AP U S HISTORY



AP U S HISTORY

DOCUMENT BASED QUESTIONS

Colonial America 1600-1763

1. From the accompanying documents, analyze and evaluate the character, the contributions and the moral contradictions of the New England Puritans. ***

2. Was American society, as evidenced by Wethersfield Connecticut, becoming more “democratic” in the period 1750-1790? Discuss with reference to property distribution, social structure, politics and religion. * [1976]

3. Although New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by people of English origin, by 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. Why did this difference in development occur? Use the documents and your knowledge of the colonial period up to 1700 to develop your answer. * [1993]

4. To what extent did the results of the French and Indian War [1754-1763] change everything for both the British and their American subjects? **

5. 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, by the Revolution the 13 colonies had become remarkably similar. Assess the validity of this statement. **

6. To what extent was the religious movement called The Great Awakening [1739-1745] the philosophical and intellectual cornerstone of the political thought that would justify the American Revolution? **

7. To what extent had the colonists developed a sense of their identity and unity as Americans by the eve of the Revolution? Use the documents and your knowledge of the period 1750 to 1776 to answer the question. * [1999]

8. To what extent and in what ways was the year 1763 a turning point in American History? ***

9. In the late 18th century, American colonists felt passionately that the British were disregarding their rights. To what extent was the United States itself, as evidenced by its’ social, economic and political institutions undemocratic, even when measured against the standards of that time? **

10. To what extent did British mercantilist policy restrict colonial economic development? **

11. In what ways did the French and Indian War (1754-63) alter the political, economic and ideological relations between Britain and its American colonies? Use the documents and your knowledge of the period 1740-1766 in constructing your response. [2004]

12. How did economic, geographic, and social factors encourage the growth of slavery as an important part of the economy of the southern colonies between 1607 and 1775?

 

13. Analyze the cultural and economic responses of TWO of the following groups to the Indians of North America before 1750: British, French, Spanish [2000]

14. Analyze the extent to which religious freedom existed in the British North American colonies prior to 1700. [1998]

 

15. For the period before 1750, analyze the ways in which Britain’s policy of salutary neglect influenced the development of American society as illustrated in the following: Legislative assemblies, Commerce, Religion [1995]

 

The Revolution 1763-1783

1. The American Revolution was the result of the influence of a small group of radicals who used propaganda and personal influence to wage war against Great Britain. Using your knowledge of the period and the following documents, assess the validity of this statement. *

2. The Declaration of Independence claims that British rule was oppressive while some historians have called the Americans of the 1770s “the freest people on Earth.” Which interpretation do you feel is more accurate? **

3. At Paris in 1783, the American negotiators obtained a far more generous peace accord from the British than anyone had a right to expect. It was a strong foundation for the difficult nation building of the next fifty years. Assess the validity of this statement. **

4. "The demand for no taxation without representation was the primary force motivating the American revolutionary movement, and for many it became a symbol for democracy." Assess the validity of this statement. **

5. When the thirteen British colonies won their independence in 1783 it had the worst possible consequences for Native Americans. Assess the extent of the validity of this statement. **

6. American cultural and political evolution and the momentous events, 1750-1800, were driven by radical rather than conservative influences which altered the status of the common man while threatening the power and prestige of what Hamilton called “the better sort.” Evaluate this statement, propose a relevant thesis statement and support with outside information and the attached documents. ***

7. Between 1754 to 1774, a profound alteration of relationship occurred between the American colonists and their mother country, Great Britain. This changing relationship became painfully obvious to both parties with the opening of the American Revolution and active hostilities. Identify and explain the key factors which brought about this changing relationship using your own knowledge and the documents provided. ***

8. Starting from positions of inferior privilege, activists among colonial African Americans took advantage of the turmoil of revolution and constitution building to advance as best they might their social, economic, and political rights. Assess the validity of this statement for colonial African Americans, describe the level of access achieved, and advance an argument which uses the documents provided and outside information to prove your thesis. ***

9. Despite the view of some historians that the conflict between Great Britain and its thirteen North American colonies was economic in origin, in fact the American Revolution had its roots primarily in politics and other areas of American life. Assess the validity of this statement. **

Early National Period 1783-1800

1. From 1776 to 1801 was there any overall direction or thrust taken by American foreign policy under the Washington, Adams, and the early Jefferson administrations? Isolate and describe any such policy goals and support your thesis using the documents provided and your personal knowledge of that period. ***

2. The political movement which led to the writing of the Constitution of 1787 represented an attempted conservative counter-revolution against the excesses of democracy which threatened chaos under the liberal Articles of Confederation. The political battle over ratification which followed proposal of the new Constitution resulted in a governing document which compromised between the two extremes of position. Assess the validity of this statement. ***

