Exam 9: The Confederation and the Constitution 1776-1790

Directions: Read each question carefully and write your responses using complete sentences; an outline or bulleted list alone is not acceptable. -The excerpt demonstrates the continuation of which of the following trends from the period 1980 to the present?

The following questions refer to the excerpt below. "The 1980's have been born in turmoil,strife,and change.This is a time of challenge to our interests and our values and it's a time that tests our wisdom and our skills.At this time in Iran,50 Americans are still held captive,innocent victims of terrorism and anarchy.Also at this moment,massive Soviet troops are attempting to subjugate the fiercely independent and deeply religious people of Afghanistan.These two acts-one of international terrorism and one of military aggression-present a serious challenge to the United States of America and indeed to all the nations of the world.Together,we will meet these threats to peace. I'm determined that the United States will remain the strongest of all nations,but our power will never be used to initiate a threat to the security of any nation or to the rights of any human being.We seek to be and to remain secure-a nation at peace in a stable world.But to be secure we must face the world as it is." President Jimmy Carter,State of the Union Address,January 23,1980 -Members of the U.S.government who supported the ideas expressed in this speech would have sought to use the message to

The following questions refer to the cartoon below. -The cartoon reflects which of the following trends at the beginning of the 21^st century?

Directions: These questions are based on the accompanying documents.The documents have been edited for the purpose of this exercise. In your response you should do the following: •State a relevant thesis that directly addresses all parts of the question. •Support the thesis or a relevant argument with evidence from all,or all but one,of the documents. •Incorporate analysis of all,or all but one,of the documents into your argument. •Focus your analysis of each document on at least one of the following: intended audience,purpose,historical context,and/or point of view. •Support your argument with analysis of historical examples outside the documents. •Connect historical phenomena relevant to your argument to broader events or processes. •Synthesize the elements above into a persuasive essay that extends your argument,connects it to a different historical context,or accounts for contradictory evidence on the topic. -In the era after 1980,controversy grew about the legality and morality of gay rights.Analyze the impact of gay rights on American culture and the responses of Americans to these changes. Document 1 Source: President Bill Clinton, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Speech, January 29, 1993 I have asked the Secretary of Defense to submit by July the 15th a draft Executive order, after full consultation with military and congressional leaders and concerned individuals outside of the Government, which would end the present policy of the exclusion from military service solely on the basis of sexual orientation and at the same time establish rigorous standards regarding sexual conduct to be applied to all military personnel. Document 2 Source: President Barack Obama, on repeal of the Defense Of Marriage Act, June 26, 2013 I applaud the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act. This was discrimination enshrined in law. It treated loving, committed gay and lesbian couples as a separate and lesser class of people. The Supreme Court has righted that wrong, and our country is better off for it. We are a people who declared that we are all created equal – and the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. This ruling is a victory for couples who have long fought for equal treatment under the law; for children whose parents’ marriages will now be recognized, rightly, as legitimate; for families that, at long last, will get the respect and protection they deserve; and for friends and supporters who have wanted nothing more than to see their loved ones treated fairly and have worked hard to persuade their nation to change for the better. Document 3 Source: The Defense Of Marriage Act, January 3, 1996 In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word ‘marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word ‘spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. Document 5 Source: Reverend Al Sharpton on gay rights, February 26, 2004 I think [it] is not an issue any more of just marriage. This is an issue of human rights. And I think it is dangerous to give states the right to deal with human rights questions. That’s how we ended up with slavery and segregation going forward a long time. I, under no circumstances, believe we ought to give states rights to gay and lesbians’ human rights. Whatever my personal feelings may be about gay and lesbian marriages, unless you are prepared to say gays and lesbians are not human beings, they should have the same constitutional right of any other human being. Document 6 Source: Report on a protest against gay marriage, June 20, 2014 WASHINGTON—On a sweltering day in the nation's capital, around 1,500 people gathered on the National Mall with homemade signs and American flags to protest the growing momentum for same-sex marriage around the country. Speakers at the second annual March for Marriage, a rally organized by the conservative National Organization for Marriage, argued on Thursday that they will be remembered for taking a brave stand against injustice. They invoked Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln and America's resistance to the Nazis. "There is no doubt in my mind that this country would not exist had it not been for the providential hand of God," former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said to cheers and cries of "Jesus saves." "I'm also convinced that if we reject his hand of blessing, we will feel his hand of judgment." Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.), the author of a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and the only sitting member of Congress to speak at Thursday's event, urged the crowd to keep up the fight against same-sex marriage in order to prevent "damage to our families and possible damage to our children, to our culture and our society." Document 7 Source: Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney on gay marriage, December 14, 2006 Like the vast majority of Americans, I’ve opposed same-sex marriage, but I’ve also opposed unjust discrimination against anyone, for racial or religious reasons, or for sexual preference. Americans are a tolerant, generous, and kind people. We all oppose bigotry and disparagement. But the debate over same-sex marriage is not a debate over tolerance. It is a debate about the purpose of the institution of marriage and it is a debate about activist judges who make up the law rather than interpret the law. I agree with 3,000 years of recorded history. I believe marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman and I have been rock solid in my support of traditional marriage. Marriage is first and foremost about nurturing and developing children. It’s unfortunate that those who choose to defend the institution of marriage are often demonized.

