Course Outline

History 2020 – College at Home

Test #1 10:00 – 12:00 Noon Saturday/February 14, 2004

Time Period: Videotape lessons: Textbook chapters:

1877-1920 all lessons on Tape 1 Chapters 17-21

Video Lesson 1: The Closing of the Frontier Textbook: Chapter 17

1. What two factors stimulated the rapid settlement of the trans-Mississippi West between 1870 and 1900? What were the results of these westward migration?

2. Discuss the economy of the post-Civil War South, including a description of tenancy and sharecropping and their impact on the overall economic picture.

3. What role did mechanization play in the growth of “agribusiness”?

4. Discuss the process of Indian removal that took place in the West between 1861 and 1890, including an analysis of the impact of the destruction of the buffalo herds, battles like that at the Little Big Horn in Montana in 1876, and the “Ghost Dance”.

5. Discuss the impact of railroads, rural migrants, and foreign immigrants on the urban explosion that occurred in America during the late 1800’s.

6. Who were the “bosses”, and how did they come to dominate the new city governments? How did their abuses of power lead to attempts at reform?

Video Lesson 2: The Rise of Big Business Textbook: Chapter 18

1. What were the major innovations in management, organization, etc. used by Gould, Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Morgan to create their industrial empires? What impact did each of these men have on the tremendous growth of the American economy during the late 1800’s?

2. How did the concepts of Social Darwinism and the Gospel of Wealth affect the outlook of society?

3. How did political patronage and sectional divisions left over from the Civil War combine to divide the country into strongly Democrat and Republican areas during the so-called “Gilded Age”? How did this lead to widespread political corruption?

4. Why did the Pendleton Act of 1883 have mixed results in the area of civil service reform?

5. Discuss the conflict over protectionist tariffs in the late 1800’s. Why did manufacturers support high tariffs, and why did consumers want to lower them?

6. Discuss the fight over Free Silver in the early 1890’s. Why did miners and farmers support the coinage of silver, and why did supporters of the gold standard oppose the practice? Who won?

Video Lesson 3: Labor’s Struggle Textbook: Chapter 19

1. Describe the composition of the industrial work force, the nature of work, and the working conditions in the late nineteenth century.

2. What were the views of management regarding union demands for improvements in the working conditions, hours, and wages of the laborers?

3. Analyze the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. What caused it? What happened during the strike? What were some of the major results of the strike?

4. Evaluate the success/failure of the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor. What impact did the Haymarket Incident (1886) have on these groups?

5. What gains had been made by unions and workers by the end of the nineteenth century/What explains their successes and their limitations?

Video Lesson 4: The Huddled Masses Textbook: Chapter 17

1, Why were people migrating to American cities during the late 19^th century? What usually determined where migrants/immigrants would settle?

2. Describe the conditions found in the city. Why were conditions generally so bad?

3. Describe the causes and consequences of the massive immigration of the era. What were the political effects of this immigration?

4. What was the response of urban reformers to the urban conditions at the end of the nineteenth century?

Video Lesson 5: The American Dream Deferred Textbook: (See below)

Chapter 16: p.428-437 Chapter 20: p.524-528

Chapter 17: p.449-450, 461-465 Chapter 21: p.578-581

Chapter 23: p.616

1. Describe the purpose and the impact of the “black codes”.

2. What was the significance of the Plessey vs. Ferguson (1896) decision? How did it reflect racial attitudes during the “Jim Crow” era?

3. Compare and contrast the efforts of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul, and Margaret Sanger in the area of woman’s suffrage/women’s rights.

4. Compare and contrast Booker T. Washington’s “Atlanta Compromise” with W. E. B.

DuBois’ “Niagara Movement”. Be sure to give specific details of each.

Video Lesson 6: The Populist Challenge Textbook: Chapter 20

1. What conditions led to the “farmers’ revolt” in the 1890’s? How did the Farmers’ Alliances attempt to consolidate the economic power of farmers?

2. Who were the leaders of the Populists? Who supported the People’s party?

3. How did Populism threaten to break down established political and social barriers in the 1890’s?

4. Describe the presidential election of 1896. What were the major issues of the campaign, and how did McKinley eventually beat Bryan? What were the results for the Populists?

5. In the end, how successful were the Populists? What limited their success? What lasting influence did they have on major party politics in America?

Video Lesson 7: War and Empire Textbook: Chapter 20

1. Discuss the two “pillars” of American foreign policy at the dawn of the 20^th century: the Monroe Doctrine and the Open Door policy. What influence did each exert on U.S. activities abroad?

