Deck 31: From the Age of Limits to the Age of Reagan

Question 1

In 1976,Jimmy Carter appealed to voters by emphasizing

A)his personal honesty.
B)his lack of experience in federal government.
C)his religious piety.
D)both his personal honesty and his religious piety.
E)All these answers are correct.

Answer 1

All these answers are correct.

Question 2

All of the following foreign policy events occurred during the Carter administration EXCEPT the

A)establishment of formal diplomatic relations with communist China.
B)ratification of a new SALT II arms agreement with the Soviet Union.
C)ratification of the Panama Canal treaty.
D)signing of a formal peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.
E)beginning of a Soviet war in Afghanistan.

Answer 2

ratification of a new SALT II arms agreement with the Soviet Union.

Question 3

A widely discussed demographic phenomenon that began in the 1970s was

A)the decline of population in the Sunbelt.
B)rising populations in northern and eastern industrial regions.
C)the growth of populism in the Northeast.
D)decreased suburbanization in the South and West.
E)the population growth of states in the Southeast and Southwest.

Answer 3

the population growth of states in the Southeast and Southwest.

Question 4

During the Ford administration,

A)the cost of oil rose dramatically.
B)the dependence of the United States on foreign oil lessened.
C)the national inflation rate declined after the end of the 1973 oil embargo.
D)the United States became the world's largest oil producer.
E)government spending increased and taxes decreased.

Question 5

In 1977,President Jimmy Carter supported treaties in which the United States gave up control of

A)military bases in Okinawa.
B)sugar plantations in the Philippines.
C)the Panama Canal.
D)the island of Guam.
E)the UN Security Council.

Question 6

In 1979,President Jimmy Carter

A)fired several members of his cabinet.
B)gave a national address in which he criticized the spirit of the nation.
C)went to Camp David for ten days in the midst of an OPEC oil crisis.
D)fired several members of his cabinet and gave a national address in which he criticized the spirit of the nation.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 7

As president,Jimmy Carter gave much of his attention to

A)federal spending and Soviet-American relations.
B)reform of government and education.
C)conservation and the environment.
D)civil rights legislation.
E)energy and the economy.

Question 8

As president,Gerald Ford angered many right-wing conservatives by

A)breaking from Richard Nixon's détente policies.
B)praising the ideals of draft resistors in a speech.
C)choosing Robert Dole as his running mate in 1976.
D)criticizing the American military leadership in Vietnam.
E)appointing Nelson Rockefeller as vice president.

Question 9

The crisis of American hostages being held in Iran

A)lasted over a year.
B)ended with a successful rescue operation by American troops.
C)was resolved before the 1980 elections.
D)both lasted over a year and was resolved before the 1980 election.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 10

In the late 1970s,the "Christian right"

A)opposed unrestricted free enterprise.
B)supported the goals of feminism.
C)feared aggressive American military actions.
D)were alarmed by many Supreme Court rulings.
E)were losing ground as a political force.

Question 11

On the economic front,during the Carter administration,

A)interest rates rose to their highest level in American history.
B)unemployment rose sharply.
C)President Carter broke from the tight money policy of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.
D)energy prices leveled off.
E)retail prices fell at a 10 percent annual rate.

Question 12

In 1978,Proposition 13 in California dealt with

A)criminal sentencing.
B)property taxes.
C)affirmative action.
D)illegal immigration.
E)gay marriage.

Question 13

In 1979,the United States responded to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan by

A)canceling all of the 1980 Summer Olympic games.
B)sending military aid to the Afghan rebels.
C)recalling the United States ambassador from Moscow.
D)withdrawing the SALT I treaty from Senate consideration.
E)imposing economic sanctions on the Soviet Union.

Question 14

In 1979,Iranians who took American hostages demanded,in return for release of the hostages,

A)a large ransom payment.
B)the removal of all westerners from Iran.
C)an end to the United States' support of Israel.
D)the United States' return of the shah of Iran.
E)the removal of all American troops from Saudi Arabia.

Question 15

In 1974,former President Richard Nixon was pardoned by

A)the Supreme Court.
B)the Federal Court of Appeals.
C)the attorney general.
D)Congress.
E)the president.

