Deck 30: A Global Nation in the New Millennium

Question 1

The electoral college outcome of the 2004 election hinged on __________.

A) Pennsylvania
B) Michigan
C) Ohio
D) Florida

Answer 1

Ohio

Question 2

The photographs and eyewitness reports of events in Abu Ghraib prison convinced many Muslims that __________.

A) Americans were waging a war against Islam
B) President Bush was genuinely committed to democratizing the Middle East
C) America had made little progress in the war on terrorism
D) President Bush was engaged in a war of genocide

Answer 2

Americans were waging a war against Islam

Question 3

How was the decision to invade Iraq different than the decision to invade Afghanistan?

A) The decision to invade Iraq had widespread international support.
B) The decision to invade Afghanistan was unpopular with the American people.
C) The decision to invade Iraq did not receive congressional support.
D) The decision to invade Afghanistan had widespread international support.

Answer 3

The decision to invade Afghanistan had widespread international support.

Question 4

After the U.S. toppled the Iraqi government, American soldiers __________.

A) discovered weapons of mass destruction in Iraq
B) uncovered proof of a link between al Qaeda and Iraq
C) were pulled into a long and bloody struggle to stabilize the country
D) were almost immediately withdrawn

Question 5

President Bush __________.

A) worked to give corporations easier access to publicly owned natural resources.
B) took the lead in fighting climate change
C) refused to help energy companies gain drilling rights in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
D) tightened federal regulations on industrial air pollution

Question 6

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina flooded __________, causing hundreds of deaths.

A) Miami
B) New Orleans
C) Tampa Bay
D) Charleston

Question 7

Which of the following events changed President Bush's priorities and came to define his presidency?

A) the passage of No Child Left Behind
B) the 2007 financial crisis
C) Hurricane Katrina
D) the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks

Question 8

George W. Bush's life took a decisive turn when, at age 40, __________.

A) he married Laura Bush
B) he gave up drinking and became a devout Christian
C) he and his wife Laura had their first child
D) he was elected governor of Texas

Question 9

Prior to his election as governor of Texas in 1994, George W. Bush had __________.

A) gained considerable experience in public service
B) achieved relatively little
C) served as U.S. Senator for Connecticut
D) had made a fortune on Wall Street

Question 10

Like the Cold War, the war on terrorism was framed as a __________.

A) long-term struggle against an evil enemy
B) matter of economic necessity
C) short-term effort to defeat a weak foe
D) relatively minor priority

Question 11

The __________ increased the U.S. Justice Department's range of options for spying on and detaining citizens and noncitizens suspected of pro-terrorist activities.

A) Homeland Security Act
B) USA Patriot Act
C) Espionage Act
D) Sedition Act

Question 12

What sparked the economic crisis that began in October 2007?

A) the collapse of oil prices
B) the collapse of housing prices
C) the collapse of food prices
D) the collapse of gold prices

Question 13

What did President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have in common?

A) They were both former oil executives.
B) They both served in Vietnam.
C) They both spent their entire lives in public service.
D) They both had been star students in college.

Question 14

President Bush entered his campaign for reelection in 2004 with __________.

A) an approval rating of 70 percent
B) little chance of winning
C) the strong backing of America's western European allies
D) solid support in his own party

Question 15

George W. Bush sought to move the nation in the direction of what he called __________.

A) "Christian America"
B) "Big America"
C) "compassionate conservatism"
D) "prudent progress"

Question 16

In October 2001, U.S. planes initiated the "war on terrorism" by bombing Taliban and al Qaeda positions in ___________.

A) Afghanistan
B) Iraq
C) Yemen
D) Saudi Arabia

Question 17

Between 1985 and 2015, the percentage of adults who __________.

A) had children fell
B) were married fell
C) were married rose
D) lived with their parents fell

Question 18

President Bush claimed that __________.

A) Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction
B) Saddam Hussein had ties to ISIS
C) Osama bin Laden was hiding in Baghdad
D) Iraq was responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing

Question 19

In Lawrence v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned state laws banning ___________.

A) the sale of contraception
B) interracial marriages
C) marriage between same-sex couples
D) private homosexual behavior between consenting adults

Question 20

For most of Bush's presidency, __________ was the stated focus of the Bush administration.

A) fighting climate change
B) destroying al Qaeda and its allies
C) eliminating poverty in America
D) strengthening the social safety net

Question 21

Which of the following was true of American politics in the early twenty-first century?

A) About half of eligible citizens voted in presidential elections.
B) The majority of Americans were registered Republicans.
C) The majority of Americans were registered Democrats.
D) The likelihood of voting closely correlated with what region a person lived in.

Question 22

In the United States, by the start of the new millennium, most leaders of both major political parties, corporate executives, bankers, and most other elites supported __________.

A) immediate action on climate change
B) gay marriage
C) tax increases on the wealthy
D) free trade

Question 23

In the early twenty-first century, the defense budget of the United States was as large as that of the next __________ biggest military powers combined.

