Chapter 29: Conservative Revival, 1977–1990
CORE OBJECTIVES
1. Analyze why Jimmy Carter had such limited success as president.
2. Identify the key factors that led to the election of Ronald Reagan, the rise of the conservative
TRUE/FALSE
1. In his 1977 inaugural address, President Carter said he had no grand vision of the future and
emphasized America’s limitations rather than its potential.
2. The Camp David Accords were agreements between Iran and Iraq.
3. It was highly controversial, especially among conservatives, when President Carter decided
to give up the Panama Canal because of Panama’s resentment of the United States’ having
taken control the area.
4. Despite his support from the religious right, President Reagan did not restore prayer to
public schools.
5. One of the religious goals of the religious right in 1979 was to increase the size of the
government and give it more control over the economy.
6. As he had predicted, President Reagan’s tax cuts helped reduce the federal deficit.
7. President Reagan appointed Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to join the Supreme
Court.
8. The Strategic Defense Initiative was also known as “Star Wars.”
9. During the Reagan administration, El Salvador fell to the Communists.
10. The Iran-Contra affair involved the illegal sales of arms to Iran and using the proceeds to
support Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
11. By the 1980s, war-torn nations from World War II—France, Germany, Soviet Union, Japan,
and China—had become formidable economies with high levels of productivity.
12. When AIDS emerged in the 1980s, the Reagan administration showed little interest because
it was viewed largely as a gay disease.
13. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev instituted political and economic reforms in the Soviet
Union, which ultimately led to the toppling of communist regimes in Eastern Europe.
14. In Germany, a bloody revolution brought the destruction of the Berlin Wall.
15. The 1991 Persian Gulf War was provoked by Iraq’s invasion of Saudi Arabia.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. According to the textbook, a major reason that Jimmy Carter won the presidency in 1976
was that he
a. convinced voters he was incorruptible.
b. promised to restore the nation’s credit rating.
c. promised to free the Iranian hostages.
d. ended the Cold War.
e. negotiated a cease-fire in Vietnam.
2. Which of the following was an early success of the Carter administration?
a. He ended the war in Vietnam.
b. He ended inflation.
c. He successfully brought to an end the gas shortage.
d. He freed Vietnam prisoners of war.
e. He reduced the White House staff by a third.
3. Which of the following was deemed one of President Carter’s limitations?
a. He was a micromanager.
b. He refused to work out a peace agreement with Israel and Egypt.
c. He successfully revived the economy but did not focus enough on other issues.
d. He expected others to do the work for him.
e. He blamed the Republican-controlled Congress for his failures.
4. When President Carter increased federal spending and cut federal taxes to revive the
economy, he inadvertently
a. fixed the energy crisis.
b. triggered inflation, which resulted in a recession.
c. triggered an immediate depression.
d. triggered deflation, which resulted in unemployment.
e. nearly eliminated poverty for a time in inner-cities.
5. Which of the following statements about the National Energy Act passed in 1978 is
accurate?
a. It significantly cut oil consumption, in keeping with Carter’s goals for the bill.
b. It ended up proving instrumental in helping Carter fight poverty.
c. It had been gutted by oil, gas, and automobile industry lobbyists.
d. It came together because Carter and the Democrats in Congress were in strong
agreement.
e. It prevented revolutionaries in Iran in 1979 from shutting off the supply of Iranian oil to
the United States.
6. As a result of his __________, President Carter began to lose the public’s confidence.
a. pardoning Gerald Ford for his actions in the Watergate scandal
b. “Crisis of Confidence” speech to the American public
c. failure to force big oil to lower gas prices
d. inability to work with Congress
e. decision to cut the MX missile system during the Cold War
7. What was the outcome of the Camp David Accords?
a. Carter received the harshest criticism of his presidency regarding the agreement.
b. Egypt officially recognized the existence of Israel.
c. The United States promised to fund a dam in Egypt.
d. Another war between Israel and the Arab world became more likely.
e. Syria signed a cease-fire with Israel.
