ShmoopTube

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[ musical flourish ]

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And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by social security,

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your safety blanket at a party.

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Sort of. [a woman checking her phone at a party]

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All right, give this excerpt a look.

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[ mumbles ]

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[ mumbling continues ]

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All right, and the question:

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Why did the federal government continue to grow in the 1980s

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despite the philosophies expressed by Reagan in the excerpt?

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And here are your potential answers.

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[ mumbles ]

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[ mumbling continues ]

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All right. Well, presidents can wish for [someone rubbing a genie-lamp]

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as much change as they want, but sometimes

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the public has hopes and dreams of its own.

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Let's see which answer describes how Reagan's

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best-laid plans were laid to rest.

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All right. Did the federal government [image of a government office]

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continue to grow in the 1980s because of A -

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the growth of evangelical religions

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and their role in politics?

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Hmm.

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Evangelical religions, as well as

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the larger conservative movement [image of a cross shinning]

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really praised Reagan's call for less government.

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So that gets rid of A and B.

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Did federal budgets expand

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in the 1980s because of D - the need to rebuild

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trust in the government after the scandals of the 1970s?

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All right, well Nixon's whole Watergate fiasco

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really dampened the public's faith in elected officials. [water falling over people in the parliament]

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But that lack of trust led to calls for

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turning off the government spigot, not increasing its volume.

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So that drowns out D. Good-bye.

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Which means the federal government continued

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to grow in the 1980s because of C - [image of federal government office]

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the popularity of long-existing programs.

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Though many Americans agreed with Reagan's policies,

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the popularity of the programs like Medicare and Medicaid

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meant that government growth was all but written in the stars. [a woman selling shoes]

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So C is the correct answer.

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During the 1980s, the public's eyes were bigger than its stomach

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for cuts to social welfare programs.

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[ musical flourish ]

Full Transcript