3. Starting from positions of inferior privilege, activists among colonial women took advantage of the turmoil of revolution and constitution building to advance, as best they might the social, economic, and political rights. Assess the validity of this statement for colonial women, describe the level of access they achieved, and use both outside information and the documents provided to support arguments which prove your thesis. ***

4. From 1781 to 1789, the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an effective government. Using your knowledge of the period and the following documents, assess the validity of this statement. * [1985]

5. The debate over the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 revealed bitter controversies over a number of issues. Discuss the issues involved and explain why these controversies developed. * [1977]

6. The foreign policy of the Adams administration, 1797-1801, was timid, ineffective and totally unprotective of American interests and honor. Assess the validity of this statement. **

7. The wise and comprehensive federal land policy under the Articles of Confederation set the course of American national development upon a firm foundation that avoided the problems of colonial American under the British. Assess the validity of this statement. **

8. The Constitution, as ratified, represented a major defeat for those who wished for greater democracy in the young American nation. Assess the validity of this statement. **

9. The hasty and ill conceived expansion of United States territory 1775-1825 set the United States upon a course of sectional collision. Assess the validity of this statement. **

10. Early United States foreign policy was primarily a defensive reaction to perceived or actual threats from Europe. Assess the validity of this generalization with reference to United States foreign policy during the period from 1789 to 1825. Assess the validity of this statement. **

11. Between 1776 and 1823 a young and relatively weak United States achieved considerable success in foreign policy when confronted with the two principal European powers, Great Britain and France. Assess the validity of this statement**

12. During the period, 1789-1808, there emerged in America “the first party system” under the primary leadership of Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, John Adams, and James Madison. How and why did this first party system come about, even though, political parties had been conspicuously omitted from political consideration in the Constitution of United States? ***

13. Because the Anti-Federalists won their major points at Philadelphia, the majority of their leaders were able to support the new Constitution and avoid further dissention that could have led to the dissolution of the Union. Assess the validity of this statement. **

14. The achievements of diplomats are in the long run more decisive than generals. Assess the validity of this statement for the period 1775-1815. **

15. Analyze the major concerns generated by the writing and ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Confine yourself to the period 1786-1792. ***

Jeffersonians 1800-1824

1. With respect to the federal Constitution, the Jeffersonian Republicans are usually characterized as strict constructionists who were opposed to the broad constructionism of the Federalists. To what extent was this characterization of the two parties accurate during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison? In writing your answer, use the documents and your knowledge of the period 1801-1817. [1998] *

2. President James Monroe conceived a limited role for the United States in protecting its’ strategic interests in the western hemisphere when he announced the Monroe Doctrine in 1823. He would have been appalled by subsequent interpretations of his ‘doctrine’ by William Seward, Richard Olney, Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. Assess the validity of this statement. **

3. Instead of accomplishing its goal of settling the increasingly heated arguments over the issue of slavery, the Missouri Compromise offered only a temporary solution. Actually it fueled the rising sectional disputes and growing animosity between the North and South. Inevitably this would lead to dissolution of the Union. Using your knowledge of the period and the following documents, assess the validity of this statement. **

4. The War of 1812 was foisted upon an unwilling nation by a Congress controlled by a group of congressmen called the “War Hawks” whose main goal was the conquest of Canada. Assess the validity of this statement. **

5. The War of 1812, known mainly for its divisions among Federalists and Republicans over support of the war, resulted in a united nation confident of its abilities and optimistic about its future. Assess the validity of this statement. ***

6. The labeling of the period 1816-1824 as “The Era of Good Feeling” is one of the most inappropriate examples of periodization in American historical scholarship. Assess the validity of this statement. **

7. Despite the nationalistic sentiments expressed during the Era of Good Feelings, sectionalism was in fact of much greater importance in explaining both the economics and the politics of the period. Assess the validity of this statement. ***

8. The Supreme Court established many of the most fundamental principles of American Constitutional law under the authority of Chief Justice John Marshall. Using the documents below and your knowledge of the court cases, define these basic principles. **

9. “To what extent was President Thomas Jefferson’s foreign policy the master or servant of events, 1801-1809?”**

Jacksonians 1824-1840

1. Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States. Certainly he saw himself as a hero, and many others saw him that way also. How do you see him and his impact on the United States? **

2. The Abolitionist Movement did not speed the end of slavery, but simply made it impossible to end it without a destructive civil war? Assess the validity of this statement using the documents below and your knowledge of United States history 1800-1861. **

3. The decision of the Jackson administration to move the Cherokee Indians to Indians west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s was more a reformulation of national policy that had been in effect since the 1790s than a change in that policy. Assess the validity of this statement with reference to the moral, political, constitutional and practical concerns that shaped national Indian policy between 1789 and the mid 1830s. * [1980]

