Panics and Depressions in US history

Chapter 14 covers a huge section of American history from an economic point of view. However unwise this may be from a learning standpoint, I nonetheless need you to understand the cycles of economic development in our nation’s history. So please go to http://www.thehistorybox.com/ny_city/panics/panics_article1a.htm and read the article.Please take notes or make a chart to have this info in a handy spot in your notebooks, and also bookmark this site for AP review time in April and May.

Chapter 41 questions

See? This isn’t so bad! THESE ARE DUE the first class period next week!!!

Yeah, I DO want you doing 11 – 13.

1. What did Clinton mean when he identified himself as a “New Democrat?” What groups of voters and supporters did he specifically court? How did he anger liberals in his own party? What major economic advantage did he have throughout his presidency?
2. What blunders did Clinton make early in his presidency? How was his wife involved?
3. Who were the Branch Davidians, and what made them newsworthy? What happened at Columbine and Ruby Ridge? (You may need to research outside the book to complete this.)
4. Name and describe the leader of the House Republicans in 1994. What tactics did he use to bring Republicans to power in the House? How did they create a backlash that benefited Clinton by 1996’s elections?
5. In what areas did Clinton struggle in foreign policy, specifically? What issues involved NATO during his presidency? How had NATO changed in the 1990s from its original membership and purpose? In which conflicts did he focus peace efforts worldwide?
6. On what charges was Clinton impeached? What was the original cause of the investigation of Clinton? Were these two things related?
7. How did the Clinton administration actually seem to be a continuation of the Reagan-Bush era, and why?
8. What was the controversy regarding the election of George W. Bush in 2000? How was it resolved?
9. Why did we invade Afghanistan? Who were the Taliban?
10. Why did we invade Iraq? What impact did the invasion of Iraq have on completing the mission in Afghanistan?

Now, especially given the events of the last few days and months, I want you to research online the following topics and write a 50 WORD summary of each. In each of these, please explain their connection to events in the last several months as well as their history.

11. In order to understand the information about the alleged Boston Marathon bombers, look up the Russian conflict in Chechnya. Here is a good place to start: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3293441.stm
12. During the Clinton administration there were two policies/laws passed about social issues that are very important. So please provide an overview of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy.
13. What was the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999? What did it do, and what is its relationship to the New Deal? What effects did the quiet repeal of this bill have?

Ch 40 questions

Due Monday, April 21.

Chapter 40 questions

1. What factors weakened Jimmy Carter in the election of 1980? What opposition did he face within his own party? In what areas did Carter eventually receive admiration after he left office?
2. What groups and causes made up the New Right Movement? How was this different from the Old Right? What are the main beliefs of neoconservatives (neocons)?
3. Contrast Ronald Reagan’s political beliefs with that of FDR, and explain why Reagan moved from his early support of the New Deal? What previous experience had Reagan had as a leader?
4. What were the main battles in the war over taxes in the late 1970s and 1980s? How did this influence Reagan’s two main domestic goals as president?
5. What foreign leader was Reagan’s most similar ally, and what characteristics did they share?
6. What is a “blue dog?”
7. What did supply-side theorists believe would be the specific results of Regan’s economic actions? What were the short-term (by 1982) and long-term effects of these policies?
8. What happened to the value of the dollar during the 1980s, and what impact did that have?
9. What first happened in the election of 1984? How many states did Reagan win in the electoral college vote?
10. What was “the focus of evil in the modern world?” Explain “glasnost” and perestroika.” How did Reagan’s stance toward this country specifically change during his second term?
11. What were the main components of the Iran-Contra scandal? What was revealed about Reagan’s management style by the investigation of this affair?
12. What happened to the federal deficit during the 1980s, and why? What specific impacts did this have?
13. What court decisions dealt with abortion and contraceptive care during the Reagan administration? What impact did each case have on the availability of abortion?
14. What types of industries had to receive government bailouts during the 1980s?
15. How did events in Poland help hasten the end of the USSR? What tensions flared up within former Communist republics in the late 1980s and early 1990s?
16. In what ways did the tactics and ideas of the 1960s New Left influence the 1980s New Right?
17. What do Michael Dukakis, Gary Hart, and Jesse Jackson all have in common?
18. How did President Bush (41) describe the hoped-for New World Order that he envisioned after the fall of the majority of the communist bloc?
19. How and why did the US get involved in a gulf war in 1991? What were the results of this war?
20. Why was the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court such a controversial issue? What eventually happened?

