Advanced Placement United States History
Sample Free Response Questions from past AP US Exams
I. Colonial Era 1607-1775 | Return |
1. Puritanism bore within itself the seeds of its own destruction. Apply this generalization. (74)
2. In the
seventeenth century, New England Puritans tried to create a model society.
What were
their aspirations, and to what extent were those aspirations fulfilled during
the seventeenth century? (83)
3. Between 1607
and 1763, Americans gained control of their political and economic
institutions. To
what extent and in what ways do you agree or disagree with this
statement? (71)
4. What role did
unfree labor play in colonial American society? (72)
5. Although many Northerners and Southerners
came later to think of themselves as
having separate civilizations, the Northern and Southern
colonies in the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries were in fact more similar than
different. Assess the validity
of this statement. (75)
6. Although the
thirteen American colonies were founded at different times by people
with different motives and with different forms of colonial
charters and political
organization, the Revolution the thirteen colonies had
become remarkably similar.
Assess the
validity of this statement. (78)
7. Throughout
the colonial period, economic concerns had more to do with the settling
of
statement with specific reference to economic and religious
concerns. (90)
8, To what extent and why did religious toleration increase in
the American colonies
during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries? Answer with reference to Three
individuals, events, or movements in American religion
during the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries. (81)
9. From 1600 – 1763, several European nations
vied for control of the North American
continent. Why did
10. The American
Revolution should really be called the “British Revolution” because
marked changes in British colonial policy were responsible
for final political
division than were American actions. Assess the validity of this statement for the
period 1763 –
1776. (82)
11.
economic fortunes of
Assess the
validity of this statement. (87)
12. In the two
decades before the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, a
profound shift in the way many Americans thought and felt
about the British
government and their colonial governments. Assess the validity of this statement in
view of the political and constitutional debates of these
decades. (89)
13. For the
period before 1750, analyze the ways in which
neglect influenced the development of American society as
illustrated in the
following:
Legislative
assemblies
Commerce Religion (95)
14. Analyze the
extent to which religious freedom existed in the British North American
colonies prior to 1700. (98)
15.
Analyze the cultural and economic responses of TWO of the following
groups to the
Indians of North America before 1750.
British French Spanish (00)
II. American Revolution – Early Republic ( 1776
– 1800)
1. To what extent
did economic issues provoke the American Revolution? ( 74)
2. The
Declaration of
support, an attempt to swing uncommitted Americans to the
revolutionary cause, a
statement of universal
principles, and an affirmation of the traditional rights of
Englishmen. To what
extent, if any are
these interpretations in conflict? ( 75)
3. During the seventeenth and increasingly in the eighteenth
century, British colonists in
and, ultimately, equality
of rights. Yet the colonists themselves
violated these ideals in
their treatment of blacks, Native Americans, and even
poorer classes of white settlers.
Assess
the validity of this view. (79)
4. Despite the
view of some historians that the conflict between
thirteen North
American colonies was economic in origin, in fact the American
Revolution
had its roots in politics and other areas of American life. Assess the
validity of this statement.
( 86)
5. This history
of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and
usurpation, all having in direct object, the establishment
of an absolute tyranny over
these
States. Evaluate this accusation made
against George III in the Declaration of
6. Analyze the extent to which the American
Revolution represented a radical alteration
in American political ideas and institutions. Confine your answer to the period 1775
to 1800. (97)
7.
Analyze the degree to which the Articles of Confederation provided an
effective
form of government with respect to any TWO of the following:
Foreign relations
Economic conditions Western lands ( 96)
8. Evaluate the
relative importance of domestic and foreign affairs in shaping American
politics in the 1790’s.
(94)
9. The Bill of
Rights did not come from a desire to protect the liberties won in the
American
Revolution, but rather from a fear of the powers of the new federal
government. Assess
the validity of the statement. (91)
10. Evaluate the
relative importance of the following as factors prompting Americans to
rebel in 1776:
Parliamentary taxation
British military measures
Restriction
of civil liberties The legacy of
colonial religious and political ideas (92)
11. “ Our prevailing passions are ambition and interest; and it
will be the duty of a wise
government to avail itself of those passions, in order to
make them subservient to
the public good.”