4. What was the most important factor that led to the development of American industry after the War of 1812? **

5. What factors led to the woman’s movement in the 1840s and what goals were women seeking? *

6. Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as guardians of the United States Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty and equality of economic opportunity. In the light of the following documents and your knowledge of the 1820’s and 1830’s, to what extent do you agree with the Jacksonians view of themselves? * [1990]

7. By 1836, the Abolitionists had radicalized the antislavery movement. Evaluate this statement using the documents and your knowledge of United States history 1776-1836. ***

8. How and why did the lives and status of Northern middle class Americans women change during the period 1776-1876? *[1981]

9. To what extent were economic and social differences in the North and the South increasing in the first half of the 19th century? **

10. To what extent would you describe the changes in transportation between 1815 and 1860 as a revolution? **

11. To what extent did the “Era of Good Feelings” (1816-1824) mark the appearance of issues that transformed the nature of American politics in the next thirty years?" **

12. To what extent did Jackson's economic policies hinder the growth of American industry? **

13. “Reform movements in the United States sought to expand democratic ideals.” Assess the validity of this statement in the United States with specific reference to the years 1825-1850. Use the following documents and your knowledge of the period 1825-1850 in constructing your response. *[2002]

14. Until the 1980s, the policy of the United States Government toward the Native American population was one of deception and genocide. **

Manifest Destiny 1820-1850

1. To what extent did the natural environment shape development of the West beyond the Mississippi and the lives of those who lived and settled there? How important were other factors? Use both the evidence from the documents below and your knowledge of United States history 1840-1890 to compose your answer. * [1992]

2. In whose interest, and for what reasons was the Mexican War fought in 1845-1848? ***

3. America's war with Mexico has been labeled, both then and since, an unprovoked and unjustifiable war of aggression and territorial aggrandizement. Using the documents as well as your knowledge of the diplomatic history of the years from 1836 to 1846, evaluate this assertion. **

Sectionalism 18001-1860

1. By the 1850s the Constitution, originally shaped as an instrument of national unity, had become a source of sectional discord and tension and ultimately contributed to the failure of the Union it had created. Use both the evidence from the documents below and your knowledge of United States history 1840-1890 to compose your answer. * [1987]

2. To what extent was President-elect Abraham Lincoln responsible for the defeat of the Crittenden Compromise proposal on the expansion of slavery? * [1974]

3. “Instead of accomplishing its goal of settling the increasingly heated arguments over the issue of slavery, the Compromise of 1850 actually it fueled the rising sectional disputes and growing animosity between the North and South. Inevitably this would lead to dissolution of the Union.” Using your knowledge of the period and the following documents, assess the validity of this statement. **

4. John Brown’s raid on the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia in October 1859, involved a handful of abolitionists, freed no slaves, and was over in two days. Although many Northerners condemned the raid, by 1863 John Brown had become a hero and a martyr in the North. To what extent and in what ways do the views about John Brown expressed in the documents illustrate changing North-South relations between 1859 and 1863? * [1982]

5. The Civil War settled with fire the questions surrounding the nature of the Union, but because they lost the war does not mean the Southerners were necessarily wrong (Of course they were wrong about slavery). Was the Union a compact of states, or a covenant of the people? **

6. To what extent was the election of Abraham Lincoln a mandate for the abolition of slavery in the United States? ***

7. "The Civil War was not inevitable; it was the result of extremism and failures of leadership on both sides." Assess this statement, using the following documents and your knowledge of the period from 1830 to 1860. **

8. To what extent did, “the failure of the Whig Party to responsibly address the issues of the day” lead to its demise, and the subsequent failure to solve the problems of the 1850s? **

9. Using your knowledge of the time period 1820-1850, assess the validity of the following statement. “Although the Great Triumvirate worked for years to hold the Union together, their actions and political ideas lead to the downfall of the Union.” **

10. What were the key factors that convinced the South that it could not obtain justice within the American Union? **

11. "The Civil War was not inevitable; it was the result of extremism and failures of leadership on both sides." Assess the validity of this statement. **

Civil War and Reconstruction 1855-1877

1. The removal of General George McClellan from command of the Army of the Potomac was a loss for the army and a victory for the interfering politicians in Washington. Use both the evidence from the documents below and your knowledge of United States history during the period 1861-3 to compose your answer. ***

2. Assess the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln’s decision to hold Fort Sumter and Jefferson Davis’s decision to take it. Use both the evidence from the documents below and your knowledge of United States history during the period 1860-1 to compose your answer. ***

3. The debate over the relationship between the states and the federal government over the principles of interposition and nullification began with the struggle to ratify the Constitution and continued to the end of the Civil War. Use both the evidence from the documents below and your knowledge of United States history during the period 1789-1865 to compose your answer. ***