Question 16

In the 1976 presidential election,

A)the Democratic Party nominated the almost entirely unknown governor of Arkansas.
B)President Gerald Ford faced his stiffest opposition from moderate Republicans.
C)the Democrats nominated a political novice.
D)Ronald Reagan mounted a powerful challenge against President Ford.
E)Gerald Ford won the popular vote but lost the election.

Question 17

In the late 1970s,members of the so-called Sagebrush Rebellion

A)complained the federal government ignored the American West.
B)favored restrictions on new development in the West.
C)were inclined to support liberal politicians.
D)portrayed the West as a victim of government control.
E)mobilized in favor of stricter immigration controls in the West.

Question 18

In 1978,supporters of Proposition 13 in California successfully

A)played on the personal security fears of voters.
B)played on the racial fears of voters.
C)focused white male voter resentment of affirmative action.
D)separated the issue of taxes from the issue of what the taxes supported.
E)mobilized thousands of voters against funding for parochial schools.

Question 19

As president,Jimmy Carter called for a foreign policy that stressed the importance of

A)human rights.
B)the environment.
C)democracy.
D)American business interests.
E)free trade and open markets.

Question 20

President Gerald Ford's foreign policy actions included

A)replacing Henry Kissinger as secretary of state.
B)the signing of an arms control agreement with the Soviet Union.
C)shifting away from the Nixon policies of engaging China in diplomacy.
D)helping Israel obtain control of a large portion of the Sinai from Egypt.
E)attempting to secure the release of American hostages in Iran.

Question 21

George Bush's presidential victory in 1988 was the result of

A)the public's disapproval of negative political advertising.
B)his repeated attack on his opponent's "liberalism."
C)an overly aggressive Democratic strategy.
D)damaging personal revelations regarding Michael Dukakis.
E)public ebullience over the fall of communism.

Question 22

During the Reagan presidency,"neoconservatives"

A)were engaged in a battle with the radical left to influence American culture.
B)made up the majority of supporters of Reagan.
C)were largely concerned with the government's progressive tax structure.
D)were unable to effectively unite with other Reagan supporters.
E)believed the Vietnam War had illustrated the limits of American intervention.

Question 23

In 1988,Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signaled his desire to change past policies by

A)renouncing his own communism.
B)ordering a military coup against communist hard-liners within his government.
C)giving the republics within the Soviet Union their independence.
D)releasing political prisoner Nelson Mandela after twenty-seven years.
E)agreeing to a significant nuclear arms reduction treaty.

Question 24

In 1986,the Reagan administration suffered a serious political scandal after the White House admitted the federal government had

A)secretly sold weapons to the revolutionary government of Iran.
B)secretly helped finance anti-government rebels in Nicaragua.
C)illegally funneled money from arms sales.
D)both illegally funneled money from arms sales and secretly helped finance anti-government rebels in Nicaragua.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 25

During President Ronald Reagan's first term,the course of the American economy

A)moved from being relatively strong into a long mild recession.
B)went through a severe recession which gave way to a strong recovery.
C)experienced a mild recession which turned into a slow and steady recovery.
D)remained mired in "Stagflation."
E)experienced explosive economic growth from the start.

Question 26

In the early 1980s,the country President Ronald Reagan described as an "evil empire" was

A)China.
B)Iran.
C)the Soviet Union.
D)Iraq.
E)North Korea.

Question 27

In the late 1980s,challenges to communist rule were the least successful in

A)Poland.
B)China.
C)Romania.
D)Czechoslovakia.
E)Hungary.

Question 28

In 1983,the Reagan administration responded to a terrorist bombing in Beirut of American marine barracks by

A)launching cruise missiles against the suspected perpetrators.
B)enlarging the marine force in the city.
C)supporting an invasion by Israel into southern Lebanon.
D)establishing a special military force to fight terrorism.
E)withdrawing the remaining marines.

Question 29

President Ronald Reagan argued that the Strategic Defense Initiative would

A)make nuclear war obsolete.
B)enable the United States to make a successful "first strike" anywhere in the world.
C)protect all of the United States' allies.
D)bring an end to communism.
E)bridge the "missile gap" with the Soviet Union.

