Period 9: 1980–Present
156 soru
"The legalization provisions in this act will go far to improve the lives of a class of individuals who must now 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 bill provides for employer sanctions that make it a federal crime to knowingly hire illegal aliens. This is the cornerstone of the bill. It will remove the incentive for illegal immigration by eliminating the job opportunities which draw illegal aliens here."
— President Ronald Reagan, Statement on Signing the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
Which of the following statements best describes the context and policy goals surrounding the enactment of the law described in the excerpt?
U.S. Renewable Energy Consumption by Source (Trillion Btu), 2000–2020:
| Year | Solar | Wind | Hydroelectric | Biomass |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 65 | 57 | 2,731 | 3,010 |
| 2010 | 109 | 946 | 2,602 | 4,286 |
| 2020 | 1,223 | 3,275 | 2,580 | 4,539 |
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration
Based on the table, which of the following factors best explains the change in consumption of solar and wind energy in the United States from 2000 to 2020?
"For much of the last century, America’s defense relied on the Cold War doctrines of deterrence and containment. In some cases, those strategies still apply. But new threats also require new thinking. Deterrence—the promise of massive retaliation against nations—means nothing against shadowy terrorist networks with no nation or citizens to defend. Containment is not possible when unbalanced dictators with weapons of mass destruction can deliver those weapons on missiles or secretly provide them to terrorist allies. . . . Our security will require all Americans to be forward-looking and resolute, to be ready for preemptive action when necessary to defend our liberty and to defend our lives."
—President George W. Bush, Graduation Address at the United States Military Academy at West Point, June 1, 2002
Which of the following best describes how the foreign policy doctrine outlined in this excerpt differed from the United States’ foreign policy during the Cold War?
Representative Jack Kemp, speech to Congress, 1980:
"The most fundamental reform we can make is to lower the tax rates that are stifling work, savings, and investment. A reduction in tax rates is not a 'tax cut for the rich' but a restoration of incentives for all Americans to produce. When you lower the marginal tax rates, you increase the reward for working, saving, and investing. This will lead to a dramatic expansion of the tax base, which will eventually generate more revenue for the federal treasury, not less, while simultaneously curing the stagflation that has plagued the nation for a decade."
Which of the following historical developments during the 1980s most directly challenged the prediction that the proposed policies would "generate more revenue for the federal treasury, not less"?
The table below shows the percentage of the United States population (age 5 and older) that spoke a language other than English at home from 1980 to 2020.
| Year | Percentage of U.S. Population Speaking a Language Other Than English at Home |
|---|---|
| 1980 | 11.0% |
| 1990 | 13.8% |
| 2000 | 17.9% |
| 2010 | 20.3% |
| 2020 | 21.5% |
Which of the following developments most directly contributed to the trend shown in the table?
"The spread of digital technology has dramatically reduced the costs of transmitting information and coordinating production across long distances. As a result, firms have reorganized their operations globally, outsourcing routine tasks and concentrating high-value-added activities, such as research and design, in areas with a highly skilled labor force. While this has driven national economic growth, it has also widened the wage gap between college-educated workers and those with high school educations or less, shifting the domestic labor market's demand toward analytical and technical skills."
— Council of Economic Advisers, *Economic Report of the President*, 1997
Which of the following developments in United States history during the 1990s was most directly a response to the economic shifts described in the passage?
Read the excerpt below and answer the following question.
"We are a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws. It is both a right and a responsibility of a democratic society to manage immigration so that it serves the national interest... Credibility in immigration policy can be measured by a simple yardstick: people who should get in, get in; people who should not enter are kept out; and people who are deported who should not be here are required to leave."
— Barbara Jordan, Chair of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, Testimony before the House Committee on the Judiciary, 1995
The arguments expressed in the excerpt most directly reflect which of the following?
"Today, the federal government is spending, in real terms, nearly three times what it spent just twenty years ago... It has built a regulatory empire that stifles enterprise and individual initiative... The American people are demanding a change—a return to fiscal responsibility, a reduction in the tax burden, and the restoration of local and state authority."
—Ronald Reagan, televised campaign address, 1980
Which of the following developments in the late 1970s and 1980 most directly enabled the political success of the ideas expressed in the excerpt?
U.S. Foreign-Born Population by Region of Birth (2000)
| Region of Birth | Percentage of Foreign-Born Population |
|---|---|
| Latin America | 51.7% |
| Asia | 26.4% |
| Europe | 15.8% |
| Other | 6.1% |
Based on the data in the table, which of the following regions served as the primary source of the U.S. foreign-born population at the turn of the twenty-first century?
"We live in a new world. The Cold War has ended, the arms race has stopped, as has the insane militarization of the country, which crippled our economy, public devotion and morals. The threat of a world war has been averted. I want to emphasize once again that during the transition period everything was done on my part to maintain reliable control over nuclear weapons... We opened ourselves to the world, gave up interference in other people's affairs and the use of troops beyond our borders, and in response we received trust, solidarity, and respect. We have become one of the main foundations for the reorganization of modern civilization on peaceful, democratic principles."
— Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet Television Address, December 25, 1991
Which of the following historical developments is most directly reflected in the passage?
"The population shift to the Sunbelt is a massive movement of jobs and people. Industries are attracted to the business-friendly climate, lower taxes, and cheaper land of the South and Southwest, leaving behind the aging industrial centers of the North. The political consequences of this migration are already becoming clear as power moves along with the population."
