EOC Spot Check Cold War Reagan

Which is a TRUE statement about computer use during the 1980s?

• During the 1980s, home computers became readily available and affordable, revolutionizing many aspects of home and family life.

• During the 1980s, home computer systems were so expensive that only the wealthiest Americans could afford them.

• Home computers had not been introduced yet; computers were only used in the workplace during the 1980s.

• Home computers were not on the market yet; Americans who used computers had to build their own systems.

President Reagan supported research on a system of orbiting satellites that would intercept and destroy enemy missiles with laser beams. The media dubbed the system

• SIDS.

• START.

• Star Wars.

• Space Force.

Timeline of United States Military Intervention
1982: Reagan supports the Contras in their fight against the Sandinistas
1982: American troops are sent to Lebanon
1983: Reagan orders the invasion of Grenada
1986: Reagan sends American troops to Libya
1989: American troops invade Panama in the largest military intervention since the Vietnam War
1990: President George H. W. Bush sends forces to Iraq for the Persian Gulf War

How does the timeline help explain President Reagan's budget priorities while in office?

• The timeline indicates that Reagan believed in an active foreign policy, and he supported increased spending on diplomacy.

• The timeline indicates that Reagan believed military spending was important, and he supported increased military spending.

• The timeline indicates that Reagan wanted to slow down foreign intervention, and he supported increasing spending on domestic programs.

• The timeline indicates that Reagan wanted to help other countries become successful, and he supported increasing spending on foreign aid.

How did Ronald Reagan's commitment to the idea of "peace through strength" lead to changes in the military?

• Ronald Reagan's commitment to "peace through strength" led to an increase in the size of the U.S. Army as well as the development of new weapons systems.

• Ronald Reagan's commitment to "peace through strength" led to an increase in the proliferation of nuclear arms and a decrease in the size of the U.S. Army.

• Ronald Reagan's commitment to "peace through strength" led to a series of meetings with Mikhail Gorbachev that resulted in a reduction in the size of the military.

• Ronald Reagan's commitment to "peace through strength" led to less support for military spending as people became more confident in a peaceful existence with other nations.

“[I]n the West today, we see a free world that has achieved a level of prosperity and well-being unprecedented in all human history. In the Communist world, we see failure, technological backwardness, declining standards of health, even want of the most basic kind--too little food. Even today, the Soviet Union still cannot feed itself. After these four decades, then, there stands before the entire world one great and inescapable conclusion: Freedom leads to prosperity. Freedom replaces the ancient hatreds among the nations with comity and peace. Freedom is the victor.
And now the Soviets themselves may, in a limited way, be coming to understand the importance of freedom. We hear much from Moscow about a new policy of reform and openness. Some political prisoners have been released. Certain foreign news broadcasts are no longer being jammed. Some economic enterprises have been permitted to operate with greater freedom from state control.
Are these the beginnings of profound changes in the Soviet state? Or are they token gestures, intended to raise false hopes in the West, or to strengthen the Soviet system without changing it? We welcome change and openness. . . .
General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
- excerpts from Ronald Reagan’s speech in West Berlin, June 12, 1987

How was Reagan’s speech emblematic of United States foreign policy at the time?

• It opposed communism but did not threaten military intervention.

• It supported communist governments as long as they gave people more freedom.

• It was meant to make citizens of communist countries fearful so that they would incite violence.

• It was supposed to show communist leaders the similarities between their countries and the United States.

Unsustainable military spending has been cited as a cause for the breakup of the Soviet Union. Supporters of this viewpoint cite the cost of building and maintaining its nuclear arsenal as one factor.

Which statement is the MOST logical, based on the data on the graph?

• The Soviet Union was attempting to catch up to the United States but was unable to do so.

• During much of the 1970s and 1980s, the Soviet Union was engaged in a program of rapid nuclear expansion.

• At the time of the Soviet Union’s breakup, the United States was greatly expanding its nuclear arsenal.

• The Soviet Union built more weapons than the United States and, as a result, spent more than they could afford.

Which event greatly tested the balance of power between President Ronald Reagan and the United States Congress during his second term in office?

• the Iran-Contra Affair of 1986

• the 1983 Beirut bombings

• the 'Challenger' space shuttle disaster of 1986

• the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987