Deck 28: The Triumph of Conservatism, 1980-1991

Question 1

President Reagan's foreign policy program to oppose Communism was called __________.

Answer 1

The Reagan Doctrine

Question 2

Why was Ronald Reagan called the "Teflon president"?

Answer 2

It seemed that charges of President Reagan's misuse of power in the Iran-Contra scandal would not stick to him.

Question 3

The largest Protestant denomination in the 1980s was the ___________.

Answer 3

Southern Baptists

Question 4

President Reagan's program to cut taxes was part of a larger economic plan known as ____________.

Question 5

Young urban professionals in their twenties and thirties were called _______________.

Question 6

Who was Sandra Day O'Connor?

Question 7

Ronald Reagan's communication skills caused him to be called __________.

Question 8

The Russian term for restructuring the nation's economy was _________.

Question 9

The Russian term for tolerating a more open dialog with the United States was __________.

Question 10

By the 1990s, __________ had passed catsup as the best-selling condiment in the United States.

Question 11

Linda Chavez was an unlikely Republican voter in 1980 because

A) She was the daughter of an Anglo mother and a Mexican American father.
B) She grew up in a Hispanic neighborhood in New Mexico and Colorado.
C) Her father was a Democrat.
D) All of the above.

Question 12

The vitality and promise of the computer-driven economy helped conservatism because

A) Microcomputers revolutionized banking and investment industries.
B) Computers were popular with Americans.
C) There seemed to be less need for government.
D) Conservatives saw the growth in computer-related technologies as proof of capitalist free enterprise.

Question 13

"Silicon Valley" came to symbolize

A) The growth in the breast augmentation industry in California.
B) Home of the growing computer-based technology business.
C) The decline in agribusinesses in the United States.
D) The new home of America's automobile industry.

Question 14

For their hostile financial takeovers, entrepreneurs like Michael Milken and Ivan Boesky used high-risk securities known as

A) Stock.
B) Junk bonds.
C) Collateral debt obligations.
D) Futures.

Question 15

The young urban professionals of the 1980s were known for all of the following except

A) Their optimism.
B) Their focus on making money.
C) Their social conscience.
D) Their conspicuous consumption.

Question 16

By the 1980s, the largest American Protestant denomination was the

A) United Churches of Christ.
B) Roman Catholic Church.
C) Southern Baptists.
D) United Methodists.

Question 17

Ronald Reagan and the "New Right" drew political strength from all of the following except

A) The nation's strong economy.
B) The movement of evangelical Christianity into the political sphere.
C) The decline in conservative strength.
D) Ethnic Americans.

Question 18

Ronald Reagan

A) Was a great communicator.
B) Had a passion for detail.
C) Possessed a subtle intellect.
D) Employed a combative style with his subordinates.

Question 19

Ronald Reagan's economic plan was designed to

A) Implement strict environmental regulations.
B) Provide less government regulation in big businesses.
C) Reduce taxes on the poorest Americans.
D) Regulate the New York Stock Exchange.

Question 20

Reaganomics promised to

A) Cut taxes.
B) Increase domestic spending.
C) Raise taxes.
D) Solve domestic problems by government action.

Question 21

What counterintuitive argument did economist Arthur Laffer make in the 1970s?

A) Tax cuts could lead to lower tax revenues.
B) Tax cuts could lead to higher tax revenues.
C) Tax increases could lead to higher tax revenues.
D) Government spending could lead to government debt.

Question 22

Why did the members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) go on strike in 1981?

A) They resented the election of Ronald Reagan.
B) To protest unsafe conditions in the air traffic control system.
C) To get their hours cut to 35 per week.
D) To protest the U.S. invasion of Grenada.

Question 23

President Reagan's opponent for the presidency in the 1984 election was

A) Democrat Walter Mondale.
B) Democrat Geraldine Ferraro.
C) Republican George H. W. Bush.
D) Republican George W. Bush.

Question 24

The Reagan Revolution abroad dealt with which of the following topics?

A) The Middle East and terrorism.
B) Restoration of the nation's military and economic power.
C) The spread of Communism to China.
D) Reliance on détente.

Question 25

The Reagan Revolution abroad did not deal with which of the following topics?

A) The Middle East and terrorism.
B) Restoration of the nation's military and economic power.
C) The spread of Communism to China.
D) Reliance on détente.

Question 26

President Reagan gave his considerable support to which of the following weapons systems?

A) Neutron bomb.
B) B-2 "stealth" bomber.
C) MX "Peacekeeper" nuclear missile with multiple warheads.
D) All of the above.