4. It is clear that all the lives that were lost in the American Civil War to insure a “new birth of freedom” were in vain. By 1880, the South had defeated the weak Northern efforts in behalf of the freedmen, and had re-enslaved the Negro. Using the documents and your knowledge of United States history during the period, assess the validity of this statement. **

5. In what ways and to what extent did constitutional and social developments between 1860 and 1877 constitute a revolution? *[1996]

6. Thomas A. Bailey writes that “Grant was an ignorant and confused President, and his eight long years of blunderland are generally regarded as a national disgrace.” C. Van Woodward describes the Grant years as Woodward “the all time low point in statesmanship and political morality in our history.” To what extent do you feel that these judgments are correct? **

7. "Congress during Reconstruction tried to upset the system of checks and balances established in the Constitution.” Assess the validity of this statement. **

8. Southerners maintained that secession was the ultimate expression of democracy, while Lincoln believed that secession was a rejection of democracy. Which position is correct? **

The Gilded Age 1877-1900

1. Using the Pullman Strike of 1894 and your knowledge of labor relations between 1875 and 1925, explain the reaction of public opinion toward the growing presence of the American labor movement. ***

2. To what extent and for what reasons did the policies of the federal government 1865-1900 violate the principles of laissez faire, which advocated minimal government intervention in the economy? Consider with specific reference the following three areas of policy: railroad land grants, control of interstate commerce and anti-trust activities? * [1979]

3. Labor conditions were so abysmal in the latter years of the 19th Century that laborers had no choice but to use violence to defend themselves and to obtain their fair share of the economic pie. ***

4. The Industrial Revolution began in England in the middle of the 18th Century and by 1860, Great Britain was the primary manufacturing nation in the world. By 1900, in a little over a generation, the United States had taken over first place and was producing almost twice as much as second place Britain. What was it that sparked this rapid change? **

5. The documents reveal some of the problems that many farmers saw as threats to their way of life during the period 1880-1900. Using the documents, and your knowledge of United States history during the period 1880-1900, (1) explain the reasons for the discontent (2) evaluate the validity of the farmer’s complaints. * [1983]

6. Between l800-l896, farmers and workers claimed that the government and the courts favored big business and the rich. Assess the validity of this statement using the documents below and your knowledge of United States history during the period to compose your answer. ***

7. The years after the American Civil War have been characterized by Mark Twain and others as “The Gilded Age.” Generally, historians have emphasized the decline of human values, the low state of public morality, greed, corruption and crass materialism. Do you feel this characterization presents an accurate overall picture of the years 1865-1890? If so, what caused this marked departure from the past in a nation with such strong religious and moral cultural traditions? Use the documents below and your knowledge of United States history during the period to compose your answer. **

8. To what extent was late 19th and early 20th century United States expansionism a continuation of past United States expansionism and to what extent was it a departure? Assess the validity of this conclusion by considering the documents below and your knowledge of United States history during the period. * [1994]

9. The period 1875-1900 has been described by some historians as a period of “selfless altruism” during which the United States defended weaker nations against aggrandizement by rapacious European powers and spread the “blessings of democracy and civilization.” Others have described the “New Manifest Destiny” as a time of “ruthless American expansion” at the expense of weaker nations and in violation of our own most sacred principles of consent of the governed and popular sovereignty. Using the documents, how would you characterize this period of “Becoming a World Power”? **

10. Analyze the factors that influenced the Senate in ratifying the Treaty of Paris in 1899 and assess their relative significance. Your analysis and assessment should take into consideration the complexity and contradictions presented by the evidence. * [1975]

11. As a result of the Spanish American War, the United States at last ended its’ isolation, fulfilled its’ Manifest Destiny and became a world power. Assess the validity of this statement. **

12. Beginning with the McKinley presidency and carrying through the first Coolidge term identify and discuss the ways in which American foreign policy decisions were driven by any two of the following influences: [1] domestic economic forces [2] social, religious, humanitarian concerns [3] "yellow" journalism or media frenzy. ***

13. For the period between 1875 and 1925, explain the ways in which the American people changed their perception of immigration, why that perception changed, and the legislative policy revisions which followed. ***

14. To what extent was the “New Manifest Destiny” of the 1890s a continuation of the “Old Manifest Destiny” of the 1840s?” **

15. How successful was organized labor in improving the position of workers in the period from 1875 to 1900? Analyze the factors that contributed to the level of success achieved. Use the documents and your knowledge of the period from 1875 to 1900 to construct your response. ***

16. American foreign policy leading up to involvement in the First World War was greatly influenced by our definitions of the rights of neutrals and our assertions of “freedom of the seas.” At what point do you feel that Germany was justified in considering the United States an enemy and acting on that perception accordingly? ***

17. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois offered different strategies for dealing with the problems of poverty and discrimination faced by Black Americans at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Using the documents, and your knowledge of United States history during the period 1877-1915, assess the appropriateness of each of these strategies in the historical context that each was developed. * [1989]