The following questions refer to the graph below. Source: Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics Union Membership Rates -Which of the following developments of the twenty-first century was caused by the same economic forces which contributed to the trend shown in the graph?

The following questions refer to the cartoon below. Cagle Cartoons -Americans who supported the ideas of the cartoon would have agreed with which of the following statements?

The following questions refer to the excerpt below. "The 1980's have been born in turmoil,strife,and change.This is a time of challenge to our interests and our values and it's a time that tests our wisdom and our skills.At this time in Iran,50 Americans are still held captive,innocent victims of terrorism and anarchy.Also at this moment,massive Soviet troops are attempting to subjugate the fiercely independent and deeply religious people of Afghanistan.These two acts-one of international terrorism and one of military aggression-present a serious challenge to the United States of America and indeed to all the nations of the world.Together,we will meet these threats to peace. I'm determined that the United States will remain the strongest of all nations,but our power will never be used to initiate a threat to the security of any nation or to the rights of any human being.We seek to be and to remain secure-a nation at peace in a stable world.But to be secure we must face the world as it is." President Jimmy Carter,State of the Union Address,January 23,1980 -The concerns expressed by Carter broadly led America to embrace

Directions: In your response you should do the following: •State a relevant thesis that directly addresses all parts of the question. •Support your argument with evidence,using specific examples. •Apply historical thinking skills as directed by the question. •Synthesize the elements above into a persuasive essay that extends your argument,connects it to a different historical context,or connects it to a different category of analysis. -Evaluate the extent to which President Ronald Reagan was a conservative president.

The following questions refer to the excerpt below. "Well,there is no magic money machine.Every dollar the government spends comes out of your pockets.Every dollar the government gives to someone has to first be taken away from someone else.So,it's our moral duty to make sure that we can justify every one of your tax dollars,that we spend them wisely and carefully and,just as important,fairly. Unfortunately,hardly anyone could honestly call Federal budgets wise,careful,or fair.Is it fair to ask one small business to help subsidize its competitors? Is it fair to ask workers in the private economy to pay for civil service pensions that are much more generous than the retirement benefits they receive? Is it fair to ask low-income families to help pay for the college education of children from families with incomes as high as $100,000 a year? Is it fair to ask taxpayers to help pay billions for export subsidies to a handful of America's biggest corporations?" President Ronald Reagan,Address to the Nation on the Federal Budget and Deficit Reduction,April 24,1985 -Which of the following historical trends would Reagan most directly attribute as the cause of the problem he describes?

The following questions refer to the excerpt below. "Tonight I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve,for the children whose worlds have been shattered,for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened.And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I fear no evil,for You are with me." This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace.America has stood down enemies before,and we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget this day,yet we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world." President George Bush,Speech to the Nation,September 11,2001 -Which of the following was a not a result of the historical events seen in the excerpt?

The following questions refer to the excerpt below. "The hope of reversing the trends of decay in our republic now lies with the Christian public in America.We cannot expect help from the liberals.They certainly are not going to call our nation back to righteousness and neither are the pornographers,the smut peddlers,and those who are corrupting our youth.Moral Americans must be willing to put their reputations,their fortunes,and their very lives on the line for this great nation of ours.Would that we had the courage of our forefathers who knew the great responsibility that freedom carries with it....Our Founding Fathers separated church and state in function,but never intended to establish a government void of God.As is evidenced by our Constitution,good people in America must exert an influence and provide a conscience and climate of morality in which it is difficult to go wrong,not difficult for people to go right in America." Jerry Falwell on the Moral Majority,1980 -Falwell's concern over morality in the 1980s most directly reflects the ideas of which earlier movement?