Quiz for Sources for America’s History, Part 9

Question

1. The arguments made by Irving Kristol in his 1978 book Two Cheers for Capitalism (Document P9-1) laid the foundation for which of the following presidential policies?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is b. Kristol articulated the position that environmental regulations required businesses to make expenditures that actually shrank their profits and limited their productivity. His position informed Ronald Reagan’s effort to enact policies to deregulate corporations, including cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and other government regulatory bodies.
Incorrect. The answer is b. Kristol articulated the position that environmental regulations required businesses to make expenditures that actually shrank their profits and limited their productivity. His position informed Ronald Reagan’s effort to enact policies to deregulate corporations, including cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and other government regulatory bodies.

Question

2. In his 2006 interview with Bill Barry (Document P9-2), LeRoy McClelland Sr. attributed the transformation of the American steel industry in the 1980s to which of the following factors?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is a. McClelland regarded technology as the factor that had transformed the U.S. steel industry from a large and secure employer to a much smaller and less stable one. He suggested that new computerized machinery would gradually take the place of manual labor, eliminating jobs in the mill and gradually leading to its collapse.
Incorrect. The answer is a. McClelland regarded technology as the factor that had transformed the U.S. steel industry from a large and secure employer to a much smaller and less stable one. He suggested that new computerized machinery would gradually take the place of manual labor, eliminating jobs in the mill and gradually leading to its collapse.

Question

3. In the speech he gave immediately before he signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993 (Document P9-3), President Clinton sought to ease the fears of those who had opposed the legislation on the basis that it would cause job losses, lowered wages, and the erosion of environmental protections. How did Bill Clinton address the concerns of NAFTA’s opponents?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is b. In his speech, Clinton emphasized the inexorable progression of globalization and explained that the United States would fall behind if it did not embrace the trend by enacting NAFTA. He acknowledged that the changes did have the potential to harm workers and the environment, but promised that his administration would “seek new institutional arrangements to ensure that trade leaves the world cleaner than before,” “press for workers in all countries to . . . organize and earn a decent living,” and “propose comprehensive legislation to
Incorrect. The answer is b. In his speech, Clinton emphasized the inexorable progression of globalization and explained that the United States would fall behind if it did not embrace the trend by enacting NAFTA. He acknowledged that the changes did have the potential to harm workers and the environment, but promised that his administration would “seek new institutional arrangements to ensure that trade leaves the world cleaner than before,” “press for workers in all countries to . . . organize and earn a decent living,” and “propose comprehensive legislation to

Question

4. In the 2003 article “The Wal-Mart You Don’t Know” (Document P9-4), Charles Fishman described the company’s quest to sell goods at the lowest possible prices and argued that Wal-Mart had which of the following effects on the American economy?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is d. Fishman’s article pointed to the dark side of Wal-Mart’s low pricing, arguing that its strategies made it impossible for companies that operated within the United States to make a profit. In order to survive, he suggested, American companies had to outsource jobs overseas where they could pay workers much less. This trend actually impoverished many Americans, making it difficult for them to afford even the very cheap products Wal-Mart sells.
Incorrect. The answer is d. Fishman’s article pointed to the dark side of Wal-Mart’s low pricing, arguing that its strategies made it impossible for companies that operated within the United States to make a profit. In order to survive, he suggested, American companies had to outsource jobs overseas where they could pay workers much less. This trend actually impoverished many Americans, making it difficult for them to afford even the very cheap products Wal-Mart sells.

Question

5. In his 2004 article “Outsourcing Around” (Document P9-5), Kevin Clarke asserted that due to its emphasis on profit optimization, “capitalism is a force of incessant ‘creative destruction’ . . . capable of provoking rapid and violent change in economic sectors and by extension among the lives of us mere mortals who inhabit them.” What did Clarke suggest was the solution to the economic displacement caused by capitalism’s “creative destruction”?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is c. In his article, which appeared in the magazine U.S. Catholic, Clarke did not question the proliferation of capitalism. He argued instead that “capitalism’s relentless creativity can be matched by some of our culture’s other relentless forces: Christian mercy and human empathy.” In particular, he called for “societal structures that mitigate the impact of job loss while preparing a new generation of U.S. workers with better educations and an improved industrial infrastructure,” and “protections against worker exploitation in the developing world.”
Incorrect. The answer is c. In his article, which appeared in the magazine U.S. Catholic, Clarke did not question the proliferation of capitalism. He argued instead that “capitalism’s relentless creativity can be matched by some of our culture’s other relentless forces: Christian mercy and human empathy.” In particular, he called for “societal structures that mitigate the impact of job loss while preparing a new generation of U.S. workers with better educations and an improved industrial infrastructure,” and “protections against worker exploitation in the developing world.”