Q&A Hero

Q: What campaign pledge did President George H. W. Bush have to break in 1990? A) not to cooperate with Russian leader Gorbachev B) not to lead America into war C) not to raise taxes D) to end the Cold War E) to prohibit discrimination against the disabled

Q: What was only significant piece of social legislation enacted in the first Bush administration? A) Economic Opportunity Act B) National Health Insurance Act C) Social Security Privatization Act D) Americans with Disabilities Act E) Equal Rights Amendment

Q: The primary focus of George H. W. Bush's presidency was ________. A) healthcare reform B) reducing taxes C) gay rights D) education E) foreign affairs

Q: What was the first crisis of the post-Cold War era? A) the United States invaded Iraq B) al Qaeda attacked New York City C) Iraq invaded Kuwait D) the East German government collapsed E) Russia invaded Afghanistan

Q: How did President Clinton change the experience of gays and lesbians in the military? A) He launched an investigation to root out and prosecute homosexuals in the military. B) He instigated a ban on homosexuals in the military. C) He established the "Don"t ask, don"t tell" military policy. D) He pressured the military to accept a small number of openly gay recruits. E) He forced the military to accept homosexuals in every branch of the service.

Q: Why did some working class women oppose the Equal Rights Amendment? A) They worried about losing the protections of state laws designed to help women. B) They worried that their bosses would fire them if they openly supported it. C) They thought it helped middle-class women but ignored working class women. D) They feared that it would lead to the drafting of women into the military. E) They mistrusted the National Organization for Women, which sponsored it.

Q: How did the American family unit change after 1970? A) The divorce rate sharply increased. B) The birth rate steadily declined. C) The number of births to women over age 30 increased. D) The number of single-parent households was cut in half. E) Many more fathers started staying home to raise children.

Q: The most serious consequence of the 1970s oil shocks for America was ________. A) the collapse of several Arab states that were friendly to the United States B) the loss of international respect for Americans C) the decline of the automobile culture in the United States D) the beginning of the mass exodus from American suburbs E) the rampant inflation they fueled in the larger economy

Q: Why did Saudi Arabia cut off oil shipments to the United States in 1973? A) Saudi Arabia wanted to force U.S. intervention in the October War. B) Saudi Arabia feared Soviet retaliation if it supplied the United States with oil. C) President Carter was refusing to pay full price for Saudi oil shipments. D) The United States had become involved in the conflict in Nicaragua. E) The United States had sent emergency aid to Israel during the October War.

Q: Which of the following best describes the Watergate Scandal? A) President Nixon's 1972 affair with a young intern from the Republican National Committee B) President Nixon's involvement in ordering an attack on unarmed civilians in Vietnam C) President Nixon's attempts to cover up sources of campaign funding in the 1972 election D) President Nixon's attempts to hide his involvement in a break-in at the Democrats' headquarters E) President Nixon's attempts to bribe the North Vietnamese to agree to end the Vietnam War

Q: What inspired the infamous protests at Kent State during which four students were killed? A) the bombing of Hanoi B) the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. C) the U.S. invasion of Cambodia D) the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam E) the end of military draft deferments

Q: What was most important about the SALT I agreements? A) They revealed the extent of the secret Soviet nuclear-weapon stockpiling. B) They demonstrated that the United States would not compromise on its weapons program. C) They demonstrated that the Soviet Union would not compromise on its weapons program. D) They were a symbolic first step in a peaceful resolution of U.S.-Soviet tensions. E) They were critical in exacerbating the stresses and tensions of the Cold War.

Q: Why did the Nixon administration decide to resume relations with China? A) China had cautiously inquired about resuming normal diplomatic relations. B) The United States believed it would force better relations with the Soviet Union. C) The United States wanted to thwart the growing economic power of Japan. D) The United States wanted to patch up relationships with Asian nations after the Vietnam War. E) The suffering U.S. economy forced Nixon to make an economic arrangement with China.

Q: What is one conservative criticism of liberals? A) Liberals are too willing to sacrifice high standards to achieve social equality. B) Liberals are too tough on communist dictatorships in other countries. C) Liberals are too focused on what is right about America rather than what needs to be fixed. D) Liberals ignore the social inequalities faced by ethnic minorities and women. E) Liberals are focused on reducing government spending and social services.

