Period 9: 1980–Present

"By enabling instantaneous, low-cost transmission of information, the digital revolution has done for the service sector and intellectual work what the railroad and assembly line did for physical goods. Software coding, customer service, and financial analysis can now be performed anywhere in the world and transmitted back to corporate headquarters in the United States in seconds. This has allowed American multinational corporations to establish global divisions of labor, outsourcing routine cognitive tasks to lower-wage nations while keeping high-level management and design concentrated in U.S. metropolitan centers."

— Economic policy report, 1998

The developments described in the excerpt most directly contributed to which of the following economic trends in the United States during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries?

Read the excerpt below and answer the question that follows.

"The deficit is a growth-inhibiting cancer on our economy... This budget agreement is a balanced package of substantial spending cuts and revenue increases. Now, I have never liked taxes, and I still do not. But we cannot continue to borrow from our children’s future to fund current spending. The size of this federal deficit requires a bipartisan solution that includes both spending restraint and new tax revenues."
— President George H. W. Bush, Address to the Nation on the Federal Budget Agreement, October 2, 1990

Which of the following historical developments during the 1980s most directly contributed to the fiscal situation described in the excerpt?

The widespread use of air conditioning, the expansion of the interstate highway system, and the rise of defense and aerospace industries in the South and Southwest drew millions of Americans away from the older industrial centers of the Northeast and Midwest. This internal migration, which accelerated in the late twentieth century, transformed the nation's economic landscape and created new metropolitan hubs.

Which of the following was a direct political consequence of the migration patterns described in the passage?

"We stand closely allied to a global doctrine of paranoia—a foreign policy based on the concept of preemption... This nation, for all its dynamic youth, is in the process of becoming an empire, and it is doing so in a way that is bound to fail. The image of the United States as a beacon of liberty and law is being replaced by that of a nation determined to dominate the world by force. We have ignored our allies, bypassed the United Nations, and launched a war against a nation that did not attack us."

— Senator Robert Byrd, speech in the United States Senate, March 19, 2003

The foreign policy approach criticized in the excerpt was most directly a response to which of the following developments?

Read the excerpt below.

"The liberal promise of the Great Society has run its course. By expanding the federal bureaucracy and attempting to engineer social outcomes from Washington, the reformers of the 1960s have not only failed to eliminate poverty but have actively weakened the traditional values of self-reliance and family responsibility. The path forward requires a government that recognizes its own limits, encourages private enterprise, and restores order to our public institutions."
—Conservative commentary, 1979

The ideas expressed in the excerpt most directly reflect which of the following historical developments by 1980?

"We are asked to write a blank check for wiretapping, internet surveillance, and search warrants without the traditional judicial oversight that the Fourth Amendment demands. In our haste to protect ourselves from the very real threat of terrorism, we must not dismantle the constitutional protections that define our free society."

— Representative John Conyers, debate on the House floor, October 12, 2001

The concerns expressed in the excerpt were most directly a reaction to which of the following legislative actions?

"We must accept that the world is changing. With the click of a button, financial transactions now occur across oceans in seconds. To thrive in this new environment, we must lower trade barriers and allow competitive markets to coordinate production globally."
��� Representative Jim Kolbe, speech on the House floor during debates over the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 1993

Which of the following late-twentieth-century developments is most directly reflected in the ideas expressed in this speech?

Read the excerpt below.

'Our nation is facing a crisis of confidence and capability. At home, families are squeezed by the double burden of soaring inflation and stagnant wages. Abroad, American influence has faltered, leaving our citizens vulnerable and our leadership questioned. To restore our nation, we must build a coalition that champions a rebuilt military, a return to traditional moral principles, and a rollback of federal regulatory overreach.'
—Excerpt from a Republican campaign pamphlet, 1980

Based on the excerpt, the political arguments expressed most directly support which of the following developments in the election of 1980?

