Deck 33: A Conservative Realignment: 19771990

Question 1

The sunbelt includes the southern and western states.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The 1991 Persian Gulf War was provoked by Iraq's invasion of Saudi Arabia.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

When AIDS emerged in the 1980s, many in the Reagan administration viewed it largely as a "gay" disease.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The Strategic Defense Initiative was also known as "Star Wars."

Question 5

Ronald Reagan made AIDS research a top priority of his administration.

Question 6

Ronald Reagan's years as an actor proved to be a big advantage once he entered politics.

Question 7

The Camp David Accords were agreements between Iran and Iraq.

Question 8

By 2000, the AIDS epidemic had disappeared.

Question 9

During the Reagan administration, El Salvador fell to Communists.

Question 10

In Germany, a bloody revolution brought the destruction of the Berlin Wall.

Question 11

As he campaigned for president in 1980, Reagan promised to restore prosperity by:

A) bailing out ailing banks and industries
B) putting millions to work on government construction projects
C) balancing the federal budget
D) returning the country to the gold standard
E) cutting taxes

Question 12

The Iran-Contra affair involved the illegal sales of arms to the Contra rebels in Iran.

Question 13

Carter's management of the economy resulted in:

A) a sharp decline in unemployment
B) unacceptably high rates of inflation
C) a near collapse of the stock market and banking industry
D) growing public confidence that the nation was recovering from the Nixon-Ford recession
E) a surplus in the federal budget

Question 14

Despite Ronald Reagan's poor church attendance and his divorce and remarriage, the religious right supported him over Jimmy Carter in 1980.

Question 15

Reagan first became a star in Republican politics when he:

A) opposed Ford for the nomination in 1976
B) led opposition to Roosevelt in the 1930s
C) served in the Senate from California in the late 1960s
D) campaigned for Eisenhower in the 1950s
E) made a television speech for Goldwater in 1964

Question 16

The biggest domestic problem facing the Bush administration was the national debt.

Question 17

President Bush ordered the invasion of Grenada, a small Pacific island, after its unstable government threatened to nationalize American-owned businesses located there.

Question 18

Much of the drug war of the 1980s targeted crack cocaine usage.

Question 19

To many voters in 1980, Ronald Reagan, in contrast to Jimmy Carter, seemed:

A) indecisive
B) sunny
C) humorless
D) to be a deep thinker and expert on the details of policy
E) capable of getting Congress to pass a liberal reform program

Question 20

The religious right was a Protestant-dominated movement in which Catholics were not allowed to participate.

Question 21

Ronald Reagan viewed the Soviet Union as:

A) a close and trusted ally
B) militarily weak
C) a source of global stability
D) an evil empire
E) capable of becoming more democratic while remaining Communist

Question 22

Most likely to support the Moral Majority would be:

A) science teachers
B) Californians
C) Southern Baptists
D) college-educated women
E) Episcopalians

Question 23

One major inspiration for Reagan's economic approach was:

A) the New Deal
B) Eisenhower's "modern Republicanism"
C) the Republican tax-reduction program of the 1920s
D) Henry Clay's American System
E) Theodore Roosevelt's New Nationalism

Question 24

Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative:

A) was inspired by a science-fiction movie
B) forced the Soviets to spend extensively to keep pace
C) made the United States invulnerable to attack
D) involved the United States building even more powerful nuclear weapons
E) went into operation in outer space in 1984

Question 25

The marine lieutenant colonel at the center of the Iran-Contra affair, Oliver North, was using profits from the sale of arms to Iran to:

A) finance the Nicaraguan Contras
B) enrich himself and some corrupt friends
C) buy new weapons for the Marine Corps
D) contribute to Republicans
E) pay for the release of American hostages

Question 26

Early in Reagan's presidency, all of the following were increasing EXCEPT:

A) poverty levels
B) defense spending
C) budget deficits
D) cuts in social programs
E) tax revenues

Question 27

Revelations of the Iran-Contra affair indicated that Reagan had violated his pledge to never:

A) raise taxes
B) work with Communists
C) lie to the American people
D) negotiate with terrorists
E) needlessly send troops into battle

Question 28

The religious right fervently supported Reagan because he:

A) supported its conservative social values
B) was active in his church as a deacon
C) had memorized large sections of the Bible
D) was a model family man
E) was such a gifted actor

Question 29

A huge demographic factor behind Reagan's electoral success was:

A) the growth of the Hispanic population
B) the baby boomers reaching retirement age
C) the declining percentage of people who went to church
D) population growth in the South and the West
E) the growing number of Americans with graduate degrees

Question 30

Democratic candidate Walter Mondale most seriously damaged his presidential prospects when he:

A) picked a woman as a running mate
B) promised to raise taxes
C) described Reagan as a lunatic and a liar
D) appeared to be soft on communism
E) criticized Reagan's handling of the economy

