Deck 30: The Conservative Ascendancy

Question 1

The American economic environment of the 1970s was characterized by __________.

A) a decrease in the poverty rate
B) job security and high wages
C) a thriving oil economy
D) a combination of high prices, rising unemployment, and low economic growth known as "stagflation"

Answer 1

a combination of high prices, rising unemployment, and low economic growth known as "stagflation"

Question 2

The Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1981 reflected what item on the Reagan economic agenda?

A) reduction of government spending on domestic programs
B) increasing taxes on the wealthy
C) increasing defense spending
D) limiting the power of organized labor

Answer 2

reduction of government spending on domestic programs

Question 3

Early in his political career, Ronald Reagan belonged to the __________.

A) Democratic Party
B) States' Rights Party
C) Republican Party
D) Socialist Party

Answer 3

Democratic Party

Question 4

The election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 was the culmination of a conservative movement in American politics first seen with the 1964 candidacy of __________.

A) Barry Goldwater
B) Jimmy Carter
C) Richard Nixon
D) Gerald Ford

Question 5

Elected in the aftermath of a recession, Bill Clinton presided over a period of __________.

A) continued economic stagnation
B) economic collapse
C) sustained economic growth
D) runaway federal budget deficits

Question 6

After the 1994 midterm elections, Clinton undercut Republicans by adapting many of their proposals, most notably __________.

A) welfare reform
B) sharp tax increases
C) a tough anti-crime bill
D) repeal of NAFTA

Question 7

Orange County, California, was an example of what new kind of 1970s-1980s community?

A) racial new left
B) poor minority
C) ethnic enclave
D) conservative Christian

Question 8

The oil crisis of 1973 caused __________.

A) an economic downturn
B) a shift to alternative fuels
C) a drop in oil prices
D) a drop in production

Question 9

In 1996, while Clinton won reelection, __________.

A) Democrats won control of both houses of Congress
B) Republicans maintained control of both houses of Congress
C) Democrats won the Senate and Republicans the House
D) Democrats won the House and Republicans the Senate

Question 10

Relative to men, women's wages between 1955 and 1980 __________.

A) lost ground
B) stayed flat
C) rose for blacks and Hispanics but not for whites
D) showed that the glass ceiling had been broken

Question 11

Carter's worst enemy in the economy was __________.

A) inflation
B) savings and loan failures
C) persistent recession
D) out-of-control defense spending

Question 12

During the 1970s, organized labor experienced its only real growth among __________.

A) public employees
B) truckers
C) restaurant employees
D) auto workers

Question 13

Both Carter in 1976 and Reagan in 1980 appealed to voters in Orange County, California, because they were seen as __________.

A) supporters of the Great Society
B) devoted to détente with Russia
C) sensitive to Christian concerns
D) economic liberals

Question 14

The most forceful American interventions during the Clinton presidency took place in __________.

A) the Persian Gulf
B) China and North Korea
C) Bosnia and Kosovo
D) Rwanda and Somalia

Question 15

The World Trade Organization, formed in 1995, was intended to __________.

A) keep tariffs high to protect American manufacturers
B) fight global warming
C) protect the economic interests of the developed nations
D) promote international free trade

Question 16

The American public distrusted Gerald Ford as president because he __________.

A) had a liberal voting record in Congress
B) could not solve the nation's economic problems
C) had gotten rich on Wall Street
D) pardoned Nixon of possible federal crimes

Question 17

In the election of 1976, Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter ran a campaign that capitalized on __________.

A) his training in nuclear physics and his naval experience
B) Ford's connection to Nixon and Carter's claim to be an "outsider"
C) his conservative views on domestic and foreign issues
D) being experienced in Washington politics

Question 18

What major figure in the rise of the New Right was also the founder of the Moral Majority?

A) Jerry Falwell
B) Billy Graham
C) Pat Robertson
D) Jimmy Swaggart

Question 19

The Democratic Leadership Council, in which Bill Clinton had been active as governor of Arkansas, would be best described as __________.

