Deck 28: The Cold War Returnsand Ends, 1979-1991

Question 1

Why did the Soviets occupy Afghanistan?

A) They wanted to take over the opium trade.
B) They wanted to punish Afghanistan for sponsoring international terrorism.
C) They wanted to seize Afghanistan's oil reserves.
D) They wanted to stabilize the pro-Soviet government of Afghanistan.

Answer 1

They wanted to stabilize the pro-Soviet government of Afghanistan.

Question 2

In January 1979, the _________ people overthrew the government of Shah Reza Pahlavi.

A) Syrian
B) Saudi
C) Iranian
D) Iraqi

Answer 2

Iranian

Question 3

The Carter Doctrine proclaimed the U.S. commitment to preserve the status quo in __________.

A) Central America
B) the Persian Gulf region
C) North Africa
D) western Europe

Answer 3

the Persian Gulf region

Question 4

The Reagan administration opposed __________.

A) prayer in school
B) covert military actions
C) deregulation of the banking system
D) any form of affirmative action

Question 5

In 1980 campaign, Ronald Reagan's strategy included appeals to __________.

A) liberal values
B) women and minorities
C) reform instincts
D) nostalgia

Question 6

Reagan saw __________ as the source of most of the world's problems.

A) the Soviet Union
B) Islamic extremism
C) corporate greed
D) authoritarian dictators

Question 7

In __________, the Sandinista rebels managed to overthrow the pro-American dictatorship of Antonio Somoza in 1979.

A) El Salvador
B) Guatemala
C) Costa Rica
D) Nicaragua

Question 8

Ronald Reagan asked voters to __________.

A) look to the past for models of an ideal America
B) learn to live within limits
C) prepare for sacrifice and hardship
D) think first of the least fortunate Americans

Question 9

In 1980, the Republicans won __________ for the first time since 1952.

A) a majority of governorships
B) the presidency
C) the House
D) the Senate

Question 10

From the perspective of Soviet leaders, the occupation of Afghanistan was __________.

A) the first step toward dominating all of central Asia
B) of little consequence
C) a defensive operation
D) the first step toward the conquest of Iran

Question 11

In response to the invasion of ___________, President Carter halted most trade with the Soviet Union.

A) Afghanistan
B) Hungary
C) Angola
D) Iraq

Question 12

Which of the following was true of the Iranian Revolution of 1979?

A) It overthrew an authoritarian regime.
B) It had little popular support.
C) It was supported by the United States.
D) It brought moderate reformers to power.

Question 13

Reagan tended to see world events ____________.

A) in black and white terms
B) in historical context
C) only in terms of their economic importance
D) in "realpolitik" terms

Question 14

Which of the following goals helped unify the Republican party in 1980?

A) an unhindered private sector
B) a strengthened social safety net
C) a return to isolationism
D) an end to poverty in America

Question 15

In 1981, Reagan proposed a new tax law to __________ over three years.

A) raise federal income tax rates by 15 percent
B) lower federal income tax rates by 50 percent
C) lower federal income tax rates by 25 percent
D) raise federal income tax rates by 65 percent

Question 16

Which of the following did Reagan target for spending cuts?

A) defense spending
B) Social Security
C) Medicare
D) food stamps

Question 17

The Reagan administration reduced domestic spending, while __________.

A) providing aid to the Soviets
B) creating new programs to aid the poor
C) fighting poverty abroad
D) embarking on an expensive military buildup

Question 18

The __________Amendments restricted U.S. aid to the Contras.

A) Boland
B) Bush
C) Kirkpatrick
D) Casey

Question 19

In 1984, Ronald Reagan won a resounding victory over __________.

A) Walter Mondale
B) Bob Gephardt
C) John Anderson
D) Ted Kennedy

Question 20

Which of the following did Reagan back in Central America?

A) international aid groups
B) moderate forces
C) popular insurgencies
D) existing authoritarian regimes

Question 21

Fifty percent of the new immigrants came from __________.

A) Eastern Europe
B) Latin America and the Caribbean
C) Asia
D) Canada and Western Europe

Question 22

By 1989, the top 1 percent of American families possessed more assets than the bottom __________ percent.

A) 90
B) 70
C) 50
D) 30

Question 23

A __________ epidemic swept through the United States during the 1980s, striking impoverished urban neighborhoods especially hard.

A) methamphetamine
B) crack cocaine
C) heroin
D) prescription drug

Question 24

In 1983, Congress agreed to make __________'s birthday a national holiday.

A) Franklin Delano Roosevelt
B) George Washington
C) Malcolm X
D) Martin Luther King Jr.

Question 25

Which of the following was true of the new immigrants of the 1970s and 1980s?

A) Most were highly educated.
B) Most came for political reasons.
C) Most came from Asia.
D) Most came with few financial resources.

Question 26

Reagan argued that racial prejudice __________.

A) was deeply ingrained in American society
B) had no significant effect on the decisions that employers made
C) was confined to the Deep South
D) was justified by scientific research

Question 27

Jerry Falwell founded __________ in 1979.