Alexander
Hamilton, 1787
How was
this viewpoint manifested in
of the Treasury? ( 71)
12. What evidence
is there for the assertion that the basic principles of the Constitution
were firmly grounded in the political and religious
experience of
colonial and revolutionary periods? (84)
13. Between 1783
and 1800, the new government of the
political, economic , and constitutional issues that
troubled the British
government’s relations with the colonies prior to the
Revolution. Assess the
validity of this generalization. (80)
14. In the two
decades before the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, a
profound shift occurred in the way many Americans thought
and felt about the
British government and
their colonial governments.
Assess the validity of this
statement in view of the political and constitutional debate
of these decades. (89)
15. What
evidence is there for the assertion that the basic principles of the
Constitution
were firmly grounded in the political and religious
experience of
colonial and revolutionary periods. (84)
1. There is no
American history separate from the history of
generalization by examining the impact of European events on
the domestic policies
of the
2. The
achievements of Generals are in the long run more decisive than the
achievements of diplomats.
Assess the validity of this generalization for the
the period 1800 – 1825.
(74)
3. Early
actual threats from
to United States foreign policy on TWO major issues during
the period from 1789 –
1825. (83)
4. The Era of
Good Feeling (1816-1824) marked the appearance of issues that
transformed American politics in the next 20 years. Assess the validity of this
generalization. (75)
1. Andrew
Jackson’s election as President marked the beginning of a new age in
American political history.
Assess the validity of this generalization. (71)
2. From the
American Revolution to the Civil War, American writers (both fiction and
non-fiction) sought to discuss a uniquely national
culture. Analyze this statement for
any period of
approximately thirty years between 1775 and 1860. (73)
3. Account for
the emergence of utopian communities from the mid-1820’s through the
1840’s and
evaluate their success
and/ or failure. (74)
4. In the first half of the nineteenth century, the American
cultural and intellectual
community contributed to the development of a distinctive
American national
consciousness. Assess
the validity of this statement. (86)
5. American
social reform movements from 1820 to 1860 were characterized by
unyielding perfectionism, impatience with compromise, and
distrust of established
social institutions.
These qualities explain the degree of success or failure of these
movements in achieving their objectives. Discuss with reference to BOTH anti-
slavery and ONE other reform movement of the period 1820
–1860 (for example,
temperance, women’s rights, communitarianism,
prison reform or educational
reform). (79)
6. American
reform movements between 1820 and 1860 reflected both optimistic and
pessimistic views of human nature and society. Assess the validity of this statement
in reference to reform movements of THREE of the following
areas:
Education Utopian
experiments
Temperance Penal
Institutions (88)
Women’s Rights
7. Analyze the
ways in which Two of the following influenced the
development of
American society.
Puritanism during
the seventeenth century
The Great Awakening
during the eighteenth century
The Second Great
Awakening during the nineteenth century
(94)
8. In what ways
did the early nineteenth –century reform movements for abolition and
women’s rights illustrate both the strengths and weaknesses
of democracy in the early
American republic? (93)
9. Analyze the
extent to which Two of the following influenced the
development of
democracy between 1820 and 1840.
Jacksonian economic policy Changes in electoral politics
Second Great
Awakening Westward
movement (96)
10. How did Two of the following contribute to the reemergence of a two
party system
in the period 1820 to 1840?
Major political
personalities States’ rights Economic issues (99)
11. Discuss the
impact of the “transportation revolution,” 1820 – 1860, on the
12. In the period 1815 to 1860, improvements in
transportation and increased inter-
regional trade should have united Americans, but instead
produced sectional
division and finally disunion. Discuss with reference to the impact of
improved
transportation and increased inter-regional trade on the
Northeast (
13. Developments
in transportation, rather than in manufacturing and agriculture,
sparked American economic growth in the first half of the
nineteenth century.
Assess the
validity of this statement. (89)
1. Although
Americans perceived Manifest Destiny as a benevolent movement, it was
infact an aggressive imperialism
pursued at the expense of others. Assess
the
validity of this statement with specific reference to
American expansionism in the
1840’s. (90)
2. Although
historically represented as distinct parties, the Federalists and the Whigs in
fact shared a common political ideology, represented many of
the same interest
groups, and proposed similar programs and policies. Assess the validity of the
statement. (91)
3.
Compare the expansionist foreign policies of Presidents Thomas Jefferson
and
James K.
