Quiz 32: Conservatism Revived, 1980-1992

Among President Reagan's accomplishments was A) the restoration of a mood of confidence and optimism in an America shaken by the social and economic crises of the 1970s. B) an enormous reduction in the budget deficit. C) improved relations with most of Latin America. D) passage of major environmental-protection legislation.

As governor of California, Ronald Reagan A) dismantled the state's welfare system. B) signed one of the nation's most liberal abortion laws. C) proposed the legalization of marijuana. D) instituted a statewide healthcare program.

Which of the following was one of the items on Reagan's agenda at the beginning of his first term? A) The prevention of wasteful defense expenditures B) The reduction of East-West conflicts through negotiations C) An increase in welfare subsidies to the working poor D) The weakening of federal environmental, health, and safety regulations

During the Reagan administration, those appointed to head federal regulatory agencies A) often opposed the federal regulations they were supposed to enforce. B) demanded rigorous enforcement of health and safety standards in the workplace. C) dismantled those agencies, thus leaving American industry to regulate itself. D) often changed their anti-regulatory views after learning of corporate abuses.

During President Reagan's first term, the nation's environmental movement was reenergized because of which of the following? A) The accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant B) The views and actions of Reagan's Secretary of the Interior, James Watt C) President Reagan's veto of the Clean Air Act D) Crop failures in the Midwest obviously caused by the greenhouse effect

When the 11,300 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization went on strike in 1981, President Reagan A) refused to intervene. B) ordered the Federal Aviation Administration to cut air traffic controllers' working hours to reduce their stress and improve air safety. C) fired the strikers and barred them from ever being rehired as federal air traffic controllers. D) ordered the National Labor Relations Board to mediate the strike.

As president, Ronald Reagan pleased the New Right by A) imposing sanctions against South Africa. B) supporting legislation to end television advertising by tobacco companies. C) supporting environmental-protection legislation designed to promote conservation and preservation of the nation's natural resources. D) supporting prayer in public schools.

This person was the first woman associate justice of the Supreme Court. A) Anita Bryant B) Geraldine Ferraro C) Sandra Day O'Connor D) Phyllis Schlafly

The ruling by the Supreme Court in Bowers v. Hardwick is evidence of which of the following? A) Despite the conservative mood of the nation, the Supreme Court remained a bastion of liberalism. B) The Court had no sympathy with the concept of affirmative action. C) The Court had taken a decisive turn in the direction of federal power over the concept of states' rights. D) President Reagan's appointments to the Supreme Court made that body more conservative.

According to advocates of supply-side economics, an increase in savings and investments by the upper classes and corporations would lead to which of the following? A) An economic recession resulting from the withdrawal of money from circulation B) The revival of heavy industry in the United States C) A proliferation of small businesses that would increase competition within the economic system D) Renewed prosperity as profits from the top trickled down to the middle and lower classes

As a result of President Reagan's economic policies, A) the poverty rate declined. B) U.S. corporations suffered under the burden of higher tax rates. C) the United States became the world's largest debtor nation. D) the national debt declined.

As a believer in supply-side economics, Reagan called for A) expansion of federally-guaranteed home mortgage programs. B) extension of federal grants to state and local governments to stimulate spending. C) lower income-tax rates for individuals and corporations. D) increases in direct federal assistance to the poor and unemployed.

Which of the following was a consequence of the Federal Reserve Board's 1981 decision to tighten the money supply? A) The inflation rate increased. B) Interest rates began a slow but steady decline. C) Economic activity declined and the unemployment rate increased. D) Federal budget deficits were brought under control.

Which of the following was a reason for the decline in inflation during the first years of Reagan's presidency? A) A decline in the value of the dollar on foreign exchange markets B) The Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates on bank loans to an unprecedented level C) The end of federal health and safety regulations on businesses D) A substantial decline in the balance-of-trade deficit

In his 1984 reelection campaign, President Reagan A) capitalized on his administration's accomplishments in the area of arms control. B) used television ads that proclaimed "America is back" while showing heartwarming images of American life. C) pledged that he would not dismantle the New Deal. D) attempted to disassociate himself from the Moral Majority.

Among the distinguishing features of the nation's economic picture in the Reagan years was A) a wave of mergers, often in the form of hostile takeovers. B) fewer insider trading scandals and less corruption in the world of high finance than at any other point in the twentieth century. C) a significant narrowing of the income gap between the richest and poorest Americans. D) the public's increasing preference for savings accounts over stock portfolios.

The military buildup supported by the Reagan administration was based on the belief that A) the United States had fewer nuclear warheads than the Soviet Union. B) the Soviet navy was far superior to the navy of the United States. C) Soviet weaponry was technologically more sophisticated than the weaponry of the United States. D) such a buildup would intimidate the Soviet Union.

In the Reagan Doctrine, the Reagan administration declared that it would A) end restrictive international trade policies. B) allow all nations to determine their own political and economic futures. C) respect the sovereignty of all nations. D) openly support anticommunist forces fighting the Soviets or Soviet-backed governments.

