Deck 14: America in Our Time, 1992-Present

Question 1

The "Contract with America" called for

A) tax breaks.
B) reduction in the size of the federal government.
C) full disclosure of the proceedings of Congress.
D) transparent accounting procedures.
E) all of the above

Answer 1

all of the above

Question 2

George W. Bush's vice president was

A) Donald Rumsfeld
B) Bob Dole
C) Newt Gingrich
D) Richard Cheney
E) Colin Powell

Answer 2

Richard Cheney

Question 3

The attempt of Hutu extremists to exterminate the entire Tutsi minority in 1994 occurred in what country?

A) Somalia
B) Sudan
C) Rwanda
D) Congo
E) Libya

Answer 3

Rwanda

Question 4

What accounted for the soaring deficits of 2004?

A) welfare programs
B) defense spending
C) tax cuts
D) a and c
E) b and c

Question 5

The Battle of Mogadishu, during which the bodies of American troops were dragged through the streets, occurred in what country?

A) Iran
B) Iraq
C) Somalia
D) Sudan
E) Libya

Question 6

The 1994 midterm elections resulted in

A) a Democratically-controlled House and Senate.
B) a Democratically-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate.
C) a Republican-controlled House and Senate.
D) a Republican-controlled House and a Democratically-controlled Senate.

Question 7

What countries formed the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993?

A) U.S. and Canada
B) U.S. and Mexico
C) Mexico and Canada
D) U.S., Mexico and Canada
E) U.S. Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean

Question 8

The new Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was created by

A) The Dayton Accords
B) The Oslo Accords
C) Camp David Accords
D) Geneva Accords
E) Vienna Accords

Question 9

Clinton's "Temporary Assistance for Needy Families"

A) contained a two-year limit for able-bodied adults.
B) replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program.
C) capped lifetime benefits at five years.
D) contained parts of the "Contract with America."
E) all of the above

Question 10

The two biggest challenges of the post-Cold War era were:

A) ethnic equality and global security.
B) religious equality and global security.
C) regional parity and economic stability.
D) religious equality and economic stability.
E) global security and economic stability.

Question 11

Which act expanded the powers of the federal government to legally use surveillance against any individual suspected of possible involvement in international or domestic terrorism?

A) The Militia Act
B) Immigration Act
C) Energy Independence and Security Act
D) The Patriot Act
E) Homeland Security Act

Question 12

The Bush Doctrine refers to the foreign policy of George W. Bush that supported the use of military power

A) to prevent real threats to national security
B) to prevent perceived threats to national security
C) even if no other nation is willing to support these actions.
D) a and c
E) b and c

Question 13

Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives

A) following a series of investigations into his own finances.
B) following an independent government investigator's allegations of malfeasance regarding the Clinton family's real estate investments in Whitewater River Valley.
C) because of his affair with Monica Lewinsky.
D) because he lied under oath.
E) all of the above

Question 14

The "Contract with America" intended to cut government waste by giving the President the authority to sign a bill into law while rejecting certain attached provisions called ________.

A) amendments
B) addendums
C) motions
D) riders
E) supplements

Question 15

Bush and his administration shouldered much of the blame for their failure to prepare for the emergency in New Orleans caused by Hurricane_______.

A) Irene
B) Floyd
C) Andrew
D) Katrina
E) Wilma

Question 16

A tax credit that some low-income wage earners are eligible to receive with the intention of making employment at such a job more financially rewarding than to seek governmental aid such as unemployment.

A) Low Income Subsidy
B) Earned Income Credit
C) Federal Income Tax Credits
D) Work Opportunity Tax Credit
E) Equal Opportunity Credit

Question 17

The deadliest terrorist attack in the United States until the September 11, 2001 attack occurred in what state?

A) Texas
B) Pennsylvania
C) Ohio
D) Oklahoma
E) New York

Question 18

The World War II veteran and Kansas Senator who was defeated in his 1996 bid for the Presidency by Bill Clinton.

A) John McCain
B) John Kerry
C) Bob Dole
D) Joe Lieberman
E) Chris Dodd

Question 19

George W. Bush's Secretary of Defense and outspoken supporter of the decision to invade Iraq in 2003.

A) Colin Powell
B) Dick Cheney
C) Donald Rumsfeld
D) Robert Gates
E) John Snow

Question 20

The Defense of Marriage Act

A) defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
B) prohibits states from performing or recognizing same-sex marriages.
C) compels states to recognize the legality of same-sex marriages performed in other states.
D) passed both houses by small majorities.
E) passed the Senate by a large majority and the House by a small majority.

Question 21

By 2012, the prison population in the United States had expanded from 200,000 inmates to _______.

A) 2 million
B) 2.2 million
C) 2.5 million
D) 2.7 million
E) 2.9 million

Question 22

Barack Obama served _______ terms(s) before becoming president of the United States.

A) one incomplete term in the U.S. Senate.
B) one incomplete term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
C) one complete term in the U.S. Senate.
D) one complete term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
E) one incomplete term in the Illinois House of Representatives.

Question 23

The housing crisis was the result of

A) the creation of zero equity home loans.
B) adjustable rate mortgages
C) home loans made by only a few firms instead of local banks
D) the lack of government regulations in this area.
E) all of the above.

Question 24

Arizona Senate Bill 1070 required all state law enforcement officials to request documentation verifying the citizenship of anyone that

A) voted.
B) Enrolled in a school.
C) applieds for health benefits.
D) they suspected of being an illegal alien.
E) was arrested.

Question 25

In 1950 the richest one percent of Americans controlled 20% of the nation's wealth and top executives usually made between 10 and 20 times the average wage of entry-level employees. Five decades later, CEO pay often exceeded _______ times the average pay of entry-level employees.

A) 50
B) 100
C) 150
D) 200
E) 250

Question 26

Which of the following is not true of the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy?

A) It barred military members to enquire about a service member's gender orientation.
B) It was enacted by George W. Bush
C) It permitted homosexuals who did not reveal their gender orientation to serve in the military.
D) It required dismissal of any self-acknowledged homosexual.
E) A federal court barred its enforcement.

Question 27

Which is not true of the number of women who hold political office?

A) the number and percentage of women in politics increased rapidly in the past 30 years.
B) the percentage of women in the US legislature remains far above that of most developed nations.
C) the percentage of women in Congress was around two to three percent in the 1940s to the 1970s.
D) the percentage of women in Congress jumped from five percent in 1990 to almost 15 percent by 2000.
E) The spread of feminism reaches beyond Britain and the United States.

Question 28

Which term(s) is/are used as an all-inclusive label for all people from Spanish-speaking counties and cultures?

A) Latin Americans
B) Latinos
C) Hispanics
D) Chicanos
E) all of the above

Question 29

Recent statistics show that one in __________ black men in their twenties are awaiting trial, in jail, or in some type of parole system.

A) 4
B) 5
C) 6
D) 10
E) 15