A) ultraliberal
B) centrist
C) conservative
D) following the traditions of FDR and LBJ

Question 20

In response to campaigns prompted by Rachel Carson's The Silent Spring, in 1970 Congress created the __________.

A) Department of Education
B) Environmental Protection Agency
C) Securities and Exchange Commission
D) Department of Energy

Question 21

As evidence of George H. W. Bush's "kinder and gentler" approach, in 1990 Congress passed __________.

A) the Americans with Disabilities Act
B) the largest tax cuts in American history
C) the repeal of the death penalty
D) legislation to fund AIDS treatments

Question 22

Who won a landslide election with campaign ads declaring "it's morning again in America"?

A) Jimmy Carter
B) Gerald Ford
C) Ronald Reagan
D) George H. W. Bush

Question 23

Neoconservatives were most concerned with __________.

A) maintaining family values
B) an aggressive foreign policy
C) continuing the New Deal
D) protecting affirmative action and antipoverty programs

Question 24

Where did the Republican "Contract with America" enjoy its greatest support?

A) the House of Representatives
B) the Senate
C) the White House
D) in state governors' offices

Question 25

The main American ally the United States sought to protect in the Persian Gulf War was __________.

A) Kuwait
B) Israel
C) Turkey
D) Saudi Arabia

Question 26

The Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1981 was passed with support from __________.

A) conservative southern and western Democrats
B) union members
C) Keynesian economists
D) progressive Democrats

Question 27

Reagan's firing of 13,000 striking air traffic controllers demonstrated his __________.

A) concern for safer aeronautic training of professionals in that industry
B) stance against the organized labor movement
C) disregard for the needs of the Department of Transportation
D) commitment to reducing spending on domestic programs

Question 28

The Reagan administration's plan to provide funding to the Contras with profits from missiles sold to Iran was __________.

A) announced in a televised speech before the program began
B) illegal and directly forbidden by Congress
C) carried out by rogue CIA agents without White House knowledge
D) stopped after Congress objected

Question 29

Cyrus Vance resigned as Carter's secretary of state because of disagreements over __________.

A) Carter's attempt to rescue the Iranian hostages
B) negotiating SALT II
C) responding to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
D) invading Panama

Question 30

Clinton faced a foreign policy humiliation when he withdrew American forces after eighteen soldiers were killed in __________.

A) Bosnia
B) Rwanda
C) Somalia
D) Kuwait

Question 31

Iranian militants stormed the U.S. embassy and took Americans hostage in response to __________.

A) CIA attempts to overthrow Khomeini
B) U.S. military support of anti-Khomeini forces
C) the U.S. allowing the deposed shah to enter America for medical treatment
D) U.S. oil company activities

Question 32

The Republican victory in the 1994 midterm elections was significantly helped by __________.

A) the reemergence of the New Deal coalition
B) the threat of international terrorism
C) public anger over the Family Leave Act
D) Clinton's defeat on health care reform

Question 33

Carter's corollary to the Monroe Doctrine protected U.S. interests in __________.

A) the Caribbean Sea
B) Western Europe
C) South Africa
D) the Persian Gulf

Question 34

The largest component of the New Right was composed of __________.

A) evangelical Protestants
B) urban Catholics
C) conservative ideologues
D) neoconservatives

Question 35

Who benefited most from the economic trends of the 1970s-1980s?

A) minorities
B) the poor
C) the middle class
D) the affluent

Question 36

In 1981, Reagan approved a CIA plan to arm the Contras, which opposed the Sandinista government of __________.

A) Grenada
B) Panama
C) El Salvador
D) Nicaragua

Question 37

Carter tried to halt covert interventions and curb the powers of the __________.

A) Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
B) Federal Bureau of Investigation
C) National Security Council
D) Central Intelligence Agency

Question 38

Carter's foreign policy was characterized by __________.

A) a hard-nosed realism
B) a moral approach to issues
C) a willingness to use force at the least provocation
D) a retreat from American involvement in the world

Question 39

George H. W. Bush came to office promising __________.

