Deck 20: The American People Face a New Century, 2001-2014

Question 1

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
Saddam Hussein

Answer 1

Answers will vary. ​

Question 2

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
John Kerry

Answer 2

Answers will vary. ​

Question 3

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
​John McCain

Answer 3

Answers will vary. ​

Question 4

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
Donald Rumsfeld

Question 5

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
"asymmetrical warfare"

Question 6

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
weapons of mass destruction

Question 7

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
Sarah Palin​

Question 8

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
Osama bin Laden

Question 9

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
"axis of evil"

Question 10

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
​Nancy Pelosi

Question 11

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
​deleveraging

Question 12

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
​George W. Bush

Question 13

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
​affirmative action

Question 14

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
information age

Question 15

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
​Dick Cheney

Question 16

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
Barack Obama

Question 17

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
​Joseph Biden

Question 18

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
stem cell research

Question 19

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
Colin Powell

Question 20

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
traditional media

Question 21

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
Al Qaeda

Question 22

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
​No Child Left Behind Act

Question 23

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
Human Genome Project

Question 24

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
Taliban

Question 25

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
​American Relief and Recovery Act

Question 26

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
​Occupy Wall Street

Question 27

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
Kyoto Treaty

Question 28

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
Abu Ghraib

Question 29

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
Apple

Question 30

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
World Trade Center

Question 31

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
​Tea Party

Question 32

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
Shia Muslims

Question 33

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
​Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Question 34

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
Sunni Muslims

Question 35

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
​Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

Question 36

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
Department of Homeland Security

Question 37

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
​Hurricane Katrina

Question 38

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
USA-Patriot Act

Question 39

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
September 11, 2001

Question 40

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
Guantanamo Detention Camp

Question 41

By 2008, Americans' reactions to the war in Iraq

A) remained solidly behind the president.
B) solidified more strongly against the war.
C) helped President Bush maintain approval ratings of nearly 50%.
D) were evenly split between support and belief that the war had been a mistake.
E) None of these choices are correct.

Question 42

Which of the following was not among the issues that sharply divided Americans during the George W. Bush administration?

A) The introduction of high technology into education, business, and government
B) The degree to which civil liberties should be limited in order to combat terrorism
C) Proposals to privatize Social Security
D) Affirmative action in college admissions and employment
E) Gay rights and same-sex marriage

Question 43

The original home of Osama bin Laden, the organizer of Al Qaeda and presumed organizer of the September 11 attacks, was

A) Jordan.
B) Iraq.
C) Iran.
D) Saudi Arabia.
E) Afghanistan.

Question 44

Which of the following was not among the polarizing conservative policies that George W. Bush pursued when he assumed the presidency?

A) Enacting the No Child Left Behind education reform law
B) Sharply cutting federal taxes
C) Withdrawing American support from international programs sanctioning abortion
D) Refusing to permit government-sponsored stem cell research
E) Repudiating the Kyoto Treaty and opening Alaska to more oil exploration

Question 45

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
​Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

Question 46

In the September 11 terrorist attacks on America

A) one thousand people died when New York skyscrapers were hit.
B) heroic passengers forced one of the hijacked planes to crash in a field rather than hit targeted buildings.
C) questions about Bush's legitimacy as president further escalated.
D) Americans were angered by the president's initial response.
E) it took months before the group responsible for the attacks was identified.

Question 47

After ousting Saddam Hussein from power, the U.S. military in Iraq was faced with

A) the abuse of American prisoners by the remnants of Hussein's army.
B) a warm reception from the Iraqi people.
C) a confident new democratic Iraq.
D) an invasion of Iraq by militant Arab states.
E) violent resistance from Iraqi insurgents and foreign militants drawn to the country.

Question 48

​The Great Recession of 2008 that rocked the world in the autumn of that year was

A) precipitated by the bursting of the American housing bubble.
B) prompted by the sudden, unanticipated ending of the Federal Reserve System's easy-money policies.
C) caused bythe unsuccessful nationalization of the two biggest mortgage companies, "Freddie Mac" and "Fannie Mae."
D) caused by the collapse of the Wall Street investment firm of Lehman Brothers.
E) not immediately addressed by the Bush administration, which took several months before responding to the economic collapse.

Question 49

The political boost(s) enjoyed by Barack Obama over John McCain during the election of 2008 included

A) ​an unprecedented war chest of over $70 million in donations to the campaign.
B) ​a superior performance in televised debates.
C) ​the widespread hope and enthusiasm of his supporters generated by his campaign and its "Yes we can" slogan.
D) ​a sudden worldwide economic maelstrom.
E) ​All of these choices are correct.

Question 50

Violent resistance to the American presence in Iraq escalated when

A) the new Iraqi government relied heavily on former Sunni members of Hussein's government.
B) former dictator Saddam Hussein began leading a guerrilla movement.
C) Al Qaeda members captured in Iraq were taken to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
D) it was revealed that some American soldiers had humiliated Iraqi captives in the Abu Ghraib prison.
E) Americans bombed substantial civilian districts of Baghdad.

