American History

Final Study Guide

2024

 

q  The test will combine matching, fill-in-the-blank, and multiple choice.

q  Word lists will be included.

q  The test will be broken into six sections (listed below).

 The Test will come from the following areas:

 

First Semester—Units 1-4—10 points (Modules 1-9)

§  The First Americans

§  The Revolutionary Era

§  The Growth of America

§  Causes of the Civil War

 

Unit 4—The Civil War & Reconstruction

·         Terms and Names:  Modules 9-10

 

•        The Civil War—1860-1865

  1. How did the Civil War begin, and what were some early battles?

  2. What was life like during the Civil War?

  3. How did continued fighting turn the tide of the war?

  4. What happened in the final phase of the war?

·         Reconstruction—1865-1877

a.     What were the differing plans for presidential Reconstruction?

b.     What was congressional Reconstruction?

c.     What happened when Radical Republicans took charge of Reconstruction?

d.     Why did Reconstruction end, and what were its effects on American history?

Unit 5—Expansion, Industry, Corruption, and Reform—(Modules 11-14)

·         Terms and Names:  Modules 11-14

·         Industry

a.        What factors led to the boom in American Industry after 1850?

b.       What new technology and inventions affected this era?

·         The Old West & Indian Wars Era

a.        How did changing government policies lead to conflicts with Native Americans in the West?

b.       How did mining and ranching influence the development of the West?

c.        What opportunities and challenges did farmers face on the Great Plains?

·         Corruption

a.        What were political machines?

b.       Who was Boss Tweed?

c.        What role did civil service play in corruption?

d.       What role did big business play in corruption?

e.       Which Presidents were most affected by corruption?

f.         How did segregation add to the corrupt governments in the South?

·         Reformers

a.        What did Civil Service Reform do?

b.       What was the Pendelton Act?

c.        How did reformers bring down Boss Tweed?

d.       What reforms were enacted by Presidents?

e.       Who were the Populists and what did they believe in?

f.         Who were the Progressives and what did they believe in?

g.        Which Presidents were Progressives?

Unit 6—America Becomes a World Power—(Modules 15-16)

·         Terms and Names:  Modules 15-16

·         Formation of American Foreign Policy and the Spanish American War

1.       What effects did imperialism have on the nations of Europe and the United States?

2.       What were the causes and effects of the Spanish-American War?  Why did the US get involved?

·         Progressive Foreign Policy (1900-1914)

1.       What effect did Theodore Roosevelt have on American Foreign Policy as President?

2.       How did President Taft’s approach to diplomacy differ from Roosevelt?

3.       How did instability in Mexico spill over into the US?

·         World War I and the Treaty of Versailles

1.       What were the causes of World War I?

2.       What event led to the outbreak of war?

3.       What effect did the alliance system have on the outbreak of war?

4.       How did new technology change the way war was waged?

5.       What events brought the US into the war?

6.       What major battles led to the end of the war?

7.       What were the main points of the Treaty of Versailles?

8.       What impacts did WWI and the Treaty of Versailles have?

Unit 7—Prosperity and Depression—(Modules 17-19)

·         TERMS AND NAMES FOR THE UNIT:  Modules 17-19

·         POST-WWI ISSUES AND LIFESTYLES OF THE 1920'S

a.       What issues arose in America after WWI?

b.       How did new technology and the “credit economy” affect America?

c.        How did Presidents Harding and Coolidge deal with the American economy?

·         SOCIAL/CULTURAL CHANGES OF THE 1920'S-30’S

a.       What social changes occurred in the 1920’s?

b.       How did Prohibition impact America?

c.        How did new media (film and radio) technology change American popular culture?

d.       How did music and sports help Americans deal with the Depression?

·         THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE NEW DEAL

a.       What events led up to the Stock Market Crash of 1929?

b.       How did the Depression impact Americans?

c.        How did President Hoover propose to deal with the Depression?

d.       Why was President Roosevelt more popular in dealing with the Depression?

e.        What was the New Deal and how successful was it?

Unit 8—The Second World War—(Module 20)

·         Terms/Names:  Module 20

·         Causes of WWII:

  1. How did the aftermath of WWI contribute to political problems in Europe?
  2. How did the problems facing Europe in the post WWI years lead to the rise of Fascist and Communist dictatorships?
  3. What events were examples of the use of military force and violence by dictatorships to gain power/wealth in Europe?
  4. Why did the League of Nations and the policy of appeasement not work to stop Fascist expansion in Europe, Asia and Africa?

·         War in Europe Erupts:

  1. How did Germany’s actions in 1939 start WWII?
  2. Where did German forces turn after capturing Poland?
  3. What events increased tensions between the US and Japan?