Question 30

In the 1980 presidential campaign,

A)Jimmy Carter promised to make substantial tax cuts.
B)Ronald Reagan asserted that the power of the federal government needed to be increased.
C)an independent candidate determined the outcome of the election.
D)the Iranian hostages were released on the day of the last debate.
E)Jimmy Carter had to hold off a strong challenge to his re-nomination.

Question 31

During the 1980s,the American economy benefited from

A)the virtual collapse of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel.
B)staggering federal budget deficits.
C)years of tight money policy by the Federal Reserve Board.
D)both staggering federal budget deficits and years of tight money policy by the Federal Reserve Board.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 32

In tracing his relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev,President Ronald Reagan was

A)initially skeptical,but gradually concluded that Gorbachev was a sincere reformer.
B)consistently skeptical of Gorbachev.
C)always of the belief that Gorbachev was a sincere reformer.
D)initially optimistic,but gradually concluded he could not work with Gorbachev.
E)initially skeptical,but gradually became more openly hostile to Gorbachev.

Question 33

The "supply-side" economic theory embraced by President Ronald Reagan called for

A)balancing the federal budget.
B)the privatization of Social Security.
C)greater federal assistance to poor Americans.
D)a reduction in defense spending.
E)a reduction of personal and corporate taxes.

Question 34

In the 1980s,record national budget deficits resulted from

A)increased military spending.
B)increased entitlement spending on programs such as Social Security.
C)increased health care costs.
D)large tax cuts.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 35

As president,Ronald Reagan

A)oversaw a fundamental shift in the role and duties of the federal government.
B)succeeded in making his personality a central feature of his presidency.
C)faced strong opposition from a majority of policy-makers in government.
D)initially pledged to serve only one term.
E)was very involved in the day-to-day affairs of running the government.

Question 36

The Reagan Doctrine of opposing communism

A)resulted in a relatively passive American foreign policy.
B)was most frequently applied in Asia.
C)led the United States to intervene in order to weaken anti-American countries.
D)centered on weakening the Soviet Union's hold on eastern Europe.
E)was substantially reworked after the 1983 Beirut bombing.

Question 37

In his foreign policy,President Ronald Reagan

A)denounced the Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty (SALT II).
B)honored the provisions of SALT II.
C)argued that armaments negotiations must be linked to good Soviet behavior in other areas.
D)both denounced the Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty (SALT II)and honored its provisions.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 38

The weakening of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s was encouraged by the Soviet policy of

A)glasnost.
B)perestroika.
C)apartheid.
D)glasnost and perestroika.
E)perestroika and apartheid.

Question 39

Which of the following did NOT occur as part of the 1984 election?

A)President Reagan accepted the nomination,but the Republican Party was splintered.
B)The Democratic Party chose Walter Mondale as the presidential nominee.
C)President Ronald Reagan won all but one state.
D)The first woman appeared on a major party national ticket.
E)Reagan focused on American fortunes,what he called "Morning in America."

Question 40

In the 1980 presidential election,Ronald Reagan

A)won a record percentage of the popular vote.
B)captured only a slim majority of electoral votes.
C)won primarily as a result of third-party candidate,John Anderson.
D)did all of these: won a record percentage of the popular vote; captured only a slim majority of electoral votes; and won primarily as a result of third-party candidate John Anderson.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 41

Near the end of his first term,Jimmy Carter's standing in popularity polls was the lowest of any president in American history.

Question 42

Which of the following statements regarding the Gulf War of 1991 is NOT true?

A)The United States suffered relatively few casualties in the war.
B)The Allied ground offensive focused on dislodging Iraqi forces dug-in along the Kuwait border.
C)Almost all Islamic and Arab nations joined a trade embargo against Iraq.
D)The United Nations voted in favor of American policies toward Iraq.
E)The Allied forces ultimately numbered 690,000 troops.

Question 43

The American public came to regard Gerald Ford as being as untrustworthy as Richard Nixon.

Question 44

In 1976,Jimmy Carter easily won election over Gerald Ford.

Question 45

In the late 1980s,in foreign affairs,President George Bush

A)developed a cool and distrustful relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev.
B)moved quickly to take advantage of the collapse of communism in Europe.
C)expressed little interest in international activities.
D)moved toward far-reaching arms reduction agreements with the former Soviet Union.
E)rejected the INF treaty and argued in favor of increased weapons testing.