Question 51

In June 2004, the United States handed over ____ to the new interim government of Iraq.

A) the Abu Ghraib prison
B) political power and limited sovereignty
C) former dictator Saddam Hussein
D) captured weapons of mass destruction
E) militant Islamic rebels and insurgents

Question 52

Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
​National Security Agency

Question 53

​One of the key U.S. government interventions to address the economic fallout of the recession of 2008 was

A) ​nationalization of a handful of American banks.
B) ​creating a Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) to give hundreds of millions of dollars to buy toxic assets and inject cash into the nation's biggest banks and corporations.
C) ​liquidation of all of the mortgage assets of the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae") and the Federal Home Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac").
D) ​a massive income and business tax cut to stimulate business activity.
E) ​None of these choices are correct.

Question 54

The USA-Patriot Act allowed among other things

A) trying suspected foreign terrorists before military tribunals.
B) permitting break-ins of suspected Americans' homes.
C) the detention and deportation of immigrants suspected of terrorism.
D) the use of the U.S. military in domestic police operations against terrorism.
E) suspension of habeas corpus constitutional protections for detained terrorism suspects.

Question 55

To President George W. Bush, "the axis of evil" that menaced American security consisted of the nations of

A) France, Germany, and the Netherlands.
B) Russia, China, and Cuba.
C) Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria.
D) Iran, Iraq, and North Korea.
E) Sudan, Egypt, and Libya.

Question 56

George W. Bush defeated John Kerry in the election of 2004 especially by claiming that

A) he enjoyed strong support in the international community, which would not back Kerry.
B) he had a more effective plan for strengthening the economy and promoting foreign trade.
C) he was a strong leader in the war on terrorism and it would be inadvisable to change presidents in the middle of the war in Iraq.
D) Kerry was wrong in his promotion of campaign finance reform.
E) he would do more for welfare and social reform, while Kerry would hold back progress.

Question 57

President George H.W. Bush's compromise plan to offer a "path to citizenship" for 12 million illegal immigrants tightened border control and penalized illegal immigrant hiring and

A) gained powerful political momentum through the support of the Catholic Church.
B) won strong support from most elements of his Republican party.
C) displeased nativist interests, business groups, and immigrant rights groups, resulting in his defeat in Congress.
D) was welcome by most immigrants and their advocates.
E) sharply divided immigrant groups between those favoring and those opposing it.

Question 58

Among Bush's advisers who pushed most strongly for the invasion of Iraq were

A) Secretary of State Colin Powell and the State Department.
B) Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge and the Central Intelligence Agency.
C) former President George H.W. Bush and the foreign policy realists.
D) Vice President Richard Cheney and administration neoconservatives.
E) former Bush administration National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft.

Question 59

The new cabinet-level agency charged with protecting America against foreign terrorist attacks was the

A) Department of Homeland Security.
B) Federal Bureau of Investigation.
C) USA-Patriot Act.
D) Central Intelligence Agency.
E) Coast Guard.

Question 60

Major advances in genetic and stem-cell research led to all the following except

A) the cloning of human beings.
B) the prospect of major new medical therapies.
C) the prospect of large profits for bioengineering companies.
D) concern about the ethical implications of cloning and the destruction of embryos.
E) the development of new high-yield crops.

Question 61

In what ways has "the promise of American life" regarding liberty, equality, and democracy been fulfilled for most U.S. citizens, and in what ways does that promise remain an incomplete task to be pursued?

Question 62

Which of these is NOT among the challenges facing America and Americans in the twenty-first century?

A) The increasingly unequal distribution of wealth
B) Women increasingly surpassing men in the workforce
C) Diminishing oil supplies and the need for alternative energy sources
D) Enhancing national security without eroding civil liberties
E) Protecting the nation's borders without preventing desirable immigrants from coming to the U.S.

Question 63

Compare the greatest challenges that American democracy faced in 1808, 1908, and 2008. Which challenges are essentially the same, and which are radically new?

Question 64

Which American challenge do you think will most dominate the first half of the twenty-first century: economic prosperity and justice, the global and local environment, or the threat of international terrorism? What resources does American history provide for meeting what you consider to be the single greatest challenge?

Question 65

​The health care reform law passed in March 2010 popularly known as "Obamacare" included the following provisions except it

A) ​mandated all Americans to purchase health insurance starting in 2014.
B) ​provided subsidies to thosebelow certain income thresholds to help pay for privateinsurance.
C) ​prohibited insurers from denying medical insurance coverage to anyone with a preexisting medical condition.
D) ​allowed childrenup to the age of twenty-six to remain covered by theirparents' health plans.
E) ​established medical panels that rationed and restricted expensive health care services and procedures for chronically ill patients.

