1. Why did President Jimmy Carter eliminate tax breaks for private schools like the “Christian academies” popular in the South? a. They practiced racial discrimination. b. He was a Northeasterner and could not stand the South. c. As an agnostic, he had no sympathy for organized religion. d. He was committed to closing the federal deficit. [a] 2. The underlying cause of the political upheaval of 1980 was a. a generation of mismanagement and economic decline. b. a decade-long erosion of public faith in government. c. years of foreign policy blunders with the European Union. d. an entire era of minimal and unresponsive government. [b] 3. What pushed many blue-collar ethnic voters into the Republican Party? a. fear of crime committed by blacks b. the corruption and political dishonesty of Democrats c. the Democrats’ lack of attention to the poor d. the Democrats’ cozy relationship with big business [a] 4. In 1975, what economic value fell for the first time in 25 years? a. profits b. prices c. wages d. taxes [c] 5. Who was Jimmy Carter's running mate in the 1976 presidential election? a. Nelson Rockefeller b. Hubert Humphrey c. Walter Mondale d. Geraldine Ferraro [c] 6. How did President Jimmy Carter demonstrate his own commitment to racial equality? a. He ordered busing for schools nationwide. b. He made the renewal of the voting rights act of 1965 his singular priority. c. He ordered a ban on the so-called "English only" provisions. d. He appointed a record of three African-Americans to cabinet level positions. [d] 7. What undermined even the short-term benefits of Congress's energy bill of 1978? a. the incident at Three Mile Island b. the Iranian revolution c. California's Proposition 13 d. Paul Volcker's interest rate hikes [b] 8. In foreign affairs, Pres. Jimmy Carter voiced support for peaceful efforts to a. democratize the People's Republic of China. b. move Saddam Hussein out of office in Iraq. c. reunite East Germany and Western Germany. d. replace the white regimes of South Africa and Rhodesia. [d] 9. Why did the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan in December 1979? a. Afghan mujahideen had provoked the invasion with a series of bomb attacks in Moscow. b. The Soviet Union wanted to push out US development agencies working in the Helmand Valley. c. Soviet forces wanted to shore up the teetering procommunist government in Kabul. d. The Soviet Union was afraid that US-supported Pakistan would absorb Afghanistan. [c] 10. How many Cubans arrived in the United States with the boat lift from the fishing port of Mariel in October 1980? a. 130 b. 13000 c. 130,000 d. 300,000 [c] 11. Why did the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein ordere his army to invade neighboring Iran in September 1980? a. CIA operatives has urged him to do so. b. He feared the religious fanaticism of Iran. c. He wanted to seize Iran’s oil, water, and territory. d. Iranians provoked the attack with suicide bombs in Baghdad. [c] 12. By 1980, many Americans felt that a. Jimmy Carter and congressional Democrats debated issues unconnected with everyday life. b. Republicans were at fault for utterly destroying public trust in federal government. c. Washington's focus on communism and foreign policy was completely misplaced. d. The federal government was spending too much money on the middle class, and nothing on the poor. [a] 13. How did the University of Chicago economist Milton Friedman intend to ensure prosperity and freedom? a. reduced government spending and stringent control of the money supply b. deficit spending and countercyclical demand management c. the abolition of all consumer and environmental regulations d. a return to 19th century protective tariff barriers and the gold standard [a] 14. Which of the following is NOT true about Phyllis Schlafly? a. She was a Republican activist. b. She was a devout Catholic and organizer of the Eagle forum. c. She strictly adhered to a woman's role as a homemaker. d. She had worked as a lawyer and led the fight against the ERA. [c] 15. Traditionally, white evangelicals voted in lower numbers or a. for members of the church. b. for the Republican Party. c. for the Democratic Party. d. not at all. [c] 16. Who or what did conservatives blame for the rising crime rates in the 1970s? a. better statistical reporting b. job losses in cities c. permissive judges appointed by Democrats d. the bulging cohort of teenagers and young men [c] 17. Complete the following quotation from President Ronald Reagan: “in our present crisis government is not the solution to a problem, a. business is.” b. you are.” c. faith is.” d. government is the problem.” [d] 18. What was Ronald Reagan's political orientation until the late 1940s? a. Socialist b. Republican c. Democratic d. Libertarian [c] 19. At the same time that the first Congress under president Ronald Reagan cut federal income taxes by about 25 percent, lawmakers also voted to a. establish Medicare. b. eliminate the food stamp program. c. increase military spending. d. privatize Social Security. [c] 20. Which of the following decades saw the highest number of immigrants arriving in the United States? a. 1960s b. 1970s c. 1980s d. 1990s [d] 21. How did immigration scholars interpret the surge of immigration in the late 20th and early 21st century? a. As the first wave of globalization that would trigger the movement of goods. b. As the