Chapter 38 questions- due Monday April 1

Chapter 38 Questions

1. How and why did Robert Kennedy clash with J. Edgar Hoover? What does this indicate about each man’s priorities for the FBI and the Justice Department?
2. What was different about Kennedy’s advisors, compared to previous presidents?
3. How did Kennedy try to stimulate the economy when he first took office? Why did he clash with business leaders? What step was taken in regard to tariffs?
4. Why was Kennedy unable to make more progress on social reform and civil rights legislation? What were the main points of the “New Frontier?”
5. Why did Kennedy state the goal of a manned mission to the moon?
6. Describe the basic characteristics of the doctrine of flexible response. What were the advantages and disadvantages of such a policy? What was the impetus for the suggestion of a policy of “peaceful coexistence?”
7. What happened to the American military presence in Vietnam during Kennedy’s administration, and why? Bullet point the main events and their significance.
8. Why and how did Kennedy reach out to Latin America? How successful was this policy? How was this related to what was going on in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Cuba?
9. What happened at the Bay of Pigs, and how was this related to the Cuban Missile Crisis? What response did Kennedy have in each instance?
10. How did Kennedy first attempt to deal with the civil rights movement? What role did Bobby Kennedy play in the administration’s response to crises over civil rights? What was the early relationship with Dr. King like?
11. How was the point of the Voter Education Project? How did events in Birmingham affect public opinion at home and abroad about the movement? How did this lead to the March on Washington? What was the point of this march and w was this event notable?
12. How and why was JFK assassinated? What then happened to cause continued theories about the assassination itself?
13. What was Lyndon Johnson’s background that indicated he might be better suited to persuade Congress to cooperate than Kennedy?
14. What were the main pieces of civil rights legislation passed under LBJ and their purposes? What was unusual about Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964? What constitutional amendment was passed on this issue?
15. How did the events in the Gulf of Tonkin change the American approach to the war in Vietnam? Why and when did the US adopt a strategy of large –scale aerial bombing in Vietnam, and what effect did this have?
16. What factors led voters to support LBJ in the presidential election of 1964? Who was the Republican nominee, and what policies did he propose?
17. What were the main components of the War on Poverty? What eventually were the main successes of the Great Society plan? What other policy prevented LBJ from truly being able to accomplish more of his goals?
18. What were the main educational and cultural agencies or programs created under LBJ, and what did they do? How did Johnson gain support for federal educational aid?
19. How did passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 change the goals of the civil rights movement? How did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 change politicians’ approach to voters?
20. How did immigration policy change under LBJ?
21. What was the focus of the Black Power movement? What differences existed between leaders in this movement and the old-school civil rights leadership?
22. Why did rioting break out in Watts in 1965? What was the difference in the goals, leaders, and methods used in the civil rights movement after the mid-1960s?
23. What was the center of congressional opposition to LBJ’s Vietnam policy?Why was the Tet Offensive a turning point both in Vietnam and in terms of public opinion of the war?
24. How did LBJ react to political opposition to his Vietnam policy both in Congress and among the American people?
25. What persuaded John to abandon his possible campaign for the presidency in 1968? What happened to Democratic attempts to nominate an anti-war candidate for president?
26. What happened at the 1968 Democratic national convention?
27. Who was assassinated in 1968? Where were there uprisings in 1968, and what were the causes?
28. What was George Wallace’s party affiliation and platform when he ran for president in 1968? What eventually happened to him?
29. Who was the Republican nominee for president in 1968? What was his platform, and what qualifications did he bring to the race?
30. Why did Americans become skeptical about authority and “the establishment” in the late 1960s? What did your book mean by “the three P’s” that explain cultural upheaval?

Chapter 39 Questions

Due Monday, April 8. THREE Presidents!!!

