The 70s, 80s and 90s

Question 1

economy in the 70s

Answer 1

• some of the highest rates in recent US history due to central bank policy, abandonment of the gold standard (1971), Keynesian economic policy and market psychology

Question 2

Richard Nixon

Answer 2

• 37th president
• momentous foreign policy achievements alongside devastating domestic scandals
• trip to China 1972 (opera by John Adams inspired by this)

Question 3

Watergate Scandal

Answer 3

• general term for a series of political scandals during the presidency of R. Nixon
• began with 5 men being arrested after breaking and entering into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel complex in Washington DC
• ended with Nixon’s resignation in August 1974

Question 4

The End of Vietnam War

Answer 4

• 1975
• operation Frequent Wind
  -> final US evacuation operation from Saigon in April 1975
• 1954 - exit of the French
• 1960-63 - Americanisation
• August 1964 - Gulf of Tonkin incident
• 1964-69 - escalation
• January 1968 - The Tet Offensive
• 1969-73 - Vietnamization
• April 1975 - Fall of Saigon

Question 5

Roe v. Wade

Answer 5

• landmark 1973 US Supreme Court Decision
• established a woman’s legal right to abortion prior to fetal viability
• struck down many state and federal abortion laws as unconstitutional
• states have no jurisdiction during the first trimester

Question 6

The Supreme Court

Answer 6

• the US Constitution gives the President power to nominate justices, who are then appointed “by and with the advice and consent of the Senate”
• the President may nominate anyone

Question 7

A Conservative 6:3 Majority

Answer 7

• Rucho v. Common Cause (2019)
  
  • Ruled that federal courts cannot hear challenges to partisan gerrymandering, leaving the issue to states and Congress
• Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022)
  
  • Overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the federal constitutional right to abortion
• New York State Rifle &Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen(2022)
  
  • Expanded Second Amendment gun rights by striking down a New York concealed carry law, ruling that the right to bear arms extends outside the home and establishing a new test focused on historical tradition

Question 8

Ronald Reagan

Answer 8

• 40th president
• transformative political figure who defined American conservatism for decades
• his presidency was marked by economic policies known as “Reaganomics,” a strengthened military stance against the Soviet Union, and a fundamental shift in American political discourse
• the “new right”
• winner of the Cold War

Question 9

The Yuppy

Answer 9

-derived from Young Upcoming Professional
- derogatory 80s term for ‘new breed’ of young , wealthy people

Question 10

Cocaine

Answer 10

• crack epidemic during the early 1980s
• affordable immediate euphoric effect and highly profitable
• devastating effects within the African American communities

Question 11

AIDS

Answer 11

-1981
- in 5 previously healthy young men in LA (maybe they were also in each other what do we know)

Question 12

Susan Faludi: Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women (1991)

Answer 12

• analyzed how media and culture of the 1980s pushed back against feminism
• argued that as women made gains in rights and opportunities, a cultural “backlash” emerged to undermine their progress
• demonstrated how popular culture, fashion, and politics during the Reagan era reinforced traditional gender roles

Question 13

The Decade of the Net

Answer 13

• the 90s
• by late 1994 there was growing public interest in the previously academic, technical Internet
• by 1996 usage of the word Internet had become commonplace

Question 14

Gulf War I

Answer 14

• August 2, 1990 -Iraq invaded Kuwait
• January 17, 1991 - the US-lead coalition struck at the Iraquis

Question 15

LA Riots

Answer 15

• the LA riots of 1992, also known as the Rodney King uprising, were sparked April 29, 1992
• when a jury acquitted four police officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King when he resisted arrest following a high speed chase

Question 16

O. J. Simpson Trial

Answer 16

• 1994-95
• one of the most notorial criminal trials in American history
• a former college and professional football star O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted in 1995 of the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman

Question 17

90s: The Happy Days

Answer 17

• a time of strong economic growth, steady job creation, low inflation, rising productivity, economic boom, surging stock market