History 371 Hon

Devine

Midterm Review Questions

 

The questions that will appear on the midterm will be drawn from the questions below. If you are able to answer these questions, you will be more than prepared for the midterm. 

 

On the midterm, you will choose 7 of 10 short essay questions. You will also answer ONE of three long essay questions.  PLEASE BRING AN UNMARKED BLUE BOOK TO CLASS.

 

 

  1. What had the North “won” by winning the Civil War?  What did the South lose?
  2. What had African Americans in the South “won” as a result of the Civil War?  What had they lost?  What had poor white southerners lost?
  3. Why were southern plantation owners in particularly bad financial shape after the Civil War?
  4. Why did the assassination of Lincoln make it less likely that reconstruction would be easy on the South?
  5. What was “radical” about the Radical Republicans’ plan for Reconstruction?  What was the difference between Johnson’s “restoration” and the Radicals’ plans for “reconstruction”? Why did they say “reconstruction” whereas President Andrew Johnson preferred the term “restoration”?
  6. Why did James J. Hill’s Great Northern Railroad succeed during the late nineteenth century when other railroads failed?
  7. What unintended consequences resulted when the federal government subsidized the building of railroads?
  8. According to William Cronon, how did the arrival of the railroad alter people’s conceptions of time and space? How did railroads change the way people interacted with the environment (geography, weather, etc.)?
  9. How did the coming of the railroad change the process and scale of farming?
  10. How did the development of a national railroad system nurture economic expansion across the United States during the late nineteenth century?
  11. What is a tariff and why was the tariff a controversial issue?  Who stood to benefit from a high tariff? Who benefited from a low tariff?
  12. Explain how the “4 C’s” – competition, cooperation, consolidation, and centralization – resulted in the development of large corporations during the late 19th century.  How did one “C” lead logically to the next “C”?
  13. Why was the introduction of “limited liability” significant in the process of industrial development during the late 19th century?
  14. Identify three stereotypes regarding Native Americans that James Welch undermines in his novel Fools Crow, then explain how the novel undermines these stereotypes.
  15. How do Rides-at-the-Door and Fools Crow differ from Fast Horse and Owl Child in the way that they respond to the incursions of the Napikwans into the Pikunis’ territory and culture?
  16. Since Plains Indians valued material possessions like horses, robes, “many-shot guns,” and “medicine bundles,” was their culture just as “materialistic” as that of the whites?
  17. Drawing on James Welch’s novel Fools Crow, identify what you believe are the two most striking similarities between the Pikunis’ culture and white culture and the two most striking differences. Explain your choices and introduce evidence from the book to support them.
  18. Explain how Industrialization, Immigration, and Urbanization are all related. Put another way, look at each term and explain why in order to have one, you need to have the other two as well.
  19. What were some of the factors during the 19th and early 20th century that could spur immigration to the US and what factors caused immigration to decline?
  20. What role did the city boss and his political machine play in the immigrants’ lives?  What did the immigrants get from the boss? What did the boss get from the immigrants?
  21. Some historians refer to turn of the 20th century US cities as embodying “poverty in the midst of plenty.” Why is this an apt characterization?
  22. Why did coming to America change how many immigrants saw themselves and identified themselves (for example, calling themselves “Italians” rather than “Milanese”)?
  23. How does Mark Twain ridicule the notion of “Southern Honor” in his novel Pudd’nhead Wilson?
  24. Identify three specific instances in Pudd’nhead Wilson where Twain suggests that race is not inherent but is rather a social construct. Explain why these instances demonstrate this point of view.
  25. Though Pudd’nhead Wilson ostensibly has a “happy ending” (order is restored), explain why Twain nonetheless titles his work The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson. Why might one argue that David Wilson himself is a tragic figure?
  26. Explain how the character of false Tom (Roxy’s son) – though essentially white (1/32nd black) – in many ways is portrayed as stereotypically “black.”  How might this portrayal lead some of Twain’s readers to misjudge what the author is saying about race?  Why does Twain choose to mislead his readers?
  27. Why do you think Twain has Puddn’head tell the joke about the “half a dog”?  At a time when the Supreme Court was about to rule in Plessy v. Ferguson that “separate but equal” (i.e. segregation) was the law of the land, what deeper meaning might there be in this joke?  What does the presence of the joke suggest about Twain’s own views on segregation and its effect on society?
  28. How do the “Four D’s” – duty, destiny, defense, and dollars – each explain in part the motivations for America’s foreign policy at the turn of the twentieth century?  How do they show that “idealistic” and “realistic” motivations are often present at the same time when the nation formulates its foreign policy?
  29. Why did President William McKinley not want to go to war with Spain?  What events – two in particular – forced his hand and led him to declare war on Spain?
  30. How did Theodore Roosevelt play a role in pressuring President McKinley to go to war with Spain?  Why did Roosevelt and other “jingoes” think going to war would be good for the country (especially its men)?
  31. How did Victorian values of the 19th century differ from more modern values that began to emerge at the dawn of the 20th century (and were on display at places like Coney Island)?
  32. Why was a visit to Coney Island liberating for young women?
  33. Some observers maintained that a trip to Coney Island provided people with the “anonymity of the crowd” and therefore released them from the strictures of Victorian culture. Why did they argue this? What evidence did they introduce to support this argument?
  34. How did the amusement parks at Coney Island use new technologies and inventions to make their attractions a popular draw for New York City residents?
  35. Who were the Progressives?  Why did they think it was important for government and/or the private sector to launch a reform movement at the turn of the twentieth century?
  36. What was “Social Darwinism”? Why did Social Darwinists believe that nothing could (or should) be done to address the problem of urban poverty?
  37. In formulating their approach to reform, how did Progressives combine their beliefs in the social gospel and the new methods of social science?
  38. Why have some historians called the Progressive Era a “response to industrialism”? Why do others say the progressives were pursuing a policy of “innovative nostalgia” in their reform agenda?
  39. Why did a Serbian nationalist’s assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 start a conflict that engulfed all of Europe?
  40. By 1914, certain technologies had advanced further than others. What were some of these technologies? How did the uneven advance lead to staggering casualties on the battlefields of Europe?
  41. What steps did the British take to insure the Americans would be more likely to enter the war on the Allies’ side?  What steps many Americans – particularly bankers and investors – take that made it more likely the US would enter the war on the Allies’ side?
  42. How did German submarine warfare bring the United States into the Great War? If the Germans feared submarine warfare would bring the US into the war on the Allies’ side, why did they continue to engage in it?
  43. Why was the Zimmermann telegram significant?
  44. President Woodrow Wilson ran for re-election in 1916 on a slogan of “he kept us out of war.”  Why was this ironic?
  45. How did Woodrow Wilson define “nation”?  How did his definition guide him in deciding which groups had a right to be a “nation” after World War I and which groups did not?
  46. Why did Randolph Bourne reject the belief that a “good cause” might be served by the U.S. entering World War I?
  47. According to John Steele Gordon, why had Western Civilization outpaced all other civilizations during the 19th century?  Why did World War I undermine the confidence of those who took such pride in Western Civilization’s accomplishments?
  48. Why did whites in Detroit during the 1920s so fear blacks moving into their neighborhood – even to the point where they would engage in violence to keep them out? 
  49. What factors contributed to the racial tensions in Detroit during the 1920s?  Why was the KKK able to establish a foothold in the city?
  50. Explain what combination of motivations drove Ossian Sweet to move to Garland Avenue in September 1925.