Q: Which statement best characterizes Reagan's two terms as the governor of California? A) He bullied the legislature to implement his conservative policies. B) He lacked natural abilities as a political leader. C) He was flexible and did not try to force all of his conservative policies. D) He led the state further and further to the left through his reforms. E) He ignored taxes and education to focus on immigration issues.

Q: With the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty, both the Soviet Union and the United States agreed to ________. A) destroy their entire stockpile of intermediate-range missiles B) remove and destroy all intermediate-range missiles in Europe C) prevent developing nations from having access to intermediate-range missiles D) limit their weapons arsenals to intermediate-range rather than long-range missiles E) work together to create the world's first intermediate-range missile

Q: The Iran-Contra affair was ________. A) a covert operation through which the Reagan administration planned to topple the Iranian government B) a diplomatic disaster in which Iranian and Nicaraguan leaders were deeply insulted by one of Reagan's speeches C) a foreign policy crisis in which Reagan sent combat troops to both Iran and Nicaragua in order to keep the peace D) a crisis between Iran and Nicaragua regarding an antimissile system that nearly resulted in nuclear war E) a scandal in which the government planned to sell weapons to Iran in order to finance exiles fighting in Nicaragua

Q: The goal of the Boland Amendment was to ________. A) prohibit American military aid to overthrow the Nicaraguan government B) prohibit the sale of weapons to Iran under any circumstances C) make it illegal for the United States to interfere in any foreign war without voter approval D) allow covert operations in Central America to stop the spread of communism E) allow the Reagan administration to send troops to topple communist regimes

Q: The antimissile system based on the use of lasers and particle beams to destroy incoming missiles from outer space was called ________. A) IED B) SALT I C) SALT II D) SDI E) VIPER

Q: President Reagan's tax compromise with Congress called for an income tax cut of ________. A) 10 percent for three consecutive years B) 15 percent over two years C) 5 percent the first year and 10 percent the second and third years D) 20 percent over two years E) 5 percent each year for four years

Q: What do supply-side economists believe? A) that the economy will recover without changing tax structures B) that tax cuts will always hurt the national economy C) that tax cuts will lead to an economic boom D) that certain tax increases will lead to an economic boom E) that tax increases are needed to keep the deficit in check

Q: Which group overwhelmingly supported Carter in the 1980 presidential election? A) African Americans B) blue-collar workers C) Jewish voters D) voters in the Sunbelt states E) voters in the South

Q: In 1979, rebels in _________ took U.S. diplomats hostage. A) Afghanistan B) Iran C) Iraq D) Israel E) Pakistan

Q: The Camp David accords provided a framework for peace negotiations between ________. A) the United States and the Soviet Union B) North Vietnam and South Vietnam C) Iran and the United States D) Israel and Egypt E) the Soviet Union and China

Q: Which executive order did President Ford give to the CIA in 1975? A) He ordered the CIA to focus on domestic rather than international intelligence operations. B) He ordered the CIA to limit their surveillance to hostile nations. C) He ordered the CIA to do whatever was necessary to topple Castro. D) He outlawed assassinations as an instrument of U.S. foreign policy. E) He outlawed covert surveillance as an instrument of U.S. foreign policy.

Q: The first person to become president without being elected president or vice president was ________. A) Gerald R. Ford B) Richard Nixon C) Jimmy Carter D) George H. W. Bush E) Lyndon Johnson

Q: The birth of the gay liberation movement was ________. A) the Outing B) the founding of ACT UP C) the Stonewall Riots D) the founding of the Gay Activist Alliance E) the founding of the Gay Liberation Front

Q: The court decision in Roe v. Wade guaranteed a woman's right to ________. A) attend traditionally all-male schools B) run for public office C) serve in the military D) earn equal pay for equal work E) obtain an abortion

Q: The most encouraging economic development for women in the late twentieth century was that ________. A) women's wages largely closed the gap with men's wages B) women made great progress in entering male-dominated professions C) the number of female business owners increased greatly D) the number of women serving on corporate boards grew rapidly E) the Equal Rights Amendment was ratified in 1982

