Unit 8: The US in a Changing World
Study Sheet
I can identify and analyze the causes of WWI.
 What factors contributed to US involvement in WWI?
 World War I was known as the war to _______________________________.
I can identify and analyze the significant events of WWI and their impacts.
 Where did most of the trench warfare in WWI take place?
 What was the primary goal of Wilson’s Fourteen Points?
I can evaluate the impact of the Treaty of Versailles
 Which European country was excluded from the negotiations?
 Who led the Senate’s opposition to the Treaty of Versailles?
 Describe the conditions placed on Germany as a result of the Treaty.
 What was the result of the Senate’s refusal to ratify the Treaty?
I can describe and evaluate the impact of scientific and technological innovations in the 1920’s.
 How did the invention of the radio impact American society?
 In what decade did the first commercial radio broadcast air?
 How did the automobile change social customs in America?
I can identify the characteristics of social conflict and change in the early 1920’s.
 What was the central issue in the Scopes trial?
 How were flappers different from other women of the early 20th century?
 How were immigrants treated during the 1920’s?
 How did government policy toward immigrants change during the decade?
 What is consumer credit?
 How did it alter the American economy?
I can identify and evaluate the impact of new cultural movements on American society in the 1920’s.
 Name some key figures of the Harlem Renaissance.
 What is Art Deco? What famous New York building is built in this style?
I can identify and explain the economic factors that contributed to the stock market crash of 1929 and
the Great Depression.
 How did declining farm prices contribute to the Great Depression?
 What other factors led to the 1929 stock market crash?
I can explain the economic, environmental, and social impacts of the Great Depression on American
society.
 What issue did the Wagner Labor Relations Act address?
 How were African Americans affected by the Great Depression and New Deal?
 How were rural areas hurt by the Depression?
 What are Hoovervilles?
I can evaluate the impact of the New Deal on various elements of American society.
 Which New Deal agency employed artists?
 How were farmers affected by New Deal programs?
 How did Conservatives / Socialists react to New Deal programs?
Unit 8: The US in a Changing World
Study Sheet
Constructed Response Items: (Attached!)
Choose one of the following three options to complete for your constructed response on the
content in Unit 8.
Option 1: 1920’s
As a presidential candidate in 1920, Warren G Harding called for the United States to “return to
normalcy” as the country moved past World War I. Read the following quotation and consider how
America attempted to return to its “normal forward stride” during the 1920’s.
“America’s present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums*, but normalcy; not revolution, but
restoration; not agitation, but adjustment; … not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in
triumphant nationality. Both our good fortune and our eminence are dependent on the normal forward
stride of all the American people.”
*quick fixes for the country’s social and political problems
Using your knowledge of the 1920’s write an essay in which you explain how this quotation accurately
reflects the mood and events of that decade. In your response, discuss TWO of the following to support
your explanation:
 American Presidents in the 1920’s
 Immigration Policy
 Economic Change
 Foreign Policy
You may use additional subjects and or examples to support your argument.
Option 2: WWI & Treaty of Versailles
During negotiations for the Treaty of Versailles after WWI, President Wilson fought hard to have a
League of Nations included in the treaty. Despite the president’s support for this new organization, the
US Senate never ratified the treaty and the US never joined the League of Nations. Examine the cartoon
carefully then complete the following tasks:
Unit 8: The US in a Changing World
Study Sheet
A. Explain the cartoonist’s point of view on the League of Nations by discussing at least TWO examples
of symbolism from the cartoon to support your interpretation.
B. Explain how this cartoon reflects Wilson’s concerns after WWI.
Option 3: New Deal & the Presidency
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration is considered by some historians to be the first modern
presidency. Read the following quotation and consider what distinguishing features marked FDR’s
presidency.
“With Franklin Roosevelt’s administration … the presidency began to undergo not a shift but rather a
metamorphosis*.”
*indicates a lasting change
Using your knowledge of the New Deal era, write an essay in which you assess whether or not the
presidency “began to undergo … a metamorphosis” during FDR’s administration. In your essay, discuss
TWO of the following to support your analysis:
 The role of the Federal government in the economic affairs of the nation
 The change in size and scope of the influence of the executive branch
 The use of mass media by the presidency
You may use additional subjects and / or examples to support your analysis.