History 271

Devine

Midterm Review Questions

 

The short essay 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.

 

  1. Why were southern plantation owners in particularly bad financial shape after the Civil War?  What were some of the strategies they pursued to restore their former wealth?
  2. In what ways did Lincoln’s, Johnson’s, and the Radical Republicans’ plans for reconstructing the South differ?
  3. Why did the assassination of Lincoln make it less likely that reconstruction would be easy on the South?
  4. In what specific ways did life for the average African American in the South change after the Civil War?
  5. What role did the Ku Klux Klan play in the South during Reconstruction?
  6. Why was the Compromise of 1877 that determined the winner in the Hayes-Tilden presidential election an important moment in history for African Americans?
  7. Who was Booker T. Washington and how did he propose to improve the lives of African Americans?  How was his philosophy different from that of W.E.B. DuBois?
  8. What were some of the incentives to migrate to the west in the late 19th century?
  9. Why was the railroad significant in furthering the development of the West?
  10. What steps did the federal government take to encourage private developers to build the railroads?
  11. Why were barbed wire and refrigerated railroad cars significant in expanding the cattle frontier?
  12. How did the federal government’s policy toward the Indians change during the late 19th century?
  13. During the late 19th century, were Chinese laborers in California resented mostly by wealthy or working-class whites? Why was this the case?
  14. What did Frederick Jackson Turner’s “frontier thesis” state?  Why did Turner say the West was a “safety valve” for the United States?
  15. In what ways did the philosophy of the Knights of Labor differ from that of trade unionists like Samuel Gompers? Which philosophy prevailed?
  16. Why did many farmers want the federal government to put more money into circulation?
  17. Describe some of the most important new technologies of the late 19th century and explain why they were significant in reshaping daily life.
  18. What is the difference between horizontal and vertical integration?
  19. Explain the role of the “3 C’s” – competition, consolidation, and centralization – in John D. Rockefeller’s business plan.
  20. What was “Social Darwinism?”  Why did many wealthy businessmen believe in it?
  21. What would a Social Darwinist say about the problem of poverty?
  22. What were settlement houses?  What purposes did they serve? 
  23. How did city bosses become so powerful in major cities at the turn of the 20th century?
  24. How did city political machines integrate newcomers into urban life?
  25. What factors allowed cities to grow larger during the late 19th century?
  26. What were some of the things a newly arrived immigrant might do in order to assimilate into American society?  What institutions might help him or her to assimilate?
  27. Why was the tariff a controversial issue?  Who stood to benefit from a high tariff? Who benefited from a low tariff?
  28. Why was it difficult for farmers to get out of debt?
  29. Why did farmers support government regulation of the railroads?
  30. What criticisms did the Populists make of late 19th century American society?
  31. Why did so many people support “free silver” in the presidential election of 1896?
  32. Explain how “duty,” “destiny,” “dollars,” and “defense” motivated American expansion at the turn of the 20th century.
  33. Why did the U.S. face an insurrection in the Philippines after the Spanish-American war?
  34. What was the “Open Door” policy?
  35. How did Coney Island affect relations between people of different classes and ethnicities?
  36. Why was a visit to Coney Island liberating for young women?
  37. How did a Progressive’s view of the world differ from that of a Social Darwinist?
  38. How did Progressives employ the scientific method to solve social problems?
  39. Progressives declared, “We’re all in this together.”  How did this belief shape the way they went about solving social problems?
  40. Why didn’t Progressives like city bosses?  How did they try to undercut the bosses’ power?
  41. How were primary elections in the South different than those in the rest of the country? What effect did these southern primaries have on African Americans?
  42. What steps did Theodore Roosevelt take to make the office of the President more powerful?
  43. Why did Theodore Roosevelt found the Progressive party in 1912?  What did he have against the Republicans – his former party?
  44. What were the two strategies government could pursue in trying to control monopolies? 
  45. What steps did Roosevelt take to insure the United States could build and control the Panama canal?
  46. How did the priorities children of the city come in to conflict with the agendas of the Progressive reformers?
  47. How did their experiences on the streets prepare the children of the city for their lives as adults?
  48. One young boy mentioned in Nasaw’s book declared, “Money is everything.”  Why was money “everything” for the children of the city?
  49. Why did U.S. relations with Mexico become worse in the years preceding World War I?
  50. Why did the assassination of one man in 1914 end up causing a continental war?
  51. Why did President Wilson ultimately decide to bring the United States into World War I?
  52. How did new technologies and the uneven development of technologies affect the number of casualties in World War I?
  53. Why has the World War I era been considered a low point for civil liberties in the US?
  54. How did the Wilson administration mobilize the country’s resources to fight World War I?  How did the government raise money to pay for the war effort?
  55. Why did the women’s suffrage movement gain support as a result of World War I?
  56. Why didn’t the United States join the League of Nations?
  57. Why did young people reject the values of their elders during the 1920s?
  58. How did attitudes about sex and “proper” behavior change during the 1920s?
  59. How did the election of Warren Harding in 1920 indicate that the nation’s mood had changed?
  60. What factors contributed to the economic boom of the 1920s?

 

On the midterm, you will choose 7 of 10 short essay questions (70% of the test) and answer one of four long essay questions (30% of the test). PLEASE BRING A BLUE BOOK TO CLASS.