George W. Bush

A policy and civics test on George W. Bush, from the 2000 election through the end of 2004.

1.How was the 2000 presidential election between Bush and Al Gore decided?
Inauguration Day, January 20, 2001.George W. Bush Presidential Library. Public domain.
A. Gore conceded on election night, and the electoral vote matched the popular vote.B. The Supreme Court stopped Florida's recount. Bush won the electors and lost the popular vote.C. The House chose Bush under the Twelfth Amendment after no one won an electoral-vote majority.D. A second nationwide popular vote was held in December, and Bush won it by about two points.
2.Whom did Bush ask to run with him, and what was unusual about the way he chose?
The Texas State Capitol in Austin.Photo by LoneStarMike, CC BY 3.0.
A. John McCain. He had already won the primaries, so the search was only an announcement.B. Elizabeth Dole. She led the search, then stepped aside so Cheney could stay in business.C. Dick Cheney. He led the search, and Bush then asked him to take the job himself.D. Colin Powell. He left the Army that summer and joined the ticket to handle foreign policy.
3.Who held the Speaker's gavel during Bush's first term?
The chamber of the House of Representatives.United States House of Representatives. Public domain.
A. Dennis Hastert the entire time.B. Nancy Pelosi from inauguration day through the end of 2004.C. Newt Gingrich at the start, then Dennis Hastert after the 2002 midterms.D. Tom DeLay, who took the gavel when the House organized in January 2001.
4.In 2001 Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont left the Republican Party. What did that do to the Senate?
The Senate chamber.United States Senate. Public domain.
A. Nothing, because an independent cannot decide which party organizes the Senate.B. Democrats took the majority, and Tom Daschle became majority leader.C. The House flipped with him, and the members elected a new Speaker that same month.D. Republicans kept a 60-vote Senate, and Trent Lott stayed leader through 2004.
5.What did the 2002 midterm elections do to party control of Congress?
The west front of the United States Capitol.Architect of the Capitol. Public domain.
A. Democrats took both chambers for the first time since 1994.B. Republicans lost the House but kept the Senate by a single seat.C. Neither chamber changed hands, and the losses came only in governorships.D. Republicans held the House and took the Senate back from the Democrats.
6.What did the USA PATRIOT Act, which Bush signed in October 2001, do?
A bill signing in the fall of 2001.White House photograph. Public domain.
A. It created Homeland Security and moved both the FBI and the CIA into that department.B. It authorized the invasion of Iraq and a draft of two hundred thousand new soldiers.C. It widened surveillance and let intelligence and criminal investigators share more.D. It confined each wiretap to one phone and required a public trial before a search.
7.How did the war in Afghanistan begin in the fall of 2001?
U.S. soldiers at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.U.S. Navy photograph. Public domain.
A. US air power and special forces joined Afghan allies starting in October 2001.B. Marines seized Kabul in the first week after the September 11 attacks.C. NATO ran the combat from the first night and kept American forces offshore.D. A naval blockade was the whole campaign, and Pakistan's army did the fighting.
8.What legal authority did Bush rely on for the invasion of Iraq in March 2003?
U.S. Marines in a palace in Tikrit, 2003.U.S. Marine Corps photograph. Public domain.
A. A formal declaration of war, passed by both houses and signed in March 2003.B. A treaty with Britain that let either ally open a war without another vote.C. The War Powers Resolution by itself, which had pre-cleared an invasion of Iraq.D. A 2002 statute authorizing force. Congress never passed a declaration of war.
9.Before the war, the administration said Iraq held stockpiles of banned weapons. What did the postwar investigation find?
The Tigris River at Baghdad.U.S. Army photograph. Public domain.
A. UN teams located the stockpiles during the war and removed them under a UN flag.B. The stockpiles described in the public case were not found after the invasion.C. The stockpiles turned up in 2004 and were put on display at the United Nations.D. Iraq had sent the stockpiles to Iran, which Washington then cited as the proof.
10.In 2001 Bush rejected a climate treaty President Clinton had signed but the Senate had not approved. Which treaty, and why?
A coal-fired power plant.Photo by Gary Todd. Public domain.
A. The Paris Agreement. He said the Senate had already ratified it, so he could not withdraw.B. The Montreal Protocol. He said ozone limits were a state issue and ended US participation.C. The Kyoto Protocol. He said it spared big developing countries and would hurt the economy.D. A treaty ratified in 1998. He said a president may ignore a ratified treaty whenever he wishes.
11.In his January 2002 State of the Union, what did Bush call Iraq, Iran, and North Korea?
U.S. soldiers on patrol in Baghdad.U.S. Air Force photograph by Tech. Sgt. Andrew M. Rodier. Public domain.
A. The Axis of Evil.B. The Coalition of the Willing.C. The Failed States.D. The Rogue Alliance.
12.What did the No Child Left Behind Act, signed in January 2002, require of public schools?
An elementary-school classroom.Photo by Liz, CC BY 2.0.
A. One national curriculum, with the Education Department hiring and firing the teachers.B. An end to standardized tests, and academic standards left entirely to each district.C. A voucher for every public-school pupil, funded by closing the Education Department.D. Annual reading and math tests, and consequences for schools that missed the targets.