A) a commitment to "compassionate conservatism"
B) the end of runaway deficits
C) to deliver a "kinder and gentler nation"
D) to "tear down this wall"

Question 40

The Camp David Accords were a highlight of the presidency of __________.

A) Ronald Reagan
B) Richard Nixon
C) Jimmy Carter
D) Gerald Ford

Question 41

What two economic factors needed to take place simultaneously for "stagflation" to occur?

A) rising prices and rising unemployment
B) falling prices and rising unemployment
C) rising prices and a decreasing rate of unemployment
D) stagnant prices and increasing unemployment

Question 42

What is the New World Order and how was it evident during the four years George H. W. Bush served as president?

Question 43

What is the Clinton Doctrine and how was it applied in different parts of the world during Bill Clinton's presidential administration?

Question 44

What was the initial catalyst for the establishment of the modern environmental movement?

A) Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring
B) the establishment of Earth Day on April 22, 1970
C) the discovery of carcinogens and toxic waste at Love Canal
D) the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency

Question 45

Bill Clinton provoked controversy by giving the leadership of his health care reform task force to __________.

A) Vice President Al Gore
B) First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton
C) health insurance industry lobbyists
D) House Speaker Newt Gingrich

Question 46

The Berlin Wall came down on November 9, __________, paving the way for German reunification the following year.

A) 1989
B) 1990
C) 1997
D) 1998

Question 47

How did the Camp David Accords impact relations in the Middle East?

A) Egypt became the first Arab nation to recognize Israel's right to exist.
B) The United States agreed to return the Shah of Iran to his homeland in exchange for the release of American hostages in Tehran.
C) The Arab members of OPEC agreed to lift the oil embargo placed on the United States and its allies in Western Europe.
D) The Soviet Union agreed to withdraw from Afghanistan and not pursue an expansionist policy in the Middle East.

Question 48

Neoconservatives accused Jimmy Carter of __________.

A) having a foreign policy that lacked a moral core
B) allowing communists to advance in Third World countries
C) aiding the rise of neo-fascism in Europe
D) paying too much attention to foreign policy and not enough to domestic policy

Question 49

Explain the differences between Keynesian and supply-side economic policies.

Question 50

A Keynesian economist would likely suggest which of the following measures when responding to a recession?

A) cuts in government spending and moderate tax increases
B) moderate tax cuts and increases in government spending
C) government investments in defense and anti-inflation measures
D) tax refunds and deep cuts to social programs

Question 51

Osama bin Laden built the al-Qaeda organization to __________.

A) launch guerrilla attacks against Saddam Hussein's soldiers during the Persian Gulf War
B) train small groups in terror tactics to be used against Western interests
C) punish Kurds for supporting the U.S. invasion of Iraq
D) provide military and financial aid to the crisis in the Balkans

Question 52

After campaigning as an "outsider" in 1976, how did Carter's lack of ties to Washington affect the success of his presidency?

Question 53

What was the primary cause of the energy crisis that contributed to the troubled American economy in the 1970s?

A) an oil embargo by the Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in retaliation for U.S. support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War
B) the Islamic revolution in Iran that disrupted oil shipments in the Persian Gulf
C) the ecological disaster that took place after installation of the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline
D) a series of oil spills on American coastlines

Question 54

IIIn the 1970s, the American economic growth that __________ ground to a halt.

A) followed World War II
B) began in the 1960s
C) began in the late nineteenth century
D) followed World War I

Question 55

What distinguished the New Right from the old was an emphasis on "moral values" and __________.

A) the openness of its racism
B) the ruthlessness of its leaders
C) its populist character
D) its elitist character

Question 56

Who said that the United States should remain "a country where someone can always get rich"?

A) Barry Goldwater
B) Gerald Ford
C) Bill Clinton
D) Ronald Reagan

Question 57

What was one reason Jimmy Carter defeated incumbent president Gerald Ford in the 1976 election?

A) Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon was unpopular with the American public.
B) Carter had extensive political experience at the national level.
C) Carter's liberal ideology was a positive change from the more conservative ideas of the Nixon and Ford administrations.
D) Many voters suspected Ford of complicity in the Watergate crisis.

