2012 Midterm AND Final Review
2012 Midterm Essays
Midterm 2012 Free Response Questions – Prepare these questions – you can bring this sheet to the exam.
1. Early encounters between American Indians and European colonists led to a variety of relationships among the different cultures. Analyze how the actions of BOTH American Indians and European colonists shaped those relationship in TWO of the following regions. Confine your answer to the 1600s.
a) New England b) Chesapeake c)New York and New France d) Spanish Southwest
2. Compare the ways in which TWO of the following reflected tensions in Colonial Society.
a) King Philip’s War (1676) b) Bacon’s Rebellion (1676) c) Salem Witch Trials (1692) d) Stono Rebellion (1739)
3. Analyze the ways in which British imperial policies between 1763 and 1776 intensified colonials’ resistance to British rule and their commitment to republican values.
4. Analyze the extent to which the American Revolution represented a radical alteration in American political ideas and institutions. Confine your answer to the period 1775-1800.
5. To what extent and in what ways did the roles of women change in American society between 1790-1860? Respond with reference to TWO of the following areas.
a) Domestic b) Economic c) Political d) Social
6. Compare and contrast the federal government’s and labor union’s roles in improving conditions for workers in the following time periods: 1880 – 1920, 1933 – 1941.
7. How were the lives of the Plains Indians in the second half of the 19th century affected by technological development and government actions?
8. Analyze the roles that women played in Progressive Era reforms from the 1880s through 1920. Focus your essay on TWO of the following: Politics, social conditions, labor and working conditions
9. 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?
10. Describe the patterns of immigration in TWO of the periods listed below. Compare and contrast the responses of Americans to immigrants in these periods. 1820-1860; 1880-1924; 1965-2000.
THESIS
1. addresses the question
2. states a position
3. tells what categories of evidence you will use
4. addresses the complexity of the question
EVIDENCE paragraphs (3):
1. Topic sentence related to thesis
2. 3 pieces of evidence and interpretive commentary
3. Clincher sentence tied to thesis.
CONCLUSION: tells the significance of your evidence in relationship to your thesis and to U.S. History
Organizing Principles for United States History
Midterm Exam Review – Use statements that have an * for Midterms.
Below you will find thesis statements about U.S. History. You will
• Write the statement on the top of a page
- explain what the statement means and why it is an important statement to make.
• find 3 good examples to support the statement and outline them
• explain how each example relates to the statement
• explain “to what extent” the thesis statement is valid
There are more than three examples that could support this information. You should choose the best three and justify your decision.
US HISTORY ESSENTIAL STATEMENTS
Period 1 1491-1607 5%
*1. Contact among the peoples of Europe, the Americas and West Africa created a new world between 1491 and 1607 on the North American continent which was controlled by American Indians
1a. Before Europeans arrived, native populations in North America developed a wide variety of social, political and economic structures based on their interactions with the environment and each other.
1b. When Europeans settled, a series of interactions and adaptations between societies known as the Columbian Exchange changed Indians, Europeans and African.
Period 2 1607-1754 10%
*2. Europeans and American Indians negotiated and fought for dominance, control and security in North America, and both colonial and native societies changed through these interactions.
2a. Europeans developed diverse patterns of colonization because of differences in imperial goals, cultures and the varied North American environments that different empires confronted.
2b. Increased European colonization in North America stimulated intercultural contact and intensified conflict between the various groups of colonizers, Africans, and native peoples.
2c. Cultural exchanges within the “Atlantic World” including political, economic and social – had a profound impact on the development of colonial societies in North America.
Period 3 1754-1800 12%
*3. British imperial attempts to reassert control over its colonies and the colonial reactions produced a new American republic, that struggled to define the new nation’s social, political and economic identity.
3a. Britain’s victory over France in the North American imperial struggle led to new conflicts among the British government, the North American colonists and American Indians, culminating in the creation of a new nation, the United States.
3b. Traditional imperial systems across the Atlantic World changed in the late 18th century with experiments with democratic ideas and republican forms of government, as well as new religious, economic and cultural ideas.
3c. The US national identity was contested and shaped by migration within North America, cooperative interaction and competition for resources, questions about boundaries and policies, conflicts among peoples and nations.
*Period 4 1800-1848 10%
4. The federal and state governments struggled to define and extend democratic ideals in the face of rapid economic, territorial and demographic changes.
4a. The United States, in its federal, state and local governments, developed the world’s first modern mass democracy and celebrated a new national culture, while Americans sought to define the nation’s democratic ideals and to reform its institutions to match those ideals.
4b. US settlement patterns, regional identities, gender and family relations, political power, and distribution of consumer goods changed with developments in technology, agriculture and commerce.
4c. US industrialists’ interest in increasing foreign trade, the government;s intereste in expanding its national borders and isolating itself from European conflicts shaped the nation’s foreign policy and spurred government and private initiatives.
PERIOD 5 1844-1877 13%
5.As the government acquired land and its population grew and migrated, regional tensions, especially over slavery, led to a civil war — the course and aftermath of which transformed American society.
5a. The US government and economy became more connected with the world as it pursued an expansionist foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere and emerged as the destination for many migrants from other countries.
5b. Debates over slavery and other economic, cultural and political issues, intensified by expansion and deepening regional divisions, led the nation into civil war.
