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AP—United States History
Unit #7A – Thematic & Discussion Questions
Chapters 23-28
Directions: As a group, collaborate on the assigned questions and be prepared to discuss on the
assigned day.
Thematic Questions
Read the following chapters and be prepared to discuss the Thematic Questions on the assigned days:
 Chapter 23 – “An American Empire”
 Chapter 24 – “The Progressive Era”
 Chapter 25 – “America & the Great War”
 Chapter 26 – “The Modern Temper”
 Chapter 27 – “Republican Resurgence & Decline”
 Chapter 28 – “New Deal America”
American & National Identity
Work, Exchange, & Technology
Migration & Settlement
Politics & Power
America & the World
Geography & the Environment
Culture & Society
How did continuing debates over immigration and assimilation reflect changing
ideals of national and ethnic identity? How did classic identities change this
period?
How did movements for political and economic reform take shape in this period,
and how effective were they in achieving their goals?
Why did public attitudes towards immigration become negative during this time
period? How and why did people migrate within the United States during this
time period?
How did reformist ideals change as they were taken by reformers in different
time periods? Why did opposition emerge to various reform programs?
Why did United States leaders decide to become involved in global conflicts
such as the Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II? How did
debates over intervention reflect public views of America’s role in the world?
Why did reformers seek for the government to wrest control of the
environment and national resources from commercial interests?
How did “modern” cultural values evolve in response to developments in
technology? How did debates over the role of women in American public life
reflect changing social realities?
Discussion Questions
Read Chapter 23 – “An American Empire” and be prepared to discuss these Discussion Questions on the assigned
days.
1. What were the reasons for American expansionism at the turn of the twentieth century?
2. How did Hawaii become a part of the United States?
3. Describe the steps leading to America’s war with Spain in 1898. Was the war justified? Explain.
4. What effect did ownership of the Philippines have on the United States foreign policy?
5. What was the Open Door policy, and how did it come about?
6. Trace Theodore Roosevelt’s climb to the presidency of the United States.
7. Describe the controversy surrounding the building of the Panama Canal. How were the obstacles in the
canal controversy overcome?
8. Discuss the Roosevelt Corollary and what impact it had on President Roosevelt’s foreign policy, especially
as it pertained to Latin America.
9. Describe the status of United States-Japanese relations during President Theodore Roosevelt’s
Administration. How did President Roosevelt’s policies toward Japan impact United States policy?
10. How did President Theodore Roosevelt show the world that the United States was a world power?
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AP—United States History
Unit #7A – Thematic & Discussion Questions
Chapters 23-28
Read Chapter 24 – “The Progressive Era” and be prepared to discuss these Discussion Questions on the assigned
days.
11. Describe the five major themes of Progressive reform.
12. Which of the Progressive presidents was the most progressive? Which was the least progressive?
Explain.
13. What changes did Progressivism bring to America? How was America different in 1920 from what it had
been in 1900 because of progressivism?
14. In what ways was the Presidential Election of 1912 significant?
15. “From its beginning to its end, the progressive movement was, more than anything else, paradoxical.”
What evidence could be used to support this statement?
16. Who were the Muckrakers, and what impact did they have on American society?
17. Trace the events which led to the 1902 coal strike. What were the major issues, and what was the
eventual outcome?
18. Having been elected in his own right to a second term, Theodore Roosevelt set his sights on regulation
and control of business. Trace his agenda in these endeavors. Was he successful? Explain.
19. Discuss the issue of conservation and what President Theodore Roosevelt did to promote this important
issue.
20. Describe the relationship between Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. Show how the two men
eventually found themselves running against each other for president.
Read Chapter 25 – “America & the Great War” and be prepared to discuss these Discussion Questions on the
assigned days.
21. Why did the United States enter the war in Europe when it did? Why did it not enter before?
22. Describe Woodrow Wilson’s “Fourteen Points,” discussing not only the details, but the overall philosophy
behind them as well.
23. Describe the economic mobilization on the American home front.
24. Why did the Reservationists and the Irreconcilables oppose the Treaty of Versailles? How effective was
their opposition?
