Deck 31: From the “Age of Limits” to the Age of Reagan

Question 1

In the late 1970s, the "Christian right"

A) opposed the intertwining of religion and politics.
B) supported the goals of feminism.
C) feared aggressive American military actions.
D) were alarmed by many Supreme Court rulings.
E) were losing ground as a political force.

Answer 1

were alarmed by many Supreme Court rulings.

Question 2

In the late 1970s, members of the so-called Sagebrush Rebellion

A) complained the federal government ignored the American West.
B) favored restrictions on new commercial development in the West.
C) were inclined to support liberal politicians.
D) portrayed the West as a victim of government control.
E) mobilized in favor of stricter immigration controls in the West.

Answer 2

portrayed the West as a victim of government control.

Question 3

In the 1976 presidential election,

A) the Democratic Party nominated the almost entirely unknown governor of Arkansas.
B) President Gerald Ford faced his stiffest opposition from moderate Republicans.
C) the Democrats nominated a political novice.
D) Ronald Reagan mounted a powerful challenge against President Ford.
E) Gerald Ford won the popular vote but lost the election.

Answer 3

Ronald Reagan mounted a powerful challenge against President Ford.

Question 4

On the economic front, during the Carter administration,

A) interest rates rose to their highest level in American history.
B) unemployment rose sharply.
C) President Carter broke from the tight money policy of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.
D) energy prices leveled off.
E) retail prices fell at a 10 percent annual rate.

Question 5

As president, Jimmy Carter called for a foreign policy that stressed the importance of

A) human rights.
B) the environment.
C) democracy.
D) American business interests.
E) free trade and open markets.

Question 6

In 1979, Iranians who took American hostages demanded, in return for their release,

A) a large ransom payment.
B) the removal of all westerners from Iran.
C) an end to the United States' support of Israel.
D) the United States' return of the shah of Iran.
E) the removal of all American troops from Saudi Arabia.

Question 7

In 1976, Jimmy Carter appealed to voters by emphasizing

A) his personal honesty.
B) his lack of experience in federal government.
C) his religious piety.
D) both his personal honesty and his religious piety.
E) All these answers are correct.

Question 8

During the Ford administration,

A) the cost of oil rose dramatically.
B) the dependence of the United States on foreign oil lessened.
C) the national inflation rate declined after the end of the 1973 oil embargo.
D) the United States became the world's largest oil producer.
E) government spending increased and taxes decreased.

Question 9

Proposition 13 in California, in 1978, dealt with

A) criminal sentencing.
B) property taxes.
C) affirmative action.
D) illegal immigration.
E) gay marriage.

Question 10

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter

A) fired his cabinet.
B) gave a national address in which he criticized the spirit of the nation.
C) went to Camp David for a month in the midst of an OPEC oil crisis.
D) fired his cabinet and gave a national address in which he criticized the spirit of the nation.
E) All these answers are correct.

Question 11

In 1980, the "Sunbelt" region of the nation

A) contained a strong populist tradition.
B) included both the Southeast and Southwest.
C) continued to grow dramatically.
D) both was the most populous area of the country and contained a strong populist tradition.
E) All these answers are correct.

Question 12

Early in his presidency, Jimmy Carter gave priority attention to

A) federal spending and Soviet-American relations.
B) reform of government and education.
C) conservation and the environment.
D) passing civil rights legislation.
E) energy and the economy.

Question 13

Supporters of the 1978 Proposition 13 in California successfully

A) played on the personal security fears of voters.
B) played on the racial fears of voters.
C) focused white male voter resentment on affirmative action.
D) separated the issue of taxes from the issue of what the taxes supported.
E) mobilized thousands of voters against funding for parochial schools.

Question 14

President Gerald Ford's foreign policy actions included

A) replacing Henry Kissinger as secretary of state.
B) the signing of an arms control agreement with the Soviet Union.
C) shifting away from the Nixon policies of engaging China in diplomacy.
D) helping Israel obtain control of a large portion of the Sinai from Egypt.
E) attempting to secure the release of American hostages in Iran.

Question 15

In 1979, the Carter administration responded to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan by

A) convincing most of its Western European allies to boycott the 1980 summer Olympic Games.
B) mobilizing NATO airstrikes.
C) cutting off all diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.
D) withdrawing the SALT I treaty from Senate consideration.
E) imposing economic sanctions on the Soviet Union.

