Deck 31: The Conservative Challenge 1976-1992

Question 1

The chapter introduction tells the story of San Diego's Horton Plaza to make the point that

A) malls like Horton Plaza caused the decline of downtown business districts.
B) Ronald Reagan's successful presidential campaign focused on California-style shopping malls.
C) religious activists began to relocate Sunday services from traditional churches to the new retail malls.
D) malls, as centers of consumer culture, symbolized the private quest for personal fulfillment typical of the 1980s.

Answer 1

malls, as centers of consumer culture, symbolized the private quest for personal fulfillment typical of the 1980s.

Question 2

In 1978 Proposition 13 was passed in California, cutting what by 57 percent?

A) income taxes
B) property taxes
C) sales taxes
D) payroll taxes

Answer 2

property taxes

Question 3

Jimmy Carter brought all of the following to the Oval Office EXCEPT

A) plans to address economic stagnation.
B) disciplined work habits.
C) plans to address the energy crisis.
D) a set of priorities.

Answer 3

a set of priorities.

Question 4

In March 1979, a plume of radioactive steam spewed from an overheated nuclear reactor at ________ in Pennsylvania.

A) Three Mile Island
B) Diablo Canyon
C) Susquehanna
D) Limerick

Question 5

Jimmy Carter faced a host of economic problems when he became president: stagnating wages, rising unemployment, inflation, and falling industrial productivity. From which previous president(s) did he inherit a large federal budget deficit?

A) Kennedy
B) Nixon
C) Ford
D) both Nixon and Ford

Question 6

Carter negotiated a treaty that gave control of the Canal Zone to

A) the United States.
B) France.
C) the United Nations.
D) Panama.

Question 7

Which of the following describes the limited compromise struck by Sadat and Begin at the summit President Carter hosted at Camp David in 1978?

A) Sadat would recognize Israel; Israel would return the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt.
B) Israel would recognize a Palestinian state; Israel would receive the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt.
C) Sadat would recognize a Palestinian state; Israel would receive the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt.
D) Israel would occupy the Sinai Peninsula; Egypt would control Gaza.

Question 8

President Carter announced the United States would boycott the Olympics in 1980 in response to what world event?

A) OPEC oil price increases that drove up inflation to nearly 14 percent
B) the death of eight Marines in Iran
C) the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
D) the Islamic rebellion in Afghanistan

Question 9

What is meant by "supply-side economics"-Reagan's approach to economic policy in the early 1980s?

A) the attempt to increase domestic oil supplies
B) cutting back welfare and other programs for the poor, to force them to provide for their own needs
C) emphasizing tax cuts and business incentives to encourage economic growth
D) keeping interest rates high to increase the money supply

Question 10

Who was the first woman nominated for vice president by either major party?

A) Anita Hill
B) Sandra Day O'Connor
C) Geraldine Ferraro
D) Coretta Scott King

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT an effect resulting from the boom in computer use in business offices and on factory floors?

A) lowering of product development time
B) increased demand for low-skilled workers
C) decrease in the costs of products
D) well-educated women gaining more economic independence

Question 12

Why did National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane, Admiral John Poindexter, and their aides assume they had the power to act on their own when dealing with Iranian moderates and Nicaraguan rebels?

A) a secret intelligence "finding" signed by the president
B) Congress giving them permission
C) Article II of the Constitution, and thus the president's implied powers
D) executive privilege and past precedent

Question 13

The Reagan administration focused on three priorities in foreign policy. Which of the following accurately states an initiative in one of the three areas?

A) Central America: an invasion of Panama to rescue American students and prevent a Marxist takeover
B) Middle East: successful retaliation against Libya and Lebanon for terrorist attacks
C) Far East: public rhetoric critical of China's suppression of democratic reform
D) Soviet Union: both a sharp military build-up and a new arms control treaty

Question 14

How was the scandal known as "Irangate"different from the "Watergate"scandal of the Nixon administration?

A) Reagan was kept in the dark; Nixon was kept in the loop.
B) Unelected individuals were in control; Nixon was in control.
C) There was little support to impeach Reagan.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 15

Why was the deadly illness known as AIDS threatening to take on epidemic proportions in the late 1980s?

A) The virus was easily transmittable through casual contact.
B) It was thought that latex condoms could stop the virus, but they couldn't.
C) The highest rate of infection was occurring in populations that American society had shunned.
D) The Centers for Disease Control was understaffed and underfunded after congressional budget cuts.

Question 16

Who established a "Council on Competitiveness,"whose mission was to rewrite regulations that corporations found burdensome?

A) John Sununu
B) George H. W. Bush
C) Dan Quayle
D) Bill Clinton

Question 17

Which statement best explains Bill Clinton's victory in 1992?

A) As a southerner and liberal, Clinton rebuilt the traditional Democratic coalition and won a solid majority of both popular and electoral votes.
B) Voters, in an upbeat mood, rejected the sour criticisms of Bush and Perot and embraced Clinton's optimistic vision for change.
C) Worried about growing instability around the world, voters opted for the candidate with experience in foreign affairs.
D) Middle-of-the-road voters turned to Clinton, who painted himself as a moderate.

Question 18

Ronald Reagan identified himself with the theory of ________ economics, based on the ideas of economist Arthur Laffer.

Question 19

The new leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail ______, unleashed momentous changes when he proclaimed policies of openness and restructuring.

Question 20

In the Democratic primaries for the election of 1984, Jesse Jackson called for a(n) ________ Coalition that would unite the poor and working class with ethnic minorities, family farmers, and gays and lesbians.

Question 21

The great symbol of the end of the cold war and the fall of communism in Eastern Europe was the tearing down of the ________ in 1989.

Question 22

How did the swing toward more conservative politics reflect views about the following: abortion, television, films, and family life?

Question 23

What factors led to the economic prosperity of the Reagan years? To what extent do you believe the president's economic policies helped to solve underlying economic problems?

Question 24

Ronald Reagan hoped to execute a foreign policy that made America "stand tall."Discuss how he attempted to implement that goal in the following areas: Grenada, Lebanon, Libya, and Iran.

Question 25

Explain the major features of Reagan and Gorbachev's negotiations on strategic arms.

Question 26

Why did the U.S. become involved in Desert Storm?

Question 27

Explain which you think was worse-Watergate or Irangate.

Question 28

Should George H. W. Bush have overthrown Saddam Hussein?

Question 29

Explain why you think Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton exemplifies the proper style of a president.

Question 30

What role should the United States play in promoting the success of democracy in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union?

Question 31

Explain why you think Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush should or should not receive credit for the collapse of world Communism.

Question 32

In the post-cold war world, should the United States normalize its relations with Cuba? Oppose human rights violations in China? Intervene in ethnic wars as in Eastern Europe?