Q: Who was the first woman to be appointed to the United States Supreme Court? A) Ruth Bader Ginsburg B) Sandra Day O"Connor C) Eleanor Smeal D) Elena Kagan E) Bridget Maher

Q: The international oil organization most responsible for raising petroleum prices in the 1970s was ________. A) ACT UP B) OPEC C) SALT D) SDI E) ERA

Q: While the United States was home to only 6 percent of the world's population, it was responsible for ________ of the world's energy consumption. A) 9 percent B) 22 percent C) 40 percent D) 75 percent E) 90 percent

Q: The greatest economic challenge faced by the Nixon administration involved ________. A) the reduction of government spending B) a dramatic increase in international oil prices C) the bankruptcy of the Federal Reserve System D) the crisis in American farming E) rampant unemployment

Q: The operatives who staged the break-in at a Washington office complex in 1972 were known as the ________. A) "officers" B) "robbers" C) "plumbers" D) "clean-up crew" E) "bunglers"

Q: The SALT treaties involved ________. A) the American withdrawal from Vietnam B) reduction of U.S. and Soviet offensive ballistic missiles C) removal of Soviet nuclear weapons from Cuba D) preventing outright war in the Middle East E) the collapse of the former Soviet Union

Q: Nixon's program to improve relations with the Soviet Union was known as ________. A) containment B) dtente C) perestroika D) dmarche E) entente

Q: Who served as Nixon's national security advisor? A) Warren Burger B) G. Gordon Liddy C) Henry Kissinger D) William Rehnquist E) John Mitchell

Q: What was the main focus of the Nixon presidency? A) foreign policy B) civil rights C) economics D) education E) the armed forces

Q: What was the Moral Majority? A) an international peacekeeping group B) a group of moderates who denounced Nixon C) a liberal group of political activists D) a group of civil rights activists E) a religious fundamentalist group

Q: How did Reagan challenge the liberal premises of the New Deal? A) Reagan asserted that the federal aid programs established under the New Deal had actually worsened the Great Depression. B) Reagan abolished all federal aid programs, leaving it entirely up to individual states to provide social services. C) Reagan expanded the New Deal programs, demonstrating that they had not been extensive enough or helpful enough. D) Reagan asserted that the private sector should solve America's problems rather than the federal government. E) Reagan wanted the federal government to take a more active role in helping America than it had during the New Deal.

Q: How was the Watergate Scandal similar to the Iran-Contra affair? A) They both were excused due to significant progress in U.S.-Soviet relations. B) They both restored the public's faith in federal government. C) They both brought the United States to the brink of nuclear war. D) They both involved major errors in international diplomacy. E) They both involved illegal actions that tarnished a president's reputation.

Q: How did the Watergate Scandal compare to previous presidential scandals? A) Unlike previous scandals, Watergate was about lust rather than money. B) Unlike previous scandals, Watergate was about power rather than money. C) Unlike previous scandals, Watergate was about money rather than power. D) Like previous scandals, Watergate was covered up and never revealed to the public. E) Like previous scandals, Watergate demonstrated the inefficacy of journalism.

Q: Which component was NOT part of Nixon's plan to end the war in Vietnam? A) a gradual withdrawal of American troops B) training South Vietnamese forces to take over C) renewed bombing of North Vietnam D) increased military spending E) taking a hard line in negotiations with Hanoi

Q: What influenced President Reagan's interaction with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev? A) The Soviet Union was becoming an economic power that the United States could not isolate. B) The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and escalated the arms race. C) Mikhail Gorbachev was interested in making peace with the United States. D) Mikhail Gorbachev was committed to blocking American interests abroad. E) The Soviet Union had fallen into chaos and a resulting civil war.

Q: What was one reason why the United States gave encouragement to Israel during the invasion of southern Lebanon? A) The Reagan administration hoped that the invasion would destroy the PLO. B) The Reagan administration hoped that the invasion would lead to the release of hostages. C) The Reagan administration hoped that the invasion would force Lebanon to honor a treaty. D) The Reagan administration hoped that the invasion would sever Soviet-Lebanese relations. E) The Reagan administration hoped that the invasion would redraw borders in the Middle East.

