Deck 29: Building a New World Order: The United States, 1989-2015

Question 1

What was the effect of this photograph taken of 1988 Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis in his unsuccessful bid for the presidency?

A) He was ridiculed for riding around in a tank in a suit and tie and not looking presidential.
B) He was perceived to be a strong commander in chief if elected president.
C) He was portrayed as the nation's defender against communism and terrorism.
D) He was depicted as a leader who would continue to increase military spending.

Answer 1

He was ridiculed for riding around in a tank in a suit and tie and not looking presidential.

Question 2

Which former Communist nation in Eastern Europe was the first to form a democratic government in the postwar era?

A) Hungary
B) East Germany
C) Czechoslovakia
D) Poland

Answer 2

Poland

Question 3

Based on the information found in this cartoon, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was compared to German Führer Adolf Hitler because they both .

A) committed atrocities against their own people
B) invaded sovereign nations through expansionist drives
C) rebuilt their war-torn homelands and sought revenge on their oppressors
D) actively tried to acquire nuclear arms

Answer 3

invaded sovereign nations through expansionist drives

Question 4

The actions taken by the United States in the Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991 and the Iraq War that began in 2003 and are shown on this map were justified through the Doctrine.

A) Truman
B) Powell
C) Carter
D) Nixon

Question 5

President Bush muted his response to the fall of the Berlin Wall because .

A) he did not fully understand the significance of the event
B) he did not want to provoke a hardline reaction from the Soviets
C) he feared that a reunited Germany might once again threaten the peace of the world
D) he was occupied with responding to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait

Question 6

What was one of George H. W. Bush's greatest successes regarding his domestic policies at home?

A) the Defense of Marriage Act
B) the Americans with Disabilities Act
C) the fall of communism in Eastern Europe
D) his decision to bail out the failing savings and loan industry

Question 7

Despite the support of many voters, President Clinton failed to .

A) pursue free trade with other nations
B) pass significant health care reform
C) raise taxes on the wealthy
D) win re-election in 1996

Question 8

The Green Party candidate in the 2000 presidential election who won enough votes in Florida so that its electoral votes were awarded to Republican George W. Bush in a 537-vote difference was .

A) John Kerry
B) Al Gore
C) Patrick Buchanan
D) Ralph Nader

Question 9

Why did President George H. W. Bush launch Operation Just Cause in 1989?

A) He wanted to ensure that democratic governments were installed in Eastern European nations.
B) He wanted to intervene in the war between Iran and Iraq.
C) He wanted to defend Kuwait from the Iraqi invasion.
D) He wanted to remove Panamanian military dictator Manuel Noriega from power.

Question 10

Based on the newspaper in the photograph, it can be concluded that Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives for .

A) denying he had an affair while testifying under oath on an unrelated matter
B) having an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky
C) deceiving the American public on television about his relationship with Lewinsky
D) having sexual relationships with multiple women after he was married

Question 11

President George H. W. Bush's call for U.S. military involvement in the Persian Gulf came when .

A) it was rumored that Iraq was developing nuclear weapons
B) Iraq engaged in a bitter war with Iran
C) the Soviet Union sent its forces into southern Iraq
D) Iraq invaded Kuwait and gained control of its oil production.

Question 12

Why did Islamic extremists from al-Qaeda choose the World Trade Center towers in New York City as the site to plow two hijacked airplanes into on September 11, 2001?

A) They housed anti-terrorist offices that were investigating al-Qaeda.
B) President George W. Bush was scheduled to appear at the World Trade Center that day.
C) They symbolized American dominance of the world economy.
D) They were the tallest targets in the planes' flight paths.

Question 13

What conclusion did most Americans reach when watching this 1991 video clip of Los Angeles police beating African American Rodney King after pursuing him on an 8-mile car chase?

A) Most Americans were divided on whether there was a racist police force using brutality against blacks or whether police were just doing their job to keep law and order.
B) The majority of the American public believed that the Los Angeles policemen were poorly trained and harbored racist attitudes toward blacks and Latinos.
C) Most Americans supported the jury's decision that the officers were overworked and were doing their job to uphold law and order in a dangerous neighborhood.
D) Blacks and Latinos in Los Angeles marched in peaceful demonstrations to protest the jury's "not guilty" decision against the police charged with King's beating.

Question 14

How do these images of the man with the hammer in Berlin and "Tank Man" in Beijing's Tiananmen Square tell two different stories about Communism in Eastern Europe and China in the late 1980s?

A) Eastern European nations suffered severe retaliations for demonstrating against Communism, while Chinese officials responded with economic and political reforms.
B) Soviet troops invaded protesting Eastern European nations, while the Chinese were more responsive to human rights.
C) The man with the hammer was arrested and probably executed for his actions, while "Tank Man" became known for his defense of human rights.
D) Communism in most of Eastern Europe fell through peaceful demonstrations, while demonstrators in China were unsuccessful in their attempts to bring about reform.

Question 15

Who was elected president in 1988?

A) Bill Clinton
B) George H. W. Bush
C) H. Ross Perot
D) George W. Bush

Question 16

How did President Clinton help the United States accelerate toward the trend of globalization during his administration?

A) He granted China a most favored nation status in trade deals with the United States.
B) He accepted market-based solutions to social problems and ended deficit spending.
C) He supported the North American Free Trade Agreement that lifted trade barriers with Canada and Mexico.
D) He gave tax breaks to companies that shifted production to China or Mexico where labor was cheaper.

Question 17

According to the Powell Doctrine, the conditions under which the United States might go to war include .

A) having the support of the United Nations
B) having a clear exit strategy
C) having the ultimate goal of enforcing peace
D) being attacked first

Question 18

Anita Hill accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, her former colleague, of
)

A) sexual harassment
B) taking bribes
C) illegal drug use
D) plagiarism

Question 19

What does this photograph of one man using a hammer to destroy parts of the Berlin Wall in 1989 symbolize?

A) the frustration shown toward Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev
B) the reaction toward the possible retaliation by East German soldiers standing on the wall
C) the ability of common people to make history and overcome tyranny
D) the anger and resentment that West Germans had toward their countrymen in East Germany

Question 20

What was the most immediate factor that led to the destruction of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989?

A) a botched news report by an East German official who told residents they could freely leave
B) negotiations between President George H. W. Bush and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev
C) a protest demonstration launched by West German sympathizers in East Germany
D) Polish workers' union Solidarity winning control of the Polish Parliament

Question 21

Use of the Internet became widespread when _ .

A) personal computers were introduced
B) the World Wide Web was developed
C) it was created for military installations during the Cold War
D) Microsoft developed its Windows operating system

Question 22

What assumption would someone on the political left make about Brian Fairrington's cartoon on immigration to the United States?

A) that immigrants contributed to overall prosperity by working for very little
B) that immigrants are ignorant of the workings of the U.S. government
C) that immigrants drained the economy by seeking taxpayer-funded social services
D) that most immigrants tended to assimilate quickly into American society

Question 23

In arguing that current patterns of immigration hurt the American economy in his 1996 article "The New Economics of Immigration: Affluent Americans Gain: Poor Americans Lose," what did Harvard economist George Borjas emphasize?

A) the upward mobility of immigrants
B) the higher birth rates among most immigrant groups
C) the denial of welfare benefits to immigrants
D) the low work and education skills of most immigrants

Question 24

As a result of the elimination of national immigration quotas in 1965, .

A) European immigration to the United States increased dramatically
B) immigration from Third World nations in Latin America, Asia, and Africa increased
C) illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America dropped sharply
D) immigrants to the United States assimilated quickly

Question 25

What was one of the key arguments about large-scale immigration that writer Tamar Jacoby addressed in her 2002 article "Too Many Immigrants"?

A) Foreign workers took jobs from American workers.
B) Unemployment rates rose in cities with large immigrant populations.
C) Cities and states with the largest immigration populations had faster economic growth and lower unemployment.
D) Refugees and other immigrants had little effect on states' fiscal problems.

Question 26

The United States helped broker the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords, which settled territorial disputes and issues of "ethnic cleansing" in .

A) Afghanistan
B) Rwanda
C) the former Yugoslavia
D) Iraq

Question 27

Which of the following is true of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act?

A) It ruled that all states had to allow same-sex marriages.
B) It was signed into law by President George W. Bush.
C) It defined marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman.
D) It required states that banned same-sex marriages to accept legal marriages performed in other states.