second wave of globalization that triggered the flow of money. c. As the third wave of globalization that follows the movement of goods and money. d. As a rejection of globalization and an effort to maintain local communities. [c] 22. In its enforcement of the 1980 r\Refugee Act, refugees from which nations generally received preferential treatment under the Reagan Administration? a. Catholic nations b. communist nations c. European nations d. Latin American nations [b] 23. What was the result of Ronald Reagan's tax increase or "revenue enhancements” in 1982 and 1983? a. Wealthy Americans had to pay a higher share. b. Antipoverty programs remained well-funded. c. The federal government avoided a deficit. d. Taxes accounted for the same 19% of GDP in 1989 as in 1981. [d] 24. Which of the following, President Ronald Reagan believed, could best reduce poverty in the United States? a. state governments b. the federal government c. the United Nations d. market forces [d] 25. Rulings by the Supreme Court in the late 1980s a. expanded protections of criminal defendants. b. made it harder to sue for job discrimination on grounds of race, sex, or age. c. further cemented the women's right to terminate a pregnancy. d. suspended state death penalty laws for violating the eighth amendment. [b] 26. Which of the following decades saw the highest rate of births to teenagers? a. 1950s b. 1960s c. 1970s d. 1990s [a] 27. Which event motivated president Ronald Reagan to appoint an advisory panel on combating the AIDS epidemic in 1985? a. the growing number of victims in the gay community b. Patrick Buchanan's dubbing AIDS the "gay plague" c. the death of actor Robert Hudson from AIDS d. the diagnosis of AIDS in one of Reagan’s children [c] 28. Why did the Soviet Union drop its formal objections to the American Strategic Defense initiative (SDI) in 1987? a. The KGB had already developed a similar system. b. Soviet scientists had concluded that SDI would not work. c. The Soviet Union had placed a series of spies in the SDI program d. Reagan had assured them that the defense system would be harmless, [b] 29. Why did the United States deploy Navy vessels off the Libyan coast and fight Libyan planes in the early 1980s? a. Libyan agents had bombed a Berlin nightclub frequented by Americans. b. Libyan agents had planted a bomb that destroyed a US airliner over Scotland. c. Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi bought Soviet weapons for terrorist groups. d. Libya and the US conducted this military exercise to intimidate Algeria. [c] 30. Why did Congress cut off aid to the Nicaraguan Contras in 1982? a. The new Democratic Congress was soft on communism. b. The new Democratic Congress wanted to damage Reagan's reputation. c. Congress learned that the Contras had killed thousands of civilians. d. Republicans in Congress began getting serious about closing the deficit. [c] 1. How did Baptist minister Jerry Falwell describe American culture in the 1970s? a. “a bubbly melting pot” b. “an ethnic hodgepodge” c. a “culture of permissiveness” d. a “genuine can-do spirit” [c] 2. Which nation did Islamists dub the "the great Satan"? a. the Soviet Union b. Israel c. Germany d. the United States [d] 3. What kept unions weak and labor costs low in the American South throughout the 1960s and 70s? a. minimum-wage laws b. welfare capitalism c. illegal immigrants d. right-to-work laws [d] 4. How did dissidents in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe celebrate the Helsinki Accords of 1975? a. They attacked the agreement as a cave-in. b. They celebrated the accords as a tool for reform. c. Disillusioned, they began to flee into West Germany. d. They welcomed the agreement for its easing of travel restrictions. [b] 5. What provoked the "English only" movement starting in the 1970s? a. The combination of immigration and civil rights resulted in voting materials in foreign languages. b. Conservatives were aghast at hearing languages such as Chinese or Farsi spoken in public places. c. White Americans resented the Native American revival of local languages and customs. d. American moviegoers were tired of subtitles and insisted on the dubbing of foreign films. [a] 6. What was the level of inflation in the United States in 1979? a. 3 percent b. 6 percent c. 11 percent d. 21 percent [c] 7. Jimmy Carter became the first president to visit a. the Soviet Union. b. Sub-Saharan Africa. c. the People's Republic of China. d. Cuba. [b] 8. Many Iranians detested Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi because he a. welcomed the immigration of Kurds from Iraq. b. was surrounded by corruption and restricted political freedom. c. failed to recognize the importance of the nation's oil resources. d. kept the nation's military weak and susceptible to an Afghan invasion. [b] 9. How many people died in the Iran-Iraq war from 1980 to 1988? a. 50,000 b. 200,000 c. 2 million d. 5 million [c] 10. Why were government regulation and federal taxes easy to live with between World War II and the early 1970s? a. GDP was growing at about 4 percent per year. b. Americans knew they lived better than the rest of the world. c. Americans were happy to see their tax dollars spent on defense. d. Federal regulations were minimal and taxes were very low. [a] 11. How did American manufacturers try to boost profit margins from the 1970s on? a. They introduced