AP US- Karnas
Contemporary US
UNIT 10 QUIZ- CONTEMPORARY US
1. The men who broke into Watergate were
a. Trying to steal information about Nixon’s
campaign strategies
b. Members of the Committee to Re-elect the
President
c. Attempting to bug the Republican National
Committee Headquarters
d. Journalists from the Washington Post
e. Were advised by Nixon to gather materials
from the Democratic National Committee
headquarters
2. Ford’s decision to offer Nixon a Presidential Pardon
a. Was welcomed by the American public, who
wanted to put the ordeal behind them
b. Brought about the impeachment of Nixon
c. Was an illegal action and led to
Congressional censure of Ford.
d. Cost him substantial public support
e. Did not happen
3. What is the main takeaway from the Watergate era?
a. The Supreme Court showed it had the power
to when they impeached Nixon.
b. Congress has to obey the Constitution.
c. The president has the final word involving
constitutional issues.
d. No person, not even the president, is above
the law
e. Impeachment trials were rigorous and
effective
4. What was a lasting effect of the Watergate scandal
under President Richard Nixon?
a. The system of checks and balances was
weakened.
b. The scope of executive privilege was
broadened.
c. Trust in elected officials was undermined.
d. Presidential responsiveness to public opinion
was lessened.
e. Nixon was impeached
5. America’s relationship with Iran during the Carter
Administration
a. Was seen as important due to Cold War fears
and economic benefits
b. Improved greatly from beginning to end
c. Worsened after the overthrow of the
Ayatollah Khomeini by the Shah of Iran
d. Gained him enormous public support
e. All of the Above
6. Which is the most accurate assessment regarding the
political state of American politics in the 80s/90s
a. The era was one marked by a renewed
commitment to welfare statism that had
waned in the late 70s.
b. There was a constant tug of war between the
liberal and conservative agendas, neither of
which could assert their influence
c. The impact of conservatism was limited to
the legislative branch of the government
d. Despite some democratic victories the era
was one of conservative politics
e. None of the Above
7. The new Conservtive Coalition is best defined as
a. A group of economists intent on freeing up
market forces
b. Those who focused on the discontent over
US involvement of Vietnam
c. Opponents of the liberal agenda created
during the 70s under Nixon
d. A diverse group of interests that brought
religious, economic and social conservatism
under one umbrella
e. The term used in Ronald Reagan’s campaign
promise to American’s
8. Which of the following was NOT a core focus of
Jerry Fallwell’s Moral Majority
a. Repealing Roe v. Wade
b. Removing all government involvement from
religious and social life
c. Reinstituting school prayer
d. Opposing the Equal Rights Amendment
e. All of the Above ARE core focuses of the
Moral Majority
AP US- Karnas
9. According to the supply-side economics principles
promoted by President Ronald Reagan, economic
growth would occur when
a. Corporate business taxes were reduced
b. The government played a large role in
regulating business
c. Unemployment benefits and other welfare
programs were increased
d. Taxes were increased on the richest 2% of
Americans
e. None of the Above
10. A primary reason for the increase in federal debt
between 1980 and 1996 was
a. The cost of sending United States troops to
Bosnia
b. Instability of the stock market
c. Lower sales tax revenues collected by state
governments
d. High levels of spending by the federal
government
e. Tax increases that ran counter to the
principles of Reaganomics
11. Which of the following does not fit with the
Republican economic platform of the 80s
a. Lower tax rates
b. Increased military spending
c. More federal social programs
d. Government deregulation of big business
e. Increased payment to medicare patients
12. The group that benefitted the least from the economic
programs of the Reagan years was
a. Small business owners
b. Large Business owners
c. The poor
d. The middle class
e. The Wealthy
13. Reagan’s New Federalism is best described as
a. Centralizing political power at the federal
level
b. Moving responsibilities from the national
government to state governments
c. Creating a more streamlined tax code
d. Increasing the size of the national defense
program in order to defeat the Soviet Union
e. All of the Above
Contemporary US
14. His “Contract with America” re-affirmed a political
interest in slashing government programs
a. Bill Clinton
b. H. Ross Perot
c. Newt Gingrich
d. Bob Dole
e. George H.W. Bush
15. Which of the following was NOT an initiative of the
Clinton administrations
a. Health Care Reform
b. A balanced budget
c. North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement
d. Preservation of Medicare
e. All of the Above were Clinton Era initiatives
16. The Monica Lewinsky Scandal
a. Marred the Clinton presidency and led to
overwhelming Republican victories in
midterm elections
b. Had little impact on public opinion of the
president
c. Led to the first impeachment of a US
president
d. All of the Above
e. None of the Above
17. The first female Supreme Court Justice was
a. Sandra Day O’Conner
b. Geraldine Ferraro
c. Anita Hill
d. Sally Ride
e. Jeanne Corchoran
18. Which of the following sequences best describes the
fortunes of the national economy between 1980 and
1992?
a. Boom, recession, boom
b. Recession, boom
c. Boom, recession, boom, recession
d. Recession, boom, recession
e. Boom, recession
AP US- Karnas
19. Reagan’s approach towards dealing with the “evil
empire” was to
a. Open diplomatic relations with satellite
nations in hopes of drawing them away from
the USSR
b. Focus on Nuclear Arms reduction treaties
c. Employ increased funding to defense
spending
d. Announce a period of isolation that would
direct America’s political focus on domestic
issues
e. None of the Above
20. Star Wars is a term that refers to
a. Reagan’s plan to attack Iran over the Hostage
Crisis
b. An elaborate defense system to prevent
Soviet nuclear attacks
c. A plan to limit federal expenses during the
Regan years
d. Reagan’s domestic economic initiatives to
fight poverty
e. Gorbachev’s interest in striking America
21. Which of the following represent an easing of Cold
War tensions that took place in the 80s-90s
i. START
ii. Strategic Defense Initiative
iii. Glasnost & Perestroika
iv. Fall of the Berlin Wall
a. i, ii, iii
b. ii, iii, iv
c. iii, iv
d. i, iii, iv
e. i, ii, iii, iv
22. Lech Walesa and Vaclav Havel represent
a. The turning tide against communism in
Eastern Europe
b. Opponents of the American influence in
Eastern Europe
c. Critics of the Soviet System who sought to
unify Eastern Europe and create a separate
political state of unified satellite nations
d. The growing tension that existed in Serbian
dominated Yugoslavia
e. The problems created by Star Wars
Contemporary US
23. Which of the following is NOT true regarding
Operation Desert Storm
a. It was a multi-lateral attack supported by the
UN and led by US forces
b. It was a fairly quick affair that returned the
region to the status quo
c. It removed a tyrannical dictator from power
d. It began with Saddam Hussein’s attack on
neighboring Kuwait
e. All of the Above ARE true
24. The Iran Contra Affair consisted of
a. American hostages being taken by the
Sandinistas
b. America selling weapons to the Contras of
Nicaragua in return for US hostages
c. America sending weapons to Iran and
funneling the proceeds to anti-communist
rebels in Nicaragua
d. A covert American attack on oil fields of Iran
without Congressional approval
e. An American backed revolution against
communism in Iran