Polk. To what extent did their policies
strengthen the
4. Discuss the
impact of territorial expansion on national unity between 1800 and 1850.
(97)
1. Why did the
institution of slavery command the loyalty of the vast majority of ante-
bellum whites, despite the fact that only a small percentage
of them owned slaves
(73)
2. Slavery was
the dominating reality of all southern life.
Assess the validity of this
generalization for TWO of the following aspects of southern
life from about 1840 to
1860:
political, social, economic, and intellectual life. (84)
3. Supreme Court
decisions reinforce state and federal legislation. Assess the validity of
this generalization for THREE decisions of the Supreme Court
prior to the Civil
War. (72)
4. At various
times between 1789 and 1861, Americans changed their positions on the
constitutional question of loose construction or strict
construction as best suited their
economic or political interests. Discuss this statement with reference to any
TWO
individuals or groups who took positions on this
constitutional question. (81)
5. Throughout our
history, the Supreme Court has acted as a partisan political body
rather than a neutral arbiter of constitutional
principles. Assess the validity of this
generalization for the period 1800 – 1860. (84)
6. Analyze the
ways in which supporters of slavery in the nineteenth century used legal,
religious, and economic arguments to defend the institution
of slavery. (95)
7. Assess the moral arguments and
political actions of those opposed to the spread of
slavery in the context of
TWO of the following:
Compromise of 1850
VII. Civil War and
Reconstruction 1860 – 1877
1. The South
never had a chance to win the Civil War.
To what extent, and why, do you
agree or disagree with this statement? (71)
2. “I am not, nor
ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and
political equality of the white and black races.” How can this 1858 statement of
Abraham
Lincoln be reconciled with his 1862 Emancipation
Proclamation? (88)
3. How do you
account for the failure of Reconstruction (1865 – 1877) to bring social
and economic equality of opportunity to the former
slaves? (83)
4. The unpopular
ideas and causes of one period often gain popularity and support in
another, but the ultimate price of success is usually the
alteration or subversion of the
original ideas and programs.
For the period 1830-1870, discuss this statement with
reference to BOTH (A) the ideas and activities of
abolitionists and (B) the policies of
the Republican Party.
( 78)
5. Discuss the
political, economic, and social reforms introduced in the South between
1864 and 1877. To
what extent did these reforms survive the Compromise of 1877?
(92)
6. Analyze the
economic consequences of the Civil War with respect to any TWO of
the following in the
Agriculture Transportation
Labor
Industrialization (97)
1. A number of
writers and reformers in the period 1865-1914 discussed the growing
gap between wealth and poverty in the
of the following authors’ explanations for this condition and
their proposal for
dealing with it.
Henry George : Progress
and Poverty
Edward Bellamy:
Looking Backwards
Andrew
Carnegie: The Gospel of Wealth
William Graham
Sumner: What Social Classes Owe to
Each Other
Upton Sinclair: The Jungle
2. Andrew
Carnegie has been viewed by some historians as the “prime representative of
the industrial age” and by others as “an industrial leader
atypical of the period.
Assess the
validity of these views. (86)
3. The path to
labor organization was marked by false starts and wrong moves. Assess
the validity of this generalization for the period 1865 –
1900. (77)
4. Popular
fascination with the cowboy, the pioneer, and stories of Horatio Alger in the
period 1870 to 1915 reflected
an industrial society.
Assess the validity of this statement.
(87)
5. Ironically,
popular belief in the “self-sufficient farmer” and the “self-made man”
increased during the nineteenth century as the reality
behind these beliefs faded.
Assess the
validity of this statement. (79)
6. Compare and
contrast the attitudes of THREE of the following toward the wealth
that was created in the
Andrew Carnegie Horatio Alger Ida M. Tarbell
Eugene V. Debs Booker T.
Washington (94)
7. Although the
economic development of the Tans-Mississippi West is popularly
associated with hardy individualism, it was in fact largely
dependent on the federal
government. Assess
the validity of this statement with specific reference to western
economic activities in the nineteenth century. (91)
8. Analyze the
impact of any TWO of the following on the American industrial worker
between 1865 and 1900.
