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SAQ

100

“Reaganomics,” or supply-side economics, led to which of the following?

A decline in unemployment and poverty
Greater tax revenues than government expenditures
Large increases in the incomes of wealthy Americans
An increase in appropriations for school lunches
Lower military expenditures than during the Carter administration

Large increases in the incomes of wealthy Americans

Ronald Reagan's victory in the presidential election of 1980 represented an important milestone, allowing conservatives to enact significant tax cuts and continue the deregulation of many industries.

100

“Current sit-ins and other demonstrations are concerned with something much bigger than a hamburger.... Whatever may be the difference in approach to their goal... students, North and South, are seeking to rid America of the scourge of... discrimination—not only at lunch counters, but in every aspect of life.”

Ella Baker, “Bigger Than a Hamburger,” Raleigh, NC, 1960

The tactics described in the excerpt best represent which of the following?

Filing legal challenges
Using nonviolence
Learning self-defense
Petitioning government officials

Using nonviolence

During and after World War II, civil rights activists and leaders, most notably Martin Luther King Jr., combatted racial discrimination utilizing a variety of strategies, including legal challenges, direct action, and nonviolent protest tactics.

100

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was a Supreme Court decision that

was a forerunner of the Kansas-Nebraska Act
established free public colleges in the United States
declared racially segregated public schools inherently unequal
established free public elementary and secondary schools in the United States
provided for federal support of parochial schools

declared racially segregated public schools inherently unequal

The three branches of the federal government used measures including desegregation of the armed services and Brown v. Board of Education (1954) to promote greater racial equality.

100

The rock ‘n’ roll of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and the Rolling Stones derived primarily from

European folk music
nineteenth-century American ballads
cowboy songs
African American rhythm and blues
Scotch-Irish ballads

African American rhythm and blues

Mass culture became increasingly homogeneous in the postwar years, inspiring challenges to conformity by artists, intellectuals, and rebellious youth.

100

Briefly describe how ONE specific historical event or development contributed to the high birth rates in the United States from 1946 to 1964.

· Soldiers returned home from the Second World War and were eager to start families.

· Women were encouraged to leave the workforce and return to domestic life after the war.

· The economy boomed during the 1950s.

· Celebration of family life and sexuality in the popular culture during the 1950s (e.g., rock and roll music, television, movie stars, Kinsey report).

· The GI Bill provided financial/educational opportunities to returning veterans allowing many to start families.

200

The 1970’s and the 1980’s saw an increase in all of the following EXCEPT

the influence of Christian fundamentalism
the average age of Americans
support for consumer and environmental movements
the number of women holding political office
the percentage of two-parent households

the percentage of two-parent households

New movements for civil rights and liberal efforts to expand the role of government generated a range of political and cultural responses., Conservative beliefs regarding the need for traditional social values and a reduced role for government advanced in U.S. politics after 1980.

200

What We Want Now! What We Believe. . . .

1. We want freedom. We want power to determine the destiny of our Black community. We believe that Black people will not be free until we are able to determine our destiny.

2. We want full employment for our people. We believe that the federal government is responsible and obligated to give every man employment or a guaranteed income. We believe that if the White American businessmen will not give full employment, then the means of production should be taken from the businessmen and placed in the community so that the people of the community can organize and employ all of its people and give a high standard of living. . . .

6. We want all Black men to be exempt from military service. We believe that Black people should not be forced to fight in the military service to defend a racist government that does not protect us. We will not fight and kill other people of color in the world who, like Black people, are being victimized. . . .

8. We want freedom for all Black men held in federal, state, county and city prisons and jails. We believe that all Black people should be released from the many jails and prisons because they have not received a fair and impartial trial.

Black Panther Party, Ten-Point Program, 1966

The opinions expressed in the excerpt are most similar to those of the American Indian Movement in that both groups

believed that the United States should not be involved in foreign wars or other entanglements
asserted that state and local governments should have more power than the United States government
argued that the United States had a responsibility to provide compensation for past injustices
claimed that the United States had a responsibility to enact laws to limit environmental pollution

argued that the United States had a responsibility to provide compensation for past injustices

Continuing resistance slowed efforts at desegregation, sparking social and political unrest across the nation. Debates among civil rights activists over the efficacy of nonviolence increased after 1965.