Question 16

As president, Gerald Ford angered many right-wing conservatives by

A) breaking from Richard Nixon's détente policies.
B) praising the ideals of draft resistors in a speech.
C) choosing Robert Dole as his running mate in 1976.
D) criticizing the American military leadership in Vietnam.
E) appointing Nelson Rockefeller as vice president.

Question 17

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter supported treaties in which the United States gave up control of

A) military bases in Okinawa.
B) sugar plantations in the Philippines.
C) the Panama Canal.
D) the island of Guam.
E) the UN Security Council.

Question 18

In 1974, former President Richard Nixon was pardoned by

A) the Supreme Court.
B) the Federal Court of Appeals.
C) the attorney general.
D) Congress.
E) the president.

Question 19

All of the following foreign policy events occurred during the Carter administration EXCEPT the

A) establishment of formal diplomatic relations with communist China.
B) ratification of a new SALT II arms agreement with the Soviet Union.
C) ratification of the Panama Canal treaty.
D) signing of a formal peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.
E) beginning of a Soviet war in Afghanistan.

Question 20

The crisis of American hostages being held in Iran

A) lasted over one year.
B) ended with a successful rescue operation by American troops.
C) was resolved before the 1980 elections.
D) both lasted over one year and was resolved before the 1980 election.
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 21

During the Reagan presidency, "neo-conservatives"

A) were a small but disproportionately influential group of intellectuals.
B) made up the majority of supporters of Reagan.
C) were largely concerned with the government's progressive tax structure.
D) were unable to effectively unite with other Reagan supporters.
E) believed the Vietnam War had illustrated the limits of American intervention.

Question 22

In the 1980 presidential campaign,

A) Jimmy Carter promised to make substantial tax cuts.
B) Ronald Reagan asserted that the power of the federal government needed to be increased.
C) an independent candidate determined the outcome of the election.
D) the Iranian hostages were released on the day of the last debate.
E) Jimmy Carter had to hold off a strong challenge to his re-nomination.

Question 23

All of the following were part of the 1984 election EXCEPT

A) the Republicans making large gains in the Senate and House.
B) the Democratic Party choosing Walter Mondale as the presidential nominee.
C) President Ronald Reagan winning all but one state.
D) the first woman, Geraldine Ferraro, appearing on a major party national ticket.
E) Jesse Jackson making a bid for the Democratic nomination.

Question 24

During President Ronald Reagan's first term, the course of the American economy

A) moved from being relatively strong into a long, mild recession.
B) went through a severe recession that gave way to a strong recovery.
C) experienced a mild recession that turned into a slow and steady recovery.
D) remained mired in "stagflation."
E) experienced explosive economic growth from the start.

Question 25

Regarding his view of Mikhail Gorbachev, President Ronald Reagan was

A) initially skeptical, but gradually concluded that Gorbachev was a sincere reformer.
B) consistently skeptical of Gorbachev.
C) always of the belief that Gorbachev was a sincere reformer.
D) initially optimistic, but gradually concluded he could not work with Gorbachev.
E) initially skeptical, but gradually became more openly hostile to Gorbachev.

Question 26

President Ronald Reagan argued that the Strategic Defense Initiative would

A) make nuclear war obsolete.
B) enable the United States to make a successful "first strike" anywhere in the world.
C) protect all of the United States' allies.
D) bring an end to communism.
E) bridge the "missile gap" with the Soviet Union.

Question 27

In 1983, the Reagan administration responded to a terrorist bombing of American military barracks in Beirut by

A) launching cruise missiles against the suspected perpetrators.
B) enlarging the U.S. Marines force in the city.
C) supporting an invasion by Israel into southern Lebanon.
D) establishing a special military force to fight terrorism.
E) withdrawing the remaining Marines.

Question 28

Of the following, the Reagan Doctrine was most actively applied in the nation of

A) Grenada.
B) Cuba.
C) Venezuela.
D) Hungary.
E) Czechoslovakia.

Question 29

The "supply-side" economic theory embraced by President Ronald Reagan called for

A) balancing the federal budget.
B) the privatization of Social Security.
C) greater federal assistance to poor Americans.
D) a reduction of defense spending.
E) a reduction of personal and corporate taxes.