In response to the overthrow of the Somoza government by revolutionaries in Nicaragua, the Reagan administration A) endorsed the Contadora peace plan backed by other Latin American nations. B) relied on peaceful persuasion to encourage the Nicaraguan people to protest the new government's human-rights abuses. C) secured the support of European allies to cut off trade with Nicaragua. D) used the CIA to train and arm counterrevolutionaries whose goal it was to overthrow the Sandinista government.

Under Reagan, the United States supplied military aid to oppose the pro-Cuban government in A) Argentina. B) Mexico. C) Peru. D) Nicaragua.

Oliver North, William Casey, and John Poindexter used money from the Iran arms deal to A) bribe members of the Sandinista government. B) buy the release of American hostages in Lebanon. C) provide economic aid to El Salvador. D) subvert the will of Congress by providing funds to aid the contras in Nicaragua.

Why was American credibility damaged as a result of the covert arms sale to Iran? A) Congress had passed legislation that prohibited arms sales to any Third World nation. B) The sale violated treaty agreements between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning the Middle East. C) The United States was actively allied with Iraq in its war against Iran. D) America was trading with a country that it had condemned as a terrorist state and with which it had demanded its allies not trade.

President Reagan's popularity declined and his authority over foreign affairs was diminished after 1986 largely as a result of A) the disclosure of the administration's illegal diversion of money from a secret arms sale to Iran to fund the contras in Nicaragua. B) Supreme Court decisions that halted his efforts to impound funds approved by Congress for the expansion of social programs. C) mounting ridicule of the Strategic Defense Initiative that undermined public faith in the president's ability to make rational decisions. D) Mikhail Gorbachev's clear superiority as a negotiator.

After arriving in Lebanon in 1982 as a peacekeeping force, American troops A) allied with the Israeli troops remaining in Lebanon. B) brought peace and stability to the war-ravaged country. C) became involved in the hostilities between warring Lebanese factions. D) consistently maintained a strictly neutral position in the Lebanese civil war.

In the late 1980s, Yasir Arafat, chief of the Palestine Liberation Organization, A) declared Lebanon to be the Palestinian homeland and gained control of the Lebanese government. B) publicly rejected terrorism and accepted the right of Israel to live in peace and security. C) accepted establishment of political autonomy for Palestinians in a territorial enclave within the state of Jordan. D) agreed to the establishment of a United Nations arbitration commission to settle the PLO's long-standing conflict with Israel.

In its early years, how did the Reagan administration respond to the segregationist policy of apartheid and political repression in South Africa? A) It organized an international boycott of South African products. B) It followed the policy of "constructive engagement." C) It called on major American corporations to cease doing business with South Africa. D) It urged a reluctant Congress to impose economic sanctions against South Africa.

Which of the following caused the 1985 and 1986 talks between Soviet and American officials on strategic arms control to stall? A) The two nations could not agree on how to deal with British and French nuclear weapons aimed at the Soviet Union. B) Gorbachev refused to dismantle the SS-20 missiles aimed against western Europe. C) President Reagan refused to limit the Strategic Defense Initiative. D) Reagan continued to insist on deployment of the MX missile.

Which of the following is true of the 1987 INF treaty concluded between the United States and the Soviet Union? A) The two superpowers agreed to limit the number of nuclear warheads on each intercontinental ballistic missile. B) The two superpowers agreed to limit their production of weapons-grade plutonium. C) The two superpowers agreed to the demilitarization of space. D) The two superpowers agreed to destroy all their land-based intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe.

The New Right that came to the fore in the 1980s is most closely associated with A) multiculturalism. B) fundamentalist Christianity. C) secular humanism. D) feminism.

Which of the following is true of women in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s? A) They met with little success in getting elected to political office. B) They witnessed the elimination of all barriers to equality. C) They took advantage of new employment opportunities and worked in increasing numbers outside the home, often from economic necessity. D) They continued to have little success in enrolling in colleges, universities, and professional schools.

During the 1980s, which of the following was a major reason for the increase in the poverty rate in America? A) Increasing elderly populations in such cities B) The absence of federally-funded centers that could provide job training to the chronically unemployed C) A decrease in well-paying blue-collar jobs and an increase in lower-paying service jobs D) The failure of public education to produce literate, employable graduates

Which of the following problems experienced in the United States during the 1980s is closely associated with the use of illegal drugs? A) The quadrupling of the prison population B) The "Sanctuary movement" C) The culture wars D) Homelessness among the mentally ill

Which of the following is a reason for the increase in homelessness rates during the 1980s? A) The elimination of Medicaid B) The release of many psychiatric patients from state mental hospitals C) The elimination of all federal housing subsidies for the impoverished D) Congress's refusal to extend unemployment benefits during the recession of the early 1980s

In the 1980s, most immigrants to the United States were from Latin America and A) Africa. B) Asia. C) Europe. D) the Middle East.