200

Which of the following best explains a reason for the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s and early 1990s?

Declining public trust in foreign policy approaches led to a withdrawal of the United States from the world stage.
Economic problems in the Soviet Union undermined its ability to control its territories and engage in international conflicts.
Efforts to expose suspected communists in the United States reduced the Soviet ability to exercise influence abroad.
The United States and United Nations joint military intervention to support South Korea halted the expansionism of the Soviet Union.

Economic problems in the Soviet Union undermined its ability to control its territories and engage in international conflicts.

Economic problems in both Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, intensified by competition with the United States to spend money on its military, contributed greatly to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

200

In the mid-1950s, President Eisenhower’s argument for federal funding of highway construction emphasized

economic stimulus
national defense
beautification
defeating the domestic communist threat
promoting suburbanization

national defense

A burgeoning private sector, federal spending, the baby boom, and technological developments helped spur economic growth.

200

Briefly describe ONE specific historical effect of the high birth rates on United States society from 1946 to 1964.

· The size of the baby boom cohort contributed to the rise of a youth culture and teenagers in the 1950s and 1960s (e.g., the Beats, rock and roll music, hippies, juvenile delinquency).

· The growth of families from high birth rates led to a growth in suburbs during the 1950s and 1960s (e.g., Levittown, growth of suburban family life, white flight, urban ghettoes).

· The increased number of children in the country necessitated the growth in construction of education facilities (elementary through university).

· The growth of families increased demand for consumer goods during the 1950s and 1960s (e.g., cars, televisions, furniture, household appliances, etc.).

· The growth of families contributed to popular culture idealizing the nuclear family during the 1950s (e.g., Leave it to Beaver and other TV shows).

· The increased number of children in the nation led to the expansion of preventative healthcare (e.g., fluoride treated water, small pox, polio) and public health efforts.

· The mass culture associated with suburban families contributed to disillusionment with the culture of conformity of the 1950s.

300

Political conservatives in the 1960s and 1970s generally reacted to developments in United States foreign policy by

demanding a return to United States diplomatic isolationism
encouraging the United States to leave all military alliances
calling for a more assertive economic and military presence abroad by the United States
supporting United States involvement in international peacekeeping missions

calling for a more assertive economic and military presence abroad by the United States

In the 1960s, conservatives challenged liberal laws and court decisions and perceived moral and cultural decline, seeking to limit the role of the federal government and enact more assertive foreign policies.

300

Which of the following did the Black Panthers and the Nation of Islam have in common in the late 1960s?

They advocated ending segregation in the North rather than the South.
They sought affiliation with the American Communist Party.
They emphasized developing a greater sense of Black nationalism and solidarity.
They advocated nonviolent means to achieve their goals.
They split off from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr.

They emphasized developing a greater sense of Black nationalism and solidarity.

300

Which of the following is a correct statement about the college-level education in the twentieth-century United States?

State universities increased scholarship aid during the Depression.
Private universities raised admission standards during the 1940’s.
The GI Bill financed the education of male students during the post-Second World War era.
The “baby boomers” finished college in large numbers in the 1950’s.
There was a sharp decline in college enrollment during the Vietnam War.

The GI Bill financed the education of male students during the post-Second World War era.

As higher education opportunities and new technologies rapidly expanded, increasing social mobility encouraged the migration of the middle class to the suburbs and of many Americans to the South and West. The Sun Belt region emerged as a significant political area.

300

The “graying” of America since the 1970s is widely seen as threatening which of the following?

The American tourist industry
The consumer culture of American society
The long-term viability of the social security system
Voter turnout in local and national elections
Immigration quotas

The long-term viability of the social security system

The 1970s saw growing clashes between conservatives and liberals over social and cultural issues, the power of the federal government, race, and movements for greater individual rights.

300

Briefly explain ONE specific historical change in United States society from 1965 to 1980 that resulted from the trend in birth rates from 1946 to 1964.

· The baby boom generation later became disillusioned with the culture of conformity associated with their parents and the 1950s and contributed to the growth of a counterculture in the 1960s and 1970s.

