Please find your final exam below. You should upload it to Canvas as a file (Word or PDF, DO NOT submit .txt files)
Complete THREE of the five essay exam questions below, each worth 20 points. The exam is worth 60 points overall.
Below the questions, you’ll find instructions. I urge you to read them carefully!
Below the instructions, you’ll see a list of important terms we’ve covered in lecture from WWII to the end of the course. Many of these will be relevant to the exam questions and will may be of help to you in providing specific examples in your answers. You are not required to cite evidence in these essays, but you should use terms and dates where possible to make your essays as specific as possible.
Exam Topics
1. In what ways can we see the strength of US isolationist sentiment in the 1930s? How did Franklin Roosevelt try to maneuver between respecting this sentiment while also working to orient US foreign policy toward assisting those countries under threat from the Axis Powers? How did Roosevelt believe the US could best assist these countries short of entering the war?
2. What were the major developments that led to the emergence of a Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union? In what ways did the US change its foreign, national security and alliance-making policies to address the Cold War challenge?
3. What was the central tension at the heart of the New Deal coalition that the Democratic Party relied on from the 1930s into the 1960s? Provide some specific historical examples of that tension’s instability in the postwar era (from the late 1940s into the 1960s). Here you will want to the think about the trouble the Democratic Party had in appealing to two important groups within the coalition whose interests were fundamentally at odds.
4. What were the main causes of the breakdown of the New Deal coalition (also known as the “liberal consensus”) in the 1960s and 70s. You may want to consider factors such as war, race, social disorder, political scandal, among other possible factors.
5. What were the most important ideas animating the conservative coalition that fueled the growing success of the conservative wing of the Republican Party in the 1970s and 80s? Provide specific historical examples of concerns the different supporters of this coalition had about the United States in these years. You may consider economic, foreign policy, and social issues, among others.
Instructions
The answer to each question should be at least 400-500 words
Be sure to double-space your answers and use 12-point, Times New Roman font.
Upload your exam to Canvas as a file (Word or PDF, DO NOT submit .txt files)
Answer the questions in each exam topic as a single essay, do not answer them separately. For example, #1 has three questions. If you choose this one, answer the questions in a single essay using separate paragraphs not as three separate questions.
The best answers will be cohesive. Answers do not have to have a well-developed thesis like a formal essay assignment, but they should be clear, with paragraphs that focus on specific points rather than rambling without apparent organization. It’s best to follow a chronological organization unless you have good reason not to. For example, to make a point that occurs in the 1930s, then pivot to separate point that occurs in the 1960s and then make another that occurs back in the 1940s will tend to give your essay a rambling quality.
The best answers will also be specific. Use specific terms (many of which you will see in the list below) and dates where possible. DO NOT assume that I’ll assume you know when some event or development occurred. DO NOT use phrases like “during this time” when you have not already established what specific time you are referring to. If you review your answers and notice that you have no dates in them, do realize that this is a problem.
Good answers will also take care to avoid typos and capitalize correctly and consistently. The Cold War, for example, is always capitalized, not just sometimes.
You do not have to cite anything for this exam. The questions can be answered by reviewing the lecture alone. You may cite the readings, including the optional textbook (The American Yawp) if you would like, but again this is not required. Lectures are considered common knowledge for the purposes of the course, so no need to cite them. **DO NOT cite sources from outside of the class.**
