NAME: _________________________________________________________________________
US History Semester Exam Study Guide
IMERIALISM
What was a major economic argument for expansion? PAGE 587
What was a result of the Spanish-American War? PAGE 593
Why was the building of the Panama Canal important? PAGE 598
Who were the Rough Riders? PAGE 592
What were the anti-imperialists arguments? PAGES 584-585
Under imperialism, what does the stronger nation attempt to do? PAGE 595
Why did the United States annex Hawaii? PAGE 595
What did the cruise of the Great White Fleet show? PAGE 607
WWI
What was a major factor in the decision of the United States’ to enter World War I? PAGES 653-654
Which was true of African Americans during World War I? PAGE659
What role did the federal government play in the economy during the war? PAGE 664
What was the Great Migration? PAGE 647-648
What was an underlying cause of World War I? PAGE 647
What was the Zimmerman Note? PAGE655
What was the Selective Service Act? PAGE 657
What did the fears of spies and sabotage in the United States during the war lead to? PAGEs 666-667
What enabled the United States to loan more than $10 billion to the Allies? PAGE 664
1920’s
What were the effects of the assembly line in the 1920s? Page 726
What did the rapid development of the mass media during the 1920s lead to? Page 691
What was one result of Prohibition during the 1920s? Page 699
How did life change for American women in the 1920s? Page 685
What was the big change in movies in the late 1920s? Page 692
Clubs in the Harlem district of New York City were among the hottest places to listen to what kind of
music? Page 694
What legal right was at issue in the Scopes trial? Page 702
Why did the economy grow in the 1920s? Page 724
Advertisements in the 1920s changed from an emphasis on quality to an emphasis on what? Page 724
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
What did the Twenty-first Amendment bring an end to? Page 754
What did the Crash lead to? Page 742
What was one of the underlying causes of the Great Depression? Page 744
What did wage cuts and unemployment eventually affect? Page 746
Why did people’s physical and mental health decline? Page 747
What were Hoovervilles? Page 746
What was the Dust Bowl? Page 746
WWII
What prompted the United States to enter the war in 1941? Page 821
What led the government to evacuate Japanese Americans from the West Coast? Page 821
To meet the demand for war material, what did the government do? Page 828
What were some methods used to finance the war? Page 829
What was D-Day? Pages 837-838
What was the goal of the Manhattan Project? Page 852
During the war where did large numbers of women begin to work? Page 860
COLD WAR AND 1950’S
What is containment? Page 873
What impact did Joseph McCarthy have on American society? Page 889
How did the United States succeeded in the Korean War? Page 888
What roles were most American women expected to fulfill in the 1950s? Page 909
Describe the beatniks of the 1950s. Page 911
What did Rock-and-roll give the young people of the 1950s? Page 910
During the 1950s, what did Americans placed the most value in? Page 907
What was the baby boom? Page 904
Who was Bert the Turtle?
CIVIL RIGHTS
Describe nonviolent protest. Page 938
Which was a highlight of the March on Washington? Page 950
What did Malcolm X encourage African Americans to do? Page 955
What was a result of the civil rights movement? Page 959
What did the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education end? Page 932
What leaders were assassinated in 1968? Page 957-958
What strategy did the NAACP adopt in its fight for civil rights? Page 937
What was Black Power? Page 956
What was the common goal of the sit-in movement and the Freedom Rides? Page 941-942
THE 1960’S
Describe what took place during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Page 989
What did the Warren Commission decide about the Kennedy assassination? Page 973
Describe the televised presidential debates between Kennedy and Nixon. Page 968
Describe the 1960s counterculture. Page 1010
What was the primary focus of the protest movement of the 1960s? Page 1040
What is the “Great Society”? Page 977
What is the significance of Woodstock? Page 1011
VIETNAM
What is the domino theory? Page 1024
Why was the ground war in Vietnam so difficult to fight? Page 1031
What represented an important step for Americans in the process of healing from the Vietnam War?
Page 1049
How did television affect the Vietnam War? Page 1041
Why did President Johnson seek the Tonkin Gulf Resolution? Page 1028
Who were the hawks and the doves? Page 1034
US History Semester 2 Final Exam Essay Questions
Choose any three (3) of the following and complete.
Imperialism: According to anti-imperialist arguments, how was imperialism inconsistent with basic
American principles?
WWI: What role did public opinion play in the United States’ decision to enter World War I?
The 1920s: Explain how organized crime developed as a result of Prohibition and the passage of the
Eighteenth Amendment.
The Great Depression: What kind of advice do you think a survivor of the Great Depression might give
younger adults today?
WWII: Was the image of Rosie the Riveter a false or accurate representation of women doing war
production work? Explain your answer.
The Cold War and 1950s: What effect did developments in technology have on the American way of life
in the 1950s?
The Civil Rights Movement: Your text states that the civil rights movement was “a grassroots effort of
ordinary citizens determined to end racial injustice in the United States.” What evidence would you give to
support this statement?
The 1960s: At the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Secretary of State Dean Rusk remarked to President
Kennedy, “We have won a considerable victory. You and I are still alive.” State in your own words what
Rusk meant.
The Vietnam War: Identify one antiwar argument made by protesters of the Vietnam War and one prowar
argument made by supporters of the war