· The baby boom generation sought social and political change through the student, free speech, and antiwar movements of late 1960s and early 1970s.

· The Moral Majority arose in response to the counterculture movements of the 1960s-1970s (e.g. Nixon’s Silent Majority, evangelical movements).

· Many in the baby boom generation joined or supported the growth of the Civil Rights movement and other rights movements (e.g., women’s movement, environmental movement).

· Many in the baby boom generation sought increased personal freedoms through the Sexual Revolution.

· Many women in the baby boom generation desired to join the workforce during the 1970s.

· Many baby boomers rejected earlier forms of mass culture, which led to new forms of popular culture that depicted nontraditional families during the 1970s.

· Baby boomer support for the social changes associated with the Sexual Revolution contributed to the reduction of and debates over legal restrictions on the use of contraceptives and reproductive rights (e.g., Griswold v. Connecticut, Roe v. Wade).

· The demographic changes associated with the baby boom negatively affected the solvency of Social Security under existing laws.

· Social changes supported by many baby boomers in favor of greater personal freedoms led to a rise in divorce rates.

· The rapid growth of the United States population led to increased demand for the expansion of federal social programs through initiatives such as the Great Society (e.g., Head Start, Food Stamp Program, Medicaid).

400

“Question: When is a dollar more than a dollar?

“Answer: When it’s used in Levittown, the most perfectly planned community in America!

“Anybody can build a house and charge a lot of money for it. But it’s news—big news—when you can find a house . . . to buy for only $8,990. It’s a beauty with 3 and a half delightful rooms.

“PLUS professionally landscaped grounds. . . .

“PLUS a complete bath with a tub, toilet, shower, basin . . .

“PLUS . . . all-steel kitchen cabinets, a stainless steel sink . . .

“PLUS free use of Levittown’s championship swimming pools,

“PLUS free use of all playgrounds, baseball fields, play areas. . . .

“So if you don’t want to be disappointed, come out as soon as you can—today if possible.”

Advertisement for Levitt and Sons housing development in Levittown, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Inquirer, 1951

The advertisement best provides evidence for which of the following developments in the 1950s?

The increase in homogeneity in postwar society
The efforts by civil rights activists to oppose segregation
The rejection by some artists and intellectuals of mass culture
The spread of fear of communist infiltration of the federal government

The increase in homogeneity in postwar society

Mass culture became increasingly homogeneous in the postwar years, inspiring challenges to conformity by artists, intellectuals, and rebellious youth.

400

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

“We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.”

President Dwight Eisenhower, farewell address, 1961

Eisenhower’s concerns expressed in the excerpt emerged most directly from the context of the

First World War
Second World War
Cold War
Vietnam War

Cold War

As postwar tensions dissolved the wartime alliance between Western democracies and the Soviet Union, the United States developed a foreign policy based on collective security, international aid, and economic institutions that bolstered non-Communist nation

400

“What is the phenomenon of globalization...? Fundamentally, it is the closer integration of the countries and peoples of the world which has been brought about by the enormous reduction of costs of transportation . . . and the breaking down of artificial barriers to the flow of goods, services, capital, knowledge, and (to a lesser extent) people across borders.”

Joseph E. Stiglitz, economist, Globalization and Its Discontents, 2002

Which of the following contributed most directly to the trend described in the excerpt?

The implementation of protective tariffs by trading nations
The spread of computer technology and Internet use
The growth of labor unions’ economic influence
The increased number and size of cities in the United States

The spread of computer technology and Internet use

Economic productivity increased as improvements in digital communications enabled increased American participation in worldwide economic opportunities.

400

Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society included all of the following EXCEPT

rent supplements for poor families
a universal health care program
federal funds to improve the nation’s inner-city districts
early childhood education programs
job training programs

a universal health care program

Liberal ideas found expression in Lyndon Johnson's Great Society, which attempted to use federal legislation and programs to end racial discrimination, eliminate poverty, and address other social issues.

400

Briefly describe ONE similarity between New Deal and Great Society programs.

· Both expanded a social welfare net.

· Both expanded government programs.