— Adapted from a national news report on regional economic trends, 1981
Based on the excerpt, which of the following was a direct political consequence of the demographic shift described?
"When they ask me how it is that we in Czechoslovakia succeeded in overthrowing the totalitarian system so quickly, I always reply that it was not we who did it. The system simply collapsed because it was built on lies, and it could not withstand the pressure of truth. The collapse of the communist empire was not just a military defeat of one bloc by another, but the internal failure of a system that ignored human nature and economic reality. Of course, the firm stance of the democratic West and its defense of human rights provided us with a crucial beacon of hope, but the ultimate collapse came from within, driven by economic stagnation and the moral bankruptcy of the regime."
— Václav Havel, President of Czechoslovakia, Address to a Joint Session of the United States Congress, February 21, 1990
Which of the following explanations for the end of the Cold War is most consistent with the view expressed in the excerpt?
"There is no doubt that if we lived under a police state, it would be easier to catch terrorists. If we lived in a country where the police were allowed to search your home at any time for any reason; if we lived in a country where the government is entitled to open your mail, eavesdrop on your phone conversations, or intercept your email communications... it would be easier to catch terrorists. But that is not our country. That is not our Constitution. That is not our U.S. Constitution, which Senator after Senator has stood in this chamber and taken an oath to defend and support... We must maintain our vigilance to prevent another coordinated attack, but we must also maintain our vigilance to preserve the heritage of liberty that makes us American."
— Senator Russ Feingold, Senate Floor Speech on the USA PATRIOT Act, October 25, 2001
The debate described in the excerpt is most similar to historical controversies surrounding which of the following?
"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. . . . Whatever power the United States Constitution envisions for the Executive in its conduct of military affairs in response to this country's war on terror, it most assuredly envisions a role for all three branches when individual liberties are at stake."
—Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, plurality opinion in *Hamdi v. Rumsfeld*, 2004
The arguments expressed in the excerpt most directly reflect which of the following debates in the United States during the early twenty-first century?
Source: Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, *Perestroika: New Thinking for Our Country and the World*, 1987.
"By the beginning of the 1980s, the Soviet economy was in a state of severe stagnation... The growth rate of the national income had declined to a critical level. A country that was once a leader in industrial development began to lose its position, particularly in new technology. The command-and-administration system, which had served us in the past, had become a brake on our progress. We were spending a vast portion of our resources on military competition, which further drained our economy. But the crisis was not merely economic; it was also political and spiritual. The lack of openness, the suppression of individual initiative, and the growth of bureaucracy created a deep apathy among our citizens. We realized that without deep democratization, without glasnost and perestroika, we could not save our nation."
Based on the passage and historical context, which of the following arguments best evaluates the causal factors that led to the end of the Cold War?
"We moved to Arizona in 1982 primarily because my husband's company relocated its manufacturing facility to Phoenix. The warm climate and the widespread use of air conditioning made the transition comfortable, and the lower cost of living allowed us to buy a home. Many of our neighbors in this new suburban development also moved from the Midwest and Northeast, bringing their political views with them."
— Excerpt from an interview with a suburban homeowner, 1985
Which of the following was a primary factor driving the migration pattern described in the excerpt?
President Ronald Reagan, remarks on signing the Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act, October 15, 1982:
"This bill is the most important legislation for financial institutions in the last fifty years. It provides a long-term solution for troubled thrift institutions... All in all, I think we've got a bill that's going to help consumers, preserve the stability of our financial system, and speed economic recovery. But most of all, it represents a major step forward in our effort to deregulate the American economy and allow the free market to operate."
The economic approach described in the excerpt most directly contributed to which of the following developments later in the 1980s and early 1990s?
The table below shows demographic data for the United States foreign-born population from 1970 to 2010:
| Year | Foreign-Born Population (in millions) | Percentage of Total U.S. Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 9.6 | 4.7% |
| 1980 | 14.1 | 6.2% |
| 1990 | 19.8 | 7.9% |
| 2000 | 31.1 | 11.1% |
| 2010 | 40.0 | 12.9% |
Which of the following was a major political or cultural consequence of the trend shown in the table after 1980?
"We are here today to say that we will not be scapegoats. Proposition 187 is not about fiscal responsibility; it is about fear and division. It seeks to deny basic education and healthcare to human beings, turning teachers and doctors into border patrol agents. Our communities have built this state's economy, and our culture is an integral part of its future."
— Coalition Against Proposition 187, statement at a protest rally in Los Angeles, California, 1994
The debate described in the excerpt most directly reflects which of the following historical developments during the late twentieth century?
“The transition to a service-oriented, information-based economy has been accelerated by the rapid development of computer networks and telecommunications technology. While these innovations have increased productivity and integrated the United States more deeply into global markets, they have also fundamentally restructured the domestic workforce. Employment in manufacturing has steadily declined as companies relocate production facilities to nations with lower labor costs. In contrast, the demand for highly skilled technical and managerial workers has surged, widening the wage gap between college-educated professionals and those with high school educations. The security of the post-World War II industrial contract between labor and management has largely been replaced by a more flexible, but less secure, service-sector employment model.”
—Federal Reserve Bank report on regional economic developments, 1997
Based on the excerpt, the developments described most directly contributed to which of the following social or economic changes in the United States during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries?