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WorksheetsAmerican History in the Modern Era II: Pre-Test
Total questions: 70
Worksheet time: 35mins
Who was the Democratic nominee in the election of 1988?
Michael Dukakis
Gary Hart
Walter Mondale
Lloyd Bentsen
Who was the Republican nominee for president in the election of 1988?
Ronald Reagan
George W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
Dan Quayle
George Herbert Walker Bush held all of the following positions in government EXCEPT
U.S. House member
U.S. Senator
Ambassador to the United Nations
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
During his election campaign in 1988, George H.W. Bush famously promised not to
raise taxes.
engage in foreign conflicts.
cut funding for welfare programs.
increase the minimum retirement age.
Which of the following best symbolized the end of communism in Europe and occurred during George H. W. Bush's time in office?
The collapse of the Soviet Union.
The destruction of a statue of Josef Stalin.
The summit between Gorbachev and Reagan.
The fall of the Berlin Wall.
President George H. W. Bush dealt with opposition to communism in China during Chinese protests in (Hint: a picture of a student attempting to block a tank is an iconic picture from this place)
Red Square.
Tiananmen Square.
Hong Kong.
Beijing.
President George H. W. Bush met with Nelson Mandela after his release from prison in 1990 to discuss what important racial issue in South Africa?
Economic aid to Northern Africa.
Communism in China and the Soviet Union.
Apartheid in South Africa.
Oil production in the Middle East.
In 1990, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait to
overthrow a ruthless dictator.
launch a war against Saudi Arabia.
take over the nation's rich oil deposits.
evict American forces from the Middle East.
Why did the Bush administration back the United Nations resolution calling for Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait?
The United States had a protection treaty with Kuwait.
The Bush administration feared that Hussein would invade Israel.
The United States feared that Hussein would gain and use influence in the region if he controlled Kuwaiti oil.
President Bush supported the use of military force against Hussein only if he attempted to invade Saudi Arabia.
Which of the following occurred after coalition troops entered Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War, and in some way, left the door open to a future conflict with Iraq?
The United Nations passed a resolution demanding Iraqi troops leave Kuwait.
Saddam Hussein remained in power.
Iraqi forces ere bombed during Operation Desert Storm.
Iraqi troops enter Kuwait in order to secure oil.
Which of the following best describes the 1991 Persian Gulf War?
short, with few casualties
long, with few American casualties
long, with many casualties
short, with few American casualties
Who was the primary commanding General in charge of Operation Desert Storm?
Colin Powell
George H. W. Bush
Norman Schwarzkopf
Dick Cheney
The Bush administration and subsequent administrations afterward cracked down on drug trafficking from
Africa.
China.
the Middle East.
Latin America.
How did William Jefferson Clinton attract voters in 1992?
He promoted himself as a centrist politician.
He attacked his opponents moral shortcomings.
He emphasized patriotism and traditional values.
He promised to govern by sound business principles.
The Election of 1992 pitted incumbent George H. W. Bush, Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas, and what Third Party candidate?
Senator Bill Bradley of New York
Senator Al Gore of Tennessee
Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware
H. Ross Perot of Texas
After his coming in second in the New Hampshire primary, Bill Clinton labeled himself
"The Man With The Plan."
"The Hardest Working Man in Politics."
"The Comeback Kid."
"The King."
Liberals tend to support which of the following measures?
Tax cuts for the wealthy.
Deregulation of industry.
Reduced spending on social programs.
Laws protecting the rights of minorities and women.
Conservative tend to favor which of the following?
Relying on private organizations and individuals to help those in need.
Regulating business and industry to ensure the fair distribution of wealth.
Funding government programs such as Social Security to provide for the general welfare.
Raising taxes for people with higher incomes and cutting taxes for people with lower incomes.
Many conservatives believe that a large central government
harms economic growth.
promotes industrialization.
undermines public welfare programs.
encourages too much individual choice.
Which of the following issues has sparked fierce debate and caused deep divisions since the 1970s? (And has caused great anxiety in the past few weeks)
labor rights
religion in schools
abortion
Social Security reform
Which company developed the first commercially successful computer way back in the 1940s?
IBM
Apple
Amazon
Microsoft
What was the first 24-hour cable news network?
Fox News
CNN
MSNBC
Newsmax
The growth of the service economy, where people perform services but don't manufacture things in the United States, has caused
an increase in American blue collar jobs.
a decrease in new small businesses.
an increase in worldwide average wages.
a decline in U.S. union membership.
