21st Century

The George W. Bush administration created which of the following executive agencies?

• Department of Homeland Security

• National Security Agency

• Environmental Protection Agency

• Central Intelligence Agency

Which of the following factors contributed most to the major trend depicted in the graph?

• The increase in United States trade with eastern Europe after the Cold War

• The declining number of manufacturing jobs in the United States

• The expansion of the social safety net through programs like Social Security

• The construction of the interstate highway system

The overall trend from 1980 to 2010 depicted on the graph most directly led to a decline in

• income inequality

• immigration from abroad

• concern about the environment

• union membership

Which of the following best explains a regional pattern of union membership in the early twenty-first century as depicted in the maps?

• Wages generally increased in southern states.

• Heavy industries in upper Midwest states experienced decline.

• Agriculture along the West Coast saw dramatic changes.

• Migration to the Midwest outpaced that of other regions.

Question refers to the excerpt below.

“The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic. . . . The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent. It is a question of proximity and degree. When a nation is at war, many things that might be said in time of peace are such a hindrance to its effort that their utterance will not be endured so long as men fight, and that no Court could regard them as protected by any constitutional right.”

Majority opinion of the United States Supreme Court in Schenck v. United States, 1919

The federal government most enhanced its legal authority to address threats considered a clear and present danger during which of the following later periods?

• In the 1970s, following antiwar protests against United States involvement in Vietnam

• In the 1980s, following the renewed United States concerns over the Soviet threat

• In the 1990s, following United States military interventions in Somalia

• In the 2000s, following the terrorist attacks in the United States

Which of the following best explains the cause of overall changes to union membership in the early twenty-first century as depicted in the maps?

• Service industry positions overtook manufacturing employment.

• Military service increased following national security threats.

• New immigrant groups were disinclined to join unions.

• Unemployment rose as result of oil crises that affected many industries.

“Although there has long been terrorism in varied contexts, contemporary terrorism poses a new and ominous problem. . . . We have long considered how to protect citizens against invading armies, and this might be the arena that is most nearly analogous to protection against terrorists. But foreign terrorists are not so transparent as invading armies, and the issue of protecting ourselves against them necessarily involves judgments on how to distinguish them from peaceful citizens and alien residents. . . . For terrorists, who must in the nature of their purpose be secretive, . . . we may be able to discover them before they act only if we resort to invasive and substantial surveillance, infiltration, screening, and so forth, all of which might be misused against innocents far more often than they are well used against potential terrorists.”

Russell Hardin, political scientist, “Civil Liberties in the Era of Mass Terrorism,” Journal of Ethics, 2004

The purpose of the excerpt could best be used to support which of the following explanations for why policies used to combat terrorism were controversial?

• Some Americans sought to use new technologies to combat terrorism.

• Some Americans believed that terrorism had no effect on United States domestic policy.

• Some Americans saw Cold War policies as providing insight into how to prevent current terrorist actions.

• Some Americans worried that the freedoms of United States citizens might be violated by the efforts to stop terrorism.

Which of the following groups in the American work force has experienced the greatest percentage of growth since 1950?

• Agricultural workers

• Industrial workers

• Unionized blue-collar workers

• Service workers

Which of the following best explains an effect on the United States economy by the patterns depicted in the maps?

• Federal programs were created to reduce levels of unemployment.

• Spending on defense industry work increased in order to create more jobs.

• Wages for working and middle class people began to stagnate.

• New technologies increased access to information and communication.

“Although there has long been terrorism in varied contexts, contemporary terrorism poses a new and ominous problem. . . . We have long considered how to protect citizens against invading armies, and this might be the arena that is most nearly analogous to protection against terrorists. But foreign terrorists are not so transparent as invading armies, and the issue of protecting ourselves against them necessarily involves judgments on how to distinguish them from peaceful citizens and alien residents. . . . For terrorists, who must in the nature of their purpose be secretive, . . . we may be able to discover them before they act only if we resort to invasive and substantial surveillance, infiltration, screening, and so forth, all of which might be misused against innocents far more often than they are well used against potential terrorists.”

Russell Hardin, political scientist, “Civil Liberties in the Era of Mass Terrorism,” Journal of Ethics, 2004

Which of the following best explains a conclusion supported by the point of view expressed in the excerpt?

• Terrorism challenged national security agencies.

• Terrorism justified changes to immigration policies.

• Terrorism limited international economic growth.

• Terrorism undermined United States military alliances.