Chapter 39 Questions

1. Why did the postwar economic boom end in the 1970s? What impact did this have on government social program spending (and deficits) under both Johnson and Nixon? What did Nixon do to attempt to slow inflation?
2. What was the Nixon Doctrine, and what was its relationship with his stated plan of “Vietnamization?” Explain “Vietnamization” in your answer.
3. What was Nixon’s biggest asset as president? What were some of his biggest flaws?
4. What were the 4-5 major components of Nixon’s Vietnam policy (include secret actions)? What role did Henry Kissinger play?
5. What did many of the troops sent to Vietnam have in common, in terms of economic and social status?
6. In general and specifically, what were the effects of the 1970 decision to invade Cambodia? What military justification was there for the invasion?
7. What were some legal changes that happened as a result of the Vietnam War?
8. What were the Pentagon Papers and why were they such a sensation? What did they reveal?
9. What was “détente?” What was its purpose? What specific events demonstrated that the Nixon administration still maintain a strong policy of anticommunism during this period?
10. What were the particulars of the Griswold v. Connecticut decision? What “right” was loosely constructed from this decision? How was this right later expanded in the Roe v. Wade decision? What decision did the Warren Court make regarding the exercise of religion?
11. Explain the court decisions in this chapter that expanded defendants’ rights. What criticism did these decisions receive, specifically? How was Earl Warren’s court generally perceived?
12. What legislation did Nixon pass regarding social security? Explain the effect it actually had. What program did he enact to expand the pool of beneficiaries? What is the purpose of OSHA?
13. What is “affirmative action?” Describe the Philadelphia Plan. How did Nixon’s programs in this area contrast to those of Johnson’s?
14. Describe and name the environmental protection actions undertaken by the Nixon administration. Why did some businessmen oppose some of these programs?
15. How did Nixon actually expand the role of government in everyday lives?
16. In the election of 1972, what was Nixon’s “southern strategy?” What long-term consequences did this have? Who was Nixon’s opponent, and what kinds of people formed his base of support? Whom did he alienate within the Democratic party, and why?
17. Explain the context surrounding the end of American fighting in Vietnam in early 1973. What surprising development about the Vietnam area became public knowledge, and how did Nixon and Congress struggle over this specific issue? What impact did US policy have on Cambodia? What was the War Powers Act, and what did it repeal?
18. What were the major events that happened in the Middle East in 1973? How did these events impact the US?
19. What were the effects of the Watergate scandal? What illegal activities took place? How did Nixon try to hinder investigation of this matter, and how did he legally attempt to justify this?
20. What were the main foreign relations of Gerald Ford’s brief presidency? How did the Vietnam War officially end?
21. What one social movement actually remained active during the 1970s? Explain the major law that was passed to help this group receive equal treatment. What was the constitutional amendment that failed regarding this group, and why did it fail? Compare the motivations of the first and second waves of this movement.
22. Explain the court decisions that were made regarding school desegregation and college admissions.
23. Why was there a struggle over the Republican nomination for president in 1976? What had Ford done to encourage a challenge even though he was a sitting president? Who was the Democratic nominee? Why did he win?
24. What was the guiding principle of Carter’s foreign policy? What was his most enduring foreign policy achievement? Describe his biggest foreign policy challenge.
25. What did Carter believe to be the biggest economic challenge facing the US? What was happening to inflation? How did Carter respond, compared to Nixon and Ford (W.I.N.)?
26. What were some signs that the Cold War was thawing in the early 1970s? What happened to Cold War tensions under Carter, and why? What happened on efforts to limit nuclear weapons programs?

Short writing assignment due Friday

Providing specific details and analysis to support your answer, write a 250-300 word response to this prompt:

 

It is often remarked that the 1950s were a time of conformity. Yo what extent is this true? Consider evidence that both supports and opposes this position.

Evaluate the tension between the pressures for conformity/consensus and the pressures for dissent/individuality during the decade of the 1950s.

I would suggest a 3-4 paragraph format– one paragraph for forces of conformity, one for forces of dissent, and one paragraph evaluating the predominance of each.

2 small things to do for tomorrow’s class….

1. Make a T-chart to compare Truman and Eisenhower. The part I want you to do is their backgrounds.
So, include where they were from, their educational backgrounds, and their careers (hint: consider their military experience!) before they were elected president. Leave space to add on to this in class.

2. Write a brief answer to this question, with your reasons supporting your answer: Should the rights accorded to citizens (or, specifically, sub-groups of citizens) be subject to a vote?