Question 27

At the heart of Reagan's diplomacy was

A) A belief in the good inside all people.
B) The rejection of military force as a potential tool.
C) A suspicion of Soviet Communist ideology.
D) A refusal to negotiate with Communists.

Question 28

The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) would

A) Create a space-based missile defense system that would use advanced technology to shoot down nuclear missiles launched at the United States.
B) Require the Soviets to install a laser shield over Siberia.
C) Encourage the Chinese to take sides between the United States and the USSR.
D) Invalidate existing arms control treaties.

Question 29

In 1983, a Soviet fighter plane shot down an unarmed Korean airliner. All of the passengers were killed, including an American Congressman. President Reagan responded

A) By shooting down a Korean fighter plane.
B) By shooting down a Soviet civilian airliner.
C) In a restrained manner.
D) By signing a treaty with China a year later.

Question 30

Which of the following statements applies to the Reagan Doctrine?

A) American foreign policy would focus on anti-Communism programs.
B) The nation would distinguish between "totalitarian" regimes hostile to the United States and "authoritarian" governments friendly to American national security interests.
C) It stood in opposition to the Sandinista government in Nicaragua.
D) All of the above.

Question 31

The Reagan Doctrine was applied on the Caribbean island of Grenada to

A) Protect about 1,000 Americans, mostly medical students, from a new Marxist regime.
B) Undermine the sovereignty of another state to secure an easy American military victory.
C) Protect about 100 American students from a dictatorial college administration.
D) Prevent the Chinese from overtaking the island.

Question 32

What was problematic about Reagan's support of the contras in Nicaragua?

A) They were tied to the oppressive Somoza regime.
B) They were tied to the Communist Sandinistas.
C) They were directed by the regime in El Salvador.
D) They were commandeered by Soviet "military advisors."

Question 33

President Reagan supported the right-wing military government of

A) The Republic of Mexico.
B) El Salvador.
C) Grenada.
D) San Salvador.

Question 34

The Boland Amendment of 1982 restricted

A) Reagan's Caribbean Basin Initiative.
B) Aid to the Nicaraguan "freedom fighters."
C) The United States' intervention in the Middle East.
D) American forces dispatched to Lebanon.

Question 35

How did Ronald Reagan change Carter's diplomatic stand on South Africa?

A) He was in full agreement with his predecessor.
B) He denounced Carter for his diplomacy and broke off all ties to South Africa.
C) He ended economic sanctions.
D) He began to supply military weaponry to South Africa's all-white police.

Question 36

President Reagan used __________ to try to influence South Africa's policies.

A) "Constructive engagement"
B) "Diplomatic engagement"
C) Construction policies and funding
D) Harsh rhetoric and threats of American trade sanctions

Question 37

Considering the Middle East, the Reagan Doctrine

A) Was hugely successful.
B) Was not much help.
C) Was a dismal failure.
D) Eradicated Communism from the Middle East.

Question 38

The United States had two primary concerns in the Middle East. They were

A) Protecting American access to Middle East oil and preventing the spread of Communism.
B) Ending the threat of terrorism and establishing a state of Palestine.
C) Protecting American access to oil and her ally, Israel.
D) Protecting her diplomatic alliances with Saudi Arabia.

Question 39

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)

A) Was the official representative of the Palestinian people.
B) Supported the Camp David Accords.
C) Threatened Israel from its bases in Lebanon.
D) All of the above.

Question 40

The terrorist-supporter __________ was the focus of the Reagan administration.

A) Osama bin Laden
B) Yasser Arafat
C) Muammar Qaddafi
D) Saddam Hussein

Question 41

In addition to Middle East problems and threats to the American access to oil, the Reagan administration had to deal with

A) Strains on the world economy.
B) Failure to get the Congress to approve his tax cut legislation.
C) A strong Mexican economy that threatened American manufacturing.
D) Mexican default on loans from the World Bank.

Question 42

How did the United States try to address the trade imbalance with Japan?

A) Threaten Japan with a trade embargo.
B) Abandon the gold standard.
C) Ask the World Bank for help.
D) Devalue the dollar.

Question 43

Until the 1980s, which aspect of globalization had not been the norm in the United States?

A) American workers working in industries linked to global trade.
B) American workers working for foreign managers.
C) Foreign-owned businesses relocating to the American Rust Belt.
D) The American worker making historically higher wages than the citizens of other nations.

Question 44

Japanese executives and managers said that American workers

A) Were too sensitive to issues of fairness.
B) Needed too many instructions.
C) Were not team players.
D) All of the above.

Question 45

Which of the following is true about Ronald Reagan's appointments to the Supreme Court?