Q: Why did Congress refuse Reagan's request for money and authority for further intervention in Nicaragua? A) They believed the Nicaraguan conflict was not a threat to the United States. B) They wanted to block as many of Reagan's foreign policy initiatives as possible. C) They feared repeating the mistakes of the Vietnam War. D) They feared angering the public in an election year. E) There were no funds available due to expanding deficits.

Q: How did Reagan's approach to the conflict in Nicaragua differ from Carter's? A) Carter refused to get involved; Reagan sent economic aid to the Sandinista government. B) Carter deployed ground troops to Nicaragua; Reagan implemented an airstrike strategy. C) Carter favored an airstrike strategy in Nicaragua; Reagan deployed ground troops instead. D) Carter sent troops to Nicaragua; Reagan gave economic aid to the Sandinista government. E) Carter gave economic aid to the Sandinista government; Reagan cut off that economic aid.

Q: What did the United States do in the early 1980s that caused the Soviet Union to break off disarmament negotiations in Geneva? A) It revealed plans to develop the Strategic Defense Initiative. B) It placed missiles in Great Britain and Germany. C) It sent American troops into Afghanistan. D) It opened up diplomatic relations with China. E) It forcibly broke the Saudi Arabian oil embargo.

Q: A central tenet of Reagan's approach to foreign policy at the beginning of his presidency was the belief that ________. A) the Palestine Liberation Organization represented a serious threat to the United States B) trading arms for hostages was an effective way to negotiate quietly with terrorists C) the Middle East needed United States intervention to achieve freedom D) the Soviet Union was a deadly enemy that threatened the United States E) Israel could not be trusted to honor its agreements

Q: Why did Reagan fire air traffic controllers in the summer of 1981? A) in retaliation for their lack of support during the 1980 election B) in response to a record number of accidents at airport around the nation C) in response to a strike by the air traffic controllers' union D) to prevent the formation of an air traffic controllers' union E) to forestall a wage increase that would threaten the balanced budget

Q: What was one reason why Reagan won the 1980 presidential election? A) He made large inroads among the African-American community. B) He carried every state east of the Mississippi. C) He benefited from the growing political power of the Sunbelt region. D) He won the majority of votes among Jewish voters. E) He led in every single southern state.

Q: Why did militants seize the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979? A) The Carter administration had threatened war if the oil embargo wasn"t lifted immediately. B) The Carter administration had seized insurgents the week before and refused to release them. C) The Carter administration refused to end American involvement in Nicaragua. D) President Carter publicly denounced their Ayatollah's revolution. E) Carter had allowed the exiled shah to seek medical treatment in the United States.

Q: How did Carter try to redeem his presidency in what became known as his "national malaise" speech? A) He tried to blame the Soviet Union for ruining his presidency. B) He tried to pin responsibility on the public's lack of confidence. C) He offered to donate a million dollars to popular American charities. D) He tried to demonstrate that he understood the common man. E) He showed clips from a propaganda film to sway public opinion.

Q: President Gerald Ford's brief "honeymoon" with the American public ended when he ________. A) confessed to taking steroids during his college football days at Michigan B) suppressed declassified files pertaining to the Kennedy assassination C) proposed normalizing relations with Castro's Cuba D) granted disgraced President Richard Nixon a full pardon E) appointed liberal Republican Nelson Rockefeller as his vice president

Q: How did African-American activism affect social change for other ethnic groups? A) Other ethnic groups were unimpressed with the strategies of African-American activists and tried to enact social change in other ways. B) Other ethnic groups had little success in making social change since the country was weary of protests for racial justice. C) Other ethnic groups were inspired greatly by African-American activism and launched their own protests for social change. D) Other ethnic groups were afraid to protest after seeing the violence African-American activists endured from authorities. E) Other ethnic groups were resentful of successes in the civil rights movement because the social changes of the 1960s affected only African Americans.

Q: What were Johnson's feelings about committing the United States to the war in Vietnam? A) He worried about the consequences of either withdrawal or invasion so he committed to a large-scale but limited military intervention. B) He worried about the consequences of being too cautious so he committed the American military to an all-out invasion of North Vietnam. C) He was worried about the consequences of a U.S. troop presence so he withdrew troops to Taiwan and Japan while he reconsidered his options. D) He worried about the spread of communism so he committed American troops to two fronts: in Vietnam and in China. E) He was worried about domestic unrest in the United States, so he decided he could not commit more than 10,000 troops to the effort.

