Deck 31: The Conservative Challenge 1976-1992

Question 1

The chapter introduction tells the story of San Diego's Horton Plaza to make the point that

A) malls like Horton Plaza caused the decline of downtown business districts.
B) Ronald Reagan's successful presidential campaign focused on California-style shopping malls.
C) religious activists began to relocate Sunday services from traditional churches to the new retail malls.
D) malls, as centers of consumer culture, symbolized the private quest for personal fulfillment typical of the 1980s.

Answer 1

malls, as centers of consumer culture, symbolized the private quest for personal fulfillment typical of the 1980s.

Question 2

The word that describes a diverse group of conservative Protestant Christians who in the late 1970s became noticeably influential as political and social activists is

A) extremists.
B) evangelicals.
C) Republicans.
D) Pentecostals.

Answer 2

evangelicals.

Question 3

Conservatives in the late 1970s and 1980s criticized many trends in American culture. Ironically, one of their targets was also a key to their success. This was

A) the Congress.
B) the Supreme Court.
C) professional sports.
D) television.

Answer 3

television.

Question 4

The conservative revival

A) affected Catholics as well as Protestants.
B) reflected rural ignorance about sophisticated modern technology.
C) stressed the rights of individuals to make social and economic choices free of government regulation.
D) opposed the presidential candidacy of the divorced movie actor, Ronald Reagan.

Question 5

Fundamentalists established Christian academies in part to protect their children from

A) television.
B) drug pushers.
C) the battle over abortion rights.
D) subjects such as Darwinian evolution.

Question 6

Demonstrating a desire to curb the power of organized labor, the Reagan administration took a hard line against an illegal strike by

A) the Teamsters.
B) the air traffic controllers union.
C) FBI agents.
D) the Labor Department.

Question 7

Which of the following groups voiced criticism of television programming?

A) evangelicals
B) advertisers
C) progressives
D) women

Question 8

In the 1980 election, which was a three-way race, the candidate who'd been governor of California was

A) Democrat Jimmy Carter, who lost.
B) Republican Gerald Ford, who lost.
C) Republican Ronald Reagan, who won.
D) Independent John Anderson, who finished second.

Question 9

The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982

A) was unsuccessful, as the predictions of booming tax revenues did not materialize.
B) fostered a continuing recession, rising interest rates, and a mounting federal deficit.
C) included a $98 tax increase.
D) helped reform Social Security.

Question 10

Ronald Reagan came into office in 1981 with a threefold agenda that included

A) tax hikes.
B) deregulation of the economy.
C) reduction in the power and activism of the presidency.
D) increase in spending for social programs.

Question 11

What is meant by "supply-side economics"-the new Reagan approach to economic policy in the early 1980s?

A) the attempt to increase domestic oil supplies
B) cutting back welfare and other programs for the poor to force them to provide for their own needs
C) encouraging, through tax cuts, private sector investment that would create new jobs, thus promoting economic growth and increasing net tax revenues
D) keeping interest rates high to increase the money supply

Question 12

What woman was the first to seek the office of the vice-presidency?

A) Anita Hill
B) Sandra Day O'Connor
C) Geraldine Ferraro
D) Coretta Scott King

Question 13

What was unique about the Democratic ticket in 1984?

A) A Greek immigrant headed the ticket.
B) Both presidential and vice-presidential candidates came from the same state.
C) Both presidential and vice-presidential candidates were southerners.
D) The vice-presidential candidate was a woman.

Question 14

By the late 1980s, what nation owed the world's largest foreign debt?

A) Nicaragua
B) Mexico
C) Brazil
D) the U.S.

Question 15

The Reagan administration focused on three priorities in foreign policy. Which of the following accurately states an initiative in one of the three areas?

A) Central America: an invasion of Panama to rescue American students and prevent a Marxist takeover
B) Middle East: successful retaliation against Libya and Lebanon for terrorist attacks
C) Far East: public rhetoric critical of China's suppression of democratic reform
D) Soviet Union: both a sharp military build-up and a new arms control treaty

Question 16

The Reagan and Bush administrations sent American invasion forces abroad in all of the following cases EXCEPT

A) to a Caribbean island to protect Americans and topple a leftist government.
B) to Panama to capture the country's dictator-president.
C) to Nicaragua to fight alongside the Contra rebels.
D) to the Persian Gulf to expel Iraqis from Kuwait.