13.What was the shape of the income-tax cuts Bush signed in 2001 and 2003?
The Treasury Department building.Library of Congress, Carol M. Highsmith. Public domain.
A. A constitutional amendment, ratified by the states, that capped tax rates forever.B. Lower rates, including dividends and gains, written to expire at the end of 2010.C. Repeal of the income tax and a national sales tax collected by the states instead.D. A single year of rebates only, with the rate tables left as they stood in 2000.
14.What did the Medicare law Bush signed in 2003 add?
The Department of Health and Human Services.Photo by Gunnar Klack, CC BY-SA 4.0.
A. A voluntary drug benefit run by private plans, with a gap in the middle of coverage.B. A public plan that replaced private insurance for every American over the age of 55.C. Free medicines for people of every age, paid for by ending the Medicare payroll tax.D. Health accounts for workers under 30, and no new benefit at all for retirees.
15.What was the Department of Homeland Security, which opened in 2003?
A Coast Guard cutter.U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael Anderson. Public domain.
A. A substitute for the Defense Department, with the armed forces under a police chief.B. A White House office only, created by memo, with no statute and no agencies moved.C. A new department that gathered many security agencies. The FBI and CIA stayed out.D. A federal takeover of city police forces and of the National Guard in every state.
16.On August 9, 2001, what did Bush announce about federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research?
Flooding in New Orleans, 2005.U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Petty Officer 2nd Class Kyle Niemi. Public domain.
A. A complete ban on all federal and private stem-cell research in the United States.B. Unlimited federal funding for research that created new embryos solely for that purpose.C. Federal funding only for research on cell lines that already existed.D. Transfer of all stem-cell research to the Department of Defense.
17.What happened to Saddam Hussein in December 2003?
The Supreme Court building.Photo by Kurt Kaiser, CC0.
A. He was killed in a firefight with U.S. forces near Tikrit.B. He was captured alive by U.S. forces near Tikrit.C. He escaped to Syria and remained at large through the end of 2004.D. He was handed over to the United Nations for trial in The Hague.
18.Who was Bush's secretary of state throughout his first term?
Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay.Department of Defense photograph by Kathleen T. Rhem. Public domain.
A. Condoleezza Rice.B. Donald Rumsfeld.C. Colin Powell.D. Dick Cheney.
19.What was the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, announced in 2003?
The Pentagon.Photo by David B. Gleason, CC BY-SA 2.0.
A. A Medicaid expansion that paid for HIV drugs in every state of the union.B. A treaty giving the World Health Organization control of US drug patents.C. A ban on HIV research inside the National Institutes of Health for five years.D. Billions for treatment and prevention, aimed largely at countries in Africa.
20.Whom did Bush face in the 2004 presidential election, and what was the result?
The State Department building.U.S. Department of State. Public domain.
A. John McCain. Bush lost the popular vote and the electoral vote.B. Al Gore. Bush won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote.C. John Kerry. Bush won both the popular vote and the electoral vote.D. Howard Dean. Bush won the popular vote by less than one percentage point.
21.What did the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, which Bush signed in 2003, do?
The Social Security Administration headquarters.Photo by Coolcaesar, CC BY-SA 3.0.
A. It banned all abortions after the first trimester nationwide.B. It banned a specific late-term procedure and included an exception for the life of the mother.C. It overturned Roe v. Wade by statute.D. It required parental consent for every abortion in every state.
22.In 2002 Bush imposed temporary tariffs on imported steel. What happened next?
The Rio Grande in Big Bend.National Archives photograph by Blair Pittman. Public domain.
A. The World Trade Organization ruled against them, and he lifted them in 2003.B. Congress made the tariffs permanent by statute the following year.C. The European Union refused to challenge them, and they stayed in force through 2008.D. The Supreme Court struck them down as an unconstitutional tax on imports.
23.What was the main finding of the 9/11 Commission, whose report was released in July 2004?
The south side of the White House.Photo by Harrison Keely, CC BY 4.0.
A. That the attacks were an inside job coordinated by the CIA.B. That the intelligence community failed to share information that might have prevented the attacks.C. That Iraq had directed the attacks and provided the hijackers with funding.D. That the Federal Aviation Administration had ordered the jets to stand down.
24.Where did the United States begin holding detainees from the Afghanistan war in early 2002?
A State of the Union address.White House photograph by Susan Sterner. Public domain.
A. At the International Criminal Court in The Hague.B. At Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.C. At the United Nations headquarters in New York.D. Only inside the continental United States, under ordinary criminal charges.
25.What did Bush create by executive order in January 2001 to encourage private aid to social services?
The New York Stock Exchange.Photo by Carlos Delgado, CC BY-SA 3.0.
A. The Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.B. A national voucher program for all federal social-service spending.C. A new cabinet department to replace the Department of Health and Human Services.D. A constitutional amendment requiring churches to receive federal grants.

