APUSH – Unit Seven Exam
Free Response Essay Topics
You will be writing an essay of several paragraphs on one of the topics listed below.
(You will need to bring a blue or black ballpoint pen.)
Your essay should include an introductory paragraph which includes your thesis
statement, and an indication of how you will proceed to prove your thesis correct. In
the body of your essay, you should discuss various points which support your thesis,
and be sure to include specific evidence. This is your chance to demonstrate your
knowledge and analytical skills. Your conclusion should be more than a simple
restating of the thesis; instead you want to clarify how your evidence has proven your
thesis.
Over the next two days, to prepare for this portion of the exam, you should plan how
to respond to each essay topic. Decide on a thesis for each one, what each of your
supporting paragraphs will be about, and what specific evidence you will include.
(You do not need to actually write the essays, but it would be a good idea to create a
simple outline.) YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED NOTES FOR THIS EXAM!
1. How successful were progressive reforms during the period 1890 to 1915 with
respect to TWO of the following?
!
• Industrial conditions!!
• Urban life!
!
• Politics
2. To what extent did the role of the federal government change under President
Theodore Roosevelt in regard to TWO of the following?
!
• Labor! !
• Trusts! !
• Conservation! !
• World affairs
3. Analyze the extent to which the Spanish-American War was a turning point in
American foreign policy.
4. Analyze the roles that women played in Progressive Era reforms from the 1880s
through 1920. Focus your essay on TWO of the following.
!
• Politics! !
• Social conditions!
!
• Labor and working conditions
5. In American politics the most significant battles have occurred within the major
parties rather than between them. Discuss this statement with reference to the
period 1900 -1912.
6. Assess the relative influence of THREE of the following in the American decision
to declare war on Germany in 1917.
!
• German naval policy!!
!
!
• Allied propaganda
!
• American economic interests!
!
• America's claim to world power
!
• Woodrow Wilson's idealism
APUSH – Unit Seven Exam
Free Response Essay Topics
You will be writing an essay of several paragraphs on one of the topics listed below.
(You will need to bring a blue or black ballpoint pen.)
Your essay should include an introductory paragraph which includes your thesis
statement, and an indication of how you will proceed to prove your thesis correct. In
the body of your essay, you should discuss various points which support your thesis,
and be sure to include specific evidence. This is your chance to demonstrate your
knowledge and analytical skills. Your conclusion should be more than a simple
restating of the thesis; instead you want to clarify how your evidence has proven your
thesis.
Over the next two days, to prepare for this portion of the exam, you should plan how
to respond to each essay topic. Decide on a thesis for each one, what each of your
supporting paragraphs will be about, and what specific evidence you will include.
(You do not need to actually write the essays, but it would be a good idea to create a
simple outline.) YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED NOTES FOR THIS EXAM!
1. How successful were progressive reforms during the period 1890 to 1915 with
respect to TWO of the following?
!
• Industrial conditions!!
• Urban life!
!
• Politics
2. To what extent did the role of the federal government change under President
Theodore Roosevelt in regard to TWO of the following?
!
• Labor! !
• Trusts! !
• Conservation! !
• World affairs
3. Analyze the extent to which the Spanish-American War was a turning point in
American foreign policy.
4. Analyze the roles that women played in Progressive Era reforms from the 1880s
through 1920. Focus your essay on TWO of the following.
!
• Politics! !
• Social conditions!
!
• Labor and working conditions
5. In American politics the most significant battles have occurred within the major
parties rather than between them. Discuss this statement with reference to the
period 1900 -1912.
6. Assess the relative influence of THREE of the following in the American decision
to declare war on Germany in 1917.
!
• German naval policy!!
!
!
• Allied propaganda
!
• American economic interests!
!
• America's claim to world power
!
• Woodrow Wilson's idealism