Question 46

In 1974,OPEC raised the price it charged for oil by 400 percent.

Question 47

The United States did not participate in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.

Question 48

The most serious domestic problem that faced the Bush administration was

A)his refusal to raise taxes to balance the budget.
B)his alienation of the Republican Congress due to his stance on various cultural issues.
C)how to safeguard the growing federal surplus.
D)a recession that began in late 1990.
E)public uproar over Supreme Court rulings on abortion and affirmative action.

Question 49

Under President Carter,unemployment declined but inflation soared.

Question 50

Under President Carter,the United States and the People's Republic of China resumed full diplomatic relations.

Question 51

After the Gulf War,President George Bush's high popularity quickly faded because of his

A)inability to contain a worsening recession.
B)invasion of Panama.
C)decision to raise taxes.
D)admission of corruption within the White House staff.
E)decision not to topple Saddam Hussein's regime.

Question 52

In 1992,Ross Perot made the best third-party showing in American politics since

A)John Anderson in 1980.
B)George Wallace in 1968.
C)Henry Wallace in 1948.
D)Robert La Follette in 1924.
E)Theodore Roosevelt in 1912.

Question 53

At the time that Iranian radicals seized the American embassy in Tehran,the shah of Iran was in the United States.

Question 54

In 1992,Bill Clinton's presidential campaign focused on

A)improving racial issues.
B)expanding cultural diversity.
C)the condition of the economy.
D)creating national health care.
E)international leadership in the post-Cold War world.

Question 55

Historically,there has been a strong populist tradition in the American South and West.

Question 56

Like Nixon and Ford before him,President Carter responded to economic problems by tightening the money supply.

Question 57

President Carter responded to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan by declaring the Carter Doctrine.

Question 58

The Gulf War of 1991 had its origins in an Iraqi decision to

A)invade Kuwait.
B)declare war on Iran.
C)fire SCUD missiles into Israel.
D)form a military alliance with Saudi Arabia.
E)build weapons of mass destruction.

Question 59

Richard Nixon was never charged for his involvement in the Watergate scandal.

Question 60

Carter's greatest foreign policy success was in arranging a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

Question 61

The Iran-contra scandal did serious damage to Reagan's presidency.

Question 62

In 1981,Ronald Reagan was the oldest American ever to serve as president.

Question 63

The third-party candidate in 1980 was ________.

Question 64

In 1976,President Ford faced a strong primary challenge from ________.

Question 65

________ was the third party candidate in 1992 whose candidacy tapped popular resentment of the federal bureaucracy.

Question 66

President Reagan denounced SALT II,even as he continued to honor its provisions.

Question 67

President Reagan preferred his ________ Initiative to the SALT II arms control treaty.

Question 68

Under the Reagan Doctrine,the United States commonly engaged in serious warfare in order to resist communism and anti-Americanism in the Third World.

Question 69

President Ford angered the right wing of his party by appointing ________ to be his vice president.

Question 70

President Ronald Reagan responded to the fiscal debt crisis by cutting spending programs intended to help poor Americans.

Question 71

The Reagan administration accumulated more debt in eight years than the American government had accumulated in its entire history.

Question 72

Following the seizure of Americans in Iran,the Soviet invasion of ________ worsened relations between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Question 73

The 1981 tax cuts were the largest to that point in American history.

Question 74

Richard Nixon was given a full pardon by ________ for any criminal role he may have played in the Watergate scandals.

Question 75

The _________ scandal,in which covert activities were used to advance Reagan administration foreign policy goals,did serious damage to the Reagan presidency.

Question 76

The so-called ________ Rebellion mobilized conservative opposition to environmental laws in the West.

Question 77

In 1980,________ challenged President Carter for the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party.

Question 78

The assumption that the woes of the American economy are the result of excessive taxation is the basis of "Reaganomics," also known as supply-side economics,or ________ economics by its critics.

Question 79

The 1988 election results gave the Republican Party control of the presidency and both houses of Congress.

Question 80

In 1978,Proposition 13 in California dealt with cutting ________.