Period 9: 1980–Present

"Today, we are undergoing a period of change as profound as the one that occurred a century ago... Our new immigrants come not just from Europe, but from every corner of the globe... They are making us a more diverse, dynamic, and globally connected nation. Yet, they also challenge us to think anew about what it means to be an American and how we maintain a common national identity amidst such diversity."

— President Bill Clinton, Commencement Address at Portland State University, 1998

Which of the following developments in the late twentieth century best reflects the challenge to "maintain a common national identity" described in the excerpt?

“The World Trade Organization represents a system where corporate profits are elevated above human rights, labor standards, and environmental protections. Through rapid deregulation and the digital integration of financial markets, capital now moves across borders instantly, escaping national laws and leaving working-class communities devastated by deindustrialization. We demand a globalization that serves people, not just multinational corporations.”

—Declaration of the Coalition for Global Justice, Seattle, 1999

Based on the excerpt, the criticisms expressed by the protesters were most directly a response to which of the following economic trends?

Read the excerpt below from a speech by a conservative political organizer in 1979:

"The coalition we are building is new. It unites the traditional defender of free enterprise, who sees his profits eaten by inflation and his initiative strangled by federal regulations, with the parent who is outraged by the secularization of our public classrooms and the erosion of traditional moral values. For years, these groups marched under different banners. By bringing them together under a single movement, we can reshape the political landscape."

Which of the following best explains how the political coalition described in the excerpt influenced the 1980 presidential election?

"The historical overlay of Protestantism, progress, and Anglo-Saxon self-congratulation... has now been challenged by a new ideology. The cult of ethnicity has arisen... to challenge the sacred unifying idea of a single society... It replaces the classic image of the melting pot with a tower of Babel, emphasizing divisions and differences rather than shared values and common history."

— Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., historian, *The Disuniting of America*, 1991

Which of the following historical developments during the late twentieth century most directly contributed to the anxieties expressed in the excerpt?

“Tonight I propose a permanent cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security to unite essential agencies... We face a new kind of war, against a different kind of enemy. This enemy is hidden, and its weapons can be anything from passenger planes to biological agents. To defeat this enemy, we must reorganize our government, bringing together under one roof the agencies responsible for protecting our borders, our airport security, and our infrastructure.”
— President George W. Bush, Address to the Nation, June 2002

Which of the following best describes how the security threat described in the excerpt differed from the primary national security threats faced by the United States during the Cold War?

"The transformation of the Sun Belt suburb in the late twentieth century was characterized by a distinct spatial and political organization. Unlike the older, centralized northern cities, these sprawling metropolitan areas developed around defense installations, tech corridors, and planned residential developments. This decentralized landscape fostered an ethos of privatism, where homeownership, low local taxes, and opposition to federal desegregation mandates or environmental regulations became central to local identity. The resulting political mobilization transformed the region into the geographic anchor of a new conservative coalition."

— Historian analysis of late twentieth-century suburban politics

The political mobilization described in the excerpt most directly contributed to which of the following developments in United States politics during the 1980s?

The table below shows the regional distribution of the foreign-born population in the United States in $1980$ and $2010$:

Which of the following historical developments in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries best explains the change in the South's share of the foreign-born population as shown in the table?

Source: President George H.W. Bush, Address to the Nation on the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, December 25, 1991.

"For over forty years, the United States led the West in the struggle against communism and the threat it posed to our most cherished values... The nuclear threat has been cleanly reduced, and the Eastern European nations are free. The confrontation is over... This is a victory for democracy and freedom. It's a victory for the moral force of our values. But it is also a victory for the brave men and women of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe who stood up for their own freedom and rights."

Which of the following historical developments best supports the assertion in the excerpt that the end of the Cold War was a victory for both Western leadership and the people of the Soviet bloc?

"We have long since made clear that a state of war is not a blank check for the President when it comes to the rights of the Nation's citizens. . . . [A] citizen-detainee [must] receive notice of the factual basis for his classification, and a fair opportunity to rebut the Government's factual assertions before a neutral decisionmaker."
— Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, plurality opinion in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004)

Which of the following historical developments is most directly reflected in the excerpt above?

"The rapid expansion of the Sun Belt is not merely a demographic curiosity; it is the engine of a new political era. By attracting millions of workers to industries linked to national defense, aerospace, and technology, these states have fostered a political culture that stands in sharp contrast to the union-dominated, federally dependent Rust Belt. The voters in these new suburban developments increasingly view federal regulation as a threat to their local autonomy and economic growth, cementing a powerful new coalition that seeks to reshape the role of the national government."

—Adapted from a political analyst's commentary on the 1980 census

The political culture described in the excerpt most directly facilitated which of the following developments between 1980 and 2000?

The economic realignment of the United States in the late twentieth century was accompanied by a major shift in population. As the manufacturing sectors of the Northeast and Midwest entered a period of decline, cities and suburban areas throughout the South and West experienced unprecedented growth. This migration was heavily driven by the expansion of defense industries, technology firms, and retirement communities, alongside the appeal of lower local taxes and right-to-work legislation.