18. To what extent was "the Gilded Age” was an age of inaction, apathy, and extremism in American politics? **

19. How were the lives of the Plains Indians affected by technological developments and government actions in the latter half of the 19th Century? **

The Progressive Era 1890-1920

1. It was the strength of the opposition forces, both liberal and conservative, rather than the ineptitude and stubbornness of President Woodrow Wilson, that led to the Senate defeat of the Treaty of Versailles. Assess the validity of this conclusion by considering the documents below and your knowledge of United States history during the period. *[1991]

2. Between 1880 and 1915 labor leaders voiced sharp disagreement over the proper goals and strategies workers should follow to improve their position in American society. Assess the validity of this statement by contrasting the different goals and strategies advocated by labor leaders 1880-1915. Include their assessment of their vision of the future of American society and the degree of success their approach achieved between 1880 and 1915. ***

3. Between 1900 and 1918, to what degree did the attitudes expressed in Supreme Court decisions concerning government regulation of business and working conditions reflect the attitudes of political leaders of the nation? Why [or why not] were they in agreement? ***

4 The leaders of the Progressive Movement introduced and sold to the American electorate, a new philosophy of government that profoundly changed the nation forever. Assess the validity of this statement using the documents and your knowledge of U S History. **

5. The impact of Theodore Roosevelt has been overemphasized. He merely took the nation in the directions it was already headed rather than “changing forever the focus and direction of the United States in both foreign and domestic affairs” as one enthusiastic biographer put it. Assess the validity of this statement. **

6. Using the period 1875 to 1925, agree or disagree with the following statement: The confrontational techniques advocated by W.E.B. Dubois were not as successful in achieving advancement for black Americans as the evolutionary method proposed by Booker T. Washington. ***

7. Using your knowledge of the Progressive era, a clear definition of progressivism, and the following documents; assess why and in what ways Theodore Roosevelt could correctly be labeled a progressive politician. In the course of your essay, compare or contrast Roosevelt's progressive characteristics with those of any three of the following individuals: ***

Robert M. La Follette Lincoln Stephens Jane Addams Ida M. Tarbell Woodrow Wilson

8. To what extent were the reform efforts of the Progressive Era aimed at maintaining the existing society and to what extent did they bring about radical change? ***

9. To what extent did the leaders of the Progressive Movement introduce and sell to the American public a new philosophy of government that profoundly changed the nation forever. **

10. To what extent had the Progressive Movement all but disappeared from the national scene by 1925. **

11. To what extent did economic and political developments as well as assumptions about the nature of women affect the position of American women during the period 1890-1925? Use the documents and your knowledge of the history of the years 1890-1925 to construct your response. ***

12. “World War I had a revolutionary social impact on the United States.” Assess the validity of this statement. **

The Era of Boom and Bust 1919-1930

1. Relying on a critical evaluation of the accompanying documents, analyze the factors that probably influenced Congress to pass the Immigration Act of 1924. ***

2. In what ways did three of the following events represent the cultural changes which were both tearing at the fabric of American society and reshaping it in the years immediately following World War I? (1) Great Red Scare of 1919 (2) Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti (3) Rise of the Second Ku Klux Klan (4) Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925. ***

3. The 1920s were a period of tension between new and changing attitudes on the one hand and traditional values and nostalgia on the other. What led to the tensions between old and new AND in what way was the tension manifested? * [1986]

4. To what extent did the 1920s exemplify a decade of confidence, disillusionment and isolation? Attention should be paid to political, cultural, and social issues. Answer by considering the documents below and your knowledge of United States history during the period. * [1986]

5. In the 20th century prohibition spread by states passing local option laws, which permitted a unit of local government such as a county, to prohibit the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. After an intensive campaign by the Anti-Saloon League and other prohibitionist organizations and reform groups, national prohibition was achieved by the ratification of the 18th Amendment in 1919. What accounts for the success of the prohibition movement in the era of Progressive reform, 1900-19? Consider the social composition of the prohibitionists, their motives, strategy and pressure group tactics, and the relationship of prohibition to progressive reform. * [1978]

6. Examine the changing role played by women in American society from 1875 to 1925 using any two of the following reform movements: (1) temperance (2) settlement houses (3) women's suffrage. ***

7. For the period between 1875 and 1925, explain the ways in which the American people changed their perception of immigration, why that perception changed, and the legislative policy revisions which followed. ***

8. To what extent did economic and political developments as well as assumptions about the nature of women affect the position of American women during the period 1890-1925 ? Use the documents and your knowledge of the history of the years 1890-1925 to construct your response. * [1997]

9. To what extent could one argue that both Harding and Coolidge were political accidents, the beneficiaries of grave defects in the American political and constitutional systems?" **

