Deck 9: The Conservative Counterrevolution in the Era of Reagan and Bush, Sr

Question 1

In his first eight months in office, Reagan

A) proposed expansion of general revenue sharing.
B) enacted large tax cuts and budget cuts.
C) expanded protections to the disabled.
D) went on vacation.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Reagan's second term is best described as a stalemate between liberals and conservatives.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The Reagan and George H.W. Bush years constituted the largest redistribution of resources and rights upward in the nation's history. The economic situations of poor persons worsened due to

A) a deterioration of wages and reductions in social benefits and services.
B) a deterioration of wages, reductions in social benefits and services, and increases in Social Security taxes.
C) reductions in social benefits and services and increases in Social Security taxes.
D) a deterioration of wages and increases in Social Security taxes.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Federal block grants are

A) grants given to regional planning bodies.
B) grants given to state government with regulations they used for specific purposes.
C) grants that combine pensions with Medicaid benefits.
D) grants given to neighborhoods, to be dispersed to local nonprofits.

Question 5

Reagan Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) increased social spending for 57 social programs by folding them into seven block grants.

Question 6

In 1990, women's groups and their allies were able to obtain legislation that channeled some funding for

A) child care programs to the states.
B) sexual harassment training in the workplace.
C) extended maternity leave.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 7

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 provided the disabled with protections against discrimination in the workplace, housing, and public accommodations in both public and private sectors.

Question 8

Reagan's counterrevolution began to lose momentum in his first term due to

A) a deep recession that took hold in 1981.
B) scandals in his administration.
C) disenchantment with his social reforms.
D) the American people noticing his actual level of intelligence.

Question 9

Ronald Reagan, when Governor of California, initiated a welfare program that many labeled as

A) very progressive.
B) extremely conservative.
C) liberal.
D) punitive.

Question 10

Though in the 1970s the LGBT community had focused on civil rights, in the 1980s the focus shifted to

A) the fight for civil unions.
B) establishing links with other out-groups.
C) the AIDS epidemic.
D) lack of available jobs.

Question 11

Conservatism made a comeback between 1966 and 1980 which led to the election of Ronald Reagan because

A) Southern and blue-collar voters switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party.
B) many moderates shifted toward conservatives' views.
C) voter registration drives in Southern areas helped Republicans.
D) the United States as a whole began to take a more conservative point of view.

Question 12

The Reagan and G.H.W. Bush years constituted the largest redistribution of resources and rights upward in the nation's history.

Question 13

Reagan's sweeping tax cuts primarily helped low- and moderate-income Americans.

Question 14

Military spending in the Reagan Administration

A) rose markedly.
B) remained at levels established during the 1970s.
C) markedly declined.
D) was nonexistent, as no money is spent on the military during peacetime.

Question 15

Reagan's campaign in 1980 was aided by public opinion that strongly favored conservatism. After the trauma of Vietnam, Watergate, stagflation, and the Iran hostage crisis, many Americans wanted a respite with a president who

A) could make the world seem simple.
B) could unite the nation behind patriotism and national pride.
C) seemed to stand for moral value.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Question 16

Reagan's budget policy emphasized

A) cutting old domestic programs.
B) focusing cuts on discretionary programs assisting poor people.
C) cutting military spending.
D) cutting taxes on the poor, making up the difference on the wealthy.

Question 17

Conservative policies included within the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act include

A) a total of $90 billion in budget cuts in 1982 and 1984.
B) termination of CETA, the public service program for unemployed workers.
C) significant cuts in means-tested programs for low-income persons.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Question 18

"Supply-side economics"

A) emphasized tax policies to increase resources of affluent Americans.
B) sought to increase business inventories.
C) was derived from Keynesian economics.
D) benefited those nations that supplied the United States with goods.

Question 19

The problem of homelessness, as we experience it today, took root and expanded beyond skid-row males with substance abuse problems to a much larger and broader population because

A) Reagan reduced funding of federal Section 8 housing.
B) cuts were made in AFDC.
C) Veterans Administration was insufficiently funded.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Question 20

The ______ status of conservatives was illustrated by the landslide defeat in 1964 of Barry Goldwater.

A) minority
B) majority
C) neutral
D) conflicted

Question 21

With the passage of the Child Care and Development Block Grant of 1990, the United States obtained its first major national child care program since World War II.

Question 22

The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 enacted a highly inequitable tax cut for Americans and provided major tax reductions for corporations.

Question 23

In the 1980s the women's liberation movement was widely blamed for depriving women of their femininity, their traditional rights to custody and alimony, and their special protections from hazardous work, but credited for helping to pass the family leave program.

Question 24

Studies show that by 1992 the lowest quintile, or one-fifth of the population, had eroded considerably during the tenure of Presidents Reagan and Bush.

Question 25

The Immigration and Control Act enacted in 1986 granted asylum to undocumented workers and finally opened a path to citizenship.