· Both regulated society and economy, expanded power and reach of the federal government, and incurred government spending and management of fiscal and monetary policy to ensure economic productivity and growth.

· Both addressed poverty and unemployment.

· Both had programs to help the elderly.

· Both gave workers and labor purchasing power and a stronger political voice.

· Both were driven by presidential vision and expanded presidential power

500

“Question: When is a dollar more than a dollar?

“Answer: When it’s used in Levittown, the most perfectly planned community in America!

“Anybody can build a house and charge a lot of money for it. But it’s news—big news—when you can find a house . . . to buy for only $8,990. It’s a beauty with 3 and a half delightful rooms.

“PLUS professionally landscaped grounds. . . .

“PLUS a complete bath with a tub, toilet, shower, basin . . .

“PLUS . . . all-steel kitchen cabinets, a stainless steel sink . . .

“PLUS free use of Levittown’s championship swimming pools,

“PLUS free use of all playgrounds, baseball fields, play areas. . . .

“So if you don’t want to be disappointed, come out as soon as you can—today if possible.”

Advertisement for Levitt and Sons housing development in Levittown, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Inquirer, 1951

The ideas in the advertisement most likely had limited appeal for which of the following groups?

Marketers and salespeople
Married homemakers and parents
Managers and professionals employed by corporations
Rebellious young people uncomfortable with conformity

Rebellious young people uncomfortable with conformity

500

United States Census Bureau

Which of the following factors was most likely responsible for the change in Chicago’s population from 1950 to 1990 ?

Migration to the suburbs and surrounding regions
Federal policies discouraging immigration
Decreasing birth rates among city dwellers
Continued racial discrimination in urban public housing

Migration to the suburbs and surrounding regions

500

“We must have tax reform. The method of raising revenue ought not to impede the transaction of business; it ought to encourage it. I am opposed to extremely high rates, because they produce little or no revenue, because they are bad for the country, and, finally, because they are wrong. We cannot finance the country, we cannot improve social conditions, through any system of injustice, even if we attempt to inflict it upon the rich. Those who suffer the most harm will be the poor. . . . The wise and correct course to follow in taxation and all other economic legislation is not to destroy those who have already secured success but to create conditions under which everyone will have a better chance to be successful.”

President Calvin Coolidge, inaugural address, 1925

The ideas expressed in the excerpt by Coolidge were most similar to the ideas of which of the following?

Anti-imperialists in the 1890s
New Dealers in the 1930s
Great Society supporters in the 1960s
New conservatives in the 1980s

New conservatives in the 1980s

Ronald Reagan's victory in the presidential election of 1980 represented an important milestone, allowing conservatives to enact significant tax cuts and continue the deregulation of many industries.

500

Question refers to the 1921 image below.

In the 1960s, the policy referenced in the image was

determined to be in the purview of the states rather than the federal government
overturned by the passage of new legislation
made permanent through an amendment to the United States Constitution
left largely unchanged because it did not apply to immigrants from parts of the world other than Europe

overturned by the passage of new legislation

After World War I, nativist campaigns against some ethnic groups led to the passage of quotas that restricted immigration, particularly from southern and eastern Europe, and increased barriers to Asian immigration., Immigrants from around the world sought access to the political, social, and economic opportunities in the United States, especially after the passage of new immigration laws in 1965.

500

Briefly describe ONE difference between New Deal and Great Society programs.

· The New Deal stabilized capitalism and sought to stave off the deepening or return of the Great Depression, while the Great Society sought to extend the benefits of affluence to all Americans and to eradicate poverty.

· The New Deal focused on economic recovery and relief while the Great Society sought to eradicate social problems like poverty, racial inequality, access to health care, and access to education.

· The Great Society focused on civil rights, while much of the New Deal did not address civil rights or institutionalized discrimination against African Americans and women in its programs.

· Great Society environmental policies focused primarily on the beautification of urban and rural areas, as well as developing regulations for air and water; New Deal environmental policies, instead, focused more on constructing infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and buildings. The New Deal created a lasting Democratic political coalition and consensus around liberalism in government, while aspects of the Great Society hurt the Democratic Party and inspired criticisms of liberalism by the New Right.