8. What was one reason why the Iranian hostage crisis was significant?
a. It demonstrated the strong ability of the United States to control world affairs.
b. It resulted in lower gasoline prices worldwide.
c. It loomed over Carter’s presidency and paralyzed his abilities as a leader.
d. It ended in a successful rescue mission that boosted American morale.
e. It signaled the end of the Cold War.
9. Which of the following was part of Ronald Reagan’s campaign platform in 1980?
a. Appointing more moderate judges to the Supreme Court
b. Helping the United States to “get along with less” consumer products
c. Promoting more effective government regulation of business
d. Increasing military spending
e. Supporting Roe v. Wade
10. Which of the following developments proved beneficial to Reagan politically?
a. Many older and elderly adults moved to the conservative southern or western Sunbelt
states in the 1980s.
b. The economy in the Northeast and in the industrial states of the Midwest was booming.
c. Consumer prices and property taxes drastically fell before Reagan took office.
d. Northern states such as New York gained seats in the House of Representatives.
e. The Moral Majority began promoting the feminist movement on television.
11. Why did the Proposition 13 initiative spread across the nation?
a. Efforts to increase the size and cost of state governments to allow for better programs
b. Grassroot tax revolts aiming to reduce property taxes
c. The opening of many new factories in the Midwest
d. Riots primarily aimed at civil rights for African Americans
e. The rapid decline of the Christian Right
12. Which of the following organizations embraced Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential
election, helping him secure a victory?
a. Moral Majority
b. League of Latin American Urban Voters
c. National Organization of Woman
d. National Association of Colored People
e. Greenpeace
13. Activist Phyllis Schlafly’s organization STOP (Stop Taking Our Privileges) warned that
passage of the __________ would allow husbands to desert their wives, force women into
military service, and allow gays to marry.
a. Civil Rights Act of 1970
b. Equal Rights Amendment
c. Twenty-Eighth Amendment
d. Women’s Liberation Act
e. Men’s Liberation Act
14. During the 1970s, many corporations created __________ to distribute money to pro-
business political candidates.
a. lobbyist unions
b. slush funds
c. political action committees (PACS)
d. Swiss bank accounts
e. off-shore bank accounts
15. Which of the following statements accurately describes the 1980 election?
a. It was a landslide for Reagan.
b. It was a landslide for Carter.
c. It was a close race.
d. It was so close it was thrown into the House of Representatives.
e. It was the first time a third party candidate defeated one of the major parties.
16. Which of the following was part of the economic plan proposed by Reaganomics?
a. A less balanced budget
b. “Supply–side” tax cuts
c. Increases in government spending
d. Increased taxes on companies
e. Increased taxes on the wealthy
17. During Reagan’s administration, the __________ Department was given a “blank check” to
purchase whatever they needed.
a. Defense
b. State
c. Education
d. Homeland Security
e. Housing and Urban Development
18. The result of tax cuts without corresponding spending cuts during President Reagan’s first
term was that
a. the economy entered into the worst recession since the 1930s.
b. the economy soared to new heights.
c. the economy crashed to new lows.
d. a period of stagflation occurred.
e. everyone who wanted a job could get one.
19. President Reagan appointed __________ as the first female justice of the Supreme Court.
a. Sandra Day O’Connor
b. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
c. Martha Whitehead
d. Anne Richards
e. Miriam Ferguson
20. Heading into the 1984 presidential election, reporters began to use the term __________ to
describe President Reagan’s first four years in office.
a. Iran-Contra scandal
b. Weathergate
c. voodoo economics
d. Controllergate
e. Reagan Revolution
21. In the 1984 presidential election, Democrat __________ was the first female vice-
presidential candidate ever nominated.
a. Geraldine Ferraro
b. Sandra Day O’Connor
c. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
d. Miriam Ferguson
e. Anne Richards