Question 58

Analyze why the conservative right movement became so influential in the 1970s and 1980s.
Discuss the movement's political and social agenda and its effects on American society.

Question 59

TTThe economic downturn of the 1970s had deep roots in the failure of the United States to __________.

A) reach meaningful agreements with the Soviet Union on arms control
B) make basic reforms in its tax code
C) locate and open new markets in Asia and Africa
D) keep up with the rising industrial efficiency of its competitors

Question 60

In office, Clinton's policy toward China __________.

A) insisted on tough human rights changes
B) reversed the tough stance he had maintained during the 1992 campaign
C) admitted that Asian societies tended toward authoritarianism
D) sought to defend Taiwan

Question 61

An American opponent of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) might have claimed that NAFTA __________.

A) would erode the U.S. industrial base
B) would lead to more stringent environmental rules
C) was out of step with the World Trade Organization (WTO) guidelines
D) helped labor unions, while undermining large corporations

Question 62

Why did conservative groups, such as the Moral Majority and the Eagle Forum, oppose the women's liberation movement and the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)?

A) They believed that women's demands for political economic equality threatened the security of women who were satisfied with their roles as homemakers and mothers.
B) They believed that rising divorce rates would compromise their organizations' belief of "traditional family values."
C) They feared that women's liberation and the ERA would limit a woman's right to have an abortion.
D) They supported First Lady Betty Ford's message that the ERA would threaten the role of the traditional family.

Question 63

How did supply-side economics differ from the Keynesian economic policies that had prevailed since the New Deal era?

A) Supply-side economics called for simultaneous tax cuts, reductions in public spending, and deregulation, which gave private entrepreneurs and investors greater incentives to start businesses, while Keynesian economics favored moderate tax cuts and government increases to stimulate the economy and reduce unemployment.
B) Supply-side economics called for moderate tax cuts and government increases to stimulate the economy and reduce unemployment, while Keynesian economics favored simultaneous tax cuts, reductions in public spending, and deregulation, which gave private entrepreneurs and investors greater incentives to start businesses.
C) Supply-side economics benefited recipients and professional providers of health and welfare programs, while Keynesian economics rewarded the affluent and the business community.
D) Supply-side economists favored higher interest rates than those supported by Keynesian economists.

Question 64

What feature characterized the 1970s as the "Me Decade"?

A) turning inward to purely personal preoccupations
B) volunteerism and activism in relevant social causes
C) greater frugality resulting from the growing economic crisis
D) increasing conservative values based on Christian evangelicalism

Question 65

How did Phyllis Schlafly contribute to the rise of conservatism in the United States during the late twentieth century?

A) She launched a successful campaign to stop the Equal Rights Amendment.
B) She convinced the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.
C) She established the Moral Majority as a conservative lobbying group.
D) She founded the Heritage Foundation to produce policy papers for conservative members of Congress.

Question 66

How did Jimmy Carter's foreign policy agenda contradict his personal vision of international affairs?

A) He backed repressive regimes in nations considered vital to U.S. interests.
B) He refused to negotiate with Iranian militants who held American hostages in Iran.
C) He achieved full diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, a communist nation.
D) He promoted efforts to give Palestinians some measure of political autonomy in the Middle East.

Question 67

How did evangelical ministers, such as Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, primarily contribute to the rise of the New Right?

A) They effectively used their televised religious broadcasts to promote conservative messages and fundraising efforts.
B) They organized legal groups to file suits against affirmative action and other programs related to minority rights in the federal court system.
C) They produced policy papers for conservative members of Congress and promoted a free market economy.
D) They led the movement to defeat the Equal Rights Amendment.

Question 68

What did the "Contract with America" call for?

A) a reduction of federal responsibilities, including cutbacks to regulatory powers and welfare programs
B) a decrease in military spending
C) a large increase in taxes
D) free trade agreements with Canada and Mexico

Question 69

What factor most contributed to Ronald Reagan being called "the great communicator"?

