How did new technology and globalization transform the American economy and society?
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.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this topic is asking
The late twentieth century brought a technological and economic transformation as sweeping as industrialization had been a century earlier. The NGSSS benchmark SS.912.A.7 wants you to analyze the impact of new technology and globalization: the computer and internet revolution, the shift to a service and information economy, free trade (NAFTA), and modern immigration. This is a Reporting Category 3 topic, often tied to economics (the legacy of free enterprise), tested with a chart, a quotation, or a question about economic change.
The computer and internet revolution
From manufacturing to services
As technology automated production and many factories moved overseas, manufacturing jobs declined while service-sector jobs grew. This shift created new opportunities but also hardship for workers in older industrial regions.
Globalization and free trade
A key example is the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which lowered trade barriers among the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Globalization brought cheaper goods, new markets, and global supply chains, but also outsourcing, the movement of jobs to countries with lower wages, sparking debate over winners and losers among American workers.
Modern immigration
Try this
Q1. Explain how the computer and internet revolution changed the American economy. [2]
- Cue. It created an information economy in which communication, commerce, and work increasingly depend on digital technology, accelerating the shift from manufacturing toward services and information.
Q2. Define globalization and give one example of how it affected the United States. [2]
- Cue. Globalization is the growing interconnection of the world's economies. Examples include free trade agreements such as NAFTA, cheaper imported goods, and the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs overseas.
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 spread of personal computers and the internet beginning in the late twentieth century most directly led toShow worked answer →
A single-select item (Reporting Category 3, SS.912.A.7).
Correct answer: an information economy in which communication, commerce, and work increasingly depend on digital technology.
Markers reward connecting the computer and internet revolution to the rise of an information and service economy. Distractors saying it ended all manufacturing, or had little effect, overstate or understate the change.
FL EOC (US History, style)1 marksA chart shows US manufacturing jobs declining while service-sector jobs rise from 1970 to 2000. This trend reflectsShow worked answer →
A single-select stimulus item (Reporting Category 3, SS.912.A.7).
Correct answer: the shift from a manufacturing economy to a service and information economy, accelerated by technology and globalization.
Markers reward reading the chart as a shift from manufacturing toward services. Distractors claiming the United States added more factory jobs, or that the economy did not change, contradict the data.
Related dot points
- 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 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 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.
- Analyze the causes and effects of the Second Industrial Revolution, the rise of corporations and entrepreneurs such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, the growth of trusts and monopolies, and the free enterprise system (NGSSS SS.912.A.3, Reporting Category 1).
An EOC-level answer on the Second Industrial Revolution for the Florida US History exam: the causes of rapid industrial growth, the rise of corporations and entrepreneurs such as Carnegie and Rockefeller, trusts and monopolies, the Sherman Antitrust Act, and the free enterprise system, 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)