Name

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George W. Bush

1.How was the 2000 presidential election between Bush and Al Gore decided?

2.Whom did Bush ask to run with him, and what was unusual about the way he chose?

3.Who held the Speaker's gavel during Bush's first term?

4.In 2001 Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont left the Republican Party. What did that do to the Senate?

5.What did the 2002 midterm elections do to party control of Congress?

6.What did the USA PATRIOT Act, which Bush signed in October 2001, do?

7.How did the war in Afghanistan begin in the fall of 2001?

8.What legal authority did Bush rely on for the invasion of Iraq in March 2003?

9.Before the war, the administration said Iraq held stockpiles of banned weapons. What did the postwar investigation find?

10.In 2001 Bush rejected a climate treaty President Clinton had signed but the Senate had not approved. Which treaty, and why?

11.In his January 2002 State of the Union, what did Bush call Iraq, Iran, and North Korea?

12.What did the No Child Left Behind Act, signed in January 2002, require of public schools?

13.What was the shape of the income-tax cuts Bush signed in 2001 and 2003?

14.What did the Medicare law Bush signed in 2003 add?

15.What was the Department of Homeland Security, which opened in 2003?

16.On August 9, 2001, what did Bush announce about federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research?

17.What happened to Saddam Hussein in December 2003?

18.Who was Bush's secretary of state throughout his first term?

19.What was the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, announced in 2003?

20.Whom did Bush face in the 2004 presidential election, and what was the result?

21.What did the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, which Bush signed in 2003, do?

22.In 2002 Bush imposed temporary tariffs on imported steel. What happened next?

23.What was the main finding of the 9/11 Commission, whose report was released in July 2004?

24.Where did the United States begin holding detainees from the Afghanistan war in early 2002?

25.What did Bush create by executive order in January 2001 to encourage private aid to social services?