Q: What is one reason why the Gulf of Tonkin affair was such a costly victory for Johnson? A) Johnson became ill during the Gulf of Tonkin affair and never fully recovered his health. B) The Gulf of Tonkin affair caused thousands of deaths, which soured America's reputation. C) The Gulf of Tonkin affair led Congress to reduce Johnson's ability to use force in Vietnam. D) Johnson became vulnerable to the charge of deliberately misleading Congress. E) Johnson had to underfund his domestic social programs to finance the operation.

Q: Which of the following was NOT a consequence of the Cuban Missile Crisis? A) the end of the U.S.-Soviet arms race B) the Soviet-American telephone hotline C) an increase in Kennedy's popularity among the public D) a new maturity in Kennedy's foreign policy E) a belief among some that a hard-line policy was justified

Q: What effect did the Vietnam War have on future U.S. foreign policy? A) It caused America to pursue a more active containment policy. B) It caused America to abandon its policy of containment. C) It caused America to return to an isolationist policy abroad. D) It caused America to refuse to cooperate with Asian nations for a decade. E) It embarrassed America into abandoning international efforts for a decade.

Q: Nixon's election signaled a public reaction against the ________. A) failure of the Democratic Party to bring about social reform B) efforts to bring peace in Vietnam C) successes of the civil rights movement D) economic failures of the last Democratic president E) liberal impulse to enact social reform

Q: Which statement best describes the social change that American women experienced from the 1920s to the 1960s? A) In the 1960s, the media no longer portrayed and highlighted stereotypical gender roles as it had during the 1920s. B) In the 1960s, there were actually fewer women enrolled in college and professional schools than there had been in the 1920s. C) In the 1960s, there were many more women working in the medical and legal professions than there had been in the 1920s. D) In the 1960s, women were no longer relegated to stereotypical occupations, as they had been in the 1920s. E) In the 1960s, women were no longer expected to maintain the household and raise children, as they had been in the 1920s.

Q: What is one reason why Congress passed the Ethnic Heritage Studies Act of 1972? A) to promote the idea of diversity as a positive force B) to give employers the opportunity to learn about workers from different ethnic groups C) to provide for the inclusion of different ethnic groups as mascots for team sports D) to educate people in the agricultural industry about the plight of farm workers E) to add questions about ethnic heritage and history to voter literacy tests

Q: How did African-American activism change toward the late 1960s? A) It cooled off after African Americans achieved all of their goals. B) It became even more committed to nonviolent resistance to racism. C) It became more militant and shifted focus from social goals to economic goals. D) It focused less on protest in the streets and more on progress through the courts. E) It focused less on domestic social change and more on international social change.

Q: Lyndon Johnson's political downfall resulted primarily from ________. A) his Latin American policy B) his handling of the Vietnam War C) the failure of his Great Society D) his refusal to be a cold warrior E) his advocacy of welfare programs

Q: Lyndon Johnson must bear great responsibility for the American problems in the Vietnam War because he ________. A) failed to confront the American people with the stark reality of the war B) was the first leader to commit American resources to fighting communists in Vietnam C) was not fully committed to containment and strayed from Kennedy's foreign policy D) was more committed to the containment policy than his predecessors had been E) took funding away from the war effort to prop up his Great Society programs

Q: The American bombing of North Vietnam in 1965 resulted in which of the following? A) It proved an effective strategy, limiting North Vietnam's participation in the war. B) It destroyed North Vietnam's major port facilities at Haiphong. C) It greatly impeded communist supply lines to North Vietnam. D) It garnered approval from the international community. E) It was largely ineffective and did not stop the North Vietnamese.

Q: In part, Lyndon Johnson wanted the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to demonstrate the American commitment to ________. A) making Vietnam an American colony B) remaining neutral in Vietnam C) defending South Vietnam D) invading North Vietnam E) cooperating with Russia in the Vietnam conflict

Q: What caused the Gulf of Tonkin affair? A) American covert operations in Vietnam led North Vietnam to attack a U.S. ship. B) American intervention in Cuba led Castro to urge the North Vietnamese to attack U.S. ships. C) American hostility caused Khrushchev to ask the North Vietnamese to attack U.S. ships. D) Russian hostility to North Vietnam caused Khrushchev to seize North Vietnamese ships. E) North Vietnam attacked South Vietnamese ships carrying resources to the United States.

