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AP®HistoryCollege BoardUS HistoryExam QuestionsPeriod 9: 1980-PresentChallenges of the 21st Century

Challenges of the 21st Century (College Board AP® US History): Exam Questions

9 mins9 questions
11 mark

“Americans are asking, why do they hate us?  They hate what we see right here in this chamber -- a democratically elected government.  Their leaders are self-appointed.  They hate our freedoms -- our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.”

George W. Bush, Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People, September 20, 2001

George W. Bush’s speech, excerpted above, was primarily a reaction to which of the following events?

  • The invasion of Kuwait by Iraq

  • The U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia following the Gulf War

  • The rise of Islamist extremist organizations such as al-Qaeda

  • The U.S. airstrikes against Iraq and Afghanistan

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21 mark

“Americans are asking, why do they hate us?  They hate what we see right here in this chamber -- a democratically elected government.  Their leaders are self-appointed.  They hate our freedoms -- our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.”

George W. Bush, Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People, September 20, 2001

The sentiments in George W. Bush’s speech are most similar to which of the following arguments in American history?

  • Arguments that the sinking of the Lusitania justified U.S. entry into World War I

  • Arguments that the attack on Pearl Harbor required full U.S. military mobilization

  • Arguments that diplomacy and negotiation could ease Cold War tensions in the 1970s

  • Arguments that the Monroe Doctrine should be used to prevent European intervention in the Americas

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31 mark

“Americans are asking, why do they hate us?  They hate what we see right here in this chamber -- a democratically elected government.  Their leaders are self-appointed.  They hate our freedoms -- our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.”

George W. Bush, Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People, September 20, 2001

Which of the following policies was enacted as a direct response to the events described in the excerpt?

  • The War Powers Resolution

  • The USA PATRIOT Act

  • The Marshall Pla

  • The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty

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41 mark

“Americans are asking, why do they hate us?  They hate what we see right here in this chamber -- a democratically elected government.  Their leaders are self-appointed.  They hate our freedoms -- our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.”

George W. Bush, Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People, September 20, 2001

The treatment of Muslim Americans and Middle Eastern immigrants after the September 11 attacks most directly reflects which of the following continuities in U.S. history?

  • Debates about the balance between religious freedom and national security

  • Debates about the restriction of immigration from certain ethnic or religious groups

  •  Debates about the separation of church and state in U.S. governance

  • Debates about religious revivals shaping American cultural identity

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51 mark

“While the results have been important, in passing the Patriot Act, Congress provided for only modest, incremental changes in the law. Congress simply took existing legal principles and retrofitted them to preserve the lives and liberty of the American people from the challenges posed by a global terrorist network.”

The Department of Justice’s explanation of the Patriot Act, 2001 and its impact on the security of the United States

Concerns expressed by the Patriot Act were a response to

  • PRISM

  • Hamdan vs Rumsfeld

  • The September 11 attacks

  • The Immigration and Nationality Act

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61 mark

“While the results have been important, in passing the Patriot Act, Congress provided for only modest, incremental changes in the law. Congress simply took existing legal principles and retrofitted them to preserve the lives and liberty of the American people from the challenges posed by a global terrorist network.”

The Department of Justice’s explanation of the Patriot Act, 2001 and its impact on the security of the United States

The Patriot Act was issued to

  • Provide medical care and financial support to US troops who had served in the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq

  • Order the killing of the leader of al-Queda, Osama bin Laden

  • Expand the government’s powers to safeguard the nation against future terrorist attacks

  • Check presidential powers by requiring the president to report any troop deployment to Congress within 48 hours

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71 mark

“While the results have been important, in passing the Patriot Act, Congress provided for only modest, incremental changes in the law. Congress simply took existing legal principles and retrofitted them to preserve the lives and liberty of the American people from the challenges posed by a global terrorist network.”

The Department of Justice’s explanation of the Patriot Act, 2001 and its impact on the security of the United States

The views expressed by the Patriot Act most directly contributed to

  • Operation Iraqi Freedom

  • The Iranian Revolution

  • The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution 

  • The attacks on the World Trade Center

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81 mark

“While the results have been important, in passing the Patriot Act, Congress provided for only modest, incremental changes in the law. Congress simply took existing legal principles and retrofitted them to preserve the lives and liberty of the American people from the challenges posed by a global terrorist network.”

The Department of Justice’s explanation of the Patriot Act, 2001 and its impact on the security of the United States

Which of the following aspects of the Patriot Act expresses a major change in American law?

  • Development of different investigation methods such as roving wiretapping

  •  The use of National Security Letters. This allowed the FBI to search communications, such as email and phone calls, without a court order

  • Delayed notification search warrants, allowing law enforcement to withhold for a limited time when the suspect is told that their property is being searched

  • The ability to look at business records in national security terrorism cases

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91 mark

“While the results have been important, in passing the Patriot Act, Congress provided for only modest, incremental changes in the law. Congress simply took existing legal principles and retrofitted them to preserve the lives and liberty of the American people from the challenges posed by a global terrorist network.”

The Department of Justice’s explanation of the Patriot Act, 2001 and its impact on the security of the United States

The Department of Justice’s analysis of the Patriot Act most directly illustrated the debates about which of the following issues? 

  • The balance between national security and civil liberties, particularly regarding government surveillance of private data

  • Increased military intervention abroad during the Persian Gulf War

  • Internal divisions within U.S. society caused by the rising threat of terrorism

  • The role of government agencies in monitoring domestic dissent during the Cold War era

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