How have the computer, the internet, and globalization reshaped the modern American economy?
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.
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What this topic is asking
The modern American economy has been transformed by new technology and by deeper ties to the rest of the world. The TEKS want you to explain the impact of the technological revolution (the computer and the internet) and of globalization on the American economy and society from the late twentieth century to today. This is a core Reporting Category 4 (Economics, Science, Technology, and Society) topic, with Category 2 (Geography and Culture) ties.
The technological revolution
From manufacturing to information and services
The United States moved away from heavy manufacturing toward services, finance, technology, and information work. This created many new jobs but also displaced workers in older industries, a major economic and social change.
Globalization
The effect on society
Technology and globalization changed more than the economy. Instant global communication reshaped culture, news, and daily life; work and education increasingly depended on digital skills; and debates grew over trade policy, jobs, privacy, and inequality. These changes define the contemporary United States (see the contemporary United States).
Try this
Q1. Explain how the computer and the internet changed the American economy. [2]
- Cue. They shifted the United States from a manufacturing economy toward an information and service economy, creating new high-tech industries and transforming communication and commerce while displacing some older jobs.
Q2. Define globalization and give one effect on American workers. [2]
- Cue. The growing interconnection of the world's economies through trade, investment, and the movement of goods and jobs across borders; one effect is the loss of manufacturing jobs as companies moved production to lower-wage countries (or, positively, cheaper goods and new high-tech jobs).
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 marksThe spread of the personal computer and the internet since the late twentieth century most directly transformed the United States intoShow worked answer →
A single-select item (Reporting Category 4, Science, Technology, and Society).
Correct answer: an information-based and service economy in which communication, data, and technology drive much of the work.
Markers reward identifying the shift toward an information and service economy. Distractors claiming the computer returned the country to farming, or had little economic effect, contradict the transformation that technology produced.
STAAR (US History, style)2 marksPart A: What is globalization? Part B: Explain ONE effect of globalization on American workers.Show worked answer →
A two-part evidence-based item (Reporting Category 4, Economics; Category 2, Geography).
Part A (1 point): globalization is the growing interconnection of the world's economies through trade, investment, communication, and the movement of goods, services, and jobs across borders.
Part B (1 point): explain one effect, such as cheaper goods and new markets and jobs in some industries, or the loss of manufacturing jobs as companies moved production to countries with lower wages (deindustrialization).
Markers reward a clear definition of globalization and a real, specific effect (positive or negative) on American workers.
Related dot points
- 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 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.
- Analyze the rise of modern conservatism, the Watergate scandal and its effect on trust in government, and the policies of the Reagan era (TEKS US History RC3 Government and Citizenship; RC4 Economics).
A STAAR-level answer on the conservative resurgence for the Texas US History EOC: the Watergate scandal and falling trust in government, the rise of modern conservatism, and the Reagan era policies of tax cuts, deregulation, and a military buildup, 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 economic prosperity and consumer culture of the 1920s, new technology, the Harlem Renaissance and jazz, and changing roles for women (TEKS US History RC4 Economics, Science, Technology, and Society; RC2 Geography and Culture).
A STAAR-level answer on the Roaring Twenties for the Texas US History EOC: the consumer economy and credit, the impact of the automobile, radio, and mass production, the Harlem Renaissance and jazz, and the changing role of women, 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)