Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, here it is!
In order to pass to must use evidence from the assigned textbook chapters, electronic readings, and lectures for each response; cite using CMS (thus you need to attach a ‘Bibliography' page); and, respond fully and completely to three questions in at least 9 double-spaced pages total (3 pages per response). Do NOT use unassigned sources. Do NOT use Wikipedia or any other pretend knowledge site. This is not a research paper. Rather this is a test to see how closely and carefully you listened to the lectures and read the textbook and electronic readings.
Select one (1) from each letter group:
A. The Gilded Age
1. Examine the pro and con of the "Robber Barons."
2. Examine the US government's effort to "deal" with the Indians from 1877 through 1900 to include warfare, treaties, and the Reservation system.
3. Examine how Americas connected their ideas of "liberty" with the West.
4. Why do historians call this period the "Gilded Age"? Is it an accurate description?
B. Rise of Modern America
5. Examine the relationship between business interests and the federal government. What accounts for the close relations?
6. Examine the rise of "modern America". What changes took place and what accounted for those changes?
7. What were Americans' ideas on liberty during the Gilded Age?
8. Examine US foreign policy during the Progressive Era. Was the US an imperial power?
C. The Progressive Era
9. How did roles for women change during the Progressive era?
10. How did American ideas on liberty change during the Progressive era?
11. How did the Great War effect American liberty?
12. Examine African Americans and the Great War.
13. What was "new" about the "New Negro"?
Optional Exam: Select one (1) of the following and answer in at least 9 double spaced pages (same rules as above) instead of answering the questions from the above list.
1. You are an African American undergrad at Howard University. The year is 1928. In your American history class you are assigned to write a paper on the highs and lows of African American history in the US from 1877 to 1928. Be sure to successfully argue why each high and low was a high and low. This is an analytic paper not a mere linear narrative.
2. You are the first women in your family to vote. Your mother wants to know who you voted for in the 1924 presidential election. Your little sister wants to know which political party to support when she becomes 21 and can vote. Write a letter to the women in your family explaining who you voted for and why and explain which political party since 1877 has best supported women's rights. Be specific!
3. It has been ten years since the end of the Great War, you are a veteran of World War I and are an avid military history buff. Write a brief history of the major wars (Indian Wars, Spanish-American War, Great War) to include one major turning point as well as the historical significance of each war. Explain do not merely narrate.
4. Using your race, ethnicity, and gender write a paper explaining your liberties if you lived in the US between 1877 and 1928.