Government actions Labor Unions
Immigration Technology
changes (98)
1. Describe the
thesis advanced by Frederick Jackson Turner about the relationship of
the frontier to political democracy, and assess the
principal arguments that later
historians have made to attack or defend the thesis. (71)
2. The
in all forms of artistic expression. Assess the validity of this statement by
discussing
literature and the arts (include architecture if you
wish) (71)
3. Although the
values, and materialism, American fiction since 1865 has
generally been critical of
business behavior and values. Assess the validity of this generalization
with
reference to the work of at least TWO writers who have
treated the behavior and
values of businessmen in their fiction since 1865. (80)
4. Most major
religious movements reflect significant shifts in religious beliefs and
produce important social changes. Apply this generalization to TWO of the
following:
Seventeenth century Puritans The
Second Great Awakening
The
First Great Awakening The Social Gospel Movement (85)
5. Assess the
validity of this statement in view of the experience of TWO of the
following:
The Scotch-Irish on
the eighteenth century Appalachian frontier
The Irish in the
nineteenth century urban Northeast
The Chinese in the
nineteenth century west (87)
6. From the 1840’s through the 1890’s, women’s activities in
the intellectual, social,
economic and political spheres effectively challenged
traditional attitudes about
women’s place in society.
Assess the validity of this statement.
(91)
7. Account for
the growth of ONE of the following major urban centers during the
period indicated:
8. Assess the
changing status of Blacks between emancipation and the end of the
nineteenth century. (74)
9. Americans
have been a highly mobile people.
Describe and account for the dominant
Population Movements between 1820 and 1900. (82)
1. Did the
Republican Party from 1877 –1896 abandon its earlier principles and
succumb to expediency?
(72)
2. Although the
economic growth of the
attributed to a governmental policy of laissez-faire, it was
in fact encouraged and
sustained by direct governmental intervention. Assess the validity of this statement.
(88)
3. Political
movements in the
validity of this statement in reference to the
Populists. (73)
4. Both the Jacksonian Democrats during 1824-1840 and the Populists
during 1890 –
1896
attacked and sought out special privilege in American life. The Jacksonian
Democrats
attained power and succeeded; the populists failed. Assess the validity of
this view. Give
roughly equal attention to the Jacksonian Democrats
and the
Populists. (74)
5. In what ways were the late nineteenth century Populists the heirs of the Jacksonian
Democrats with respect to overall objectives AND specific proposals
for reform?
(89)
6. Analyze the
reasons for the emergence of the Populist movement in the late
nineteenth century. (95)
7. How were the
lives of the Plains Indians in the second half of the nineteenth century
affected by technological developments and government
actions? ( 99)
1.
economic than strategic, moral, or political interests. Assess the validity of this
generalization with reference to at least TWO major episodes
( for example: treaties,
wars, proclamations, annexations, etc.) in
the foreign policy of the
between 1815 and 1910.
(80)
2. How and why
did the Monroe Doctrine become the cornerstone of
foreign policy by the late nineteenth century? (85)
3. Both the
Mexican War and the Spanish American War were premeditated resulting
from deliberately calculated schemes of robbery on the part
of a superior power
against weak and
defenseless neighbors. (86)
4. Compare the
debates that took place over American expansionism in the 1840’s with
those that took place in the 1890’s, analyzing the
similarities and differences in the
debates of the two eras.
(92)
1. Analyze and
evaluate Booker T. Washington’s program for American Blacks and
W.E.B. DuBois’s challenge to that
program. (71)
2. Discuss the
development of the women’s suffrage movement and account for its
success. (72)
3. The legal,
political, and economic rights achieved by minorities and women in the
United
States have come largely during periods of major reform movements, which
both helped the struggle of these groups and set limits to
them. Assess the validity
of this statement for the history of one or more of these
groups in the period 1830-
1920. (76)
4.
Paradoxically, Darwinism provided a justification for both social
conservatism and
social reform in the period from 1870-1915. Discuss this statement (77)
5. In American
politics the most significant battles have occurred within the major
parties rather than between them. Discuss this statement with reference to the
periods 1850 –1861 and 1900 –1912. (81)
6. The
Progressive movement of 1901 to 1917 was a triumph of conservatism rather
than a victory for liberalism. Assess the validity of this
generalization. (87)
7. Analyze the
ways in which state and federal legislation and judicial decisions,
including those of the Supreme Court, affected the efforts
of any TWO of the
following groups to improve their position in society
between 1880 and 1920.