Which of the following was a major political consequence of the demographic shifts described in the passage?

Read the excerpt below:

'I’ve been a Democrat all my life, and my father was one too. But look at what has happened to our neighborhoods and our paychecks. Between the price of groceries doubling and the factories laying people off, we can't afford four more years of this. And it's not just the money. It feels like the leaders in Washington don't respect the values we live by—hard work, family, and a strong country that doesn't get pushed around by foreign dictators. For the first time, a lot of us on the line are looking at the Republican ticket.'
—Excerpt from an interview with an auto worker in Macomb County, Michigan, September 1980

The sentiments expressed in the excerpt best illustrate which of the following historical developments during the late 1970s and early 1980s?

“Because greenhouse gases fit well within the Clean Air Act’s capacious definition of ‘air pollutant,’ we hold that EPA has the statutory authority to regulate the emission of such gases from new motor vehicles. . . . EPA has offered no reasoned explanation for its refusal to decide whether greenhouse gases cause or contribute to climate change. Its action was therefore arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.”

— Majority Opinion, Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, 2007

Which of the following developments in the early twenty-first century did the ruling in the excerpt most directly reflect?

“If we look at the economy and the state of our resources, it is clear that we can no longer sustain the confrontation with the West. The foreign policy of a state is directly linked to its internal well-being. For decades, our diplomatic efforts were geared toward military rivalry, which drained our resources and isolated us from the global economy. The new political thinking must recognize that national security cannot be achieved through military means alone. We must seek cooperation, arms control, and the integration of our economy into the international system. Only by restructuring our foreign policy can we hope to address the critical domestic stagnation that threatens the very foundations of our union.”

Source: Eduard Shevardnadze, Soviet Foreign Minister, address to the Soviet Foreign Ministry, July 25, 1988

Which of the following historical explanations for the end of the Cold War is most directly supported by the excerpt?

For years, the federal government has poured billions into defense plants, military bases, and aerospace facilities throughout the South and West. This sustained federal investment, coupled with regional business-friendly policies, has transformed these areas from agrarian hinterlands into the new economic heartland of the nation.

—Adapted from a regional economic report, 1988

Which of the following demographic shifts did the developments described in the excerpt most directly contribute to?

Read the excerpt below and answer the question that follows.

"The economic recovery program has two main components: first, a major reduction in tax rates to restore the incentives for individuals and businesses to produce, save, and invest; second, a sweeping initiative of deregulation to eliminate government-imposed barriers to productivity and growth. By shifting our focus to the supply side of the economy, we will expand output, create jobs, and curb the inflation that has plagued our nation."
—Adapted from a federal policy proposal, 1981

Which of the following was a primary goal of the economic policies described in the excerpt?

“The economic growth of the South and West since the 1980s was not merely a matter of sun and warm weather. It was driven by a deliberate effort by regional leaders to attract business. By offering lower tax rates, weaker union regulations through ‘right-to-work’ legislation, and cheaper land, states in the Sun Belt successfully drew corporations and workers away from the older industrial centers of the North and Midwest.”
—Historical retrospective on late twentieth-century regional development

The migration and business relocation patterns described in the excerpt most directly contributed to which of the following political developments in the late twentieth century?

"Our national security policy throughout the Cold War was based on deterrence and containment. We succeeded in containing the Soviet Union because we and our allies built a strong defense and made clear that any aggression would be met with a decisive response. The administration's new doctrine of unilateral preemptive military action represents a fundamental break from this traditional approach. By asserting a right to launch first-strike military operations against potential adversaries without international consensus, we risk undermining the very system of international laws and alliances that has kept us safe for decades."

— Senator Edward Kennedy, speech on U.S. foreign policy, 2002

The debate described in the excerpt was most directly prompted by which of the following shifts in United States foreign policy after September 11, 2001?

“Resolved, That it is the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal—to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions through a fair and just transition for all communities and workers; to create millions of good, high-wage jobs and ensure prosperity and economic security for all people of the United States; [and] to invest in the infrastructure and industry of the United States to sustainably meet the challenges of the 21st century...”

—House Resolution 109, 116th Congress, 2019

The goals expressed in the resolution most directly reflect which of the following ongoing debates in United States politics during the early twenty-first century?

Read the excerpt below:

'I know we have held to the idea that our government is our servant, not our master. But we have gone astray. Today, a federal bureaucracy that has grown too big and too intrusive is consuming our national wealth, stifling the productivity of our people, and eroding the liberties of our citizens. We must halt this expansion and restore the balance between the federal government and the states, and between the public sector and the private enterprise system.'
— Ronald Reagan, Campaign Address, 1980

Which of the following political shifts in the late twentieth century is best explained by the ideas expressed in the excerpt?