Seizing an American Empire, 1865-1913

1. Why did the United States want to build the Panama Canal and in what way did
   the U.S. government intervene in Colombian politics in an effort to gain control of
   the Canal Zone?
2. What was the Roosevelt Corollary, and how did it alter the Monroe Doctrine?
3. What was the basis for Wilson’s interventionism policy and U.S. intervention in
   Mexico? What were the results?
4. What reasons were behind Theodore Roosevelt’s rapid rise to the presidency?
   What were the main elements of his foreign policies? What was the purpose of
   the Great White Fleet?
5. Explain the development of American Imperialism. What impact did this have in
   the Pacific regarding Samoa and Hawaii?
6. What were the consequences of the Spanish-American War (War of 1898) and
   American foreign policy in Guam, Hawaii, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the
   Philippines?
7. What were the causes of the Spanish-American War (War of 1898)? What were
   its major events?
8. How and why did America expand its influence in the Pacific before the
   Spanish-American War (War of 1898)?
   Chapter 21: The Progressive Era, 1890-1920
9. What was the Federal Reserve Act and what made it the most significant banking
   reform since the Civil War?
10. What Supreme Court ruling on the "Progressive" Income Tax eventually led to
    the Sixteenth Amendment?
11. Which policies of President Woodrow Wilson were influenced by the progressive
    movement? How and why did these differ from the policies of Presidents
    Roosevelt and Taft?
12. What contributions did President Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft
    make to the progressive movement? How and why did these two men come to
    disagree about how best to advance progressive ideals?
13. What were the specific goals of progressive reformers? In what ways did they
    pursue these public goals? How did they reconcile them with personal freedom?
14. Which various sources of thought and activism contributed to the progressive
    movement?
    Chapter 22: America and the Great War, 1914-1920
15. What was the League of Nations intended to be, and why was it rejected by the
    U.S. Senate?
16. What was the impact of the Bolshevik Revolution on the Great War and the
    peace that followed in relations to the Fourteen Points?
17. What were the consequences of the war at home and abroad?
18. How did Wilson promote his plans for a peaceful world order as outlined in his
    Fourteen Points?
19. What were the major events of the war after the United States entered the
    conflict? How did the American war effort contribute to the defeat of the Central
    Powers?
20. What caused the outbreak of the Great War, and why was the United States
    drawn into it? What was distinctive about the fighting on the Western Front?
    Chapter 23: A Clash of Cultures, 1920-1929
21. What led to the “Lost Generation”, what did they seek, and how did they view the
    world?
22. Who was Margaret Sanger and what organization did she found? What was its
    purpose?
23. Compare and contrast the Harlem Renaissance and Garveyism?
24. What were the other major new social and cultural trends and movements that
    became prominent during the twenties? How did they challenge traditional
    standards and customs?
25. Assess the consumer culture that emerged in America in the 1920s. What are
    the factors that contributed to its growth?
    Chapter 24: The Reactionary Twenties
26. What were the major causes of the Great Depression? What economic indicators
    suggested a recession or a depression was in the making?
27. What mindset led to the U.S. position on the World Court? Did this follow or
    deviate from the thoughts of the Founding Fathers?
28. What mindset led to the Kellogg-Briand Pact?
29. What led to the passage of the 18th amendment and what were the
    consequences?
30. What was the Scopes Trial, and what change in the U.S. did it symbolize?
31. To what extent did the policies of the Republican Party dominate the federal
    government during the twenties? In what ways were these policies a rejection of
    progressivism?
32. How did the reactionary conservatism during the 1920s manifest itself in social
    life and government policies?

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