A) his previous acting experience
B) his political success as a former governor of California
C) the financial backing given by wealthy conservatives
D) his successful negotiations with the Iranian revolutionary government in releasing the American hostages

Question 70

How did the Reagan administration respond to the growing AIDS crisis that struck the nation in the 1980s?

A) Reagan largely ignored the epidemic to keep the support of antigay conservatives.
B) Reagan supported congressional legislation to fund AIDS research and education.
C) Reagan had his surgeon general immediately commence an AIDS education campaign after the disease was first identified in 1981.
D) First Lady Nancy Reagan launched a "safe sex" advertising campaign to support the gay community.

Question 71

President George H. W. Bush's New World Order resulted from __________.

A) the end of the Cold War and the emergence of multinational military coalitions against rogue states
B) more open relations with the People's Republic of China and a stronger military stance against Islamic terrorists
C) free trade with Canada and Mexico and military intervention to restore civil order in unstable nations
D) an international integration of capital combined with the diminishing importance of national borders

Question 72

Which of the following was true of American women in the 1970s?

A) An increasing number of women sought jobs to support their families.
B) Women left the workforce in ever-increasing numbers.
C) Women eliminated the wage gap with men.
D) The number of women living in poverty decreased.

Question 73

What was the purpose of the National Abortion Federation?

A) collecting statistics on violence against abortion providers
B) lobbying for the repeal of Roe v. Wade
C) supporting a constitutional amendment defining conception as the beginning of life
D) writing legislation to ban the use of federal money to fund abortions

Question 74

Which of the following was an outcome of Operation Desert Storm?

A) Iraqi Kurds, who had supported the U.S. invasion, faced violent reprisals from the Iraqi army.
B) Saddam Hussein was toppled from power.
C) Kuwait became a permanent province of Iraq.
D) Many Muslims in the Middle East became strong supporters of the United States.

Question 75

How did the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 most benefit the smallest but richest fraction of the American population?

A) It eliminated the distinction between earned and unearned income.
B) It reduced the maximum tax on all income by 40 percent.
C) It mandated huge spending cuts that affected many cultural and social programs.
D) It raised the maximum capital gains tax by 8 percent.

Question 76

Political and economic reforms made by Mikhail Gorbachev in the Soviet Union during the late 1980s led to __________.

A) the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of communist rule throughout Eastern Europe
B) the narrowing of the gap between the world's rich and poor
C) greater solidarity and cooperation among the various ethnic groups that lived within the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe
D) peaceful relations among the West, the Soviet Union, and the Middle East

Question 77

How did Reagan's foreign policy toward communism, known as the Reagan Doctrine, differ from the earlier Cold War policy of containment?

A) Reagan promised to "roll back" communism by providing support to anticommunist insurgents and resistance movements anywhere in the world.
B) Calling it "an evil empire," Reagan was determined to provoke the Soviet Union into a nuclear war.
C) Reagan favored a stronger reliance on détente to improve relations with the Soviet Union.
D) Reagan cut defense spending and halted supplies of weapons and antiaircraft missiles to nations fighting communist insurgents.

Question 78

How did the neoconservative movement that appeared in the mid-1970s differ from earlier conservative movements?

A) It played a more activist role in foreign policy as it severed the links between conservatism and isolationism.
B) It called for greater federal assistance to the poor through an expansion of social services.
C) It favored the federal government's approach to more open relations with the Soviet Union through détente.
D) It called for more federal programs aligned to the New Deal-style liberalism.

Question 79

How did Reagan justify cuts to basic programs that he considered part of the "welfare culture" in this country?

A) He claimed that these programs contributed to the breakdown of the family.
B) He believed such programs gave unfair advantages to minorities.
C) He opposed increases in federal spending because they threatened the success of Keynesian economics.
D) He felt they went against the ideology of the New Deal and Great Society, which he strongly supported.

Question 80

The U.S. boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics was enacted to protest the Soviet Union's __________.

A) invasion and occupation of Afghanistan
B) refusal to allow democratic reforms in its Eastern European satellite nations
C) unwillingness to sign the SALT II agreement on arms control
D) support of Arab OPEC nations during the U.S. oil embargo