Question 28

This 2015 photograph of an illuminated White House shows that President Obama supported

A) the Supreme Court's ruling that all states had to recognize same-sex marriage
B) the Defense of Marriage Act
C) an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
D) a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage

Question 29

What was one effect of the changing family structures that took place between 1972 and 1998 that are depicted on these graphs?

A) an decline in the number of single women having children on their own
B) a decline in student enrollment throughout the nation's grade schools
C) an increase in traditional nuclear families consisting of two heterosexual parents and their children
D) legal recognition of same-sex marriages throughout the country

Question 30

What was the intent of George W. Bush's vision known as "compassionate conservatism"?

A) to use private industries, charities, and religious institutions rather than the government to provide community services
B) to increase government spending on social and welfare services
C) to send federal money and services to foreign nations dealing with war and starvation
D) to give the wealthy over 40 percent of the tax cuts so that they could jump-start the economy

Question 31

Scientists believe that the phenomenon of global warming is primarily a result of

A) regular fluctuations in the climate
B) the melting of polar ice caps
C) widespread deforestation
D) the burning of fossil fuels

Question 32

President Bush's 2001 "No Child Left Behind" law provided federal funding to public schools by linking it to _ .

A) improving high school graduation rates
B) student achievement rates on Advanced Placement examinations
C) student performance on annual standardized assessments
D) rising student attendance rates

Question 33

What made this photograph an iconic image of the 2000 presidential election?

A) It revealed the U.S. Supreme Court's partisanship in determining who would be the next President of the United States.
B) It addressed the issue of voter fraud that Democrats charged Republicans with in Florida because of alleged African American voter suppression.
C) It addressed the drawn-out and controversial recount in Florida that was caused in part by "hanging chads" on electronic ballots.
D) It showed that, in the age of machine-counted votes, the public received instantaneous communication about election results.

Question 34

The center of high-tech enterprises, Silicon Valley, is located in the area surrounding

A) San Diego, California
B) Seattle, Washington
C) Austin, Texas
D) San Jose, California

Question 35

As a result of increased life expectancy in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries,

A) greater media exposure to changes in family lifestyles led to higher public awareness of the "graying of America."
B) the social welfare system went bankrupt because there were fewer native-born workers to pay taxes
C) poverty increased in the United States
D) Social Security and Medicare payments went up

Question 36

What conclusion can be made from this 2007 map showing global carbon dioxide emissions?

A) Americans owned few sport-utility vehicles (SUVs).
B) Developing African nations had few cars or heavy industry.
C) Greenhouse gases had a greater detrimental effect in Europe rather than in Asia.
D) Sea levels throughout the world were falling.

Question 37

What is one conclusion about the 2000 presidential election that can be determined from this map and corresponding information?

A) The entry of third-party candidates had little influence on the final election results.
B) Although Al Gore won more popular votes than George W. Bush, he did not win the presidential election.
C) The Democrats won the Electoral College due to the large base of support they had on the West Coast.
D) Both the popular vote and the electoral vote showed that the race was not as close as predicted.

Question 38

How did these contrasting images from the early 1990s of a starving Somali woman and her child and of Somali rebels dragging the corpse of an American soldier through the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia, impact the American public's perception of African nations like Somalia?

A) Both images caused the United States to appeal to the United Nations to send aid and peacekeeping forces to Somalia.
B) Both images convinced President Clinton to submit to the public demand of withdrawing American troops from Somalia.
C) Both images encouraged Americans to view African nations as dysfunctional places where famine and fighting were endemic.
D) Both images rallied popular support for aiding the poor in East Africa, prompting President George H. W. Bush to send American troops to Somalia.

Question 39

Why did President George W. Bush not ratify the Kyoto Protocol that set targets for reducing greenhouse emissions in industrial nations although the United States had signed it when it was initially written in 1997?

A) It exempted China and relied on governmental controls to develop "green" technology.
B) Americans refused to change their driving habits and continued to purchase gas-guzzling cars.
C) He did not believe the scientific evidence linking climate change to human activity.
D) He supported conservatives who wanted to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge rather than depending on Middle Eastern oil.

Question 40

In 1996, President Clinton said, "When I took office [in 1993], only high energy physicists had ever heard of what is called the World Wide Web ... Now even my cat has its own page." This quotation attests to what aspect of the Internet?