Question 30

In his foreign policy, President Ronald Reagan

A) accused the Soviet Union of sponsoring world terrorism.
B) honored the provisions of SALT II.
C) argued that armaments negotiations must be linked to good Soviet behavior in other areas.
D) both denounced the Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty (SALT II) and honored its provisions.
E) All these answers are correct.

Question 31

The weakening of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s was encouraged by the Soviet policy of

A) glasnost.
B) perestroika.
C) apartheid.
D) glasnost and perestroika.
E) perestroika and apartheid.

Question 32

Which of the following statements about Reagan's domestic policies and their effects is accurate?

A) He strengthened the enforcement of civil rights laws.
B) He managed to maintain domestic spending cuts that equaled increases in military spending.
C) He cut corporate taxes but maintained Carter-level tax rates on the wealthy.
D) The federal deficit grew in the first six months of his presidency, then began a long decline.
E) Under his direction, the Department of Transportation slowed the imposition of new safety standards on cars and trucks.

Question 33

In the late 1980s, challenges to communist rule were LEAST successful in

A) Poland.
B) China.
C) Romania.
D) Czechoslovakia.
E) Hungary.

Question 34

In 1986, the Reagan administration suffered a serious political scandal after the White House admitted it had

A) secretly sold weapons to the revolutionary government of Iran.
B) secretly helped finance anti-government rebels in Nicaragua.
C) illegally funneled money from arms sales.
D) both illegally funneled money from arms sales and secretly helped finance anti-government rebels in Nicaragua.
E) All these answers are correct.

Question 35

In the 1980s, record national budget deficits resulted from

A) increased military spending.
B) increased entitlement spending on programs such as Social Security.
C) increased health care costs.
D) large tax cuts.
E) All these answers are correct.

Question 36

The Reagan Doctrine of opposing communism

A) resulted in a relatively passive American foreign policy.
B) was most frequently applied in Asia.
C) led the United States to intervene in several Latin American nations.
D) centered on weakening the Soviet Union's hold on Eastern Europe.
E) was substantially reworked after the 1983 Beirut bombing.

Question 37

As president, Ronald Reagan

A) had major success in redefining public policy.
B) succeeded in making his personality a central feature of his presidency.
C) faced strong opposition from a majority of policy-makers in government.
D) initially pledged to serve only one term.
E) was very involved in the day-to-day affairs of running the government.

Question 38

In 1988, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signaled his desire to change past policies by

A) renouncing his own communism.
B) ordering a military coup against communist hard-liners within his government.
C) giving the republics within the Soviet Union their independence.
D) releasing political prisoner Nelson Mandela after 27 years.
E) agreeing to a significant nuclear arms reduction treaty.

Question 39

The country President Ronald Reagan described as an "evil empire" in the early 1980s was

A) China.
B) Iran.
C) the Soviet Union.
D) Iraq.
E) North Korea.

Question 40

In the 1980 presidential election, Ronald Reagan

A) won a very slight popular vote margin over Carter.
B) captured an overwhelming majority of electoral votes.
C) won primarily as a result of third-party candidate John Anderson.
D) did all of these: captured an overwhelming majority of electoral votes; won a very slight popular vote margin over Carter; and won primarily as a result of third-party candidate John Anderson.
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 41

In 1976, Jimmy Carter easily won election over Gerald Ford.

Question 42

In 1974, OPEC raised the price it charged for oil by 400 percent.

Question 43

Richard Nixon was never charged for his involvement in the Watergate scandal.

Question 44

The United States did not participate in the 1980 summer Olympics in Moscow.

Question 45

Carter's greatest foreign policy success was in arranging a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

Question 46

George H. W. Bush's 1988 presidential victory was primarily the result of

A) the public's disapproval of negative political advertising.
B) his repeated attack on his opponent as a liberal.
C) an overly aggressive Democratic strategy.
D) damaging personal revelations regarding Michael Dukakis.
E) public ebullience over the fall of communism.

Question 47

At the time that Iranian radicals seized the American embassy in Teheran, the shah of Iran was in the United States.

Question 48

The Gulf War of 1991 had its origins in an Iraqi decision to

A) invade Kuwait.
B) declare war on Iran.
C) fire SCUD missiles into Israel.
D) form a military alliance with Saudi Arabia.
E) build weapons of mass destruction.

