History 151
Spring 2004
MIDTERM REVIEW
The midterm for this class will be given in class on Monday March 8th.
The midterm will consist of short answer and identification questions as well as an essay question.
Possible Essay Questions
As 60% of the midterm, you will be asked to write an essay responding to one of the questions listed below. In your answer, you should remember to include and explain evidence from the course reading, lecture, and films to support your argument. Good historical arguments support their clams by referring to specific events placed in their historical context. This is your chance to demonstrate that you understand course materials and themes.
(1) When Woodrow Wilson entered the Great War, he claimed that he sought to "Make the World Safe for Democracy." Yet, in the United States, the political participation of women and minorities were not settled issues. To what degree and for whom had democracy changed in the United States since the end of the Civil War? In your essay, you may wish to consider issues such as the impact of reconstruction, legalized segregation, suffrage, and the Sedition Act.
(2) In Looking Backward, Edward Bellamy's protagonist asks, "what solution, if any, have you found for the labor question? It was the Sphinx's riddle of the nineteenth century, and when I dropped out the Sphinx was threatening to devour society, because the answer was not forthcoming."[1] In The Souls of Black Folk, W. E. B. DuBois argues that "the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line." How do Bellamy and DuBois support their claims? Why were labor and race such important issues during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?
(3) In his famous "Cross of Gold" speech, Populist and Democrat candidate William Jennings Bryan declared, "the great cities rest upon our broad and fertile prairies. Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic; but destroy our farms and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country."[2] Explain Bryan's perspective and context. How do you think an urban reformer, such as Jane Addams, might respond to Bryan? In your answer, you may want to consider some of the types of reforms proposed by the Populist and Progressive movements.
(4) How do workers respond to changes in industrial capitalism in the late nineteenth century? Did the narrative of success, as exemplified in Andrew Carnegie's essay "Wealth" or in Horatio Alger's novels, play a role in the development of worker's attitudes? Did the rise of Labor Unions provide an alternative to the narrative of success offered by Alger and others? In your answer, provide specific examples of industrialization and worker response to support your claims. You may want to consider the impact of immigration, different forms of unionization, federal subsidies for railroads, and federal anti-trust legislation.
(5) The title of this course is, "The Development of American Civilization Since 1876,." This title suggests one view of American history, which implies a progression or trajectory toward an ideal of "civilization." The title of our book, Out of Many, suggests a view of American history, which recognizes multiple cultures and perspectives. These two views of American history can generate conflicting narratives of the history of Native Americans in the nineteenth century. Can Native American policies in the nineteenth century be understood as an effort to "civilize" Native Americans? Explain your answer. What were the effects of US Native American policies on Native Americans from 1870 to 1920? Does this suggest a different perspective on Native American history?
(6) In A Century of Dishonor, Helen Hunt Jackson proposes a relationship between land and citizenship that she believes is important for Native Americans. How has the allocation of land promoted or hindered the economic and political opportunities of different groups in the United States during the late nineteenth century? In your answer, you may want to consider the impact of Reconstruction, the Dawes Act, the Morrill Land Grant Act, and the Homestead Act.
(7) What role did gender and race play in American Imperialism and later Progressive Reforms? Give specific examples of each. You may want to consider Social Darwinist ideas of race and competition, on the one hand, and the representation of some Progressive reforms as "Municipal Housekeeping," on the other.