Modern American Civilization History 104 Fall 2024 Study Guide for the Final Exam The final exam will be administered on Wednesday December 11 from 10 25 12 25 in UU Union 209 I will bring blue books for you to use to write your exam and also donuts You can bring a drink of your choice There will be two parts of the exam The first will ask you to write an essay answering one of the essay questions listed below On the day of the exam I will select one of these questions You will answer it in a well written well organized essay that uses an abundance of information from assigned readings lectures and discussions to support your answer The purpose of giving you this list of potential questions is to focus your study help you prepare and write a good essay The second part of the exam will be a list of seven identification terms important concepts people events documents covered in readings lectures and discussions selected from the list below You will select five from the seven included on the exam and write a paragraph on each defining the item and discussing its significance The essay will be worth 100 points and the short answers 100 points 20 points each Total value of the exam is 200 points or 20 of your course grade Please note The exam is not comprehensive It includes only material we have covered since the mid term exam You will have two hours to complete the exam although you may not need the entire time because the exam is no longer than the mid term But you will have the full two hours to write Possible Identification Terms Neutrality Acts Containment George Kennan Neutrality Acts Watergate NOW Higher Education Act of 1965 Sit ins Roe v Wade Watergate Tea Party TARP Equal Rights Amendment Lend Lease Marshall Plan Joseph McCarthy SNCC stagflation Medicare Civil Rights Act of 1964 energy crisis Brown v Board of Education supply side economics Affordable Care Act 1968 Miss America Pageant Protest Jerry Falwell Phyllis Schlafly Henri Tajfel Merrick Garland Iraq War 2003 demographic threat The Fox News Effect Possible Essay Questions 1 What was the Cold War and why did the U S become involved in it How did the Cold War change U S foreign policy from what it had been in the 1920s and 1930s How did the it affect US relations with Europe Its involvement in Asia How did the Cold War affect the domestic policies of the U S government e g civil rights and social welfare policy and American politics 2 The 1960s was a decade that produced social movements that had a profound effect on American society culture and politics The Civil Rights Movement was the first of these movements and it inspired and informed other movements of the period Write an essay about the Civil Rights Movement and two other social movements of the 1960s and early 1970s Explain why each gained broad support discuss their similarities and differences and explain how they changed American society culture and politics 3 What did the term liberalism mean in the context of American politics in the period between 1945 and the 1980s Why did most Americans support Lyndon Johnson s Great Society programs in the mid 1960s even though a minority identified as liberals In 1980 Americans overwhelmingly elected Ronald Reagan who promised to reverse many liberal programs associated with the Great Society and implement a conservative policy agenda At the time Reagan was elected a minority of Americans identified as conservatives Explain why a majority of Americans in 1980 rejected liberal policies and supported a candidate who promised to move the country in a much more conservative direction 4 For the past two decades American politics have been deeply polarized Describe political polarization and explain how it affects US politics Considering developments in US history since the late 1960s explain why American politics have become so sharply polarized How does polarization affect the ability of government to accomplish what citizens expect of it Does the level of polarization we are experiencing threaten to destroy the system of government established by the Constitution 5 Since 1984 there have been 11 presidential elections Republicans have won 6 and Democrats 5 Control of the House of Representatives and the Senate has also fluctuated frequently between the two major parties Not since the Gilded Age 1870s 1890s has US politics been so closely divided Write an essay explaining why You should take into consideration changes in foreign policy and US involvement overseas changes in the economy and political responses to those changes social and cultural issues and changes in the media 6 Race has long been a divisive issue in American society How has race divided Americans in the eight decades since the end of World Wat II How did opposition to racism inspire some Americans to seek fundamental changes in law politics and public policy in areas such as education poverty and voting How successful were they in achieving their goals and making American society more equitable What were the major barriers they faced to achieving their goals