A) three
B) five
C) ten
D) twenty

Question 24

In 2010, Obama and the Democrats in Congress secured passage of the __________ Act

A) Welfare Reform
B) Affordable Care
C) USA Patriot
D) Defense of Marriage

Question 25

In 2008, Barack Obama defeated __________ by a solid margin, both in the popular vote and the electoral college.

A) John McCain
B) Mitt Romney
C) Jeb Bush
D) Bob Dole

Question 26

Globalization led to falling prices for which of the following?

A) airline travel
B) housing
C) health insurance
D) college tuition

Question 27

Which of the following boosted American productivity in the late 1990s?

A) shorter work days
B) increased vacation time
C) computers
D) faster assembly lines

Question 28

The world's population consumed __________ as much fossil fuel in the early 2000s as in 1950.

A) 50 percent
B) twice
C) five times
D) ten times

Question 29

The stock market lost more than __________ percent of its value from October 2007 to March 2009.

A) 10
B) 25
C) 50
D) 70

Question 30

Over the course of the twentieth century, commercial logging eliminated all but __________. percent of the old-growth forests in the United States.

A) 3
B) 11
C) 19
D) 24

Question 31

The growth of the U.S. economy in the twentieth century depended on __________.

A) the colonization of much of Asia and Africa
B) low population growth rates
C) the consumption of ever-increasing amounts of energy
D) the creation of a perpetual state of war

Question 32

The key factor in ecological transformation between 1900 and 2000 was __________.

A) population growth
B) rising sea levels
C) a mini ice age
D) genetic mutation

Question 33

Which of the following was the largest American company in 2000?

A) Wal-Mart
B) General Motors
C) Goldman Sachs
D) Apple

Question 34

The emergence of the global assembly line led to which of the following?

A) higher workplace safety standards
B) rising real wages
C) declining labor and environmental standards
D) increasing union membership

Question 35

Between 1900 and 2015, the population of the United States __________.

A) declined by 20 percent
B) doubled
C) quadrupled
D) increased tenfold

Question 36

In the early twenty-first century, the Mormons __________.

A) were especially active in proselytizing abroad
B) saw their membership fall by 25 percent
C) grew to 100 million members
D) focused all of their efforts on American churches

Question 37

CNN's international ambitions led it to __________.

A) focus exclusively on political news
B) eliminate all of its U.S. studios
C) deliver its broadcasts in French
D) ban the word foreign from its broadcasts

Question 38

In the early twenty-first century, the dollar and the __________ were the world's two primary currencies.

A) euro
B) yen
C) pound
D) yuan

Question 39

In the Citizens United decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the government could not restrict political expenditures by __________.

A) foreign countries
B) private individuals
C) corporations or unions
D) elected officials

Question 40

The story of Mollie Brown James and Balbina Duque Granados illustrates which of the following?

A) the impact of globalization on ordinary workers
B) the impact of changes in gender roles on ordinary women
C) the impact of climate change on ordinary people
D) the impact of the war on terrorism on American soldiers

Question 41

What justifications did the Bush administration offer for the 2003 invasion of Iraq? What explanations did outside observers offer for the invasion?

Question 42

What were the most important ecological changes in North America in the twentieth century? What were the primary causes of those changes?

Question 43

Title __________ prohibited gender discrimination in school programs that received federal money.

A) IX
B) X
C) XV
D) III

Question 44

Which group of Americans was most comfortable with the acceptance of homosexuality?

A) young Americans
B) older Americans
C) African Americans
D) Hispanic Americans

Question 45

Which of the following was true of African Americans in the early twenty-first century?

A) African Americans had achieved economic parity with their white counterparts.
B) Roughly one-third of African Americans were middle class.
C) Most African Americans lived in the rural South.
D) Most African Americans believed that racism was a thing of the past.

Question 46

In Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court ruled that __________ was a fundamental right of all Americans.

A) legal counsel
B) voting
C) marriage
D) privacy

Question 47

What arguments were put forward by critics of global free trade in the early twenty-first century?

Question 48

Which of the following was true of immigration in the early twenty-first century?

A) Mexico was the most important single source of new Americans.
B) A majority of immigrants came from Asia.
C) A majority of immigrants entered the country illegally.
D) One in twenty Americans had been born abroad.

Question 49

In the 2012 election, Barack Obama defeated __________ by a comfortable margin.

A) John McCain
B) Ted Cruz
C) Sarah Palin
D) Mitt Romney

Question 50

During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, __________ officials tried to isolate U.S. troops from their citizens, fearing the effects of contact with such a diverse population.

A) Israeli
B) Egyptian
C) Saudi Arabian
D) Jordanian

Question 51

Describe President Bush's domestic agenda in his first term.

Question 52

The response of Americans to new immigrants in the early twenty-first century was __________.

A) similar to that in previous periods of high immigration
B) strikingly different than that in previous periods of high immigration
C) almost universally negative
D) universally positive

Question 53

Which of the following was a consequence of the demise of communist regimes in Russia and eastern Europe?

A) decreased American cultural influence around the world
B) a strengthened social safety net
C) the shrinking of the gap between rich and poor
D) increased Western cultural influence in those countries