What demographic, political, and social changes define the contemporary United States?
Analyze the demographic, political, and social changes of the contemporary United States, including immigration and the growth of the Sunbelt, the continuing expansion of rights, and ongoing political debates (TEKS US History RC2 Geography and Culture; RC3 Government and Citizenship).
A STAAR-level answer on the contemporary United States for the Texas US History EOC: recent immigration and demographic change, the growth of the Sunbelt, the continuing expansion of rights and civic participation, and the major political debates that shape the nation today, with worked stimulus questions.
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What this topic is asking
The course ends in the present, with a United States transformed by migration, diversity, and ongoing debate. The TEKS want you to explain the demographic, political, and social changes of the contemporary United States: recent immigration and the growth of the Sunbelt, the continuing expansion of rights and civic participation, and the major political debates of today. This topic spans Reporting Category 2 (Geography and Culture) and Category 3 (Government and Citizenship).
Demographic change and immigration
The growth of the Sunbelt
Americans migrated to the Sunbelt for its warm climate, job opportunities, and lower costs, while older industrial regions (the "Rust Belt") lost population and factories (deindustrialization). This internal migration shifted the nation's population and, with it, political power and representation toward the South and West, an important geography point for Texas students in particular.
The continuing expansion of rights
The struggle to expand rights and equality did not end in the 1960s. Building on the civil rights movement and the expanding rights movements, Americans have continued to debate and extend rights for women, racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants, people with disabilities, and other groups. This reflects the STAAR idea that citizenship and equality are ongoing projects.
Ongoing political debates
Try this
Q1. Explain why the Sunbelt grew rapidly in the contemporary era. [2]
- Cue. A combination of a warm climate, job opportunities, and lower costs drew migration from other US regions and from abroad, shifting population and political power to the South and West.
Q2. Explain one way citizens can influence government and continue to expand rights today. [2]
- Cue. Any one form of civic participation, such as voting, peaceful protest, joining interest groups, contacting officials, or using the courts, through which citizens shape policy and extend rights.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of TEA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
STAAR (US History, style)1 marksSince the late twentieth century, the population of the Sunbelt (the southern and southwestern states such as Texas, Arizona, and Florida) has grown rapidly mainly because ofShow worked answer →
A single-select item analyzing a population trend (Reporting Category 2, Geography and Culture).
Correct answer: a combination of a warm climate, job opportunities, and migration from other regions and from abroad.
Markers reward identifying the pull factors driving Sunbelt growth: warm weather, economic opportunity, and both internal migration and immigration. Distractors claiming the Sunbelt lost population, or grew because of cold weather, contradict the trend.
STAAR (US History, style)2 marksPart A: How has immigration changed the population of the contemporary United States? Part B: Explain ONE way citizens can influence government and continue to expand rights today.Show worked answer →
A two-part evidence-based item (Reporting Category 2, Geography and Culture; Category 3, Government and Citizenship).
Part A (1 point): recent immigration, increasingly from Latin America and Asia, has made the United States more ethnically and culturally diverse and has helped fuel population growth, especially in the Sunbelt.
Part B (1 point): explain one form of civic participation, such as voting, peaceful protest, joining interest groups, contacting elected officials, or using the courts, through which citizens shape policy and continue the expansion of rights.
Markers reward describing increased diversity from immigration and a clear example of civic participation that influences government.
Related dot points
- Analyze the impact of the technological revolution (the computer and the internet) and globalization on the American economy and society from the late twentieth century to today (TEKS US History RC4 Economics, Science, Technology, and Society; RC2 Geography and Culture).
A STAAR-level answer on technology and the modern economy for the Texas US History EOC: the computer and internet revolution, the shift to an information and service economy, globalization and free trade, and the effects on American jobs and society, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the war on terror including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the tension between national security and civil liberties (TEKS US History RC1 History; RC3 Government and Citizenship).
A STAAR-level answer on September 11 and the war on terror for the Texas US History EOC: the 2001 terrorist attacks, the US response including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the creation of new security measures, and the renewed tension between national security and civil liberties, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the end of the Cold War, including the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the resulting position of the United States in the world (TEKS US History RC1 History; RC3 Government and Citizenship).
A STAAR-level answer on the end of the Cold War for the Texas US History EOC: the reasons the Soviet Union weakened, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the new role of the United States as the sole superpower, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the rights movements that followed the African American civil rights movement, including the women's movement, the Latino and Chicano movement led by figures such as Cesar Chavez, and the American Indian movement (TEKS US History RC2 Geography and Culture; RC3 Government and Citizenship).
A STAAR-level answer on the expanding rights movements for the Texas US History EOC: the women's movement and figures such as Betty Friedan, the Latino and Chicano movement led by Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, and the American Indian movement, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the causes of the new immigration after 1880, the growth of cities, the responses of nativism and the political machine, and the cultural changes that resulted (TEKS US History RC2 Geography and Culture; RC1 History).
A STAAR-level answer on Gilded Age immigration and urbanization for the Texas US History EOC: the new immigration from southern and eastern Europe, push and pull factors, the growth of cities, nativism, political machines, and the cultural changes they produced, with worked stimulus questions.
Sources & how we know this
- Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies, United States History Studies Since 1877 (19 TAC 113.41) — Texas Education Agency (2018)
- STAAR US History Blueprint Effective as of Academic Year 2022 to 2023 — Texas Education Agency (2022)