2. What was “the white man’s burden”, and what roles did “markets and missionaries” play in U.S. foreign policy in the early 20^th century.

3. Describe the causes, the major events, and the major results of the Spanish-American War. Why did John Hay refer to this conflict as “a splendid little war”?

4. Describe the debate over American imperialism in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War.

Video Lesson 8: The Progressive Impulse Textbook: Chapter 21

1. What factors explain the emergence of the progressive reformers of the early twentieth century? Who were the progressive reformers and what were their beliefs?

2. Describe the purpose and the impact of the settlement house movement.

3. What was the Social Gospel, and how was it implemented by early Progressives?

4. Describe some of the conflicts between Progressive reformers and the working class people that they were trying to help.

Video Lesson 9: The Progressive Presidents Textbook: Chapter 21

1. How did Theodore Roosevelt’s “Square Deal” lead to “trust busting” and to presidential intervention in the United Mine Workers strike of 1902?

2. Who were the muckrakers, and what influence did they have on Progressive reforms? What other examples of reform occurred during the Roosevelt administration?

3. Describe the “troubled” Taft administration. What issues divided the Republican party into Progressive and “Old Guard” factions? What role did the Ballinger-Pinchot scandal play in undermining confidence in Taft as a Progressive president?

4. Discuss the presidential election of 1912. What role did Theodore Roosevelt and the “Bull Moose” party play in this contest?

5. Progressivism reached its “high tide” during Woodrow Wilson’s administration.

Describe Wilson’s reforms, including the four Constitutional amendments ratified during his term in office (16^th, 17^th, 18^th, and 19^th).

6. What were the lasting results of the Progressive era? What were some of the limits on Progressive reform?

Test #1 10:00 – 12:00 Noon Saturday/February 14, 2004

Test #2 10:00 – 12:00 Noon Saturday/March 20, 2004

Time Period: Videotape lessons: Textbook chapters:

1900-1945 Tape 2 Chapters 21-25

Video Lesson 10: The Big Stick Textbook: Chapter 21

1. Describe and explain President Theodore Roosevelt's world view and the actions he took to implement his diplomacy.

2. Compare and contrast the major points of emphasis of American foreign policy under Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson. How different were the results of their policies?

3. How did the U. S. acquire the Panama Canal? How important was this to American policy in this region? How did Latin Americans react to acquisition of the Panama Canal by the United States?

4. Compare and contrast the causes and the consequences of "dollar diplomacy" and "big stick" diplomacy in the early 20^th century.

Video Lesson 11: The Great War Textbook: Chapter 22

1. What were the causes of World War I? What was the American response to that war before the United States entered it?

2. Explain why the United States entered World War I in 1917 and how the government prepared the nation to fight once that decision was made.

3. Describe American contribution to victory in the war “Over There”. What is “the American way of war”?

4. What were Woodrow Wilson’s “Fourteen Points”? What impact did they have on the peace process at the end of World War I

5. Why did the United States Senate reject the Treaty of Versailles? What was the opposition in the U.S. to joining the League of Nations?

Video Lesson 12: Transitions and Tensions - The 1920’s Textbook: Chapter 23

1. Characterize the decade of the 1920s. Why was this decade marked by clashes over social and cultural values?

2. What were the prevailing political and economic theories of the era?

3. What role did Henry Ford, Frederick Taylor, “scientific management”, and new types of consumerism play in the “business of America” during the 1920’s?

4. What major social changes took place in the 1920’s? Discuss women’s rights, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Scopes Monkey Trial.

5. What role did the Red Scare and the Sacco and Vanzetti case play in the decision to implement immigration restrictions in the U.S.? Why?

Video Lesson 13: Hard Times: The Depression Textbook: Chapter 23

1. Describe and explain the causes of the Great Crash and the Great Depression.

2. After the Great Crash, why did the economy continue to worsen?

3. What were the initial effects of the Depression on the American people? How did people cope with hard times?

4. What was President Herbert Hoover's response to the economic crisis facing the nation? What limited his response?

5. What was the Bonus Expeditionary Army, and how did Hoover deal with it?

Video Lesson 14: The New Deal Textbook: Chapter 24

1. Why did Franklin D. Roosevelt win the presidential election of 1932?

2. Describe the first New Deal, including an assessment of its banking/finance programs, its relief/conservation programs, and its agricultural initiatives.

3. What were some of the challenges to the New Deal? From whom did FDR draw criticism? What were the effects of those criticisms?

4. How did the second New Deal lead to the rise of the “welfare state”? What were the immediate and long-term effects of the Wagner Act and the Social Security Act?