What is one way that globalization has affected the American economy?
decrease in workplace safety
fewer available products
increase in products' prices
loss of manufacturing jobs
The Internet is directly responsible for
extending patients' lives and battling huge numbers of diseases.
creating a huge database and research tool.
making computers and software affordable for everyone.
decreasing the speed of global communications.
What is one positive effect of economic globalization?
All European countries have adopted the same currency.
Worker's rights have been standardized in all countries.
People have been exposed to new ideas and technologies.
All Asian countries have adopted free market economies.
What did the Family and Medical Leave Act signed into law by Bill Clinton guarantee to most full-time employees?
health care and prescription drugs
a higher minimum wage
12 weeks of unpaid leave a year for maternity leave, paternity leave, or helping with an ailing relative.
expanded tax credits for higher education
President Clinton failed to bring about a change to which policy initiative that he put his wife, Hillary in charge of moving forward?
gun control
healthcare
the minimum wage
access to college loans
President Clinton signed which piece of legislation aimed at deterring gun violence?
The Family and Medical Leave Act
The Healthcare Reform Act
Welfare Reform
The Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act
All of the following influenced Timothy McVeigh in his decision to bomb the Murrah Federal Building EXCEPT
his experience in Operation Desert Storm.
the bombing of the World Trade Center.
the shootout at Ruby Ridge.
the standoff with the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas.
What was the main effect of the Republican Party's "Contract With America" in 1994?
The Constitution was amended to include a Balanced Budget Amendment.
Democrats lost the White House two years later.
The Senate impeached Bill Clinton.
Republicans took control of Congress, with Newt Gingrich taking over as Speaker of the House.
All of the following was true about Bob Dole, Clinton's challenger in the 1996 election, EXCEPT
that he was from Kansas.
that he was the last WWII veteran to run for president.
that he actually received a greater percentage of the popular vote than Clinton.
that he was wounded in action during World War II.
Ross Perot received a greater percentage of the vote in the 1996 presidential election than he did four years earlier in 1992.
True
False
President Clinton was impeached because he admitted to
lying under oath about an affair.
committing treason and bribery.
making improper real estate investments.
committing sexual harassment in Arkansas.
What action eventually led to the special counsel investigating Bill Clinton's personal life?
The lack of any real evidence to charge him in the Whitewater scandal.
Evidence suggested that he might be having an ongoing affair with a former White House intern.
The fact that they could lay a perjury trap if they got Clinton to testify before the grand jury.
All of the above.
Which statement about Clinton's impeachment is true?
Clinton's impeachment was supported by the majority of Americans.
The impeachment charges were based on fraud found during the Whitewater investigation.
It was clear from the beginning of the impeachment trial that there were not enough votes in the Senate to convict.
Most congressional Democrats were convinced that the charge of perjury met the standard required by the Constitution for impeachment.
President Clinton supported free trade blocs because
countries involved can decrease environmental standards.
Democrats favor big business interests in the United States.
they result in increases in American manufacturing jobs.
they theoretically increase the prosperity of participating countries.
For participating countries, NAFTA called for
a challenge to U.S. economic leadership.
the gradual removal of trade restrictions.
the development of a single currency.
a removal of environmental controls.
President Clinton sent military troops to Bosnia to
bring about peace and distribute food during a famine.
stop immigrants from coming to the United States.
bomb Serbian strongholds and enforce peace.
stop ethnic cleansing of Muslims and Croats.
In Norway and again towards the end of his time as president in 2000, President Clinton tried to negotiate an end to conflicts between the Palestinians and the
Serbs.
Iraqis.
Israelis.
Syrians.
Why did Osama bin Laden form al Qaeda in the late 1990s?
To end American involvement in the Middle East.
To forcibly remove Muslims and Croats from their homes.
To ensure Palestinian self-rule in Jericho and the Gaza Strip.
To urge the Israeli military to crackdown on Palestinians.
What act of domestic terrorism saw a federal building blown up with a truck bomb, and until 9-11, was the most destructive terrorist act in American history?
Columbine
Waco, Texas
Ruby Ridge
Oklahoma City
Whose public shaming in the late 1990s has been re-examined due to the #me too movement of the last few years as a shameful display of sexism and public humiliation of the victim?
Bill Cosby
Monica Lewinsky
Rose McGowan
Linda Tripp
Which of the following WAS NOT a terrorist attack sponsored by al Qaeda in the 1990s?
The 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
The U.S. embassy bombing in Kenya.
The attack on the USS Cole in Yemen
The U.S. embassy bombing in Tanzania.
Who did George W. Bush choose to be his running mate in the 2000 election?