Question 31

In Central America, the Reagan administration was seriously concerned that Communist-backed revolutionaries might take over in:

A) El Salvador
B) Honduras
C) Guatemala
D) Costa Rica
E) Panama

Question 32

By the early 1980s, Lebanon:

A) had become a model of Middle East stability and democracy
B) expelled Palestinian radicals and recognized Israel
C) became an anarchic battleground for warring factions
D) cut off oil sales to the United States to protest Reagan's pro-Israel policies
E) was regularly sending troops into northern Israel

Question 33

When Islamic fanatics bombed and killed 241 U.S. Marines in Lebanon in 1983, Reagan:

A) froze Lebanese assets in the United States
B) soon pulled out the remaining Marines
C) declared war on Islamic terrorists
D) began to reassess U.S. support of Israel
E) ignored what had happened

Question 34

Reagan's experience as an actor:

A) was invaluable in a television age
B) was irrelevant once he entered politics
C) had been limited to a few performances on radio
D) helped him master policy details
E) caused conservative Christians to view him with suspicion given the immorality of Hollywood

Question 35

The leader of the Moral Majority was:

A) Pat Robertson
B) John Osteen
C) Billy Graham
D) Jerry Falwell
E) Oral Roberts

Question 36

During the 1980s, unions:

A) became a vital part of Reagan's political coalition
B) managed to dramatically elevate wages
C) finally began to gain strength in the South
D) suffered steady declines in membership
E) remained generally popular with the public

Question 37

The Grenada invasion resulted in:

A) a dangerous U.S.-Soviet confrontation
B) massive antiwar protests across America
C) a big drop in Reagan's approval ratings
D) an easy American victory
E) the commitment of UN forces just as in Korea

Question 38

Reagan's hope for Nicaragua was that the Sandinistas would:

A) sign a free-trade agreement with the United States
B) moderate their views and become democratic
C) become a model for the rest of Central America
D) give the United States land for military and naval bases
E) be overthrown by the Contras

Question 39

One major factor working in Reagan's favor in his 1984 reelection bid was:

A) a robustly growing economy
B) the collapse of the Soviet Union
C) that the Democrats were deeply divided
D) surpluses in the federal budget
E) the support he received from minorities and organized labor

Question 40

The anti-feminist women led by Phyllis Schlafly:

A) helped keep the equal-rights amendment from being ratified
B) succeeded in keeping abortion illegal
C) believed Ronald Reagan was too liberal
D) believed in total separation of politics and religion
E) voted about equally for Democrats and Republicans

Question 41

By the fall of 1991, the most popular Soviet politician was:

A) Mikhail Gorbachev
B) Vladimir Putin
C) Boris Yeltsin
D) Dmitry Medvedev
E) Andrei Sakharov

Question 42

In late 1989, all the Communist regimes of Eastern Europe toppled bloodlessly EXCEPT that of:

A) East Germany
B) Poland
C) Hungary
D) Czechoslovakia
E) Romania

Question 43

A high percentage of the homeless people of the 1980s were:

A) Reagan supporters
B) formerly wealthy
C) mentally ill
D) easy to lift out of homelessness
E) receiving large welfare payments

Question 44

Which of the following dramatically decreased in the 1980s?

A) the number of homeless people
B) military spending
C) personal savings
D) all kinds of debt
E) Reagan's personal popularity ratings

Question 45

Bush's goal as president seemed to be to:

A) pursue his own ambitious legislative agenda
B) wipe out the Democratic opposition
C) consolidate Reagan's policies and achievements
D) be a Kennedy-like inspirational leader
E) establish a dynasty of Bushes in the White House

Question 46

In late 1987, the United States and the Soviets signed a treaty to eliminate:

A) conventional weapons
B) intermediate-range nuclear missiles
C) submarine-based missiles
D) long-range nuclear missiles
E) anti-missile systems in outer space

Question 47

The crucial development in the Soviet Union in August 1991 was:

A) Gorbachev's assassination
B) a failed Communist coup
C) revolution in the Baltic republics
D) the collapse of the Soviet economy
E) Gorbachev's reelection

Question 48

By the time of his nomination for the presidency in 1988, George H. W. Bush had served as all of the following EXCEPT:

A) director of the CIA
B) vice president
C) envoy to China
D) ambassador to the United Nations
E) secretary of the Treasury

Question 49

Bush helped secure his victory in 1988 by:

A) portraying the Democrat, Dukakis, as a liberal
B) saying how much he would change Reagan's policies
C) promising to be flexible on tax policy
D) carrying most regions except for the South
E) promising to get tough on the Russians

Question 50

A democracy movement in China:

A) was brutally crushed by the government
B) was the major inspiration for reforms in the Soviet Union
C) received the military support of the United States
D) toppled that country's Communist government
E) inspired China's leaders to allow a freer press

