Deck 32: The United States in a Global Community 1980-Present

Question 1

In the introduction to the chapter, the story of Juan Chanax illustrates what about American immigration history?

A) The story of Juan Chanax and his fellow Guatemalans mirrors the classic tale of immigrants to America achieving the American dream.
B) Most immigrants have come to America seeking religious freedom.
C) Most immigrants came to America for only a short time and did not settle here permanently.
D) Most immigrants to America settled in eastern cities like New York and Boston.

Answer 1

The story of Juan Chanax and his fellow Guatemalans mirrors the classic tale of immigrants to America achieving the American dream.

Question 2

The "new immigration"brought to the U.S. mostly

A) Asians and Latinos.
B) Arabs and Latinos.
C) Asians and Eastern Europeans.
D) Eastern Europeans and Latinos.

Answer 2

Asians and Latinos.

Question 3

In 1970, 96 percent of Asian Americans were Japanese, Chinese, or Filipino; by the year 2000, these three groups constituted ________ of all Asian Americans.

A) a quarter
B) about half
C) three-quarters
D) a clear majority

Answer 3

about half

Question 4

While Latino immigrants to the U.S. reflected various streams, they all tended to settle in which of the following areas?

A) urban and suburban areas
B) urban and rural areas
C) suburban and rural areas
D) rural areas

Question 5

In the 1990s, one of the most important commodities that flowed from the U.S. to immigrants' countries of origin was

A) money.
B) illegal drugs.
C) medicines.
D) clothing.

Question 6

Religious diversity in America was heightened during the 1990s by the infusion of believers in which of the following religions?

A) Buddhism
B) Islam
C) Hinduism
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 7

When William Jefferson Clinton took office in 1993, he imagined himself to be

A) a mediator between contentious factions.
B) an activist president.
C) a detached president.
D) a moderate statesman.

Question 8

The "Don't ask; don't tell"policy refers to what issue?

A) illegal drug use among immigrants
B) homosexuals serving in the military
C) insider trading on Wall Street
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 9

In which two sub-Saharan African countries did brutal civil wars break out in the early 1990s?

A) Congo and Rwanda
B) Sierra Leone and Congo
C) Somalia and Rwanda
D) Rwanda and Sierra Leone

Question 10

The U.S. joined an international effort in 1994 that sustained an uneasy peace in which country?

A) Cuba
B) the Dominican Republic
C) Grenada
D) Haiti

Question 11

In 1995 and 1999, President Clinton authorized the use of American military force to aid which two countries in Europe?

A) Bosnia and Kosovo
B) Albania and Kosovo
C) Serbia and Bosnia
D) Serbia and Kosovo

Question 12

The first congressional victory for the Clinton administration was in the area of

A) universal health care.
B) deficit reduction.
C) environmental reform.
D) Social Security.

Question 13

Which of the following was NOT part of Newt Gingrich's "Contract with America"?

A) eliminate congressional term limits
B) tax cuts
C) balanced budget amendment
D) welfare restrictions aimed at reducing teen pregnancy

Question 14

The NAFTA treaty was designed to provide greater trade and more jobs by linking the U.S. economy more closely with what countries?

A) Japan and Korea
B) Russia and China
C) Mexico and Canada
D) England and Germany

Question 15

In 1995 Israeli Prime Minister Itzak Rabin was assassinated by

A) an Orthodox Jew.
B) a Sunni Muslim.
C) an angry Palestinian.
D) an agent of the Mossad.

Question 16

In Kenneth Starr's final report to the House of Representatives, he recommended that the president be impeached on grounds of

A) real estate irregularities.
B) obstruction of justice.
C) election fraud.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 17

The scandal that led to President Clinton's eventual impeachment was ________ in nature.

A) personal
B) political
C) business-oriented
D) international

Question 18

Despite the president's eventual admission that he had lied about the Lewinsky scandal, in the end a majority of the American people

A) disapproved of him and wanted him removed from office.
B) were generally indifferent to his behavior.
C) did not support Republican calls for impeachment.
D) believed the entire affair had been fabricated by the Republican Party to hurt the president.

Question 19

President Clinton's impeachment crisis left the president

A) completely powerless.
B) weakened but still effective.
C) more popular than ever.
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 20

In the election of 2000,

A) George W. Bush won the popular vote.
B) Al Gore won the popular vote.
C) Ralph Nader won the popular vote.
D) the election was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Question 21

Advocates for a "World Wide Web"that was open and free to all were expressing the concept of

A) the First Amendment.
B) Net neutrality.
C) an authoritarian government.
D) the free market.

Question 22

How many websites were in operation in the United States in 1999?

A) three million
B) five million
C) seven million
D) nine million

Question 23

The term coined to denote business transacted over the Internet is

A) e-business.
B) e-commerce.
C) e-trading.
D) e-buying.

Question 24

In comparing the median income of American families in 1996 with that of 1973, what result is found?

A) Such incomes were much higher in 1973.
B) Such incomes were only barely higher in 1996 than in 1973.
C) Because of high technology, these incomes were much higher in 1996 than in 1973.
D) Median family incomes had actually dropped below 1973 levels by 1996.

Question 25

In 1973-1996, the earnings of the average white male worker

A) increased substantially.
B) increased, but only by a slim margin.
C) remained constant.
D) fell.