6. How did FDR attempt to broaden the New Deal coalition before the election of 1936?

7. What was the court-packing controversy? Why did FDR try to “pack” the Supreme Court? Did he succeed? What were the results of this episode?

7. Evaluate the long-term significance of FDR and the New Deal in respect to American politics and to the relationship of the federal government with the people.

Video Lesson 15: The Road to War Textbook: Chapter 25

1. Why did American people want to withdraw from world affairs in the 1920s and 1930s? Why was it difficult to do so?

2. Describe and explain the main features of American foreign policy from the end of World War I to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

3. How did the leaders of the United States try to apply the lessons of World War I to the developments leading up to the outbreak of World War II? Why did these efforts fail to keep the United States out of the second war?

4. Why was the U. S. caught by surprise at Pearl Harbor? What were the immediate and long-term effects of the Pearl Harbor attack?

5. What was the process of wartime mobilization in the United States? What were its effects on the American economy?

6. What role did the U. S. play in the Allied strategy to win the war?

Video lesson 16: The Good War Textbook: Chapter 25

1. Discuss the Japanese defeat of US forces in the Philippines early in World War II, including a description of Japanese atrocities during the Bataan Death March.

2. How did the American victories at the Battles of Coral Sea and Midway combine to stop Japanese expansion into the southern and central Pacific?

3. Discuss the Germans’ attempts to use submarines to cut off the flow of supplies to Great Britain during the Battle of the Atlantic.

4. How did the desire to open a second front to relieve the German pressure on the Soviets lead to the Allied campaigns in North Africa and Italy?

5. Discuss the Normandy invasion. What steps did the Allies take to insure victory?

How did they eventually prevail? Why was “D-Day” the turning point of the war against Germany?

6. What was the significance of the Battle of the Bulge?

7. What was the significance of the Yalta agreements? Why were those arrangements controversial later?

8. Briefly discuss the island campaign from the Battle of Guadalcanal to the American return to the Philippines to the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. How did the fierce Japanese resistance – including the widespread use of kamikaze suicide bombers – contribute to America’s reluctance to risk the hazards of an invasion of Japan?

9. What other reasons prompted the United States to use atomic bombs against Japanese cities in August, 1945? What were the effects of these weapons?

10. What impact did World War II have on the American homefront? Discuss both the economic recovery from the Great Depression and the social changes brought on by the entry of large numbers of women and minorities into the industrial workforce.

Test #2 10:00 – 12:00 Noon Saturday/March 20, 2004

Test #3 10:00 – 12:00 Noon Saturday/April 24, 2004

Time Period: Videotape lessons: Textbook chapters:

1945-present Tape 3 Chapters 26 – 31

Video Lesson 17: The Cold War Begins Textbook: Chapter 26

1. Why did the wartime alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union break down so quickly after World War II? What were the origins of the Cold War?

2. Describe the development of the Containment Policy. What major assumptions did George Kennan make about the Soviet Union? How did the United States respond?

3. Analyze the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. How did they act to implement the Containment Policy? What were the successes and failures of these initiatives?

4. Outline the major events of the Korean Conflict. Why was it called a “limited war”? What was the US response to the intervention of Red China?

5. What impact did the existence of nuclear weapons have on the Cold War?

6. What led to the Red Scare of the 1950s? How did Sen. Joseph McCarthy take advantage of the fear generated by the Soviet theft of American atomic secrets? What were the major results of this episode?

Video Lesson 18: The Age of Conformity Textbook: Chapter 27

1. Describe and explain the reasons for the general economic prosperity after World War II.

2. Describe the “New Look” of the Eisenhower adminstration in foreign policy. What role did the development of nuclear weapons play in supporting this policy?

3. What was the purpose of the GI Bill after World War II? What were the effects of the GI Bill on American society?

4. Why did President Dwight Eisenhower and most Republicans accept the basic tenets of the New Deal?

5. What was the importance of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, and the Montgomery bus boycott?

Video Lesson 19: Toward The American Dream Textbook: Chapter 27-29

1. Contrast the style and the substance of the Kennedy administration during the early 1960’s. How did the disaster at the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis demonstrate the foreign policy weakness of the JFK adminstration?

2. What was the importance of the protest marches in Birmingham and Washington, D.C. in 1963?

3. Why did Malcolm X, the Black Muslims, and the Black Panther Party come to prominence in the mid-1960’s? Assess the success/failure of these movements.

4. Why did President Lyndon B. Johnson push forward on civil rights and poverty programs? What were some of the major programs associated with his “Great Society” initiative? How successful was the “Great Society”?

