The 1950s: Eisenhower, highways, suburbs and the postwar economy

Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to I. Card A, exact, President Eisenhower, address on Little Rock, September 24, 1957, p. 691: "The very basis of our individual rights and freedoms rests upon the certainty that the President and the Executive Branch of Government will support and insure the carrying out of the decisions of the Federal Courts, even, when necessary with all the means at the President's command. Unless the President did so, anarchy [a breakdown of law and order] would result." Card B, exact, Executive Order 10730, section 2: "The Secretary of Defense is authorized and directed to take all appropriate steps to enforce any orders of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas for the removal of obstruction of justice [blocking a court's orders] in the State of Arkansas with respect to matters relating to enrollment and attendance at public schools in the Little Rock School District, Little Rock, Arkansas." Card C, a summary in our words: on September 4, 1957, the Arkansas National Guard turned the nine students away from Central High School. On September 24, Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10730 and spoke to the nation that night. On September 25, the Little Rock Nine entered the school, escorted by soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division. Card D, exact, President Eisenhower, message to the Congress regarding highways, February 22, 1955, p. 275: "To correct these deficiencies [shortcomings] is an obligation of Government at every level. The highway system is a public enterprise." Card E, exact, Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, section 209(a): "There is hereby established in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known as the 'Highway Trust Fund'" Card F, a summary in our words: the 1956 act planned 41,000 miles and set aside money for the years 1957 through 1969. The federal government paid 90 percent of the cost. By the time Eisenhower left office in January 1961, a quarter of the system, 10,440 miles, was open to traffic. Card G, a summary in our words from the National Archives: Black veterans often could not get bank loans for homes in Black neighborhoods. Prejudice and discrimination also kept most of them from buying homes in white suburbs. The G.I. Bill's home loans were made through banks and other lenders, not handed out by the government itself. Card H, a summary in our words: the Statistical Abstract of 1961 gives 4,295,000 births for 1959 and marks the figure as preliminary. The Census Bureau's Historical Statistics, printed in 1975, gives 4,245,000 for the same year. Both sources give 4,308,000 for 1957, the peak year of the baby boom. Card I, two exact lines, President Eisenhower, farewell address, January 17, 1961. First: "In the councils of government we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted [not justified] influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex." Second: "We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel [force] the proper meshing [fitting together] of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together." Card J, a summary in our words: on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her bus seat. Black residents then stayed off the city's buses in a peaceful boycott that lasted 381 days. In Browder v. Gayle, a federal court ruled Alabama's bus segregation laws unconstitutional, and the Supreme Court upheld that ruling on November 13, 1956. The bus company desegregated its buses only after that ruling.

2. 1.

   Card B tells the Secretary of Defense to enforce court orders, and card A states the duty behind it. Ari asks what limits the power in card B.

   • It is tied to enforcing the District Court's orders about Little Rock schools
   • It is limited to September 1957, since the order was signed in that month
   • It is not limited, since card A speaks of the means at the President's command
   • It is tied to removing the governor of Arkansas, since card A speaks of the executive's power
3. 2.

   Card A argues that without executive enforcement "anarchy would result." Which assumption does Bo find in that argument?

   • That each citizen agrees with each decision of the federal courts
   • That Congress would pass a law to carry out each court decision
   • That courts cannot enforce decisions without the executive
   • That a governor has no power over schools in a state
4. 3.

   A note says Eisenhower sent troops the same day the Guard blocked the students. What do the dates on card C show Esme?

   • The students entered the school on September 24, the day of the order
   • The block and the order were both on September 24, as the note says
   • The order came before the block, on September 2
   • The block was on September 4 and the order on September 24, twenty days apart
5. 4.

   Card D calls highway repair "an obligation of Government at every level." Which claim does Jun find supported?

   • He saw highways as a duty of states, with the federal government left out
   • He saw highways as a shared duty of federal, state and local government
   • He saw highways as a job for private companies, not for governments
   • He saw highways as a duty of the federal government alone
6. 5.

   Card F: a quarter of 41,000 miles was open by January 1961, about 4.5 years after the act. What does the pace show Luz?

   • At that pace the system would be done by 1969, as the act planned, since a quarter was done in 4.5 years
   • At that pace the system would take about 18 years in all, reaching the 1970s
   • At that pace the system would take about 36 years in all, reaching 1992
   • At that pace the system would take about 9 years in all, reaching 1965
7. 6.

   Card G says loans were made through banks and other lenders. What does that show Milo about who decided who benefited?

   • The banks had no say, since the program set the terms for each loan
   • Black veterans did not want home loans, which is why few of them used them
   • The government itself refused Black veterans loans in the rules of the program
   • Lenders' choices could shut people out of a national program without a rule
8. 7.

   Card H gives two counts of 1959 births and one peak in 1957. Does either source put 1959 above the 1957 peak, Noah asks?

   • Yes; 1959 is 13,000 higher in the earlier source and 63,000 higher in the later
   • No; 1959 is 13,000 lower in one and 63,000 lower in the other
   • No; the later source is a revision of the first, so it is the better count and the peak is 1959
   • Yes; the earlier count is preliminary, so its 1959 figure may exceed the 1957 peak
9. 8.

   Card J gives a 381-day boycott and a court ruling. What does Pia say about what ended segregated buses?

   • Both mattered, but the buses changed only after the court ruling
   • Neither did; the company desegregated its buses before the ruling
   • The boycott alone ended it, since it lasted 381 days
   • The ruling alone ended it, since the boycott had no effect on buses
10. 9.

    In card I, Eisenhower warns against influence "whether sought or unsought." What does Ren take that to add?

    • Influence could grow with no one seeking it, so watchfulness is needed
    • The warning applies to industry alone and not to the military
    • Just influence that is sought is a danger, so unsought influence is safe
    • The military-industrial complex was seeking influence in secret
11. 10.

    Zee's note says: "Eisenhower's farewell address said the military was a danger to the nation." Which fix fits card I?

    • Change it to "warned against unwarranted influence by the military-industrial complex"
    • Change it to "praised the military for ending the need for any arms"
    • Keep the note, since a warning about influence means the military was a danger
    • Change it to "urged an end to the military and its arms industry"