·         The US Enters the War:

  1. Why was isolationism so strong in America in the 1930’s?
  2. How did FDR gradually ready America for involvement in WWII?
  3. What did the US do to aid the Allies and prepare for war in 1940-41?
  4. What were the causes and effects of the attack at Pearl Harbor?
  5. How did the US population and its industries mobilize for WWII?

·         WWII in Africa and Europe:

  1. How did the Allies fight for and win control of the Atlantic?
  2. How did the USSR get involved in WWII?
  3. What did the Allies accomplish in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy?
  4. What did the Allies accomplish with the D-Day invasion?

·         The War in the Pacific:

  1. Why did the Allies experience a slow start against the Japanese in the Pacific?
  2. What events/changes turned things around for the Allies in the Pacific?
  3. What battles marked the progress of the Allied forces toward Japan?

·         Ending the WWII:

  1. How did the Allies defeat Germany and win the war in Europe?
  2. How did the Allies defeat Japan and win the war in the Pacific?
  3. What challenges faced the US after WWII?

·         Atrocities of WWII:

  1. What were the atrocities committed by the US and Great Britain during WWII?
  2. What were the atrocities committed by the USSR during WWII?
  3. What were the atrocities committed by Italy during WWII?
  4. What were the atrocities committed by Japan during WWII?
  5. What were the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany during WWII?
  6. What was the Holocaust?
  7. How did Nazi atrocities reflect Adolf Hitler’s personal beliefs?

Unit 9—Modern America—(Modules 21-28)

·         Post-WWII America & the Cold War

  1. At the end of WW II, what caused tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States to deepen, leading to an era known as the Cold War?
  2. Following the end of WW II, U.S. military forces—and the rest of the country—faced what challenge of returning to life during peacetime?
  3. What events help trigger a second Red Scare in the late 1940s and early 1950s?
  4. When Cold War tensions finally erupted in a shooting war in 1950, how did The United States confront a difficult challenge defending freedom halfway around the world?
  5. How was the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower shaped by the Cold War and related conflicts?
  6. In what ways did the growing power of, and military reliance on, nuclear weapons create significant anxiety in the American public in the 1950s?
  7. Why was Television a major influence on American culture in the 1950s, mirroring larger changes in technology and culture?
  8. Did President Kennedy continue the Cold War policy of resisting the spread of communism by offering help to other nations and threatening to use force if necessary?
  9. How did John F. Kennedy bring energy, initiative, and important new ideas to the presidency?
  10. Why did President Johnson use his political skills to push Kennedy’s proposals through Congress and expanded them with his own vision of the Great Society?

·         Social Change

a.        In the mid-1900s how did the civil rights movement begin to make major progress in correcting the national problem of racial segregation?

b.       How did the quest for civil rights become a nationwide movement in the 1960s as African Americans won political and legal rights, and segregation was largely abolished?

c.        In the 1960s, how did African Americans gain voting rights and political power in the South, but only after a bitter and hard-fought struggle?

d.       What continued social and economic inequalities caused many young African Americans to lose faith in the civil rights movement and integration and seek alternative solutions?

e.        The civil rights movement was in decline by the 1970s, but did its accomplishments continue to benefit American society?

f.         How did concern about the spread of communism lead the United States to becoming increasingly involved in Vietnam?

g.       As the United States sent increasing numbers of troops to defend South Vietnam, why did some Americans begin to question the war?

h.       As the Vietnam War dragged on and increasingly appeared to be unwinnable, what deep divisions developed in American society?

i.         President Nixon eventually ended U.S. involvement in Vietnam, but how has the war had lasting effects on the United States and in Southeast Asia?

j.         In the 1960s, how did women, Native Americans and Latinos struggle to achieve social justice?

k.       How did the counterculture that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s leave a lasting impact on American life?

·         Modern America

  1. Beyond the ongoing turmoil of Vietnam, where the Nixon administration did enjoy success?
  2. How did the Nixon presidency become bogged down in scandal and lead to the first presidential resignation in American history and the administration of Gerald Ford?
  3. What qualities did Jimmy Carter use to win the presidency in 1976 and meet other challenges as well?
  4. In 1980 Americans voted for a new approach to governing by electing Ronald Reagan, how did he powerfully promote a conservative agenda?
  5. In what ways did President Reagan take a hard line against communism around the world?
  6. Describe and discuss the Presidency of George H.W. Bush (1989-1993).  What was the Gulf War of 1990-92?  What factors led to Bush’s defeat in the 1992 election?
  7. What were the key events in the political rise of Bill Clinton?  What were some of the major challenges/scandals facing Clinton?