A) the speed at which its use became widespread
B) the ease with which it can be used
C) the variety of information that can be found on it
D) the frivolity of the majority of its content

Question 41

What do these images of Barack Obama in this Washington, D.C., gift shop most reveal about the 44th President of the United States of America?

A) His lack of experience as a politician made his critics skeptical of his leadership as president.
B) His charisma, calmness, and message of "Hope" led to an inspired following who voted him into office in 2008.
C) His election as the first African American president led to major divisions between different sectors of the American public.
D) Obama soon discovered after his election that he could please neither conservatives nor liberals.

Question 42

What combination of factors has been proposed as the cause of the severe economic downturn that began in 2007?

A) the failures of both the Clinton and Obama administrations to institute single-payer health care
B) the Bush-era tax cuts followed by Tea Party demands to reduce the federal budget
C) a decline in home values followed by defaults on risky loans and the declining value of mortgage-backed securities
D) the government takeover of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae combined with the refusal to save Lehman Brothers

Question 43

The April 19, 1995, bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City by Timothy McVeigh and his accomplice Terry Nichols is best remembered as .

A) an attack launched by opponents of the Second Amendment's right to bear arms
B) payback for supporting Israel in the Arab-Israeli conflict
C) the first terrorist attack in the United States by al-Qaeda operatives
D) the deadliest terrorist attack against American civilians until 9/11

Question 44

President George W. Bush's statement "we will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them" after the 9/11 attacks justified his decision to immediately .

A) bomb al-Qaeda strongholds in Yemen in response to its attack on the USS Cole
B) invade Afghanistan and oust the Taliban regime for not turning over al-Qaeda members
C) permit waterboarding as a form of torture against al-Qaeda prisoners at Guantánamo Bay
D) invade Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein from power

Question 45

Why did the conservative grassroots movement known as the Tea Party emerge after Barack Obama's election in 2008?

A) There were concerns about the escalating debt and federal power.
B) Tea Partiers opposed American military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
C) Holding Islamic prisoners indefinitely without charges in the Guantánamo Bay prison went against their moral beliefs.
D) They feared polarizing leaders like Sarah Palin who proposed radical ideas about government.

Question 46

Which best characterizes how this cartoon portrays recent political debate over domestic issues such as health care through the Affordable Care Act?

A) as tending toward cooperation
B) as fixed in stalemate
C) as engaged but harmonious
D) as dominated by special interests

Question 47

In issuing the Bush Doctrine to justify the American bombing and invasion of Iraq in 2003, George W. Bush included for the first time the .

A) use of fighting a preemptive war to prevent future attacks on the United States
B) right to attack nations that harbored terrorists
C) authority to replace autocratic governments with democratically elected ones
D) creation of a foreign policy that protected America's singular status as the world's greatest military power

Question 48

How do both the photograph of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Clay Bennett's 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoon criticizing the 2001 Patriot Act address a familiar wartime dilemma?

A) The government had to determine how to protect the nation against enemy agents operating on American soil while safeguarding the privacy rights of Americans at the same time.
B) The government had to address criticism that it had failed to prevent the 9/11 attacks and justify why it arrested many Arabs and Muslims in response to this attack.
C) The government had to develop new safety measures to protect the American public while also permitting torture as an interrogation tactic on captured suspects.
D) The government had to establish new measures for gathering intelligence in order to prevent domestic attacks while simultaneously deciding if search warrants for Internet and phone records were constitutional.

Question 49

What paradoxical information was revealed through this April 10, 2003, photograph of Iraqi citizens enlisting the aid of U.S. Marines to pull down a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad?

A) The event showed that, although Iraqis were against Saddam, they immediately replaced him with another dictator.
B) The event revealed that the same soldiers who helped the crowd pull down Saddam's statue later tortured these civilians.
C) The event showed the Iraqi public's commitment to democracy although the war lasted for another eight years.
D) The event was initially seen as being emblematic of success in Iraq but was later revealed to be have been staged so that the press had a positive image of the war.

Question 50

Prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, George W. Bush focused primarily on Iraq's

A) barring UN weapons inspectors from the country
B) suppression of the Sunni majority
C) supposed possession of weapons of mass destruction
D) control of a sizeable percentage of the world's oil