Question 51

As a result of the massive national debt:

A) the United States lost its ability to obtain credit
B) double-digit inflation returned
C) the United States had to reduce its involvement in global affairs
D) members of Congress had to reduce their own salaries
E) Bush had to recommend tax increases

Question 52

The collapse of stock prices that occurred on "Black Monday" (October 19, 1987):

A) caused a depression
B) continued for years
C) affected only the United States
D) caused Reagan to further reduce taxes
E) in percentage terms, was the worst in American history

Question 53

A change in the cold war climate was indicated in 1988 when the Soviets began withdrawing their troops from:

A) Ukraine
B) Cuba
C) Eastern Europe
D) Turkey
E) Afghanistan

Question 54

By the end of his presidency, Reagan had:

A) dramatically shrunk the federal government's size
B) abolished the Department of Education
C) privatized Social Security
D) restored American confidence
E) fulfilled the religious right's agenda on issues such as school prayer

Question 55

The reform-minded Soviet premier who emerged in the mid-1980s was:

A) Mikhail Gorbachev
B) Vladimir Putin
C) Nikita Khrushchev
D) Boris Yeltsin
E) Leonid Brezhnev

Question 56

The Tower Commission report blamed much of the Iran-Contra scandal on:

A) Congress for cutting off funds to the Contras
B) Reagan's loose management style
C) the Iranians for luring the United States into the arms deal
D) Secretary of State George Shultz
E) the psychiatric problems of Oliver North

Question 57

Many of those who contracted AIDS in the early and mid-1980s:

A) caught it through casual personal contact
B) could be cured with prompt treatment
C) were in monogamous relationships
D) soon died
E) were put in government detention centers

Question 58

The fall of the Berlin Wall was soon followed by:

A) Soviet military intervention in East Germany
B) the threat of war in Central Europe
C) the formal dissolution of NATO
D) Germany's reunification
E) the Communists constructing an even stronger one

Question 59

The Reagan administration's initial response to AIDS was to:

A) pour money into medical research
B) give away condoms and clean hypodermic needles
C) urge all Americans to get a vaccination
D) crack down on people having sex outside of marriage
E) largely ignore it as a "gay" disease

Question 60

One of President Bush's major domestic priorities became his war on:

A) illiteracy
B) homelessness
C) drugs
D) racism
E) crime

Question 61

The Panamanian government of Manuel Noriega was at odds with the Bush administration because of its:

A) communist leanings
B) threat to shut down the Panama Canal
C) aggressive actions toward its Central American neighbors
D) involvement in the drug trade
E) boycott of banana shipments to the United States

Question 63

What was America's role in world affairs during the Reagan and Bush years?

Question 64

Describe and illustrate the main features of Reaganomics.

Question 65

Trace the Iran-Contra affair from its earliest existence to its conclusion. Did this incident hurt or help the Reagan administration's reputation?

Question 66

Trace the issues and events that led to the Gulf War of 1991. What strategies did President George H. W. Bush use to insure victory, and what was the ultimate outcome of his efforts?

Question 67

By the end of 1991, the Soviet Union:

A) remained firmly under Communist control despite communism's collapse in Eastern Europe
B) had fallen apart
C) still had the world's largest nuclear arsenal
D) enjoyed a booming economy due to trade with the United States
E) was torn by civil war

Question 68

Opposing Iraq in the Gulf War was:

A) a coalition of over thirty nations
B) the United States and Britain alone
C) an army comprised of Arab soldiers
D) China and the Soviet Union
E) Israel and India

Question 69

Bush ultimately dealt with Noriega by:

A) cutting off foreign aid to Panama
B) funding his political opposition
C) ordering a military invasion to arrest him
D) having Panama expelled from the United Nations
E) persuading him to change his policies

Question 70

The Gulf War was triggered by Saddam Hussein's invasion of:

A) Saudi Arabia
B) Iran
C) Egypt
D) Israel
E) Kuwait

Question 71

Discuss the status of the poor, the homeless, and the victims of AIDS during the 1980s. How did the government respond to the needs of each of these groups?

Question 72

Describe the status of organized labor during the Reagan administration. Did unions make any gains, and did they have any setbacks?

Question 73

Were the Reagan and Bush administrations more successful at handling domestic or foreign problems? Explain.

Question 74

What were the main foreign policy achievements of the Carter administration? Where did Carter fail?

Question 75

Detail the election of 1980. Who were the major parties? What issues dominated the campaign?

Question 76

Ronald Reagan practiced "the politics of symbolism," according to one scholar. Is this an accurate assessment of Reagan's presidential career?

Question 77

The 1991 Persian Gulf War resulted in:

A) massive American casualties
B) the U.S. capture of Baghdad
C) Saddam Hussein remaining in power
D) trench warfare
E) Bush's guaranteed reelection

Question 78

MATCHING
Match each description with the item below.