Video Lesson 20: Expanding the American Dream Textbook: Chapter 28-30

1. Explain why the African-American civil rights movement seemed to splinter in the mid-1960s and then to stall by the mid-1970s. What were the effects of the riots and violent protests? What is Julian Bond's opinion about violent protest in America?

2. What victories had been achieved in the area of civil rights by Mexican Americans prior to the 1960s? What was Cesar Chavez's role in the struggle to improve economic conditions for Mexican Americans? How did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 affect Mexican Americans?

3. Why did the women's rights movement emerge in the1960s? Why did the Equal Rights Amendment fail to win ratification? What changes did take place for women during this era?

4. Analyze the emergence and the effects of the social and cultural protest indicated by the student movement, counter-cultural trends, and the environmental and consumer movements.

5. Why did the civil rights movement stall by the mid-1970s?

Video Lesson 21: The Limits of Power – Vietnam Textbook: Chapter 29

1. Describe and explain the reasons for the involvement of the United States in Vietnam in the 1940s and 1950s.

2. How did the “Domino Theory” lead to U.S. involvment in Vietnam?

3. What role did the Tonkin Gulf Incident play in leading to the escalation of the U.S. military presence in Vietnam in the mid-1960s?

4. Assess the nature of the war in Vietnam. What difficulties hindered the Americans as they attempted to win the war?

5. Why was the Tet Offensive the turning point of the Vietnam War? How did the American military victory on the battlefields of South Vietnam turn into a political defeat in the living rooms of the United States?

6. How did the war protest movement and media coverage of the Vietnam War affect political leaders and the outcome of the war?

7. What were the major results of the anti-war protests that disrupted the Democrat Party convention in 1968?

8. Discuss Nixon’s policy of Vietnamization. Why did he feel that it was necessary to wage a “secret war” in Cambodia in order to force the North Vietnamese to negotiate in good faith?

9. How did the Vietnam War affect American attitudes toward foreign intervention? What did the United States learn from its experience in Vietnam?

Video Lesson 22: The Limits of Politics Textbook: Chapter 30

1. Analyze Richard Nixon's election victory in 1968, his administrative style, and the domestic policies of the Nixon administration. How had Richard Nixon's background and personality shaped his view of the presidency?

2. Discuss the importance of the oil crisis caused by the OPEC oil embargo in 1973. What steps did the U.S. take to defuse and/or weather the crisis?

3. Discuss the Watergate Scandal, including both the 1972 burglary and the 1974 attempted cover-up. How did Nixon attempt to use “executive privilege” conceal his actions and impede the official investigation? Why did he eventually resign?

4. How did Gerald Ford attempt to heal the wounds caused by the Watergate Scandal? Was he successful? Why/why not?

Video Lesson 23: The Conservative Resurgence Textbook: Chapter 30- 31

This video lesson examines the reasons for the growing conservative trend in American politics during the late 1970s and 1980s and assesses initial results of that trend.

1. Describe and explain the major economic trends of the era.

2. What were Jimmy Carter's strengths as a presidential candidate in 1976? Explain the electoral success of Jimmy Carter in 1976 as well as the domestic record of his administration. What were his weaknesses as a president?

3. How did idealism and human rights shape Carter’s foreign policy? What were his responses to serious provocations such as the Iran Hostage Crisis and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan?

4. What explains Ronald Reagan's appeal as a presidential candidate in 1980? Why was there a conservative resurgence in 1980?

Video Lesson 24: An Era of Excess Textbook: Chapter 31

1. How did Reagan plan to revive the American economy after the “stagflation” of the 1970’s? What was the relationship between tax rate reductions, spending cuts, and economic growth in his policies?

2. Describe Reagan’s foreign policy. How did he describe the Soviet Union? What initiatives did he propose to counter Soviet expansionism, the threat of nuclear war, and the threat of terrorism?

Video Lesson 25: The Cold War Ends Textbook: Chapter 30 - 31

1. Evaluate the successes and failures of President Jimmy Carter's foreign policy.

2. Why did President Reagan change the emphasis of American foreign policy? What were the results of this shift in emphasis?

3. How did the Reagan arms buildup lead to the disintegration of the Soviet Union?

4. What was the American response to the Persian Gulf Crisis of 1990-91? Why did the American public respond so favorably to Operation Desert Storm?

Test #3 10:00 – 12:00 Noon Saturday/April 24, 2004

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Course Outline

History 2020 – College at Home

Chapter 16: p.428-437 Chapter 20: p.524-528

Test #3 10:00 – 12:00 Noon Saturday/April 24, 2004

Reminder