if anyone wants to have some super duper fun and help answering some of these painfully specific questions, feel free
1. Harry S. Truman's middle initial stands for:
A. Solomon B. Shipp C. Stephen D. nothing
2. In 1890, the Truman family moved to the town that future President considered his hometown, which was:
A. Liberty B. Kansas City C. Independence D. St. Louis
3. After he graduated from High School, Truman became a:
A. bank clerk B. farmer C. miner D. journalist
4. Truman filled his spare time with:
A. community college classes B. cultural entertainments
C. boxing matches D. drinking
5. Following his very successful first career, in 1906 Truman next worked as a:
A. bank clerk B. farmer C. miner D. journalist
6. Truman made a number of investments in mineral extraction, which were:
A. very successful B. about broke even
C. unsuccessful D. profitable for his children
7. During World War I, Truman served as a:
A. Naval officer B. sergeant in the trenches
C. an army artillery officer D. staff officer
8. The author argues that when Truman entered politics in 1922, it:
A. turned his world upside down
B. brought clarity and focus to his life
C. was the culmination of years of careful preparation
D. was done on a whim
9. Truman went into politics as a result of:
A. a life-long ambition B. his army experience
C. love of power D. greed
10. Truman's early speeches were:
A. uninspired B. filled with promises for his supporters
C. well done by a natural speaker D. loud and boisterous
11. The county judge was supposed to:
A. preside in court B. maintain the roads
C. enforce the law D. make the local laws
12. As a local politician, Truman found himself between two factions, known as the:
A. dogs and cats B. frogs and mice C. goats and rabbits D.boars and bears
13As county judge, Truman was know for his:
A. extravagant spending B. modern administration
C. graft D. cutting corners
14. Truman formed a political alliance with Tom Pendergast, who was a:
A. mob boss B. bootlegger C. business leader D. political boss
15. Truman admired Pendergast because:
A. he was true to his word B. he was generous with his bribes
C. he was not afraid to use violence D. he was a self made man
16The crash of the stock market was the result of:
