. the Iran-Iraq War

  5. the Vietnam War
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

This is quoted by Ho Chi Minh and the tiger in the quote symbolizes the Vietnamese army and the elephant symbolizes the American military.

Multiple choice nationalist movement in indo china national liberation movements in the colonies recent social movements social movements in our time

Congress passed The War Powers Act in 1973 which clearly delineated the President's wartime powers as Commander-in-Chief. 
Which of the following events of the Vietnam War influenced Congress' decision to pass this Act? 

  1. The Tet Offensive

  2. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution

  3. The "Eastern Offensive"

  4. Nixon's Vietnamization

  5. The Truman Doctrine
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Multiple choice nationalist movement in indo china national liberation movements in the colonies recent social movements social movements in our time

Which of the following is not true about the Ho Chi Minh trail?

  1. It had branch lines extending into South Vietnam

  2. It was used to transport men and materials from North to South Vietnam

  3. It was used by the Vietnamese rebels and the US troops

  4. Had support bases and hospitals along the way
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

  • Ho Chi Minh trail is one way of understanding the nature of the war that the Vietnamese fought against the US
  • Most of the trail was outside Vietnam in neighbouring Laos and Cambodia with branch lines extending into South Vietnam. 
  •  The trail, an immense network of footpaths and roads, was used to transport men and materials from the north to the south. 
  • The trail had support bases and hospitals along the way. 
  • The US regularly bombed this trail trying to disrupt supplies, but efforts to destroy this important supply line by intensive bombing failed because they were rebuilt very quickly.

Multiple choice nationalist movement in indo china national liberation movements in the colonies recent social movements social movements in our time

Which of the following Presidents is correctly paired with an event that took place during his administration?

  1. Lyndon B. Johnson . . . the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Peoples Republic of China

  2. John F. Kennedy . . . resolution of the Suez Crisis

  3. Richard M. Nixon . . . the reduction of United States forces in Vietnam

  4. Gerald R. Ford . . . the signing of the Camp David Accords

  5. Jimmy Carter . . . resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Vietnamization was a strategy that aimed to reduce American involvement in the Vietnam War by transferring all military responsibilities to South Vietnam. The increasingly unpopular war had created deep rifts in American society. President Nixon believed his Vietnamization strategy,

Multiple choice nationalist movement in indo china national liberation movements in the colonies recent social movements social movements in our time

The attack launched by North Vietnamese troops on January 30, 1968, is called the Tet Offensive because ___________.

  1. January 30 is Tet, the Vietnamese New Year

  2. Tet is the province where fighting was launched

  3. General Tet and his staff advisors planned the attack

  4. the fighting began with the troops crossed the Tet River

  5. Tet was a Vietnamese code name for the operation
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The attack launched by North Vietnamese troops on January 30, 1968, is called the Tet Offensive because January 30 is Tet, the Vietnamese New Year.

Multiple choice nationalist movement in indo china national liberation movements in the colonies recent social movements social movements in our time

All the following turned people in the United States against the Vietnam War except:

  1. The Kent State and Jackson State massacres

  2. Publication of the Pentagon Papers

  3. Disclosure of the bombing of Cambodia

  4. Repeal of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution

  5. Revulsion against the horrors of war as shown on television news broadcasts
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Repeal of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution.

Multiple choice nationalist movement in indo china national liberation movements in the colonies recent social movements social movements in our time

"Whereas these attackers are part of a deliberate and systematic campaign of aggression that the Communist regime in North Vietnam has been waging against its neighbors and the nations joined with them in the collective defense of their freedom now, therefore be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that the Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression."
The passage above is excerpted from which of the following?

  1. The Platt Amendment

  2. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

  3. The War Powers Resolution of 1973

  4. The War Powers Act of 1941

  5. The Teller Amendment
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

Multiple choice introduction to social movements and its types social movements sociology recent social movements social movements in our time

The Cold War occur between which countries?

  1. USA and USSR

  2. USA and France

  3. USSR and Britain

  4. France and Britain
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Conflicts of national interest caused the World War II alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union to be replaced by a Cold War that lasted 45 years. Initially a dispute over the future of Europe, it grew to include confrontations around the world. A clash of very different beliefs and ideology capitalism versus communism each held with almost religious conviction formed the basis of an international power struggle with both sides vying for dominance, exploiting every opportunity for expansion anywhere in the world.

Multiple choice introduction to social movements and its types social movements sociology recent social movements social movements in our time

Who were the two main competitors in nuclear arms race?

  1. Japan and USA

  2. Germany and USA

  3. USA and USSR

  4. Japan and USSR
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The nuclear arms race intensified after the end of Vietnam War as more and more countries competed with each other to stockpile nuclear arms. Companies which produced these arms (called the military-industrial complex) and the governments tried to create a war panic among the common people so that they support greater expenditure of tax payers money on nuclear arms. The USA and the USSR were the front runners in the nuclear arms race.

Multiple choice introduction to social movements and its types social movements sociology recent social movements social movements in our time

The Vietnam war started in the year _______ and ended in the year _______.

  1. 1955-1973

  2. 1948-1975

  3. 1948-1973

  4. 1955-1975
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The United States battled North Vietnam and its adherents in the longest conflict in American history, known as the Vietnam War. The war ended with the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 1973 and the unification of Vietnam under Communist control two years later in 1975. More than 3 million people, including 58,000 Americans, were killed in the conflict.

Multiple choice political science india and the world objectives and reasons for the establishment of the united nations reasons for the establishment of the united nations united nations organisation

Which of the following prompted the first use of UN military forces?

  1. Tension between the Soviet Union and the United States

  2. The nuclear arms race between the Soviet Union and the United States

  3. The North Korean invasion of South Korea

  4. The international agreement to put Nazi officials on trial for their crimes

  5. Anticommunist hysteria in the United States
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The Korean War began when some 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south. This invasion was the first military action of the Cold War.