Question 49

All of the following statements regarding the Gulf War of 1991 are true EXCEPT that

A) the United States suffered relatively few casualties in the war.
B) the Allied ground offensive focused on dislodging Iraqi forces dug-in along the Kuwait border.
C) almost all Islamic and Arab nations joined a trade embargo against Iraq.
D) the United Nations voted in favor of American policies toward Iraq.
E) the Allied forces ultimately numbered 690,000 troops.

Question 50

President Carter responded to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan by declaring the Carter Doctrine.

Question 51

During the maneuvering for the Democratic Party's choice of a candidate, Bill Clinton's primary campaign benefitted from

A) his ability to draw on long experience in the Senate.
B) a collapse in campaign funding on the part of the Republicans.
C) the decision by many leading Democrats not to run.
D) President Bush's extreme unpopularity.
E) Ross Perot's third party candidacy.

Question 52

Under President Carter, the United States and the People's Republic of China resumed full diplomatic relations.

Question 53

The recession of 1990-1992

A) was relatively mild but prolonged.
B) was blamed on President George H. W. Bush's broken pledge not to raise taxes.
C) was helped by the government's debt reduction policies in the late 1980s.
D) went mostly unnoticed by middle- and working-class Americans.
E) caused an unusually high number of bankruptcies.

Question 54

Historically, there has been a strong populist tradition in the American South and West.

Question 55

Like Nixon and Ford before him, President Carter responded to economic problems with a combination of tight money and calls for voluntary restraint.

Question 56

In 1992, Ross Perot made the best third-party showing in American politics since

A) John Anderson in 1980.
B) George Wallace in 1968.
C) Henry Wallace in 1948.
D) Robert La Follette in 1924.
E) Theodore Roosevelt in 1912.

Question 57

Under President Carter, unemployment declined but inflation soared.

Question 58

In the late 1980s, in foreign affairs, President George H. W. Bush

A) developed a cool and distrustful relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev.
B) moved quickly to take advantage of the collapse of communism in Europe.
C) expressed little interest in international activities.
D) moved toward far-reaching arms reduction agreements with the former Soviet Union.
E) rejected most arms treaties in favor of increased weapons testing.

Question 59

After the Gulf War, President George H. W. Bush's high popularity quickly faded because of his

A) inability to contain a worsening recession.
B) invasion of Panama.
C) decision to lower taxes.
D) admission of corruption within the White House staff.
E) decision not to topple Saddam Hussein's regime.

Question 60

The American public came to regard Gerald Ford as being as untrustworthy as Richard Nixon.

Question 61

Following the seizure of Americans in Iran, the Soviet invasion of ________ worsened relations between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Question 62

Richard Nixon was given a full pardon by President ________ for any criminal role he may have played in the Watergate scandals.

Question 63

The so-called ________ Rebellion mobilized conservative opposition to environmental laws in the West.

Question 64

In 1982, President Reagan sent American soldiers to the Caribbean island of ________.

Question 65

In 1981, Ronald Reagan was the oldest American ever to serve as president.

Question 66

The Iran-contra scandal did serious damage to Reagan's presidency.

Question 67

President Ford angered the right wing of his party by appointing ________ to be his vice president.

Question 68

In 1976, President Ford faced a strong primary challenge from ________.

Question 69

President Reagan preferred his ________ Initiative to the SALT II arms control treaty.

Question 70

The 1981 tax cuts were the largest to that point in American history.

Question 71

"Reaganomics" presumed that the American economy was burdened with excessive ________.

Question 72

The Reagan Doctrine produced a smaller American role in the Third World.

Question 73

President Reagan denounced SALT II but continued to honor its provisions.

Question 74

The 1988 election results gave the Republican Party control of the presidency and both houses of Congress.

Question 75

In 1980, ________ challenged President Carter for the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party.

Question 76

President Ronald Reagan claimed that the U.S. SDI program could essentially make nuclear war obsolete.

Question 77

The third-party candidate in 1980 was ________.

Question 78

In 1978, Proposition 13 in California dealt with cutting ________ taxes.

Question 79

The Reagan administration accumulated more debt in eight years than the American government had accumulated in its entire history.

Question 80

Near the end of his first term, Jimmy Carter's standing in popularity polls was the lowest of any president in American history.