African Americans
Farmers Workers (93)
8. Although many
Americans between 1870 and 1915 blamed political corruption at
the state and local level on public indifference or greedy
politicians, such corruption
reflected a serious crisis of traditional institutions in
dealing with social and
economic problems of modern
(75)
1. The
take in
interests in
generalization. (77)
2. The
democracy” as President Wilson claimed, but to safeguard American
economic
interests. Assess the
validity of this statement. (74)
3. Assess the
relative influence of THREE of the following in the American decision
to declare war on
German naval policy Allied
propaganda
American economic
interests
Woodrow
Wilson’s idealism (95)
4.
To what extent did the United States achieve the objectives that led it
to enter the
First World War?
(00)
1. Alienation
from American society is a dominant theme of the literature of the
1920’s. Discuss this
statement with reference to TWO writers (novelists, poets,
playwrights, journalists, etc.) citing
evidence from their works. (72)
2. The 1920’s
witnesses an assault by rural and small town
3. From 1790 to
the 1870’s, state and national governments intervened in the American
economy mainly to aid private economic interests and promote
economic growth.
Between
1890 and 1929, however, government intervention was designed primarily
to curb and regulate private economic activity in the public
interest. Assess the
validity of this statement, discussing for EACH of these
periods at least TWO major
areas of public economic policy. (77)
4. In what ways
did economic conditions and developments in the arts and
entertainment help create the reputation of the 1920’s as
the Roaring Twenties? (99)
5. In the work of American writers from the 1820’s through the
1920’s, the city
mirrored
reflected the fondest hopes.
Assess the validity of this generalization. You may
draw your evidence from fiction and or non-fiction. (76)
6. The legal,
political, and economic rights achieved by minorities and women in the
United
States have come largely during periods of major reform movements, which
both helped the
struggles of these groups and set limits to them. Assess the validity
of this statement for the history of one or more of these
groups in the period 1830 –
1920. (76)
7. The economic
policies of the federal government from 1921 to 1929 were
responsible for the nation’s depression of the 1930’s. Assess the validity of this
generalization. (83)
1. How do you
account for the onset of the Great Depression of the 1930’s? (71)
2. Account for
the increased urbanization of Black Americans in the period 1914 to
1945. (72)
3. The
depression of the 1890’s delayed reform; the depression of the 1930’s
stimulated
it. To what extent
and in what ways do you agree or disagree with this
statement?(72)
4. The New Deal
did not radically alter American business, but conserved and protected
it. Assess the
validity of this statement. (73)
5. Despite
artificial similarities, the domestic programs of the New Deal constituted a
fundamental departure from those of the Progressive
Era. Assess the validity of this
generalization. (74)
6. The history
of the
government is immune from the temptation to upset the system
of checks and
balances established by the Constitution. Assess the validity of this generalization in
regard to BOTH Congress versus the President 1865 – 1868 AND
the President
versus the Supreme Court 1935 – 1937. (75)
7. Although
often defended and attacked on purely economic grounds, the federal tariff
policies of the
the validity of this generalization in regard to TWO tariffs
in
8. Major
American writers have been indifferent to the social problems of their day.
State
whether you agree or disagree with generalization and defend your position
with reference to THREE novelists/ or poets. (75)
9. Most reform
legislation since 1900 has been the work of special interests seeking to
advance their own well-being, but the adoption of such
legislation has required the
general support of others who were not directly affected but
who perceived it to be in
the public interest.
Assess the validity of this statement with reference to THREE
examples of reform legislation since 1900. You may draw your examples from
reform at any level of government: national, state or municipal. (79)
10. The New Deal secured the support of labor and
agriculture after 1932 as the
Republican party had secured the support of industry and commerce since
1920 –
with special interest programs giving financial aid, legal
privileges, and other types of
assistance. Assess
the validity of this statement, giving attention to both periods
(1920 –1932
and 1932 – 1940). (81)
11. Despite often brutal clashes between labor and capital
in the
period 1865-1940, collective working-class protest did not
constitute a basic attack on
the capitalistic system.
Assess the validity of this statement. (82)
12. During the
past four decades, historians have consistently have rated
Lincoln,
and FDR as the
greatest presidents.
Assess the greatness of any TWO of
these, making clear the criteria on which you base your judgement. (85)
13. Reform
movements of the twentieth century have shown continunity
in their goals
and strategies. Assess the validity of this statement for
ONE of the following pairs of
reform movements.