10. “The economic policies of Harding and Coolidge and not the policies of Hoover resulted in the Great Depression.” Assess the validity of this statement. **

11. To what extent could one argue that both Harding and Coolidge were the beneficiaries of grave defects in the American political and constitutional systems? Discuss the political, economic and social conditions in America that brought about the election of these two presidents. Consider the years 1920 to 1924." **

12. Some historians have described the 1920s as a “watershed” in American history, the point where “modern America” began. To what extent do you agree with this characterization? **

The New Deal 1933-1940

1. Franklin Delano Roosevelt is commonly thought of as a liberal and Herbert Hoover as a conservative. Assess the validity of this characterization using the documents below and your knowledge of United States history during the period 1928-1940. * [1984]

2. Was the “New Deal” of Franklin Roosevelt a conservative, a liberal or a socialist program to deal with the problems of the Great Depression? Consider with reference to the TVA, the NLRB, the SEC and the Social Security Act. ***

3. If Franklin D. Roosevelt had been President in 1929-33 he would have acted as President Herbert Hoover did, and he would have been defeated in the election of 1933. Assess the validity of this statement using the documents provided and your own knowledge of U S history. **

4. “The New Deal accomplished a basic alteration in the terms of the social compact in the United States, creating a new set of relationships between workers and employers, rich and poor, small businessmen and bankers, the government and those it governed. The break with the past was seismic. America would never be the same.” Assess the validity of this statement using the documents and your knowledge of U S History. **

5. Analyze the responses of Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration to the problems of the Great Depression How effective were these responses? How did they change the role of the federal government? Use the documents and your knowledge of the period 1929-1941 to construct your essay. * [2003]

World War II

1. Historians have generally described the 1920s and early 1930s as a period of isolationism. Assess the validity of this generalization using the documents and your knowledge of U S History. ***

2. American foreign policy leading up to involvement in World War II was greatly influenced by the continuing debate over the “lessons” of the 1914-29 period. Assess the validity of this statement by considering the documents below and your knowledge of United States history during the period 1914-1929. ***

3. What conclusions can be drawn from the evidence collected about the Greer Incident? Use the documents A through L to help. **

4. It has been claimed that the Roberts Commission was formed to determine who was at fault for the destruction of the fleet at Pearl Harbor. The findings concluded that commanding officers Admiral Husband Kimmel and Lt. General Walter Short were guilty of “dereliction of duty.” Assess the validity of this conclusion by considering the documents below and your knowledge of United States history during the period. ***

5. While President Franklin Roosevelt instituted a major shift in U.S. Latin American relations, his Good Neighbor Policy was unable to survive the Cold War. Using the documents provided and your knowledge of the period from 1933-1973, Assess the validity of this statement. ***

6. The United States decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima was a diplomatic measure calculated to intimidate the Soviet Union in the post World War II era rather than a strictly military decision designed to force Japan’s unconditional surrender. Assess the validity of this conclusion by considering the documents below and your knowledge of United States history during the period. *[1988]

7. Using your knowledge of the time period AND the documents provided, analyze this statement: "United States foreign policy evolved from internationalism to isolationism during the period 1875 to 1925." **

8. On December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked the United States naval station and its associated air defense bases at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The attack killed more than 2,400 Americans, knocked out eight American battleships, and destroyed nearly 400 American warplanes on the ground. It was the worst single defeat ever inflicted on the United States Navy. Using the following documents and your knowledge of the military and diplomatic history of this time, evaluate how this disaster could have happened and who was primarily responsible for the disaster, the government officials in Washington or local commanders at Pearl Harbor. ***

9. Compare and contrast the attitudes of Americans toward war in 1937-1941 with the attitudes of 1914-1917. **

10. At what point during the period 1930-1941 do you feel that Germany and Japan could legitimately consider the United States an enemy and therefore justify the use of force against it? **

11. “The path to Pearl Harbor had the United States and Japan walking arm and arm with both parties certain of the destination.” Assess the validity of this statement. **

12. Using your knowledge of the time period AND the documents provided, analyze this statement: "To what extent did United States foreign policy evolved from internationalism to isolationism during the period 1875 to 1925." **

13. United States foreign policy during the period 1930-1941 was the master of events rather than the servant of events historians have made it. Assess the validity of this statement. **

14. The United States was neither isolated nor neutral during the period 1920-41. To what extent do you agree with this statement? **

15. To what extent was Woodrow Wilson's neutrality policy [1914-17] different than Franklin D. Roosevelt's neutrality policy 1935-40? **

16. How and for what reasons did United States foreign policy change between 1920 and 1941? Use the documents and your knowledge of the period 1920-41 to construct your response. [2004 alternate]