scientific management strategies. b. They invested in a positive and collegial work culture. c. They specialized in high skill manufacturing only. d. They shifted production to cheaper foreign locations. [d] 12. What was the goal of the Eagle forum? a. create a national list of endangered species b. make Boy and Girl Scout programs mandatory c. introduce “patriotism classes” in elementary school d. block the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment [d] 13. How did Republican candidates woo the formerly faithful Democratic constituency of ethnic white Americans into the GOP? a. they promised to increase taxes on the rich b. they vowed to return to segregation c. with appeals for law and order d. through insistence on the separation of church and state [c] 14. Beginning in the late 1960s, white Americans feared black violence even though a. white Americans committed proportionately more crimes than African-Americans. b. African-Americans committed only nonviolent crimes. c. most black violence affected black communities. d. the incidents of violent crime were decreasing. [c] 15. Which of the following statements best assesses the election of 1980? a. a resounding victory for Reagan but a defeat for Republicans in Congress b. a narrow win for Reagan and utter stalemate in Congress c. a victory for Reagan and solid gains for congressional Republicans d. a defeat for Ronald Reagan, and a victory for congressional Democrats [c] 16. Which of the following was NOT a job Ronald Reagan once held? a. radio announcer b. actor c. union chief d. legislator [d] 17. Which of the following best assesses the second term of President Ronald Reagan? a. He disappointed those who hoped he would complete a conservative agenda. b. He honored his many campaign pledges to conservatives. c. He steered the nation's economy into a deep depression. d. He surprised Americans with a flurry of reform legislation. [a] 18. What did the 1986 Tax Reform Act do? a. It expanded the number of tax brackets. b. It closed many loopholes and tax shelters. c. It dramatically cut taxes for the rich. d. It offered new opportunities for corporate profiteering. [b] 19. Which of the following became a major source of income in Latin America in the 1980s? a. the aerospace and airline industry b. software and computer programming c. money transfers from emigrants to the U.S. d. green energy production [c] 20. Which of the following is the most likely reason for the economic recovery after 1982? a. a steep drop in oil prices b. a steep drop in the unemployment rate c. deregulation d. privatization [a] 21. Which of the following was NOT an example of the deregulation that was part of "Reaganomics"? a. privatization of federal lands in the West b. allowing S & L institutions into commercial real estate c. reducing the stringency of automobile safety features d. increasing antitrust suits against corporate giants [d] 22. What did Wall Street trader Ivan Boesky tell business majors at a graduation ceremony at the University of California in Berkeley in 1986? a. “follow your dreams” b. “carpe diem” c. “greed is healthy” d. “go be wealthy” [c] 23. Which of the following TV series was not part of the 1980s celebration of wealth and consumption? a. Roots b. Dynasty c. Dallas d. Life Styles of the Rich and Famous [a] 24. How did Congress try to address the issue of teenage pregnancies in the 1980s? a. increased funding for Planned Parenthood b. chastity clinics that stressed abstinence c. providing contraceptives free of charge d. offering affordable college loans [b] 25. How did Ronald Reagan’s Surgeon General C. Everett Koop defy the President’s call for less regulation? a. He mandated that fast food chains list calories on menus. b. He prohibited drinking on college campuses. c. He freely distributed condoms to teenagers. d. He issued a series of reports highlighting the dangers of smoking. [d] 26. Which of the following best describes what has sometimes been called the “Reagan doctrine”? a. American military superiority was a source of international tensions. b. America had to maintain military superiority and support anti-communism. c. Democracy in Africa was the central foundation for economic prosperity. d. The United States was only going to pursue international policy unilaterally. [b] 27. Which of the following most alienated public opinion on the Soviet Union in Western Europe, Japan, and the United States in the mid-eighties? a. the frail nature of Soviet leaders b. the war in Afghanistan c. the military build-up in Cuba d. Its alliance with South Africa [b] 28. Why did the United States invade the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada in October 1983? a. Cuban forces threatened to take over the important sugar producer. b. Soviet missiles on the island were threatening Florida and the Gulf Coast. c. The Grenadian dictator Daniel Noriega was refusing to step down. d. Reagan feared the island’s Marxist leaders might hold U.S. students hostage. [d] 29. Why did the Tower Commission investigate President Ronald Reagan? a. They suspected his knowledge of Oliver North’s weapons deals. b. Reagan was accused of tax fraud in the years prior to his presidency. c. The congressional committee disapproved of the invasion of Grenada. d. They suspected the Reagan had secretly funneled weapons to the Sandinistas. [a] 30. Which of the following was the