What political, social, and economic changes define the contemporary United States?
Analyze recent developments in the contemporary United States, including political milestones, the Great Recession of 2008, expanding rights, and ongoing debates over the role of government (NGSSS SS.912.A.7, Reporting Category 3).
An EOC-level answer on the contemporary United States for the Florida US History exam: recent political milestones, the Great Recession of 2008, the continuing expansion of rights, ongoing debates over the role of government, and how today connects to the longer story of US history, with worked stimulus questions.
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What this topic is asking
The Florida US History EOC ends in the present, asking you to connect recent events to the longer story. The NGSSS benchmark SS.912.A.7 wants you to analyze recent developments in the contemporary United States: political milestones, the Great Recession of 2008, the continuing expansion of rights, and the ongoing debate over the role of government. This is the closing Reporting Category 3 topic, tested with a chart, a quotation, or a question linking today to earlier eras.
Recent political milestones
The Great Recession of 2008
The crisis echoed the Great Depression in its causes (speculation and a financial collapse) and its response (government action), and it reignited debates over how much to regulate banks and markets.
The continuing expansion of rights
The enduring debate over the role of government
This debate connects the contemporary era to the entire course (and to SS.912.A.2, the principles of American government): from the laissez-faire Gilded Age, through the New Deal's expansion, to today's arguments over regulation, spending, and the proper size of government.
Try this
Q1. Explain what triggered the Great Recession of 2008 and how the government responded. [2]
- Cue. The collapse of the housing market and risky lending in the financial system triggered it; the federal government intervened to stabilize banks and the economy, the worst downturn since the Great Depression.
Q2. Explain the enduring debate over the role of government and where it comes from. [2]
- Cue. The debate is over how large a role the federal government should play in the economy and society; it traces to the New Deal and Great Society (which expanded government) and the conservative resurgence (which pushed back).
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of FLDOE exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
FL EOC (US History, style)1 marksThe economic crisis of 2008, often called the Great Recession, was triggered most directly byShow worked answer →
A single-select item (Reporting Category 3, SS.912.A.7).
Correct answer: the collapse of the housing market and risky lending in the financial system, which led to a severe recession and government intervention.
Markers reward connecting the Great Recession to the housing and financial collapse. Distractors blaming it on the Cold War, or on World War II spending, place the cause in the wrong era.
FL EOC (US History, style)1 marksA central, ongoing debate in contemporary American politics, rooted in the New Deal and the Great Society, concernsShow worked answer →
A single-select item (Reporting Category 3, SS.912.A.7 with SS.912.A.2).
Correct answer: how large a role the federal government should play in the economy and society.
Markers reward identifying the enduring debate over the size and role of government. Distractors saying the debate is over whether to hold elections, or whether to have a Constitution, misstate a settled feature of American government.
Related dot points
- Analyze the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the War on Terror, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the USA PATRIOT Act, and the debate over security and civil liberties (NGSSS SS.912.A.7, Reporting Category 3).
An EOC-level answer on September 11 and the War on Terror for the Florida US History exam: the 2001 terrorist attacks, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Department of Homeland Security and the USA PATRIOT Act, and the debate between national security and civil liberties, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the impact of new technology and globalization, including the computer and internet revolution, the shift to a service and information economy, free trade agreements such as NAFTA, and immigration in the modern era (NGSSS SS.912.A.7, Reporting Category 3).
An EOC-level answer on technology and globalization for the Florida US History exam: the computer and internet revolution, the shift from manufacturing to a service and information economy, globalization and free trade (NAFTA), the effects on American workers, and modern immigration, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the rise of modern conservatism, the election of Ronald Reagan, Reaganomics and supply-side economics, and the conservative response to the Great Society (NGSSS SS.912.A.7, Reporting Category 3).
An EOC-level answer on the conservative resurgence for the Florida US History exam: the rise of modern conservatism, the election of Ronald Reagan, Reaganomics and supply-side economics, the response to the Great Society, and the changing political landscape, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the end of the Cold War, including Reagan's military buildup and diplomacy, Gorbachev's reforms, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the collapse of the Soviet Union (NGSSS SS.912.A.7, Reporting Category 3).
An EOC-level answer on the end of the Cold War for the Florida US History exam: Reagan's military buildup and diplomacy, Gorbachev's reforms of glasnost and perestroika, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the rights movements that followed the African American civil rights movement, including the women's movement, the farm workers and Latino movement, the American Indian Movement, and the counterculture of the 1960s (NGSSS SS.912.A.7, Reporting Category 3).
An EOC-level answer on the expanding rights movements for the Florida US History exam: the women's movement and the Equal Rights Amendment, Cesar Chavez and the farm workers, the American Indian Movement, the counterculture and youth protest of the 1960s, and their connection to the civil rights model, with worked stimulus questions.
Sources & how we know this
- US History End-of-Course Assessment Test Item Specifications — Florida Department of Education (2013)
- US History Reporting Category Statements — Florida Department of Education (2013)