Civics question 109 of 128
During the Cold War, what was one main concern of the United States?
2 accepted answers
- Communism
- Nuclear war
You only need to give one of these. The officer accepts any of them.
Source: official USCIS question list for the 2025 version of the civics test. This site is independent and not affiliated with USCIS.
Background
Communism and nuclear war are the two accepted answers, and both shaped American life for four decades. Fear of communist expansion produced the policy of containment, the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Western Europe, the NATO alliance, and military commitments from Korea to Vietnam. At home it produced loyalty oaths, congressional investigations, and blacklists, a period associated with Senator Joseph McCarthy, whose accusations outran his evidence and eventually cost him his standing. The nuclear fear was concrete: schoolchildren practiced drills under their desks, families built shelters, and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 brought the two countries within days of war over missiles placed in Cuba. The test treats the Cold War, its rival, and this concern as separate questions.
This background section is written by US Citizenship Test Practice to explain the civics fact. It is not part of the USCIS question list, and the official answer above is the one to give at the interview.
Where this question sits
It is part of Recent American History and Other Important Historical Information, inside the American History section of the test.