“The integration of computing technology and global telecommunications has transformed how goods are designed, produced, and distributed. By allowing companies to coordinate complex operations across distant locations in real time, this technological revolution has accelerated the internationalization of supply chains. While this has lowered consumer prices and boosted efficiency, it has also accelerated the decline of domestic manufacturing employment in the United States and contributed to a growing income gap between highly educated knowledge workers and those without post-secondary training.”

—Federal Reserve Bank report on technology and trade, 2004

Based on the excerpt, the developments described most directly contributed to which of the following economic changes in the United States?

"Keeping America competitive requires us to be on the leading edge of technology. And here we have a serious problem: America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world. The best way to break this addiction is through technology. Since 2001, we have spent nearly $10 billion to develop cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable alternative sources of energy. . . . Tonight, I announce the Advanced Energy Initiative—a 22-percent increase in clean-energy research—at the Department of Energy, to fund additional research in two vital areas in order to change how we power our homes and offices, and how we power our automobiles."

— President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, January 31, 2006

The debate surrounding the policy goals outlined in the excerpt most directly reflects which of the following tensions in early twenty-first-century United States politics?

"Members of Congress, I rise today with a heavy heart, but one that is focused on our future. While we must respond to the horrific acts committed against our nation, we must not let our grief and anger blind us to the long-term consequences of our actions. The resolution before us is a blank check that grants the executive branch unchecked authority to wage war against unnamed adversaries, anywhere, and at any time. By doing so, we risk embarking on an open-ended conflict without clear objectives, undermining our constitutional system of checks and balances, and eroding the very civil liberties we seek to defend. We must pause and consider the implications of a policy that prioritizes unilateral, preemptive military action over international cooperation and established legal frameworks."

—Representative Barbara Lee, House of Representatives speech, September 14, 2001

Which of the following developments in United States foreign policy during the early twenty-first century best illustrates the course of action criticized in the excerpt?

“The proliferation of personal computers, the expansion of the Internet, and the development of high-speed telecommunications in the late twentieth century fundamentally restructured the American workplace. By facilitating instantaneous communication and the rapid transfer of data, these technological innovations accelerated the integration of the United States into a global economic network. While these changes stimulated productivity and created new high-tech industries, they also contributed to the decline of traditional manufacturing jobs in the United States and the expansion of the service sector.”

—Adapted from a historical analysis of the late-twentieth-century American economy

Which of the following was a primary domestic economic consequence of the technological developments described in the passage?

“Whereas, The English language is the national common language of the United States of America and of the State of California, is the language of economic opportunity, and is also the language of all major sectors of the society...

Whereas, Immigrant parents are eager to have their children acquire English language skills, and the public schools of California have a moral obligation to provide all children with the skills necessary to become productive members of society...

Therefore, the People of California declare that all children in California public schools shall be taught English by being taught in English.”

— California Proposition 227, Preamble, 1998

The arguments expressed in the passage most directly reflect which of the following cultural or political tensions in the United States after 1980?

Beginning in the late 1980s and accelerating throughout the 1990s, the geographic distribution of immigrants in the United States shifted significantly. New arrivals, particularly from Mexico, Central America, and parts of Asia, increasingly bypassed traditional urban gateways such as Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. Instead, they settled in rural areas, suburbs, and small cities in the American South and Midwest, drawn by employment opportunities in meatpacking, agriculture, construction, and service industries. This shift introduced unprecedented demographic and cultural diversity to regions that had historically experienced little recent immigration.

The demographic shift described in the excerpt most directly reflects which of the following post-1980 trends in the United States?

The table below shows the percentage of United States households with computer and internet access between 1984 and 2000.

*Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey.*

Based on the table, which of the following was a major economic consequence of the trends in computer and internet access during this period?

Source: President Ronald Reagan, Statement on Signing the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (November 6, 1986)

> "The legalization provisions in this act will go far to improve the lives of a class of individuals who now must hide in the shadows, without access to many of the benefits of a free and open society. Very soon many of these men and women will be able to step into the sunlight and, ultimately, if they choose, they may become Americans. At the same time, the employer sanctions program will remove the principal incentive for illegal entry into the United States."

Which of the following historical developments in the late twentieth century most directly prompted the federal policy described in the excerpt?