Be brief, but be precise, in both of these things.

37 questions

Due Monday, March 31.

1. Name four specific general trends that reflected how the workplace and labor changed during the 1950s. Make sure you include women.
2. What is mass media, and how did its development in the 50s impact religion and culture in general? What criticisms were leveled at the culture by people like Riesman and Whyte?
3. Who were the Republican nominees for president and vice president in 1952? What controversies were attached to these candidates, and what was their platform? How did television impact politics?
4. Describe the strange career of Senator Joseph McCarthy in detail. How did he impact American culture and politics? How did Eisenhower feel about him, and what actions did Eisenhower take in response to McCarthy?
5. What was the specific impetus for African American agitation for their rights? What happened to early proponents such as Paul Robeson when they criticized Jim Crow laws?
6. What legal arguments were made regarding segregation up to the 1950s? What sociological arguments were made regarding the treatment of blacks in America?
7. What was the reasoning behind ending legal segregation in 1954? How was the NAACP involved? What is SNCC, and what tactics did they use?
8. How and why did protests break out in Montgomery, Alabama, at approximately the same time? How was the NAACP involved?
9. How did President Eisenhower initially respond to desegregation, and why? What eventually made him change his mind to intervene, and why?
10. What, specifically, was “dynamic conservatism?”
11. What social spending and public works programs did he promote, and why? What New Deal type programs did he criticize, and why?
12. How did Eisenhower try to impact military spending? Describe his specific program and explain how it would work?
13. How, when, and why did the US get involved in Vietnam? Explain the main characters’ roles.
14. What happened at Geneva in 1955?
15.Why DIDN’T the US get involved in the Hungarian Revolution, and what happened due to this inaction?
16. Contrast the US response in Vietnam with the response in Hungary. What role did John Foster Dulles play in both of these crises?
17. What escalated tension in the Middle East between the US and USSR, especially in Iran and Egypt? What role did the CIA play?
18. What was the formal doctrine developed for US containment policy in this region—name it and describe its main features.
19. What technological crisis developed in October, 1957? How did this end up impacting educational policy in the US? What government agencies were developed after this crisis?
20. Why, specifically, did relations with Latin America degenerate? List all the reasons.
21. How did aerial espionage efforts embarrass the US in 1960?
22. What factors contributed to the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960?
23. In what ways was post-World War II literature in the 1950s comparable to the post World War I literature? Name the main writers and their main works.
24. How did post-war affluence impact art and literature, especially music? How was sexual expression a vital part of music and advertisement (Elvis and Marilyn in particular)?
25. What were the main beliefs of the new “cult of domesticity?” How did Betty Friedan and other women fell about these beliefs?
26. Were the 1950s truly a time of “conformity?” Explain.

Chapter 36 questions

Due Monday, March 17.