A. greedy industrialists B. Pendergast manipulating the markets
C. a complex mix of problems going back to the war D. both A and B
17. When Franklin D. Roosevelt became president, Truman became:
A. head of relief in Missouri B. White House press aid
C. Governor of Missouri D. Secretary of the Treasury
18. Truman ran for the Senate:
A. because Pendergast needed to foil a political rival from the east
B. to raise money to pay off his bills
C. as a stepping stone to his real goal, the Presidency
D. as a favor to Bennett Champ Clark
19. When Truman met John Garner in 1935, Garner was:
A. Speaker of the House B. Majority Leader
C. Minority Whip D. Vice President
20. Truman tended to support the New Deal because:
A. he did not want to rock the boat
B. Truman did not really understand the issues
C. Pendergast supported it and Truman was following orders
D. he agreed with it
21. When re-election came up in 1940, he faced competition from:
A. Tom Pendergast B. John Garner C. Rex Reed D. Lloyd Stark
22. The Truman Committee, which made Truman famous, looked into:
A. Airline safety B. Railroad fraud
C. Defense Contractor fraud D. political corruption
23. As Vice-President, Truman:
A. was Roosevelt's right hand man B. was not privy to inside information
C. traveled overseas as Roosevelt's proxy D. was the real leader of the war effort
24. When Truman became President, relations between the U.S. and the USSR were:
A. very close B. strained and awkward
C. on the very brink of war D. not a priority
25. Stalin did not trust the U.S. because:
A. they sent no aid to the USSR
B. the U.S. refused to fight the Nazis
C. the Americans refused to invade Europe until they felt they were ready
D. the Americans were former allies of the Nazis
26. The book describes the meeting between Truman and Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov as:
A. the beginning of the cold war
B. just one more step in worsening relations
C. the beginning of a thaw between the two nations
D. largely unimportant
27. When the two men met at Potsdam, Truman found Stalin to be rather:
A. rude B. charming C. indecisive D. shy
28. By the time Churchill left the Potsdam Conference, Truman was:
A. convinced he was a liar and scoundrel
B. afraid that he was a used up and broken man
C. afraid that Churchill and Stalin were conspiring against him
D. growing fond of Churchill
29. Truman looked on nuclear weapons as:
A. almost beyond the bounds of civilized warfare
B. the perfect weapons for use on the evil Japanese
C. a warning to the rest of the world to leave us alone.
D. just another weapon in our arsenal
30. After the war, Truman tried to reach an agreement with the Soviets regarding nuclear weapons. The plan would have put nuclear weapons and power under the control of:
A. the United States B. the USSR C. the United Nations D. Eastern Europe
31. Tensions arose over Iran because:
A. the Russians were afraid that the U.S. would not evacuate the part of the country they controlled.
B. the Americans were hogging all the oil.
C. the Russians refused to leave their part of the country.
D. Iranians were ethnically Russian.
32. In early 1947, a new Secretary of State took over, named:
A. Edward R. Stettinius
B. James F. Byrnes
C. George Marshall
D. Dean Acheson
33. Dean Acheson is best known for:
A. leaving out South Korea in a list of places America would defend
B. buying Alaska from Russia
C. designing the atomic bomb
D. insulting the ambassador from North Korea
34. To save Western Europe from Communist domination, the U.S. proposed:
A. the Truman Doctrine B. the Marshall Plan
C. the Happy Meal D. the Iron Curtin
35. In order to save Greece and Turkey from Soviet domination, the U.S. issued the:
A. the Truman Doctrine B. the Marshall Plan
C. the Happy Meal D. the Iron Curtin
36. The plan to prevent the spread of communism into new areas was know as:
A. the Truman Doctrine B. the Marshall Plan
C. the Happy Meal D. the Iron Curtin
37. The attempts by the Soviets to cut off Berlin from the West lead to:
A. the Berlin Airlift
B. the partition of Berlin
C. the Korean War
D. the First NATO War
38. The country actually responsible for Palestine when Israel was created was:
A. Britain B. the United States C. France D. the Soviet Union
39. The greatest problem facing the President after the war domestically, was price controls. He became so frustrated that he threatened, in an unpublished speech, to:
A. implement martial law B. quit
C. move to France D. become a Republican
40. In his actions toward the unions after WWII, Truman was:
A. understanding
B. overzealous in asserting his authority
C. weak in failing to stand up to unions
D. open-minded.
41. The newspapers portrayed Truman's appointees as:
A. competent and resourceful B. dangerous and power-hungry
C. clueless hacks D. idealistic and naive
42. Truman's attitude toward Blacks was that:
A. they should stay in their place B. they could be exploited for their votes
C. they should have equal rights D. he had no real policy toward Blacks
43. Truman's policy toward Blacks:
A. brought the Democratic Party together B. split the Democratic Party
C. won over many Republicans D. drove many Blacks out of the Democratic Party
44. Truman made a come-back to win the Presidential Election of 1948 by:
A. promising hope and change
B. traveling extensively to see the voters and talk to them
C. pushing pork barrel laws to pay off loyal Democratic areas
D. keeping a low profile to 'drop off the radar'.
45. Douglas MacArthur famously broke the back of the North Korean invasion of the South by:
A. leading an invasion at Inchon
B. invading China
C. dropping nuclear weapons on the North
D. leading American troops to victory at Chosin Resovior
46. In the end, Truman fired General MacArthur:
A. because he was more popular than the President
B. because the General was insubordinate
C. to prevent a coup
D. because they did not really like each other
47. In 1952, the Republicans swept into power as the result of:
A. a poor economy
B. fear of a come-back by American fascists
C. concerns over Soviet espionage
D. discontent over defense spending
48. The Republicans found an unbeatable candidate for 1952 in the person of:
A. General Douglas MacArthur
B. General Ike Eisenhower
C. General George Patton
D. General William F. Dean
49. Mike Westwood is best remembered as:
A. Truman's secretary
B. a journalist who shadowed the former President
C. Truman's bodyguard
D. a failed Porto Rican assassin
50. In his last years, Truman entertained himself with:
A. political causes
B. drinking and parties
C. books
D. travel