most likely motivation behind Mikhail Gorbachev’s radical change of course for the Soviet Union after March 1985? a. Ronald Reagan’s hard line b. Margaret Thatcher’s personal charm c. Socio-economic problems in the Soviet Union d. The successful insurgency of the Contras [c] 1. Who encouraged the formation of the Solidarity movement in Poland? a. Ronald Reagan b. the CIA c. Jean Paul II d. Mikhail Gorbachev [c] 2. How did President Gerald Ford anger conservatives early in his presidency? a. He appointed former New York governor Nelson Rockefeller as vice-president. b. He pardoned Richard M. Nixon without requiring him to come clean about Watergate. c. He signed a treaty with Panama that would return the canal zone to the Latin American nation. d. He appointed the disgraced former vice-president Spiro Agnew as head of National Security. [a] 3. How did President Jimmy Carter anger powerful members of Congress? a. He conferenced frequently with Republican leaders. b. He brought more lobbyists to Washington D.C. than any other president. c. He abruptly cancelled fourteen dam and irrigation projects for cost reasons. d. He pardoned former president Richard M. Nixon for his role in Watergate. [c] 4. Tensions between the United States and the nation of Iran went back to a. 1919. b. 1943. c. 1953. d. 1979. [c] 5. How did the war with Iraq affect the situation of U.S. hostages in Iran in 1980? a. The captors turned increasingly violent and abusive. b. With Iranian forces called to the front, the hostages were able to escape. c. The costs of war made Iran receptive to trading hostages for frozen assets. d. U.S. support for Iraq further tightened the regime’s grip on the hostages. [c] 6. What share of evangelicals was voting the Republican ticket in the South by 1988? a. 40 percent b. 55 percent c. 80 percent d. 94 percent [c] 7. Which of the following did Ronald Reagan NOT do as governor of California between 1967 and 1975? a. He effectively legalize most abortions. b. He doubled the state budget. c. He signed a pioneering no-fault divorce statute into law. d. He cut taxes for all income groups. [d] 8. Why were the 16 million added new jobs between 1982 and 1988 not as impressive as the number might suggest? a. Employment had grown faster in the 1930s. b. Employment mostly excluded wives and young mothers. c. Real wages declined dramatically for most Americans that time. d. The new jobs in the service sector paid less than those lost in manufacturing. [d] 9. The AIDS virus had most likely originated a. in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. b. in isolated parts of Africa. c. in a CIA laboratory. d. In the Walter Reed Veterans hospital. [b] 10. Which nation had received tacit approval from the United States in the 1980s to develop its own nuclear weapon? a. India b. France c. Germany d. Pakistan [d] 1. How did Americans react to President Jimmy Carter’s admonition to adjust to a future of limits? a. They valued his candor. b. They were willing to follow his leadership. c. They failed to see these limits in their lives. d. It made them feel even worse about their troubles. [d] 2. Why did Ronald Reagan challenge the renomination of Gerald Ford for the presidential election of 1976? a. He thought he was too militant on communism. b. He found him too cozy with Democrats in Congress. c. He charged him with involvement in the Watergate scandal. d. He criticized his failure to get the Iranian hostages freed. [b] 3. Why did Californians vote for Proposition 13 in 1978? a. Californians were sick of immigrants. b. Californians were sick of traffic jams. c. Californians were sick of rising property taxes. d. Californians were sick of high unemployment. [c] 4. Who challenged Jimmy Carter’s renomination for the presidential election of 1980? a. Ted Kennedy b. Thomas Philipp “Tip” O’Neill c. Walter Mondale d. Bill Clinton [a] 5. What did Billy Graham have in common with modern televangelists? a. He also got caught in financial mismanagement. b. He, too, got caught up in sex scandals. c. Like the others, he used TV to broaden his ministry. d. He developed an equally flamboyant style. [c] 6. Upon his election, President Ronald Reagan pledged to a. expand the social welfare system. b. promote a conservative social ethic on sex and religion. c. expand the role of the federal court in promoting civil rights. d. tighten regulation of business and the environment. [b] 7. Which of the following did immigration in the late twentieth century have in common with immigration in the late nineteenth century? a. In both centuries, some Americans feared for the nation’s traditional culture. b. In both cases, immigrants assimilated quickly if they were white. c. Immigrants worked in unskilled, low-wage jobs in the Gilded Age and the Reagan years. d. In both time periods, immigrants faced the elaborate immigration bureaucracy of the INS. [a] 8. The first woman on the United States Supreme Court was a. Elena Kagan b. Ruth Bader-Ginsberg c. Phyllis Schlafly d. Sandra Day O’Connor [d] 9. Between 1981 and 1989 the defense budget rose from about $157 billion to a. $170 billion b. $200 billion c. $250 billion d. $304 billion [d] 10. How did Mikhail Gorbachev try to save the Soviet Union between 1986 and 1988? a. tighten emigatrion laws b. enforce press censorship c. clamp down on political dissent d. introduce market mechanisms in the economy [d]