Question 66

​One of President Obama's greatest disappointments in domestic policy during his second term has been

A) ​his failure to persuade Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform that would provide undocumented immigrants with a pathway to citizenship.
B) ​his failure to persuade the Supreme Court to declare the 1995 Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.
C) ​his failure to persuade the Supreme Court to uphold Arizona's immigration law, authorizing local police to detain people if there was a "reasonable suspicion" they were undocumented immigrants.
D) ​his inability to repeal the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.
E) ​his failure to persuade the Supreme Court to declare Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 unconstitutional and abolish the federal clearance provisions of the law to changes in election law made by particular states.

Question 67

What were the essential components of George W. Bush's conservative domestic policies? How were they related to the Bush administration's foreign policy?

Question 68

Discuss the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, within the larger context of American history and foreign policy. How had the relative safety of the American homeland since the early nineteenth century affected America's outlook and relations with the rest of the world? How might the attacks alter those perspectives and relationships?

Question 69

One historian has concluded that since 1960 the United States has entered a new "age of no confidence." Carefully consider major developments in the last twenty-five years, and explain why you think that this is or is not an appropriate label for the period.

Question 70

The money used to provide Social Security payments to retirees comes from

A) the federal income tax.
B) the contributions made by the elderly during their working lives.
C) Social Security taxes paid by current workers.
D) private employers' pension funds.
E) the federal government's investment of Social Security contributions in the stock market.

Question 71

​The fall of 2011 saw the development of a diverseprotest movement that dramatized theissue of rising inequality across the nation which was called

A) ​Occupy Wall Street.
B) ​We Are the 1 Percent.
C) ​We Are the 99.9 Percent.
D) ​Nationalize Wall Street Banks.
E) ​Stop Globalization.

Question 72

​The Republican Tea Party faction in Congress

A) ​played a pivotal role in sparking the political crisis in the summer of 2011 over the raising federal debt ceiling.
B) ​waned in its political influence after the Congressional elections in 2010.
C) ​favored huge domestic spending cuts in exchange for agreeing to tax increases.
D) ​did not believe the increasing accumulated federal debt was a major problem that had to be addressed immediately.
E) ​None of these choices are correct.

Question 73

How did George W. Bush's election as the first popular-vote minority president in over a century affect his ability to lead the country? Why was he able to pursue a vigorously conservative political course despite the thinness of his mandate?

Question 74

​The deployment of an additional thirty thousand soldiers in Afghanistan and the implementation of a new counterinsurgency strategy by American armed forces in the country during President Obama's first term

A) ​secured the country from terrorists.
B) ​produced no political progress in forging an agreement with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
C) ​was overwhelmingly opposed on a bipartisan basis in Congress, which attempted to force a withdrawal of these troops.
D) ​undercut and contradicted the president's declaration that he would begin withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan in 2011.
E) ​None of these choices are correct.

Question 75

​Which of the following helped account for President Obama's reelection over Republican Mitt Romney in 2012?

A) ​The Supreme Court upholding government limits on political expenditures by corporations, unions, and advocacy groups in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2012).
B) ​The multiracial coalition that supported Obama and the Democrats, particularly Latinos, had grown demographically in electoral importance by 2012.
C) ​Mitt Romney ran as a moderate Republican, blurring the political differences between Obama and himself, making the contest a personality-driven contest.
D) ​Political and economic equality ceased to be a central theme of the 2012 election.
E) ​None of these choices are correct.

Question 76

How has the change in America's place in the world, caused by the attacks of September 11, 2001, influenced American international involvement and leadership in foreign affairs? Has the September 11th terrorist attack made America more fearful and inclined to undertake unilateral military actions? If so, give specific examples. If not, why not?

Question 77

How did the Bush administration respond at home and abroad to the terrorist attacks of 2001? Which elements of its response were met with general approval, and which caused heightened political controversy?

Question 78

The "Tea Party" that emerged in the summer of 2009 was

A) comprised of people claiming to be angry about expanding government programs, influence and spending.
B) mobilized to end the war in Iraq.
C) started by former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
D) mobilized to increase government spending to end the Great Recession.
E) supported by a combination of spending cuts and tax increases to close the federal budget deficit.

Question 79

Which of the following measurement(s) demonstratedthe growing inequality in America from the mid-1960s to 2012? ​

A) Some 46.5 million Americans or 15 percent of all Americas remained mired in poverty in 2012, and the poverty rate among Hispanics and African Americans was even higher in 2012.
B) The top 5 percent of income earners sawtheir share of the national income grow from about 15 percent in 1968 to approximately 22 percent in 2012.
C) ​The top 1 percent saw their share of national income increase from about 8 percent to approximately 19 percent in 2012.
D) ​The income earned by chief executives was 20 times as much as the average worker in their corporations; in 2012, they earned 273 times as much as the average company worker.
E) ​All of these choices are correct.

Question 80

What explains the growing income disparity between wealthy and poor since the 1970s? How did liberals and Tea Party conservatives each explain the growing income disparity between the wealthy and poor since the 1970s?