Cold War Era 1945-1989

1. “The Cold War was induced by the rigid policies of President Truman towards the Soviet Union, rather than the actions of the Soviet Union itself.” Assess the validity of this statement. **

2. American foreign policy during the administration of Harry S. Truman was a “historic reversal” of traditional American foreign policy, so much so that the historian is justified in calling it revolutionary. Assess the validity of this statement. **

3. Was American foreign policy during the administration of Harry S. Truman the master or servant of events? Answer this question using the documents and your knowledge of U S History. **

4. More than any other influence of the 20th Century, the decisions of the Warren Court [1953-69] had a revolutionary impact on American society. Assess the validity of this statement. **

5. President Eisenhower’s aggressive and reckless handling of our relations with the Soviet Union set the nation on a dangerous collision course with that nation. Assess the validity of this statement. **

6. “On such a miserable showing as an exposer of Reds, how has Joe McCarthy created such an uproar and kept it roaring?” asked Time Magazine in 1951. How do you account for the appeal of McCarthyism in the United States in the era following the Second World War? **

7. Analyze the changes that occurred during the 1960s in the goals, principles strategies and support of the movement for African Americans civil rights. Use the documents below and your knowledge of United States history during the 1960s to construct your response. * [1995]

8. Did the attitudes and policies of the United States government regarding the war in Viet Nam (1965-1975) reflect the attitudes of the American people during the time of the war? Why or why not? Include present-day opinions and facts about the war in assessing this question. **

9. The Korean War and the War in Viet Nam created a constitutional crisis in the area of presidential powers. Describe the crisis and discuss to what extent Congress has addressed the issue. **

10. Despite the massive efforts by the Johnson Administration to win a war on poverty, the United States in 1985 could hardly be called a fulfillment of their hopes. If Johnson had been alive in 1985 he would have been profoundly disappointed. **

11. “The Soviet Union and the United States were equally responsible for bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962.” Assess the validity of this statement. **

12. To what extent did the decade of the 1950s deserve its reputation as an age of political, social and cultural conformity? **

13. What were the Cold War fears of the American people in the aftermath of the Second World War? How successfully did the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower address these fears? Use the documents and your knowledge of the years 1948-1961 to construct your response. * [2001]

14. The 1920's and 1960's witnessed tremendous social upheaval, unrest and reevaluation of our goals. Compare and contrast the 1920s and 1960s in each of the following areas: Literature, Respect for the law, social customs & foreign policy. **

15. To what extent did the foreign policy of the United States in Southeast Asia, cause Americans both young and old, to question traditional social institutions and political practices of America. **

16. Analyze the changes that occurred during the 1960's in the goals, strategies, and support of the movement for African American civil rights. Use the documents and your knowledge of the history of the 1960's to construct your response. **

17. The Nixon Presidency was not the abysmal failure it has been described as being. In the not too distant future, the Nixon Presidency will be viewed by historians as the most successful presidency in the second half of the Twentieth Century. Assess the validity of this statement. **

18. “The Presidency of James Carter was on the whole, a miserable failure. Assess the validity of this judgment.” **

19. Compare and contrast Truman's Fair Deal with Roosevelt's New Deal. In your answer, assess whether the Fair Deal broke any new ground in domestic reforms. **

*ETS, **Tomlin, ***Other

Actual DBQ and Essay Questions 1973-2004

[DBQs] Chronologically by year

• To what extent was President-elect Abraham Lincoln responsible for the defeat of the Crittenden Compromise proposal on the expansion of slavery? * [1974]

• Analyze the factors that influenced the Senate in ratifying the Treaty of Paris in 1899 and assess their relative significance. Your analysis and assessment should take into consideration the complexity and contradictions presented by the evidence. * [1975]

• Was American society, as evidenced by Wethersfield Connecticut, becoming more “democratic” in the period 1750-1790? Discuss with reference to property distribution, social structure, politics and religion. * [1976]

• The debate over the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 revealed bitter controversies over a number of issues. Discuss the issues involved and explain why these controversies developed. * [1977]

• In the 20th century, prohibition spread by states passing local option laws, which permitted a unit of local government such as a county, to prohibit the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. After an intensive campaign by the Anti-Saloon League and other prohibitionist organizations and reform groups, national prohibition was achieved by the ratification of the 18th Amendment in 1919. What accounts for the success of the prohibition movement in the era of Progressive reform, 1900-19? Consider the social composition of the prohibitionists, their motives, strategy and pressure group tactics, and the relationship of prohibition to progressive reform. * [1978]

• To what extent and for what reasons did the policies of the federal government 1865-1900 violate the principles of laissez faire, which advocated minimal government intervention in the economy? Consider with specific reference the following three areas of policy: railroad land grants, control of interstate commerce and anti-trust activities? * [1979]

