Chapter 30: Twenty-First-Century America, 1993–Present
CORE OBJECTIVES
1. Describe the major population trends (demographics) in the United States during the twenty-
TRUE/FALSE
1. By 2000, for the first time in U.S. history the majority of immigrants came not from Europe
but from other parts of the world.
2. During the first decade of the twenty-first century, the United States received twice as many
immigrants as all other countries combined.
3. President Bill Clinton depended on significant Republican support for the North American
Free Trade Agreement to be approved in Congress.
4. Many opponents to the North American Free Trade Agreement favored tariffs to discourage
the importation of cheaper foreign products.
5. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and other Republicans in Congress promised a “Contract
with America” that would dismantle the corrupt liberal welfare state.
6. President Clinton refused to get involved in the violent turmoil in southeastern Europe in
the early 1990s that had resulted from the breakup of the Soviet Union.
7. Bill Clinton was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives.
8. George W. Bush won the popular vote in the 2000 presidential election.
9. President George W. Bush stated that control of Iraq’s oil supply was one major reason for
the 2003 invasion of that nation by U.S. forces.
10. Between 1997 and 2006, the U.S. economy experienced a prolonged expansion as
evidenced by rising home prices in Sunbelt states.
11. In 2008, Barack Obama ran an impressive Internet-based campaign.
12. During President Barack Obama’s first term, a top legislative priority was health-care
reform.
13. The Dodd-Frank bill called for government agencies to exercise less oversight over highly
leveraged and highly complex new financial instruments.
14. The national Tea Party movement that arose after President Obama’s election in 2008 was
from the outset a uniquely cohesive political organization.
15. In May 2012, President Obama jumped headfirst into the simmering cultural wars by
announcing his support for the rights of gay couples to marry.
16. From the outset of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, political analysts realized his
public appeal and predicted his nomination.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The fastest growing group of Americans by the twenty-first century categorized themselves
as
a. Anglo.
b. Hispanic.
c. Cuban.
d. African American.
e. multiracial.
2. Who warned in 1992 that the United States was experiencing “the greatest invasion” in its
history?
a. George Bush
b. Pat Buchanan
c. H. Ross Perot
d. Bill Clinton
e. Armand Hammer
3. The U.S. agreement with Canada and Mexico that made North America the largest free-
trade zone in the world was the
a. American Tariff Reduction Act.
b. North American Free Trade Agreement.
c. CAM Agreement.
d. Monroe Doctrine.
e. Kennedy Reduction Act.
4. What was one of the cornerstones of President Clinton’s political agenda in his first term?
a. Reforming health care
b. Desegregating the military
c. Allowing gays in the military
d. Lowering the deficit
e. Raising taxes on the rich
5. For the first time since the 1950s, the __________ party captured control of both the House
of Representatives and the Senate in 1994.
a. Democratic
b. Republican
c. Whig
d. Federalist
e. Anarchist
6. In the 1990s, a series of major court rulings undermined the affirmative action and race-
based benefit programs that had been created in the 1960s. Which of the following cases
ruled that race could not be used as a criterion for admission to universities?
a. Dred Scott v. Sanford
b. Hopwood v. Texas
c. Sweatt v. Texas
d. Brown v. Board of Education
e. Adarand Constructors v. Pena
7. Which of the following statements about the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Act of 1996 (PRWOA) is accurate?
a. It revealed Clinton’s goal of appealing to liberal Democrats first and foremost.
b. It was statistically unsuccessful, increasing poverty rates during the late nineties.
c. It aimed to decrease the size of the “welfare state” and limit the duration of welfare
payments.
d. It sought to increase the amount of welfare payments and other government aid for the
poor.
e. It led to disagreements with Republicans that helped cause Clinton to lose the 1996
presidential election.
8. After the Republican victories in Congress in 1994, Bill Clinton tried to save his presidency
by showing he was more of a(n) __________ president.
a. centrist
b. liberal
c. conservative
d. independent
e. combative
9. Which of the following characterized the “new economy” during the 1990s?
a. Sustained economic prosperity, in part thanks to high-tech enterprises
b. An economy in which globalization had not yet begun
c. High unemployment and high inflation
d. Federal budget deficits and low corporate profits
e. Decreased international trade
10. By the mid-1990s, the __________ opened up the Internet to everyone, not just the tech
elite.
a. federal government
b. World Wide Web
c. Silicon Valley Consortium
d. Association of Computer Scientists
e. Clinton administration
11. In spring of 1999, where did NATO and the United States launch air strikes to help stop
Slobodan Milosevic’s program of “ethnic cleansing” in which Albanian Muslims were
murdered, raped, and displaced?
a. Iraq
b. Myanmar
c. Yugoslavia
d. Israel
e. Iran
12. President Bill Clinton was impeached for
a. making fraudulent investments in Whitewater real estate.
b. embezzling tax dollars.
c. lying under oath and obstruction of justice.
d. the Iran-Contra cover-up.
e. refusing to comply with Congress on presidential appointments.
13. Which of the following was crucial in George W. Bush’s victory over Al Gore in the
disputed presidential election of 2000?
a. Winning California’s electoral votes
b. His final campaign speech in Ohio
c. Winning the “union vote” in the Rust Belt states
d. The Supreme Court order for Florida to stop recounting votes
e. Winning the youth vote
14. On September 11, 2001, terrorists flew planes into __________ in New York City.
a. City Hall
b. the Sears Building
c. the World Trade Center
d. the Empire State Building
e. Times Square
15. The terrorists who struck the United States on September 11, 2001, were led by
a. Sadaam Hussein.
b. Lee Iacocca.
c. Osama bin Laden.
d. Muhammad Qaddafi.
e. Bibi Netanyahu.
16. After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, President Bush announced the launch of a war on
a. terror.
b. Iraq.
c. Iran.
d. Libya.
e. Uzbekistan.
17. The __________ was a law passed that gave federal authorities the right to eavesdrop on
confidential conversations between inmates and their lawyers.
a. Prison Rights Act
b. Secret Surveillance Act
c. USA Patriot Act
d. Alien Act
e. Sedition Act
18. In the fall of 2002, Bush revealed a new national security approach called the “Bush
Doctrine.” Which of the following was part of this proposed policy?
a. Hunting down and killing Osama bin Laden
b. Banning Muslim immigration into the United States
c. Using highly limited bombing campaigns and only as a last resort
d. Containing the spread of Islam worldwide
e. Using preemptive military force rather than diplomacy
19. What federal agency was unprepared for the damage done by Hurricane Katrina in 2005?
a. FEMA
b. FBI
c. CIA
d. DEA
e. NSA
20. In 2007, the __________ “bubble” burst, leading to a loss of trillions of dollars and
ultimately to a devastated U.S. economy.
a. dot-com
b. oil
c. housing
d. education
e. banking