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Quiz for Reading the American Past, Chapter 30

Quiz for Reading the American Past, Chapter 30

Document Links

Document 30-1: The Watergate Tapes: Nixon, Dean, and Haldeman Discuss the Cancer within the Presidency

Document 30-2: Roe v. Wade and Abortion Rights

Document 30-3: Norma McCorvey Explains How She Became "Roe" of Roe v. Wade

Document 30-4: President Ronald Reagan Defends American Morality

Document 30-5: A Vietnamese Immigrant on the West Coast

Question

1. What was the "cancer" within the presidency that John Dean was referring to? (See Document 30-1: The Watergate Tapes: Nixon, Dean, and Haldeman Discuss the Cancer within the Presidency)

The corruption scandal surrounding Vice President Agnew

The scandal around the Pentagon papers

The conspiracy around the Watergate break-in

The investigation of Watergate by Democrats in Congress

Correct.

Incorrect. The answer is The answer is c. Dean feared that the conspiracy to cover up the Watergate break-in was close to the presidency and threatening to harm the administration.

Question

2. Why did the United States Supreme Court not agree that a woman had an absolute right to privacy and could terminate her pregnancy any time for any reason? (See Document 30-2: Roe v. Wade and Abortion Rights)

As a Christian nation, the United States could not condone such a violation of Christian ethics.

Women could very well put themselves in harm's way under such an absolute right to abortion.

States had a legitimate interest in the protection of potential life.

The court determined that life began with conception and enjoyed constitutional protection.

Correct.

Incorrect. The answer is The answer is c. The United States Supreme Court did not agree that a woman had an absolute right to privacy and could terminate her pregnancy any time for any reason because the state had a legitimate interest in the protection of potential life.

Question

3. What, according to Norma McCorvey's affidavit, was her understanding of abortion at the time she agreed with her lawyers to become a plaintiff? (See Document 30-3: Norma McCorvey Explains How She Became "Roe" of Roe v. Wade)

It was simply going back to "not being pregnant."

The fetus was just a piece of tissue that had to be removed.

An abortion was the killing of an independent viable person.

An abortion was the same as contraception.

Correct.

Incorrect. The answer is The answer is a. At the time Norma McCorvey agreed to become the plaintiff in Roe v. Wade, she believed that abortion simply meant going back to not being pregnant.

Question

4. According to President Ronald Reagan, why did freedom prosper "only where the blessings of God are avidly sought and humbly accepted"? (See Document 30-4: President Ronald Reagan Defends American Morality)

Only when Americans prayed could they hope to succeed in business.

If Soviet Communists were atheists, Americans had to be good Christians.

Without the church, all of American civil liberties and prosperity were bound to dissipate.

He believed the American experiment in democracy was built on Christian faith.

Correct.

Incorrect. The answer is The answer is d. Reagan argued that freedom could prosper "only where the blessings of God are avidly sought and humbly accepted" because, he claimed, the nation itself was founded on Christian faith.

Question

5. Why was the Vietnamese immigrant happy to be in America? (See Document 30-5: A Vietnamese Immigrant on the West Coast)

He enjoyed the freedom to work and make his own living.

He enjoyed American popular culture and movies.

He nurtured the relationships he had built with Americans back in Vietnam.

He enjoyed being able to participate in the political process.

Correct.

Incorrect. The answer is The answer is a. This Vietnamese immigrant was happy to be in America because his new nation allowed him to work and make a living.

Question

6. What criticism did Norma McCorvey level against the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade? (See Document 30-2: Roe v. Wade and Abortion Rights and Document 30-3: Norma McCorvey Explains How She Became "Roe" of Roe v. Wade)

The ruling was false because she had been bullied into having an abortion.

The decision was flawed because her lawyers only did it for the money.

The ruling was meaningless because it did not give meaningful choices to pregnant women.

The ruling was based on a misunderstanding of the true meaning of abortion.

Correct.

Incorrect. The answer is The answer is d. Norma McCorvey criticized the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade for failing to characterize the fetus as a person with equal legal rights.

Question

7. How did the Supreme Court's ruling in Roe v. Wade in 1973 and Ronald Reagan's position on abortion in 1983 differ? (See Document 30-2: Roe v. Wade and Abortion Rights and Document 30-4: President Ronald Reagan Defends American Morality)

Reagan believed that the Supreme Court had violated women's right to privacy, while the court claimed that it was protecting it.

Reagan was trying to save the lives of babies, while the court did not address the government's interest in the health and welfare of the unborn.

The court ruled on the constitutional rights of pregnant women, while Reagan singled out the constitutional right of the unborn.

The court ruling reflected the position of NOW activists, while Reagan's arguments reflected the position of the American Medical Association.

Correct.

Incorrect. The answer is The answer is c. Whereas the United States Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade (1973) ruled on the constitutional rights of pregnant women, Reagan singled out the constitutional right of the unborn in his 1983 speech.