Progressivism
and the New Deal
Women’s
suffrage and post-Second World War Feminism
The
New Deal and the Great Society (86)
14. Why did
socialism fail to become a major force in American politics between 1900
and 1940 despite widespread dissatisfaction with the social
and economic order and
significant support for radical movements during that time
period? (88)
15. Analyze the ways in which the Great Depression
altered the American social fabric
in the 1930’s. (96)
16. Identify Three of the following New Deal measures and analyze the
ways in which
each of the three attempted to fashion a more stable economy
and a more equitable
society.
Agricultural
Adjustment Act Wagner
National Labor relations Act
Securities
and Exchange Commission Social Security
Act (93)
17. Although
American writers of the 1920’s and 1930’s criticized American society, the
nature of their criticisms differed markedly in the two
decades. Assess the validity of
this statement with specific reference to writers in both
decades. (90)
1. President
Franklin Roosevelt was naďve and ineffective in his conduct of foreign
policy from 1933 and 1941.
To what extent and in what ways do you agree or
disagree with this statement. (71)
2. The term “isolationism
“ does not adequately describe the reality of either
United
States
foreign policy or
from
generalization. (76)
3. War has
frequently had unexpected consequences for the
policy but has seldom resulted in major reorientations of policy. Discuss with
reference to the First and Second world wars giving about
equal attention to each.
(78)
4. Prior to
American involvement in both the First and Second
World Wars, the United
States
adopted an official policy of neutrality.
Compare the policy and its
modifications during the period 1914-17 to the policy and
its modifications during
1939-41. (82)
5. Between 1776
and 1823 a young and weak
success in foreign policy when confronted with the two
principal European powers,
Discuss by
comparing
1823, with
1914
– 1932 OR 1933 -1950. (77)
6. To what extent
and why did the
1920’s and 1930’s? (98)
1. Discuss the
changing attitudes of historians towards the origins of the Cold War. (72)
2. Harry S.
Truman was a realistic, pragmatic President who skillfully led the American
people against the menace posed by the
generalization for President Truman’s foreign policy. (84)
3. The size,
character, and effectiveness of the organized labor movement changed
significantly during the late nineteenth century and the
first half of the twentieth
century. Apply this
statement to TWO of the periods:
1870
-1915 1915 - 1935 1935 - 1950 (85)
4. In 1945
Winston Churchill said that the
world. Discuss the
developments in the thirty years following Churchill’s speech
which called the global preeminence of the
5. Analyze the
influence of TWO of the following on American-Soviet relations in the
decade following the Second World War.
Korean
War McCarthysim (96)
6. To what extent
did the decade of the 1950’s deserve its reputation as an age of
political, social, and cultural conformity? (94)
7. How do you
account for the appeal of McCarthyism in the
following the Second World War? (97)
8. Although the
1960’s are usually considered the decade of the greatest achievement
for Black civil rights, the 1940’s and 1950’s were periods
of equally important gains.
Assess the
validity of this statement. (91)
1. Discuss the
adjustments of ONE of the following minority groups to American life.