Question 17

Why was the deadly illness known as AIDS threatening to take on epidemic proportions in the late 1980s?

A) The virus was easily transmittable though casual contact.
B) It was thought that latex condoms could stop the virus, but they couldn't.
C) The highest rate of infection was occurring in populations that American society had shunned.
D) The Centers for Disease Control was understaffed and underfunded after congressional budget cuts.

Question 18

An agreement at a 1987 summit in Moscow

A) provided for destruction of certain nuclear missiles with on-site inspection.
B) reduced conventional forces stationed in central Europe.
C) pledged Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan.
D) ended testing of nuclear weapons.

Question 19

The story of Dorothy Sands in the Daily Lives feature "Life in the Underclass"raises a disturbing question for Americans, according to the text. The question is:

A) Will the dependency and desperation of the invisible urban poor be dealt with in time?
B) Can a basic undergraduate education be made available to all who want it?
C) Will traditional family values be preserved in today's diverse nation?
D) Can police brutality and racism be eliminated?

Question 20

In the 1988 presidential election, George H. W. Bush benefited from

A) his being associated with Reagan's successes.
B) strong support from the Democrats because of his loyalty.
C) improved relations with the Chinese.
D) support from remnants of the Old Left in Washington.

Question 21

Which statement best explains Bill Clinton's victory in 1992?

A) As a southerner and liberal, Clinton rebuilt the traditional Democratic coalition and won a solid majority of both popular and electoral votes.
B) Voters, in an upbeat mood, rejected the sour criticisms of Bush and Perot and embraced Clinton's optimistic vision for change.
C) Worried about growing instability around the world, voters opted for the candidate with experience in foreign affairs.
D) Middle-of-the-road voters turned to Clinton, who painted himself as a moderate.

Question 22

The general term for conservative Protestants, several groups of whom became prominent in the late 1970s and 1980s, is ________.

Question 23

Jerry Falwell established a political action organization called the ________, which Falwell described as "pro-life, pro-family, pro-morality, and pro-American."

Question 24

Ronald Reagan identified himself with the theory of ________ economics, based on ideas of economist Arthur Laffer that seemed reminiscent of the days of Coolidge and Hoover.

Question 25

A new world leader unleashed momentous changes when he proclaimed policies of openness (glasnost) and restructuring (perestroika) for his nation, the ________.

Question 26

Clarence Thomas and Sandra Day O'Connor were two notable conservatives who joined the ________.

Question 27

The Gramm-Rudman Act was an unsuccessful effort to solve one of the most persistent problems of the 1980s, the federal ________; it threatened mandatory spending cuts if budgetary targets were not met.

Question 28

In 1983, terrorists blew up a Marine barracks in ________, killing 239 Americans.

Question 29

In the 1984 election, Ronald Reagan easily defeated ________ of Minnesota.

Question 30

The great symbol of the end of the cold war and the fall of communism in Eastern Europe was when the ________ was torn down in 1989.

Question 31

The United States in 1990 reacted to an Iraqi invasion of ________ by deploying 500,000 troops to the Middle East.

Question 32

In February 1991, in a sudden and dramatic 100-hour assault codenamed Operation ________, a coalition of forces led by the United States routed the Iraqi army.

Question 33

How did the swing toward more conservative politics reflect views about the following: abortion, television, films, and family life?

Question 34

What factors led to the economic prosperity of the Reagan years? To what extent do you believe the president's economic policies helped to solve underlying economic problems?

Question 35

Ronald Reagan hoped to execute a foreign policy that made America "stand tall."Discuss how he attempted to implement that goal in the following areas: Grenada, Lebanon, Libya, and Iran.

Question 36

Explain the major features of Reagan and Gorbachev's negotiations on strategic arms.

Question 37

Why did the U.S. become involved in Desert Storm?

Question 38

Explain which you think was worse-Watergate or Irangate.

Question 39

Should George H. W. Bush have overthrown Saddam Hussein?

Question 40

Explain why you think Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton exemplifies the proper style of a president.

Question 41

What role should the United States play in promoting the success of democracy in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union?

Question 42

Explain why you think Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush should or should not receive credit for the collapse of world Communism.

Question 43

In the post-cold war world, should the United States normalize its relations with Cuba? Oppose human rights violations in China? Intervene in ethnic wars as in Eastern Europe?