Q: The foreign policy of Lyndon Johnson ________. A) was dramatically different from that of John Kennedy B) was simply a continuation of Kennedy's policies C) indicated his strong opposition to the Cold War D) indicated his acceptance of existing communist states E) was isolationist and aloof by nature

Q: Which statement about the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is correct? A) It was strongly opposed by northern Republicans in the House and Senate. B) It won President Johnson the public adulation he craved. C) It reduced President Johnson's popularity across the nation. D) It had little effect on the voting practices of southern African Americans. E) It led to a dramatic increase in African-American voting registration in the South.

Q: Which statement about Johnson's war on poverty is correct? A) It was a failure; the poverty level actually rose while the program was in effect. B) It was barely passed by Congress and was never actually implemented. C) It lacked effective funding and, in the end, helped only about 80,000 people. D) It emphasized self-help and brought almost ten million people out of poverty. E) It gave money directly to the poor and nearly solved the nation's poverty problem.

Q: When President Johnson convinced Congress to pass Kennedy's proposed tax cut in 1964, the result was ________. A) huge budget deficits B) a sustained economic boom C) protests from welfare recipients D) a major recession E) cutbacks in certain social services

Q: Which was one major difference between John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson? A) Kennedy was more committed to a reform agenda than was Johnson. B) Johnson was considered more stylish than Kennedy. C) Kennedy was better at manipulating Congress than Johnson. D) Johnson was more popular with the media than Kennedy. E) Kennedy was a more polished public speaker than Johnson.

Q: What finally caused Kennedy to support racial justice openly? A) Kennedy visited segregated schools in the South. B) Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. C) Kennedy wanted a united country to fight the war in Vietnam. D) Authorities attacked child protesters in Birmingham, Alabama. E) The Democratic Party threatened to withdraw support if he didn"t speak out.

Q: John F. Kennedy gave civil rights legislation lukewarm support because he ________. A) feared the possibility of alienating southern Democrats B) did not think the country was ready to consider it C) did not want to encourage militant African-American leaders D) thought it was unnecessary and should be left to the states E) thought there was little a president could do to combat racism

Q: How was the Cuban Missile Crisis resolved? A) Cuba removed its nuclear missiles in exchange for America's promise not to attack the Soviet Union. B) America removed its nuclear missiles from Cuba in exchange for Russian promises not to aid North Vietnam. C) America removed its nuclear missiles from Cuba in exchange for Russia's promise not to invade Cuba. D) Russia removed its nuclear missiles from Cuba in exchange for America's promise not to invade North Vietnam. E) Russia removed its nuclear missiles from Cuba in exchange for America's promise not to invade Cuba.

Q: Why did Kennedy authorize a covert mission in which more than a thousand Cuban exiles invaded Cuba? A) to check the island for nuclear weapons B) to topple the regime of Fidel Castro C) to gather information about Castro's relationship with Khrushchev D) to steal classified documents related to the conflict in Vietnam E) to spark an anticommunist movement among the Cuban people

Q: Why did the United States become involved in the conflict between North and South Vietnam in 1961? A) to stop the spread of communism from North Vietnam to South Vietnam B) to gain control of valuable natural resources in South Vietnam C) to honor obligations to Russia from the treaty ending World War II D) to retaliate for North Vietnam's involvement in the Bay of Pigs operation E) to stop South Vietnam's bloody takeover of North Vietnam

Q: How did Kennedy secure the African-American vote in the 1960 presidential election? A) He promised to defend African nations from communism. B) He promised to appoint an African American as his running mate. C) He supported the release of Martin Luther King, Jr. from jail. D) He publicly criticized southern Democrats who supported segregation. E) He was a close personal friend of Stokely Carmichael.

Q: Which 1968 presidential candidate cut deeply into Hubert Humphrey's base by running on the American Independent Party ticket? A) Eugene McCarthy B) William Westmoreland C) Timothy Leary D) George C. Wallace E) Huey Newton