A) the Moral Majority
B) the 700 Club
C) Focus on the Family
D) the Christian News Network

Question 28

Which of the following best explains the increase in immigration to the United States after 1965?

A) a change in U.S. immigration law
B) a global recession
C) the industrialization of Africa and Asia
D) falling birthrates in the United States

Question 29

In 1980, about __________ percent of Americans considered themselves fundamentalist Christians.

A) 5
B) 20
C) 35
D) 50

Question 30

Reagan's Secretary of the Interior, __________, claimed that there was no need to preserve and manage natural resources.

A) Howard Baker
B) George H. W. Bush
C) Dick Cheney
D) James Watt

Question 31

Which of the following was true of the Reagan tax plan?

A) It benefited the poorest Americans the most.
B) It helped shrink the federal budget deficit.
C) It cut taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
D) It was paid for with cuts to military spending.

Question 32

__________ did not fare well in the 1980s.

A) professionals
B) the wealthiest Americans
C) the poorest Americans
D) large corporations

Question 33

Who was the director of the Christian Broadcasting Network and an influential conservative leader?

A) Oral Roberts
B) Billy Graham
C) Jimmy Swaggart
D) Pat Robertson

Question 34

Which of the following was true of Jesse Jackson's 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns?

A) They came close to making Jackson the Democratic nominee.
B) Jackson ran as an independent in both elections.
C) They encouraged millions of African Americans to register to vote.
D) Jackson ran as a black nationalist in both elections.

Question 35

Susan Faludi explored opposition to __________ in her book Backlash.

A) the women's movement
B) affirmative action
C) gay rights
D) integration

Question 36

The religious right highlighted tensions in the Republican party between social conservatives and __________.

A) progressive reformers
B) international interventionists
C) free marketeers
D) party traditionalists

Question 37

Religious fundamentalists around the world sought to __________.

A) strengthen cultural traditions
B) overthrow democratic governments
C) unite believers of all faiths in a single political party
D) eliminate social injustice

Question 38

Most of the new jobs created in the 1980s were in the __________.

A) nonunionized service sector
B) manufacturing sector
C) high tech sector
D) farm sector

Question 39

Reagan ridiculed the idea of __________.

A) selling public land to private companies
B) deregulating the energy industry
C) national parks
D) preserving wilderness for its own sake

Question 40

The rise to power of Communist party reformer __________ in the Soviet Union permanently changed the face of international politics.

A) Yuri Andropov
B) Leonid Brezhnev
C) Mikhail Gorbachev
D) Boris Yeltsin

Question 41

Why was the bombing of Pan Am Flight 109 over Scotland carried out?

A) in retaliation for the creation of U.S. military bases in Saudi Arabia
B) in retaliation for the shooting down of an Iranian civilian jetliner
C) in retaliation for the establishment of new Jewish settlements in Gaza
D) in retaliation for the U.S. invasion of Iraq

Question 42

Mikhail Gorbachev tried to preserve the Soviet system by __________.

A) introducing greater political liberty
B) abolishing the Communist Party
C) clamping down on political activism
D) increasing military spending

Question 43

How did Ronald Reagan respond to revelations about the Iran-Contra scandal?

A) He claimed he knew nothing about any illegal activities.
B) He admitted that the plan had been his all along.
C) He claimed he made an effort to stop the plan from being implemented.
D) He claimed that the whole affair had been invented by his political enemies.

Question 44

Which of the following was a consequence of Operation Desert Storm?

A) Kuwaiti sovereignty was restored.
B) Saddam Hussein was forced from power.
C) The U.S. occupied much of Iraq.
D) The reputation of the U.S. military suffered.

Question 45

What lesson did U.S. officials learn from the Vietnam War?

A) the high cost of military intervention
B) the importance of maintaining absolute control of the media
C) the need for a new colonial system
D) the untrustworthiness of America's European allies

Question 46

In 1981, Islamist revolutionaries assassinated __________ president Anwar Sadat.

A) Jordanian
B) Lebanese
C) Syrian
D) Egyptian

Question 47

Why did George H. W. Bush go to war with Iraq in 1991?

A) Iraq had supplied weapons to al Qaeda.
B) Iraq had occupied Kuwait.
C) Iraq had attacked a U.S. naval vessel.
D) Iraq had sponsored terrorist attacks in Israel.

Question 48

The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan most resembled __________.

A) British involvement in India
B) U.S. involvement in Vietnam
C) U.S. involvement in Mexico
D) British involvement in Ireland

Question 49

What were the consequences of the widening gap between the wealthiest Americans and the rest of American society in the 1980s?

Question 50

The Iran-Contra scandal involved the sale of __________ to Iran.

A) weapons
B) food
C) medicine
D) consumer electronics

Question 51

What were the key components of President Reagan's domestic budgetary agenda?

Question 52

Which of the following helped justify the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama?

A) Manuel Noriega's links to Cuba
B) Manuel Noriega's links to state-sponsored terrorism
C) Manuel Noriega's links to drug trafficking
D) Manuel Noriega's links to the Contras

Question 53

Who were the new immigrants?

Question 54

Describe the events that led to the Iranian hostage crisis. How was the crisis resolved?