Chapter 31: A Crisis in Confidence 1968-1990 (pgs. 1044 – 1071)
Directions: Answer the following questions after reading the chapter. (questions 1-5 = 4 pts. each, 6-8 = 5 pts. each for a total of 35 pts.)
1. Define stagflation. What were the causes of stagflation in the early 1970s?
a dual condition of a stagnating economy and inflationary pressures; expanding federal deficits, rising foreign competition, and the rapid increase in the price of oil
2. Define executive privilege. How did the Supreme Court rule on executive privilege in United States v. Nixon?
The principle that the President has the right to keep certain information confidential; that Nixon’s tape recordings were not protected by executive privilege.
3. What is amnesty? Why did Carter’s granting of amnesty to draft evaders anger some Americans?
Political pardon; many were angry that those who had refused to fight would escape punishment
4. What is the developing world? How did Carter change U.S. foreign policy toward the developing world?
The poor nations of Asia, Africa, and Latin America; Carter moved policy from treating them as arenas for fighting the Cold War to areas where human rights should be protected.
5. Who was the Ayatollah Khomeni? How did his actions affect the Carter presidency?
Leader of the fundamentalist Islamic clerics who overthrew the Shah of Iran in 1979; in retaliation for allowing the Shah to enter the United States for medical treatment, Iranians under Khomeini’s rule took over the U.S. embassy in Iran and held 52 American hostages for more than a year.
6. What events led to Richard Nixon’s resignation as President in 1974? Details.
Burglars who broke into Democratic headquarters in the Watergate Hotel had connections to Nixon’s reelection committee. Nixon tried to cover up the crime. Congress investigated and was about to start impeachment proceedings, when Nixon chose to resign.
7. What accounted for the changes in American attitudes during the 1970s?
migration of Americans to the Sunbelt; influx of immigrants from Latin America and Southeast Asia; coming of age of the “Me Generation”; events such as Watergate; strengthening of conservative fundamentalist Christianity.
8. What were the goals of American foreign policy during the Ford and Carter years, and how successful were Ford’s and Carter’s policies?
Ford: continue pursuing détente with the Soviet Union and China and pursue non-involvement in Southeast Asia. Carter was guided by concern for human rights, instead of Cold War competition. Ford was probably more successful than was Carter, who, in taking a stand on human rights, negatively affected U.S.-Soviet relations. Carter also experienced mixed results in Latin America. In the Middle East, he brokered the Camp David Accords, but then had to face the Iranian hostage crisis.
Chapter 32: The Conservative Resurgence 1980 – 1993 (pgs. 1074 – 1101)
Directions: After reading the chapter, answer the following questions. (questions 1-5 = 4 pts. each, 6-9 = 6 pts. each for a total of 44 pts.)
1. What was the New Right? Give two reasons for the rise of the New Right.
The New Right was a growing conservative movement in the 1960s and 1970s that supported a conservative agenda. It developed as people became disillusioned with the liberal policies of the Great Society and conservative religious groups became more politicized.
2. What was the Savings and Loan crisis? How did the federal government respond to this crisis?
The Savings and Loan crisis developed as these institutions failed because of fraud and risky loans. The government bailed out many depositors who lost money in this crisis.
3. What is AIDS? How did Reagan and Bush react to the increase of AIDS in the United States?
AIDS is a disease that develops from a virus that attacks the immune system. Reagan responded slowly to the spread of the disease; Bush provided increased funding for research.
4. What were glasnost and perestroika? What effect did they have on the Soviet Union?
Both were policies of openness and reform for the Soviet Union. Gorbachev’s introduction of these policies helped improve relations between the United States and the Soviets.
5. Define apartheid. What actions did the United States take to end apartheid?
Apartheid was a policy of racial segregation in South Africa. In the United States, many private firms divested themselves of South African holdings to pressure the country to reform its policies.
6. What spurred the rise of conservatism in the late 1970s and early 1980s?
Conservatives valued most the ideas of individualism, patriotism, and self-determination. The social and economic declines of the 1970s showed the failure of the liberal response to these problems and spurred the rise of conservatism.
7. What were the major characteristics of the conservative Reagan Revolution?
The Reagan Revolution focused on reducing the size and influence of government. It lowered taxes and limited government intervention in Social Security, healthcare, and education.
8. What were Reagan’s foreign policies, and how did they contribute to the fall of communism in Europe?
Reagan sought to confront communism, and he greatly expanded the U.S. military budget on programs such as the Strategic Defense Initiative. The Soviets could not match the U.S. arms buildup, and their military disadvantage contributed to the fall of communism.
9. What actions did the United States take abroad during George H.W. Bush’s presidency?
George H.W. Bush took action to control the flow of drugs from Panama, sent peacekeeping forces to Bosnia and Somalia, suspended arms sales to China to protest its human rights violations, and initiated Operation Desert Storm to free Kuwait from the Iraqis.
Chapter 33: Into a New Century 1992 – Today (pgs. 1102 – 1135)
Directions: After reading the chapter, answer the following questions. (Questions 1-5 = 4 pts. each, 6-10 = 5 pts. each for a total of 45 pts.)
1. Define satellite. What role does satellite technology play in everyday life?
Mechanical devices orbiting Earth; they relay information to televisions, telephones, and computers.
2. Who is Newt Gingrich? What were some of his specific proposals during the Clinton presidency?
Former member of Congress who led the opposition during Clinton’s presidency; authored the Contract with America.
3. Define ethnic cleansing. Where was it used, and by whom?
The removal or killing of one ethnic or religious group by another in the same area; used in the Balkans by the Serbs.
4. What was the Patriot Act? What caused Congress to pass this legislation?
Legislation that allowed law enforcement broader powers to monitor suspected terrorists and their activities; the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
5. What is bilingual education? Why are some people opposed to it?
The education of English-language learners in both English and their native languages; some people believe that the main language of the United States is English and that bilingual education impedes immigrants from learning English.
6. How have technological changes and globalization transformed the American economy?
The U.S. economy has become a service-based system with the advancement of satellites and the Internet and the development of free trade and globalization.
7. What were the successes and failures of the Clinton presidency?
Clinton successfully passed the Family Medical Leave Act and anti-crime laws. However, he failed to institute healthcare reform, and his presidency was plagued by scandal.
8. What role did the United States take on in global politics and economics following the Cold War?
Economically, the U.S. took the lead in globalization and free trade; politically, the U.S. intervened for the purposes of peacekeeping and humanitarian relief.
9. What was the impact of Bush’s domestic agenda and his response to the terrorist attack against the United States?
Bush passed a tax cut and education and Medicare reform. The acts were met with controversy, and results have been mixed. Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack, Bush invaded Afghanistan to seek Osama bin Laden and to punish the Taliban, who were protecting bin Laden. Then, he attacked Iraq. Bush also established the Department of Homeland Security and worked for the passage of the Patriot Act.
10. How was American society changing at the beginning of the twenty-first century?
There had been a huge influx of immigrants in the 1990s; the American family was also changing with an increase in divorce, in the number of single-parent families, in the number of households with two working parents, and in the number of births to unwed mothers. Also, the population was aging.