Question 26

Which of the following was a crucial factor in determining winners in the computer-based economy?

A) ethnic origin
B) geographic location
C) gender
D) education level

Question 27

The economic prosperity of the late 1990s produced which of the following social consequences?

A) Inner-city crime rates fell.
B) The economic situation of the poor improved.
C) Consumer confidence reached an all-time high.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 28

In 1996, California voters passed a controversial ballot initiative known as Proposition 209, which

A) eliminated racial and gender preferences in hiring and college admissions.
B) tightened work restrictions on illegal aliens.
C) established immigration quotas for the state.
D) provided stiffer penalties for employing illegal aliens in California.

Question 29

A 1998 ballot initiative in California that mandated schools phase out all bilingual education programs was proposed by

A) Lawrence Auster's immigration reform group, who warned of the "browning of America."
B) a group of white parents who wanted English-only instruction in their school.
C) the California Teachers Association, representing educators in more than 1,000 California school districts.
D) a group of Spanish-speaking parents who wanted their children taught to read and write in English.

Question 30

The tax cuts proposed by President Bush and passed by Congress in 2001 and 2002

A) were hailed for creating many high tech jobs.
B) would, according to Citizens for Tax Justice, give 52 percent of the total tax relief to the richest 1 percent of Americans by 2010.
C) turned federal budget deficits into massive surpluses.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 31

Al Qaeda differs from previous terrorist movements in that it

A) targets one nation-the United States-exclusively.
B) has religious and nationalist motivations.
C) has no national home.
D) employs primarily nonviolent tactics.

Question 32

Your text suggests the greatest blow to President Bush's popularity, reminding Americans of the importance of effective government, was

A) the politically risky campaign to reform Social Security.
B) mounting American casualties in Iraq.
C) the response to Hurricane Katrina.
D) the series of scandals that exposed lobbyists and members of Congress who had traded cash, campaign contributions, and gifts for legislative favors.

Question 33

The 2006 congressional elections were significant in that for the first time since 1994,

A) the Democrats won a majority of seats in both houses.
B) the Republicans won a majority of seats in both houses.
C) a third party won seats in both houses.
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 34

Even before the events of September 11, President George W. Bush rejected the policy of ________, a policy that had guided American presidents, including his father, since World War II.

A) unilateralism
B) multilateralism
C) omnilateralism
D) polylateralism

Question 35

The USA Patriot Act, passed so quickly by Congress that some members did not even read the bill before voting for it, broadly expanded government powers to

A) use electronic surveillance.
B) monitor bank transactions.
C) investigate suspected terrorists.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 36

"Cap and trade"legislation rewards corporations who help the environment by allowing them to

A) purchase emissions "credits" to be used to defer fines for future emissions violations.
B) earn credits by cutting emissions below defined levels, and trading these credits for payments from companies who are not meeting those levels.
C) set their own limits on environmentally damaging emissions, provided they assist similar corporations to meet the same limits.
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 37

Along the West Coast, East ________ remained in the 1990s a magnet for Latino immigrants.

Question 38

Congress attempted to stem the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S. by passing the ________ of 1986.

Question 39

The "new immigrants"to the U.S. could maintain close links with their countries of origin because of improved transportation and ________.

Question 40

Hillary Clinton was the most politically-active presidential wife since ________.

Question 41

Accusations were published early in Clinton's presidency that while he was governor of Arkansas he had received special treatment from a failed real estate venture known as ________.

Question 42

The ________ agreement linked the American economy closely to those of Canada and Mexico.

Question 43

The doctrine of ________ holds that the United States may attack before it is itself attacked.

Question 44

Ethnic and religious factions dividing Iraq after the U.S. invasion included Shi'ite Muslims in the southeast, ________ Muslims around Baghdad, and Kurds in the north.

Question 45

The term used to describe speculative investments that bundled derivative investments with subprime mortgages was "________."

Question 46

What were the major features of immigration in the 1980s? Discuss the continuities with previous immigration trends and changes. How did government policy help, hinder, or shape these patterns?

Question 47

Describe the new religious orientation of the United States as a result of the new immigration.

Question 48

Explain the events leading up to the trial in the Senate of President Clinton.

Question 49

Discuss the relative successes and failures of the Clinton administration in getting their legislative agenda through Congress.

Question 50

Explain the origins of the Internet and discuss its overall impact on the American economy and on American society.

Question 51

Based upon your reading in this chapter, have the "new immigrants"to America generally benefited from their experiences in the United States?

Question 52

Compare and contrast the "new immigration"near the end of the twentieth century with the immigration that occurred in America around 1900.

Question 53

Was the United States a successful participant in world affairs during the Clinton administration?

Question 54

Critically assess the Clinton administration's political and social agenda and argue, based upon your understanding of the issues, who won more legislative battles, the Democrats or the Republicans?

Question 55

How do you believe historians in the future will interpret the Clinton presidency? In your opinion, how does Clinton compare with twentieth-century presidents like FDR or Eisenhower?

Question 56

What was the state of medical care in the United States, as compared with other developed nations, before attempts at reform began in 2009? What proportion of the U.S. population had health insurance? In your opinion, was reform necessary?