5c. The Union victory in the Civil War and the contested Reconstruction of the South settled the issues of slavery and secession, but left unresolved many questions about federal government power and citizenship rights.
*PERIOD 6 1865-1898 13%
The transformation of the US from an agricultural economy to an increasingly industrialized and urbanized society brought about significant economic, political, diplomatic, social, environmental and cultural changes.
6a. With the rise of big business, many immigrants and Americans moved to cities and factories; this change sparked government and popular efforts to reshape the US economy and environment, and renewed debates over what defined “American.”
6b. The emerging industrial culture in the US led to tensions between opportunities and exploitation of immigrants, African Americans, minorities and women.
6c. Cultural and intellectual movements grew out of the “Gilded Age” who commented through political debates over economic and social policies.
*PERIOD 7 1890-1945 17%
Demographic shifts producing an increasingly pluralistic nation led to a multi-faceted approach to profound domestic and global challenges, and debates about the proper degree of government activism, and US involvement in the world.
7a. Government, political and social organizations struggled to address the effects of large-scale industrialization, economic uncertainty, and related social changes such as urbanization and mass migration.
7b. Cultural conflict between groups increased under the pressure of migration, world wars and economic distress. while a revolution in communications and transportation technology helped to create a new mass culture and spread “modern” values and ideas which united people across groups.
7c. The US became a dominant international military, political, cultural, and economic force while global conflicts over resources, territories and ideologies renewed debates over the nation’s values and its role in the world.
PERIOD 8 1945-1980 15%
The prosperity of the post World War II period and unfamiliar international responsibilities, caused its citizens and government to question whether the US was living up to its ideals.
8a. There were far-reaching domestic and global consequences to the US government’s response to an uncertain and unstable postwar world in which the government asserted and attempted to defend a position of global leadership.
8b Liberalism, with its anticommunist stance abroad and a firm belief in the efficacy of governmental and especially federal power to achieve social goals at home, reached its peak in the mid-1960s and generated a variety of political and cultural responses.
8c. In the postwar world, American society, politics, and the environment were affected by economic, demographic and technological changes.
PERIOD 9 1980-present 5%
American politics experienced renewed ideological and cultural debates, and redefined its foreign policy, while its citizens adapted to economic globalization and revolutionary changes in science and technology.
9a. Conservatism grew to prominence in U.S. culture and politics, defending traditional social values and rejecting liberal views about the role of government as a public good.
9b. The nation redefined its foreign policy and global role at the end of the Cold War forced by new challenges to US leadership in the world.
9c. Social, economic and demographic changes continued to challenge both individuals and government.
ORGANIZING PRINCIPLES
1. Between 1607 and 1763, the British North American colonies developed experience in, and the expectation of self-government in the political, religious, economic, and social aspects of life. 1/3, 4/26
2. Between 1763 and 1776, British attempts to exert control over the colonies led to violent, organized, successful resistance. 1/4, 4/26
3. The Articles of Confederation provided a reasonable and workable transition from the unitary system of British rule to the federal system established under the Constitution. 1/5, 4/27
4. Between 1789 and 1820, conflict between state power and national power led to a more democratic society. 1/6, 4/27
5. During the “Reign of Jackson,” politics became more democratic, the power of the presidency increased, America became more optimistic and expansionistic, and sectionalism supplanted nationalism. 1/7, 4/28
6. The Gilded Age fostered the consolidation of business and government, while it disadvantaged economic and social classes. 1/8, 4/28
7. The lives of Indians between 1865 and 1940 were affected negatively by government policies. 1/9, 4/29
8. The ideas of “republican motherhood” and the “cult of domesticity” and the concept of equality all influenced the lives of women from 1776 to 1800, 1830 to 60, 1890 to 1920 and the 1960s. 1/10, 4/29
9. The Progressive movement partially succeeded in improving life for average Americans by curbing big business, making the government more responsive to the will of the people, and enacting social welfare legislation. 1/11, 4/30
10. The Great Depression and New Deal led to the expectation of government intervention to maintain the economic stability of the nation. 1/12. 4/30
11. Between World War II and 1968, the New Deal philosophy that the government was a legitimate agent of social welfare became firmly embedded in the American mind. 1/13, 5/1
12. Economic, political and cultural factors influenced Congress to pass the Immigration Acts of 1924, 1965 and 1986. 1/14 5/1
FOR THE FINAL AP EXAM, I ADD 8 MORE STATEMENTS. PLEASE COMPLETE THE SAME ASSIGNMENT.
13. From 1890 to 1918, the United States became increasingly active and aggressive in world affairs. 5/2
14. Disillusionment with the idealism of World War I led Americans to fear change and difference and to retreat into a superficial shell of self-satisfaction. 5/2
15. The Cold War led the United States to an internationalist foreign policy based on confrontation and negotiation between 1945 and 1970. 5/3
16. Disillusionment with the increasingly violent protest of the 1960s led to the entrenchment of conservative ideology between 1968 and 1992. 5/3
17. Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, America’s foreign policy groped for ways to promote world peace with minimal U.S. involvement. 5/4
18. Technological developments between 1920 and 1970 radically altered the economic, social, and moral fiber of the nation. 5/4
19. Between 1920 and 1970, consumer culture united Americans and helped define the American Dream. 5/5
20. World War II spurred the call for equality for African Americans and women that resulted in the Civil Rights and Feminist movements. 5/5
