Semester Exam Study Guide - Spring

United States History
Spring Semester Final Examination
Mr. Novick

Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 11:00 AM

DIRECTIONS: Select four (4) of the following six (6) essay questions to answer, writing or typing your essays in complete sentences and paragraphs. You may use one-half of an 8.5 x 11 sheet of notes (single-sided) to use in composing your essays (for adding detail), provided this sheet was prepared in advance of this test session. You must submit your ½ sheet of notes with your essays following the exam.

You have enough time to spend about 30 minutes on each of the four questions you choose to answer.

Each essay question you complete will be worth 25 points, for a total of 100 points on this exam. The essays will be evaluated on your mastery of the history, the quality of your thinking, how fully you respond to the question posed, and the quality of the writing. The ½ page of notes can help you add detail to your answers. The exam is worth 25% of your spring semester grade.

Select four of the following six questions (please circle the questions you choose to answer, and submit them with your work).

1. Tell the story of Reconstruction (1865-77) following the American Civil War (1861-65). Define the word Reconstruction, tell how it began, what it was like, and how it ended. Be sure to include the following in your essay: Freedman’s Bureau; Black Codes; share-croppers; President Lincoln; President Johnson; Radical Republicans; and Impeachment. Define each in your essay, and explain how they’re related to Reconstruction. How did Reconstruction end? Finally, offer your opinion based on what you’ve learned: was Reconstruction a success? Why or why not? Explain.

2. Second Industrial Revolution & Progressivism: What was the Second Industrial Revolution during the late 19th & early 20th Centuries? How did it change life in America? What opportunities did it offer? How did it change life for the better? And for whom? ALSO, what challenges did it pose? How did changes in lifestyle and work and residence create new social problems that the Progressives sought to address, to remedy? Be sure to provide specific examples of causes the Progressives took on, explaining what they accomplished and why. What do you think the Progressives’ legacy is today?

3. Referring to your textbook, our in-class discussions, your notes and films we viewed, tell the story of the Great War (World War I, 1914-18), including, among other ideas, the causes of the war, who the combatants were, when and why the Unites States entered the war, what the war was like, and what the major outcomes were. Be sure to also include key people and events, from the beginning of the war to and including the treaty that marked its conclusion, AND tell why it matters to American history.

4. Explain what life was like during The Great Depression in the United States, providing specific examples. How did this Depression begin? Be sure to include the economic terms we discussed (as they relate to the Depression) in your response, as well as Black Tuesday and President Hoover’s economic theory. Then explain how President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s (FDR) New Deal for the American people helped citizens through this Depression. Why do you think FDR defeated President Hoover in the election of 1932, and went on to win four total terms as President? What was F.D.R.’s New Deal? Give some specific examples of how New Deal programs helped Americans during tough times. How did FDR’s economic beliefs differ from Hoover’s? Then explain what the down-side (the negative side) to the New Deal was for America and future generations. Finally, write a few lines explaining your own position on these questions: what is the proper role of government in the economy? Do you believe it should be actively involved regulating business and intervening in hard times, or do you believe it should largely remain on the sidelines so that natural economic cycles can play out? Explain.

5. Despite an earlier belief that World War I (1914-18) would be “the war to end all wars,” the world was thrown into an even bigger, more destructive conflict from 1939 to 1945, World War II. Summarize all you have learned about the Second World War, including its beginnings, its causes, the major combatants, when and why the United States joined the war, key people, events, and outcomes (referring to our in-class discussions, films, class notes, and handouts). Be as thorough as possible, including defining the two main theaters of the war, the relevance of the Treaty of Versailles and the Great Depression, Eisenhower’s role, Hitler’s Final Solution, F.D.R. & Harry Truman, Pearl Harbor, D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, the decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and why historian Steven Ambrose suggests American GI’s were better prepared for victory than those fighting for the Axis powers because they came from a free and democratic society, not a Fascist society.

6. Select an American historical figure from the late 19th through the 20th Century (it can be a person about whom you presented a symbols collage to the class this year), and write an essay briefly describing his/her life (biography, with key events), BUT THEN explain in even more depth and detail why your figure is important to American history. What if he/she had never been born? Or had been born in a different time or place? How would his/her absence from history impacted America then, in that historical period…and how would his/her absence possibly impact us today, years after the pivotal events of his/her life? Explain in as much depth and detail as you can.