LA 1032: U.S. since 1877

Chs. 18-24

Format:

20 multiple choice questions
5 short identifications
1 essay

Identifications: Briefly identify the term and explain its significance in 2-3 sentences. All the terms will come from the list of key terms below.

Sample ID:

Compromise of 1877: Political compromise that allowed Rutherford B. Hayes to win the presidential election. This was significant because Hayes was forced to accept several key concessions, including ending Reconstruction.

Essay: 2 of the following essays will appear on the exam. You will pick one of them. There is no minimum/maximum length for the essay. Instead, I will assess your response by how well you answer the question. You should find pertinent information to support the point that you are arguing. Finally, essays should have an introduction that states your argument, a body, and then a conclusion.

1. In John Gast’s picture “American Progress”, he created a scene of overall progress. Does this adequately describe American history in the period that we covered? Does it apply equally to all groups in American society? Why/why not?

2. The West was often described as a land of opportunity for many Americans after the civil war. How accurate was this statement? What kind of conditions did many Americans encounter there and how did this lifestyle affect them?

3. What were the major factors that pushed the U.S. to become an imperialistic power at the end of the nineteenth century? What implications did the acquisition of an empire have for the nation as a whole?

4. What changes did Progressivism bring to the nation? How different was life in America in the mid 1910s compared to the 1890s?

Key terms:

Reconstruction
Radical Republicans
Sharecropping
Freedmen’s Bureau
Andrew Johnson
13th, 14th, and 15th amendments
Ku Klux Klan
Compromise of 1877
Black codes
New South
Jim Crow laws