Pat Buchanan
Donald Trump
Sarah Palin
Dick Cheney
Who was Al Gore's running mate in 2000 and might have been John McCain's had he got his way in 2008?
Ralph Nadar
Joe Lieberman
Hillary Clinton
Barack Obama
Which state's voting results were key in determining the winner of the 2000 presidential election?
Ohio
Iowa
Texas
Florida
What finally decided the outcome of the 2000 presidential election?
Congress
a state court judge
the U.S. Supreme Court
the nationwide popular vote
In his first term, President George W. Bush cut taxes to
finance education reform.
stimulate the economy.
increase the budget deficits.
cover prescription drugs in Medicare.
The Bush tax cuts amounted to
$800 billion
$1.35 trillion
$3 trillion
$500 billion
What did the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind Act do?
It balanced the budget and decreased federal deficits.
It used tax cuts to create more disposable income for families.
It tied schools' federal funding to students' academic success, usually measured by standardized tests.
It addressed the concerns of prescription drug coverage.
What policy pursued by George W. Bush during his first term in office exploded the budget deficit by over $400 billion?
The Bush Tax Cuts
Civil Rights legislation
Prescription Drugs for seniors
Social Security reform
Which of the following WAS NOT a conservative position taken by the Bush administration and Karl Rove (Bush's political advisor) during his presidency?
Allowing the federal assault weapons ban to expire in 2004.
Repealing Don't Ask; Don't Tell.
Proposing a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
Taking a pro-life position that had no exceptions when it came to abortion.
What senator from Massachusetts was the Democratic nominee who challenged George W. Bush for the presidency in 2004 and seemed to be "swift boated" in defeat, taking his Vietnam War experience and falsely making it a liability?
John Kerry
Edward Kennedy
Bob Kerrey
John Edwards
What person or group was removed from power as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan?
the Taliban
al Qaeda
Saddam Hussein
Osama bin Laden
What did President George W. Bush mean when he referred to terrorist regimes as an "axis of evil"?
The regimes coordinated efforts to seek and provide weapons for use in attacking the United States and its allies.
The regimes posed no real threat to U.S. citizens' safety.
The regimes were indifferent to the policies of the United States and its allies.
The regimes either would need to cooperate with the UN weapon's inspectors or face possible sanctions.
In Bush's second term, which of the following DID NOT signify a rocky beginning to Bush's last four years in office?
Hurricane Katrina
Attempting to privatize Social Security
The nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court
Republicans losing big in the 2006 midterm elections.
What kind of loans caused so many problems prior to the Great Recession?
Student Loans
Sub-prime Loans
Pay-day Loans
Loan Sharks
Driving a fast car is an integral part of the "American Dream."
True
False
What were some major banks referred to in the immediate aftermath of the Great Recession?
"Too small to succeed."
"Too Big to Succeed."
"Too Large to Sell."
"Too Big to Fail."
What was the federal program acronym passed by Congress to deal with the economic chaos of the Great Recession and the "troubled assets" of the financial sector?
TARP
DEA
FDA
FHA
Who won the most votes in the Democratic primaries of 2008?
Barack Obama
Hillary Clinton
Joe Biden
John McCain
Barack Obama was a United States Senator from what state?
Hawaii
Iowa
Washington, D.C.
Illinois
Who was the Republican nominee for president in 2008?
Donald Trump
Sarah Palin
John McCain
Mitt Romney
John McCain was a United States Senator from what state?
Alaska
Maine
Texas
Arizona
Which of the following WAS NOT a part of Barack Obama's governing agenda?
Healthcare Reform
Tax Cuts for corporations
Getting the financial sector back on track
Saving existing jobs and creating new ones
Which of the following WAS NOT a part of the Affordable Care Act?
An elimination of caps on health coverage.
Insurance companies could not reject applicants for pre-existing conditions.
If you wanted health insurance, you could get it; if you didn't want health insurance, you didn't have to have it.
Children could stay on their parents' policy until age 26.
What was the conservative movement that rose up following the passage of the Affordable Care Act?
The Moral Majority
The Conservative Coalition
The RIGHT Stuff
The Tea Party
What has happened to the Tea Party movement in the last sixteen years?
It has been absorbed in the Make America Great Again movement.
It has moved away from its emphasis on fiscal responsibility to a more populist message.
It has been obliterated by budget agreements in 2019 and 2025 that have exploded the debt.
All of the above.
What is birtherism?
A movement that emphasizes birth over death.
A movement that implied the first Black president, Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
A movement that looks to increase birthrates around the world.
None of the above.