American
Indians from 1860 -1900 Puerto
Ricans from 1910 – 1970 (72)
Mexican
-Americans from 1910 – 1970 Japanese
Americans from 1910 - 1970
2. Controversy
between integrationist and separatist viewpoints has long been a
dominant theme within the black community. Analyze the controversy among
blacks for the period 1920 - 1970. (73)
3. In the period since 1945, the Republican Party, as
represented in the administrations
of Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961) and Richard M. Nixon
(1969-1974), virtually
abandoned the opposition to the New Deal expressed in the
1930’s. assess
the
validity of this generalization. (75)
4. Greater
similarities than differences have characterized the experiences of all ethnic
and racial groups who have migrated to American cities. Assess the validity of this
generalization with reference to the Irish and Germans from
the 1840’s to the 1890’s
AND black Americans from 1915 - 1970. (75)
5. Presidents
who have been notably successful in either foreign affairs or domestic
affairs have seldom been notably successful in both. Assess this statement with
reference to TWO presidents, on in the nineteenth century,
and the other in the
twentieth century, giving reasons for success or failure in
each case. (77)
6. The
leadership, organization, and programs of ethnic and racial minority movements
after 1945 represented a fundamental departure from those
which had existed from
1900 to 1945. Discuss
with reference to black Americans or Mexican Americans,
giving about equal attention to the periods before and after
1945. (77)
7. From 1914 to the present, the main trend in the relationship
between the central
government and the states has been toward concentration of power
in the federal
government. Discuss
with reference to such areas of governmental power as
regulation of business, social welfare, and civil
rights. (78)
8. During the twentieth century, American “progressives” or
“liberals” at some times
advocated a strong presidency and expanded executive power,
while “conservatives”
opposed the expansion of these powers. At other times, the “liberals” and
“conservative” positions were reversed. Assess the validity of this statement with
reference to the periods 1900 – 1940 AND 1965 – 1974. (79)
9. A
presidential election that results in defeat of the party in power usually
indicates
the failure of the party in power to have dealt effectively
with the nation’s problems,
rather than indicating the positive appeal of the winning
candidate and his party
platform. Assess the
validity of this generalization with reference to TWO of the
elections in which the party in power was defeated: 1912,
1920,1932,1952, 1960,
1968. (80)
10. Compare the
goals and strategies of Black reform movements in the period 1890 –
1910 to the goals and
strategies of Black reform movements in the period 1950-
1970. (82)
11. What accounted for the growth between 1940 and 1965
of popular and
governmental concern for the position of Blacks in American
society? (85)
12. “Hawks” and
“doves” have disagreed on
inception of the nation.
Compare the “hawk” to the “dove” position for both a war
of the nineteenth
century and a war of the twentieth century. (73)
13. Candidates
elected to the presidency in the twentieth century have usually
campaigned as middle – of – the - road men without strong commitments. Assess
the validity of this generalization. (73)
14. The
principal cause of the expansion of the American presidential power in the
twentieth century has been war and diplomacy rather than
domestic growth and
crisis. Assess the
validity of this statement. (76)
15. Shifts in
party control of the presidency during the twentieth century have typically
NOT
brought major shifts in domestic policy.
Assess the validity of this statement.
Illustrate
your argument by discussing the extent to which TWO of the following
presidents adopted the DOMESTIC programs of the previous
presidential
administrations given in parentheses beneath their names.
Woodrow Wilson
(administration of William H. Taft and Theodore Roosevelt)
Franklin D. Roosevelt
(administration of Herbert Hoover)
Dwight D. Eisenhower
(administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman)
Richard M. Nixon
( administration of Lyndon B. Johnson and John F.
Kennedy) (83)
16. Vice
-Presidents who have succeeded to the presidency on the death of the President
have been less effective in their conduct of domestic AND
foreign policy than the
men they have replaced.
Assess the validity of this statement for any TWO of the
following pairs.
William McKinley and
Theodore Roosevelt
Franklin D.
Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman
John F. Kennedy and
Lyndon B. Johnson (89)
17. Most of the
reform legislation since 1900 has been the work of special interests
seeking to advance their own well – being, but the adoption
of such legislation has
required the general support of others who were not directly
affected but who
perceived it to be
in the public interest. Assess the
validity of this statement with
reference to THREE examples of reform legislation since
1900. You may draw your
examples from reform at any level of government: national,
state, or municipal. (77)
18. Social
dislocations resulting from wartime conditions frequently bring lasting change
within a society.
Evaluate the relevance of this generalization to American society in
the twentieth century in view of the experience of Blacks
AND women. (87)
19. 1968 was a
turning point for the
assessment? In your answer, discuss TWO of the following:
National Politics Vietnam War Civil Rights (98)
20. In what ways
did the Great Society resemble the New Deal in its origins, goals, and
social and political legacy?
Cite specific programs and policies in support of your
arguments. (92)
21. Describe
THREE of the following and analyze the ways in which each of the three
has affected the status of women in American society since
1940.
The persistence of
traditional definitions of women’s roles
Advances in
reproductive technology
The rebirth of an
organized women’s movement
Changing economic
conditions (93)
22. Foreign affairs rather than
domestic issues shaped presidential politics in the
Election year
1968. Assess the validity of this statement with
specific reference to foreign and domestic issues. (90)
23. Assess the
success of the
and 1975. (99)
24. Discuss with respect to Two of the following,
the view that the 1960’s represented a
period of profound cultural change.
Education Gender roles
Music Race Relations (00)