• The decision of the Jackson administration to move the Cherokee Indians to Indians west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s was more a reformulation of national policy that had been in effect since the 1790s than a change in that policy. Assess the validity of this statement with reference to the moral, political, constitutional and practical concerns that shaped national Indian policy between 1789 and the mid 1830s. * [1980]

• How and why did the lives and status of Northern middle class Americans women change during the period 1776-1876? *[1981]

• John Brown's raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in October 1859, involved only a handful of abolitionists, freed no slaves, and was over in two days. Although many Northerners condemned the raid, by 1863 John Brown had become a hero and martyr in the North. To what extent and in what ways do the views about John Brown expressed in the documents illustrate changing North-South relations between 1859 and 1863? [1982]

• Documents A-H reveals some of the problems that many farmers in the late nineteenth century (1880-1900) saw as threats to their way of life. Using the documents and your knowledge of the period, (a) explain the reasons for agrarian discontent and (b) evaluate the validity of the farmers' complaints. [1983]

• "From 1781 to 1789 the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an effective government." Using the documents and your knowledge of the period, evaluate this statement. [1984]

• The 1920's were a period of tension between new and changing attitudes on the one hand and traditional values and nostalgia on the other. What led to the tension between old and new AND in what ways was the tension manifested? [1985]

• By the 1850's the Constitution, originally framed as an instrument of national unity, had become the source of sectional discord and tension and ultimately contributed to the failure of the union it had created." Using the documents and your knowledge of the period 1850-1861, assess the validity of this statement. [1986]

• "By the 1850's the Constitution, originally framed as an instrument of national unity, had become source of sectional discord and tension and ultimately contributed to the failure of the union it had created." Using the documents and your knowledge of the period 1850-1861, assess the validity of this statement. [1987]

• The United States decision to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima was a diplomatic measure calculated to intimidate the Soviet Union in the post-Second-World-War era rather than a strictly military measure designed to force Japan's unconditional surrender. Evaluate this statement using the documents and your knowledge of the military and diplomatic history of the years 1939 through 1947. [1988]

• Booker T Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois offered different strategies for dealing with the problems of poverty and discrimination faced by Black Americans at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. Using the documents and your knowledge of the period 1877-1915, assess the appropriateness of each of these strategies in the historical context in which each was developed. [1989]

• Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as the guardians of the United States Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity. In light of the following documents and your knowledge of the 1820's and 1830's, to what extent do you agree with the Jacksonian's view of themselves? [1990]

• It was the strength of the opposition forces, both liberal and conservative, rather than the ineptitude and stubbornness of President Wilson that led to the defeat of the Treaty of Versailles. Using the documents and your knowledge of the period 1917-1921, assess the validity of this statement. [1991]

• To what extent did the natural environment shape the development of the West beyond the Mississippi and the lives of those who lived and settled there? How important were other factors? Use BOTH evidence from the documents AND your knowledge of the period from the 1840's through the1890's to compose your answer. [1992]

• Although New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by people of English origin, by 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. Why did this difference in development occur? [1993]

• To what extent was late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century United States expansionism a continuation of past United States expansionism and to what extent was it a departure? [1994]

• Analyze the changes that occurred during the 1960’s in the goals, strategies, and support of the movement for African American rights. [1995]

• In what ways and to what extent did constitutional and social developments between 1860 and 1877 amount to a revolution? [1996]

• To what extent did economic and political developments as well as assumptions about the nature of women affect the position of American women during the period 1890 – 1925? [1997]

• With respect to the federal Constitution, the Jeffersonian Republicans are usually characterized as strict constructionists who were opposed to the broad constructionist of the Federalists. To what extent was this characterization of the two parties accurate during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison? [1998]

• To what extent had the colonists developed a sense of their own identity and unity as Americans by the eve of the Revolution? [1999]

• How successful was organized labor in improving the position of workers in the period from 1875-1900? Analyze the factors that contributed to the level of success achieved. [2000]

• What were the Cold War fears of the American people in the aftermath of the Second World War? How successfully did the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower address these fears? Use the documents and your knowledge of the years 1948-1961 to construct your response. [2001]

• Reform movements in the United States sought to expand democratic ideals.” Assess the validity of this statement in the United States with specific reference to the years 1825-1850. Use the following documents and your knowledge of the period 1825-1850 in constructing your response. [2002]

• Analyze the responses of Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration to the problems of the Great Depression How effective were these responses? How did they change the role of the federal government? Use the documents and your knowledge of the period 1929-1941 to construct your essay. [2003]

• In what ways did the French and Indian War (1754-63) alter the political, economic and ideological relations between Britain and its American colonies? Use the documents and your knowledge of the period 1740-1766 in constructing your response. [2004]

• How and for what reasons did United States foreign policy change between 1920 and 1941? Use the documents and your knowledge of the period 1920-41 to construct your response. [2004 alternate]

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