The University of Texas at Arlington
HIST 1312
Instructor: Dr. Allen F. Repko
American History: 1865-Present
STUDY GUIDE FOR FINAL EXAM
SPRING 2003
The exam will cover, but will not be limited to, the following concepts that are based
on the lectures and assigned chapters of the text:
1. The most decisive force shaping immediate post WWII attitudes and expectations.
2. The major factor contributing to the country’s social stability in the immediate post
WWII era.
3. The major components of “the American Dream.”
4. Areas in which liberals and activists for racial justice pressed for changes in the mid
and late 1940’s.
5. Two realities in the South that sharpened racial conflict.
6. The significance of the Federal Housing Administration’s “neighborhood composition
rule.”
7. The one nation in the world that caused Americans and U.S. allies the greatest concern
in the immediate post WWII era.
8. Three reasons why many blacks remained optimistic during the Truman
administration.
9. Three reasons for the Cold War.
10. Four problems faced by the Truman administration concerning the Soviet Union.
11. All aspects of the Truman Doctrine.
12. The significance of Truman’s speech to Congress on March 12, 1947.
13. The two elements of Truman administration’s policy of containing the Soviet Union.
14. The economic assumption on which Truman built his “Fair Deal” domestic program
[text]
15. The Truman administration’s position on civil rights [text].
16. The three crises that tested the Truman administration’s “containment” policy.
17. The three factors that drove the unprecedented prosperity of the 1950’s.
18. A general statement that we can make about the status of blacks during the 1950’s
according to the lectures.
19. The changing role of government during the Truman administration in its struggle
to contain communism and conduct a global foreign policy. [text]
20. The results of racial discrimination in housing.
21. Brown v. Board of Education.
22. Criticism of the Brown decision from black writer Zora Neale Hurston.
23. The lasting importance of the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott of 1956.
24. The significance of Sputnik.
25. The largest public works project in the history of the world and the greatest domestic
achievement of the Eisenhower administration. [text]
26. The key to Eisenhower’s “New Look” policy.
27. A major challenge to Eisenhower’s “New Look” policy of containing communist
aggression.
28. Eisenhower’s response to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Hungry in 1956.
29. Johnson’s trip to South Vietnam.
30. Two important features of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. [text]
31. The impact on American life of Johnson’s domestic agenda. [text]
32. The significance of the Nixon administration’s Philadelphia Plan.
33. The means used during the Nixon administration for rapid racial integration of public
schools.
34. Nixon and Kissinger’s strategy concerning Vietnam.
35. Nixon’s role in Watergate. [text]
36. One of the most damaging foreign policy problems faced by the Carter
administration.
37. Reagan’s most valuable asset.
38. Reagan’s domestic achievements.
39. The greatest foreign policy disaster of the Reagan administration.
40. The two Reagan policies that ultimately helped to bankrupt the Soviet Union, causing
its collapse and bringing an end to the Cold War.
41. The significance of General Colin Powell’s speech entitled, “The Future Just Ain’t
What It Used to Be.”
42. The significance of the Berlin Wall coming down on November 9, 1990.
43. The significance of the first Bush administration’s invasion of Panama.
44. The grand strategy of Bush’s “New World Order.”
45. The reason why the U.S. went to war against Iraq in 1991.
46. The key feature of Clinton’s policy towards North Korea.
47. The meaning of Bill Clinton’s claim to be a “new Democrat” in 1992.
48. The reason(s) for the failure of Camp David II.
49. Bill Clinton’s policy towards Al Qaeda and terrorism.
50 Map question.