Practice Quiz

Praxis II Citizenship

Category - US History

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Why was Sputnik significant to the United States?
  1. It marked the Soviets’ step ahead at the beginning of the Space Race.
  2. It was the first American attempt to send a spacecraft to the Moon.
  3. It was the United States’ first step in the Space Race.
  4. It was the Soviets’ final failed attempt to send a cosmonaut to the Moon.
Explanation
Answer: A - Sputnik was significant to the United States because it marked the Soviets’ step ahead of America at the beginning of the Space Race. Sputnik was a satellite launched into low Earth orbit in October 1957. It was the first manmade object ever put into space. The project’s success caught the Americans off guard and caused an all-out panic among the American public and the nation’s defense community. NASA was formally created less than a year later as the United States began the Space Race with the Soviets, which was a defining element of the 1960s and the Cold War.
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