Chapter 36 questions
1. What had happened to the power of unions during the war, and how did Congress attempt to address this? What did Americans fear might happen economically as the war ended?
2. What was the motivation and purpose of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act? What was its other name? What specifically did it provide? What long term impact did it have? Explain whether it was good for America or not and why.
3. What specific steps did the Truman administration take to prevent an economic downturn? Explain the impact of each.
4. Which groups benefited most during the boom years of the 1950s (and 1960s)? What became the common economic aspirations of Americans during this time? What regions grew the most and which ones declined?
5. What were the SPECIFIC effects of the post war boom on family life? Make sure you are thorough. How did it affect child-rearing, mobility, etc. ? When did the baby boom peak?
6. What factors encouraged the growth of the suburbs, and what effect did this then have on urban areas? How did federal programs exacerbate this trend? What effect did this have on the poor and minority groups?
7. What was Harry Truman’s educational and employment background before becoming president? What personal traits made him a great president?
8. What were the reasons why the US wanted the USSR to get involved in the war against Japan by early 1945? Where, why and when did that change?
9. What were the main reasons for the deteriorating relationship between the US and the USSR at the end of the war and immediately thereafter? What decisions were made at the Yalta Conferences, and how do they indicate a failing relationship? What similarities did our two countries share, ideologically speaking?
10. How was the United Nations supposed to be better than the League of Nations? Explain and name its first successes. What was its first serious failure?
11. Why was Berlin a particular source of trouble among the Allies? What events in 1948 made this situation more tense?
12. Describe the early Cold War policy suggested by George F. Kennan. What assumptions was this based upon regarding the USSR? How, where, and why did the US first implement specific programs under this policy?
13. Describe the Marshall Plan. What was the reasoning used to justify this huge expense? What impact did it have? Why did Eastern Europe not participate?
14. What was the purpose of NATO? Why was this a precedent shattering program for the US? What was significant about Truman’s recognition of the Israel’s founding?
15. Compare and contrast the treatment of postwar Japan with that of Germany.
16. What was the first big crisis in Asia in the early postwar years? Explain who the main persons and groups involved were. How did this situation end up being used by the Republican party for political purposes?
17. Describe the various crises regarding domestic subversion and disloyalty during the early Cold War. How were both the House and the Senate involved? How did Truman attempt to respond to fears of Communist subversion within government?
18. What was the McCarran Act, and what did Truman think of it? What did the National Security Act do?
19. How did Senator Joe McCarthy’s “witch hunt” create hysteria in the US? What eventually unmasked him as a fraud? What happened to him in the end?
20. Why did the Democratic party split before the 1948 election? Describe the positions of the four candidates for president in 1948. Why was Thomas Dewey expected to win, and why didn’t he?
21. What did Truman name his domestic program, and what were its main features? Which of these were actually accomplished?
22. Explain the main features and impact of NSC-68. What assumptions did it make about US industrial capacity?
23. How and why did the US (and the UN) get involved in the Korean civil war?
24. Why did General Douglas MacArthur become frustrated about the tactics used in fighting the Korean War? What was the main source of disagreement with President Truman? What eventually happened to MacArthur? What effect did this have on Truman?

Chapter 34 questions

Due Monday, March 3.

1. What was the position taken by FDR in his foreign relations policy during the early years of his administration, with regard to: Latin America, the Philippines, the USSR, and economic cooperation with Europe and foreign trade? You can make a chart if you like. What was the overall effect of these moves?
2. How did FDR respond to the early aggressions by what would eventually be the Axis powers? What WERE these early aggressive acts? What were some indications that the American people did NOT want the government to intervene?
3. What were the specifics of the various Neutrality Acts between 1935-1937? What happened to the international sale of American goods, particularly weapons?
4. What position did the American government and the American people take on the Spanish Civil War? What American involvement was there?
5. What were the specific circumstances that led to the “Quarantine” speech? Explain the use of the term “quarantine,” and what it implies. What resulted from this speech, and why?
6. What agreements did Hitler conclude in 1938-1939 that allowed him to strengthen his military position? What was he preparing to do after each agreement, specifically? Which countries had Hitler annexed/ conquered by June of 1940?
7. How many Jewish refugees did America give shelter to, and why? Be specific in your answer.
8. What finally caused Congress to pass a conscription law? What did that signify about American neutrality?
9. What was the destroyers deal about? How had public opinion changed in regard to helping Britain?
10. Why did FDR decide to run for a third term in 1940? Who was his opponent? What was the platform of each candidate? What did they both agree upon?
11. What were the details of the lend-lease program? How was this different from the destroyers deal?What did the US do when the Germans invaded the USSR?
12. What is the significance of the Greer, the Kearny, and the Reuben James?
13. What demand did FDR make that convinced the Japanese that war was inevitable with the US?
14. Why was the attack on Pearl Harbor a surprise? What had FDR believed about the site of a possible attack?
15. By December 1, 1941, what opinion did most Americans hold about joining the war?
16. What was the purpose of the Atlantic Conference, and who attended it? What was decided there, specifically, about war aims?
17. Create a timeline of the following events: Pearl Harbor attack, Munich Conference, Atlantic Conference, German-Soviet non-aggression pact, Fall of France, invasion of Poland, German invasion of the USSR.
18. What did FDR do in regard to the London economic conference, and why?
19. Explain this quote from the text: “Congress was one war too late” with its neutrality legislation.
20 Compare the aims of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies with the America First Committee. Who were the famous people associated with each group?
21. How and when did FDR’s foreign policy change from isolationism to interventionism?
22. Why did FDR’s policy change from isolationism?