During the 1970s and 1980s, this ethnic group constituted America's fastest-growing minority. A) African Americans B) Asian Americans C) Latinos D) Native Americans

The purpose of the Immigration Reform and Control (Simpson-Rodino) Act of 1986 was to A) stem the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States by penalizing employers who hired undocumented workers. B) set quotas for the number of immigrants to be accepted into the United States from various regions of the world. C) establish methods of tracking immigrants, especially those from the Middle East, once they entered the United States. D) bar entry into the United States of all non-English-speaking immigrants intending to seek citizenship.

Which of the following was a characteristic of the 1988 presidential campaign? A) Most voters were pessimistic about America's economic future and frightened about the possibility of nuclear war. B) Most voters ignored emotional campaign rhetoric and demanded a serious discussion of environmental and social issues. C) The Republicans relied on negative campaigning and personal attacks against the Democratic candidate. D) The candidates expressed serious doubts about the stability of the American political system.

The November 1989 destruction of the Berlin wall was A) the result of explosions set off by East German police to stop the flow of refugees. B) a clear indication that Soviet domination of eastern Europe was coming to an end. C) an accident growing out of a final demonstration of Soviet bitterness toward the United States for its 1918 anti-Bolshevik military meddling in Russia. D) a faked piece of western melodrama for the benefit of a Hollywood film crew.

Which of the following best explains the response of the Chinese government to student pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in June 1989? A) Chinese leaders instituted reforms that would transform China into a parliamentary democracy by 1998. B) A dialogue was opened between government officials and leaders of the pro-democracy movement. C) The army cordoned off Tiananmen Square and, by denying the demonstrators food and water, starved them into submission. D) The army stormed the square and massacred hundreds of demonstrators.

The Tiananmen Square incident was A) the use of armed force by the Chinese government to quell pro-democracy rallies in Beijing. B) the culmination of a general strike by Polish workers that began the disintegration of the Soviet Union's hold on eastern Europe. C) a confrontation between anti-abortion and pro-choice demonstrators. D) a protest march against the Persian Gulf War.

The major reason for the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s was A) Ronald Reagan's launching of the Strategic Defense Initiative. B) a major nuclear power plant disaster in the Soviet Union that virtually destroyed the Soviet economy. C) a chain of industrial failures in Soviet client states initiated by American covert actions undertaken by the CIA on orders from President Reagan. D) the rise to power of Mikhail Gorbachev.

The Bush administration decided to force Panama's General Manuel Antonio Noriega from power because A) revelations concerning Noriega's drug-trafficking activities caused protests in Panama. B) the CIA uncovered a plot by Noriega to close the Panama Canal. C) he consistently opposed American aid to the contras. D) United States intelligence agents discovered that he was selling arms to leftist insurgents in El Salvador.

As a result of the invasion of Panama in 1989, the United States A) captured Manuel Noriega and tried him for drug trafficking. B) overthrew the Sandinista government. C) used the CIA to oust the leftist government of that country. D) ousted the dictatorial government and supplied massive reconstruction aid to rebuild the country's economy and establish a democracy.

The 1991 Persian Gulf War was caused by A) Syria's invasion of Israel. B) Saudi Arabia's invasion of Iraq. C) Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. D) the United Arab Emirates' hostile actions in the Persian Gulf.

What did the United States wish to accomplish by sending troops to the Persian Gulf and engaging in the 1991 Persian Gulf War? A) To defend Israel against attack by Syria and Libya B) To defend Saudi Arabian oil exports to the United States and force Iraq to abandon its takeover of Kuwait C) To enforce the cease-fire between Iraq and Iran D) To force the United Arab Emirates to stop preying on American tankers in the Persian Gulf

President George H.W. Bush committed American troops to the 1991 Persian Gulf War A) only after getting the approval of both America's allies and Congress. B) over the objections of America's allies, who would agree only to economic sanctions against Iraq. C) despite the opposition of the great majority of the American public, who wanted no part in another Vietnam. D) without consulting either America's allies or Congress.

Many Americans were against the 1991 Persian Gulf War because A) they were afraid that Iran would come to Iraq's aid and declare war against the United States. B) they accepted Saddam Hussein's claim that Kuwait was not a separate nation but merely a province of Iraq. C) they took seriously the Soviet Union's threat of nuclear retaliation if the United States used armed force against Iraq. D) they believed that economic sanctions against Iraq should be given more time to work.

Which of the following was a provision of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990? A) It established hiring quotas under which 5 percent of the work force of most American companies had to consist of persons officially classified as disabled. B) It extended a yearly federal stipend to all American families in which a disabled person was being cared for at home. C) It established federally-funded job-training programs that were made available to all disabled Americans. D) It forbade companies with 25 or more employees from engaging in discriminatory hiring practices against the physically impaired.

Which of the following correctly describes Clarence Thomas's political views? A) Conservative B) Liberal C) Moderate D) Progressive

President George H.W. Bush's nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court A) was rejected by the Senate, causing a bitter Thomas to turn his back on his legal career. B) ran into difficulty when Thomas was accused of sexually harassing a female who worked for him. C) was fiercely opposed, primarily because he was a white male at a time when the pressure was on to appoint a woman or an African American. D) was met with almost no resistance from either Republicans or Democrats.