A) The appointees had liberal attitudes about social issues and conservative economic views.
B) The most notable was his appointment of Sandra Day O'Connor to the Court as the Court's first female justice.
C) They repeatedly failed to be confirmed by the Senate.
D) The most notable was his appointment of Sandra Day O'Connor to the Court as the Court's first female Irish Catholic justice.

Question 46

Which inequalities did women continue to suffer in the 1980s?

A) A small share of the paid workforce.
B) Ineligibility for affirmative action measures.
C) Complete exclusion from the ranks of the Reagan administration.
D) Lower pay than men for the same work.

Question 47

The Equal Rights Amendment

A) Ended unsuccessfully despite First Lady Nancy Reagan's untiring support for its passage.
B) Ended up finally passing when Utah voted to approve it.
C) Was not passed by any state except Massachusetts.
D) Failed to pass.

Question 48

Roe v. Wade, a target of the social conservative agenda, was

A) Overturned during the Reagan administration.
B) Upheld by the Court in 1983 and 1986.
C) Abandoned as a cause by the social conservatives.
D) Was ignored by the right-to-life movement as they focused on other aspects of women's health.

Question 49

In the 1980s acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was most likely to attack

A) Homosexual men engaging in unsafe sexual practices.
B) Heterosexual couples.
C) Intravenous drug users who shared needles.
D) Those receiving blood transfusions.

Question 50

In the 1980s most states in the United States had

A) Strengthened antihomosexuality laws and lengthened jail time for convictions.
B) Approved of privacy laws that all but protected homosexual activities.
C) Passed resolutions supporting the memory and activities of San Francisco politician Harvey Milk.
D) Decriminalized homosexual behavior.

Question 51

Which of the following statements applies to African American activism in the 1980s?

A) There was an increase in the number of African Americans elected to public office.
B) African American activism made it difficult for social conservatives to dismantle the gains of previous decades.
C) Their efforts underscored the limits of Americans' support of the social conservative agenda.
D) All of the above.

Question 52

Social conservatives believed the liberal social programs of previous decades

A) Hurt rather than helped African Americans.
B) Encouraged African American men to leave their families.
C) Caused black children to be raised in single-parent households.
D) Created rap music.

Question 53

In 1980 American Hispanics were

A) The nation's fastest growing minority population.
B) Important potential consumers of American products.
C) Important potential voters.
D) Each statement is accurate.

Question 54

The Iran-Contra affair was characterized by which of the following?

A) Lieutenant Colonel Oliver L. North played a key role in creating and then covering up the Iran-Contra operations, but his conviction was later thrown out because of immunized testimony.
B) Three separate investigations did not turn up evidence to impeach President Reagan for any role in Iran-Contra.
C) Reagan insisted that he knew nothing about transferring profits from the arms sale to Iran to aid the Nicaraguan contras.
D) All of the above.

Question 55

President Reagan faced which of the following economic problems?

A) A steady increase in the stock market beginning in October 1987.
B) An international trade deficit of $145 billion in 1986.
C) A reduction of the national debt.
D) A challenge from the Republican candidates Kemp and Roth.

Question 56

President Reagan's most important legacy was

A) A greatly increased federal bureaucracy.
B) Restrictions in entitlement programs.
C) The elimination of the trade deficit.
D) The creation of a huge federal debt.

Question 57

During the last years of the Reagan administration, the Soviet Union

A) Strengthened its economy by developing a vast transportation network linking the Soviet Union and China.
B) Sided with Israel in the Iran-Iraq war.
C) Invaded Afghanistan.
D) Sought an easing of tensions with the United States.

Question 58

Ronald Reagan's economic policy resulted in all of the following, except

A) An increased federal deficit.
B) A growing international trade deficit.
C) Lax government regulation of Wall Street.
D) A smaller government.

Question 59

When he left office, Ronald Reagan's popularity was

A) The highest of any president since the beginning of modern polling.
B) Mediocre.
C) Lower than Jimmy Carter's.
D) None of the above.

Question 60

The United States was able to claim victory in the Cold War when

A) The Soviet Union could not prevent the disintegration of its pro-Soviet allies in Eastern Europe.
B) Soviet athletes defected to the West in massive numbers.
C) The USSR surrendered all of its nuclear weapons to the United States.
D) Each statement is accurate.

Question 61

Describe the Reagan Doctrine as it was applied to the Third World.

Question 62

Discuss the goals of the social conservatives on the 1980s.

Question 63

Discuss the difference between the theory and the practice of supply-side economics.

Question 64

Did Ronald Reagan's foreign policy make the country safer? Discuss.