25. How and why were civil liberties curtailed during World War I? What was the effect of these
curtailments?
26. Discuss the United States intervention in Mexico during the Woodrow Wilson administration. What were
the events that caused this intervention, and how was it resolved?
27. Trace the attempts by the United States to remain neutral prior to its entry into the First World War.
28. Describe the Presidential Election of 1916. Who were the major parties and what were the significant
issues in the campaign?
29. How important was the issue of propaganda during World War I?
30. Discuss the economic transition from wartime production to peacetime consumption immediately
following World War I. How did organized labor adjust to these changes?
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AP—United States History
Unit #7A – Thematic & Discussion Questions
Chapters 23-28
Read Chapter 26 – “The Modern Temper” and be prepared to discuss these Discussion Questions on the assigned
days.
31. Describe the “defensive temper” of the 1920s. What factors contributed to it?
32. What were the political and cultural manifestations of a new sense of identity among blacks in the 1920s?
Discuss the writers and artists of the Harlem Renaissance, and the rise of “Negro Nationalism.”
33. “The major theme in American society in the 1920s was the theme of cultural alienation.” Defend this
statement.
34. Describe the influence of modernism in literature.
35. Discuss America’s turn toward Nativism in the early 1920s. What motivated this ideology, and what
groups supported it?
36. How did the rise of Fundamentalism in the 1920s inspire the rise of modernism? Show how this issue led
to the Scopes Trial and how the case was decided.
37. Describe America’s turn to prohibition in the 1920s. What were the results of the Eighteenth Amendment
and the Volstead Act?
38. Discuss the 1920s women’s movement and the various issues it promoted. How successful were the
leaders of the movement in achieving their goals?
39. Discuss the emerging culture of modernism from the crucible of the “Great War” to the Great Depression.
40. Describe the Southern Literary Renaissance.
Read Chapter 27 – “Republican Resurgence & Decline” and be prepared to discuss these Discussion Questions on
the assigned days.
41. What had the progressivism of the prewar period turned into by the 1920s? What factors led to this
transformation?
42. What did Warren G. Harding mean by “normalcy” in the Presidential Election of 1920? Is this a good term
to describe the 1920s?
43. How might the decade of the 1920s be called “the decade of prosperity”?
44. Discuss the various causes of the stock market crash, paying particular attention to government policies
that helped bring the crash.
45. Describe Herbert Hoover’s attempts at recovery in the first three years of the Depression. Which of his
policies were effective? What more might have been done?
46. Who were the “Ohio Gang” and how did they impact the presidency of Warren G. Harding?
47. Discuss how corruption during the Harding Administration got so widespread.
48. Trace the rise of Calvin Coolidge to the presidency of the United States.
49. Describe the setbacks that unions in the United States experienced during the 1920s.
50. How did farmers and veterans react to the administration of Herbert Hoover’s response to the Great
Depression?
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AP—United States History
Unit #7A – Thematic & Discussion Questions
Chapters 23-28
Read Chapter 28 – “New Deal America” and be prepared to discuss these Discussion Questions on the assigned
days.
51. Describe the gains made by labor during the New Deal.
52. How did the “thunder from the political left” shape New Deal policies?
53. Why did President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempt to “pack” the Supreme Court of the United States? Did
he achieve his goals?
54. How did New Deal reforms attempt to raise farm prices and stabilize industry?
55. How did the nation’s perceptions of the role of government—its powers and responsibilities—change in
the 1930s?
56. Trace the Presidential Election of 1932. How did each party settle on its respective nominee, and what
was the result of the election?
57. Describe the various measures that President Franklin D. Roosevelt undertook in his first term to help
relieve the human misery in America.
58. Although the New Deal programs helped ease the devastation wrought by the Depression, some
widespread human suffering continued. Discuss this suffering and the hardships Americans still faced.
59. Discuss the impact the New Deal had on immoralities in the United States.
60. Describe the impact the Great Depression had on popular culture in America.
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