DBQ2

Analyze the reasons for the emergence of the Populist Movement in the late 19th Century and to what extent was it a successful movement?

• Contextualization: After the Civil War, rich Eastern businessmen got richer while farmers went broke from debt, making them hate the corrupt two-party system.

• Thesis: Unsuccessful Economic | Unsuccessful Social | Successful Political

• OE 1: Crime of '73 (Coinage Act) -> [Econ: Agrarian v. Urbanization + Unsuccessful] The government stopped using silver, shrinking the money supply and ruining farmers, but populist efforts to fix it failed immediately.

• OE 2: Coxey's Army -> [Social: Reform v. Myth of Rugged Individualism + Unsuccessful] Unemployed men marched to demand government jobs, trying to break the myth of self-reliance, but failed completely when they were arrested.

• OE 3: The Omaha Platform -> [Poly: Laissez Faire v. Interventionist + Successful] The Populist demand for government intervention (like an income tax) succeeded in the long run when progressives eventually made them real laws.

To what extent were the Imperialist actions by the United States motivated more by Idealism rather than Realism?

• Contextualization: When the western frontier closed, the US needed new overseas markets and competed with European empires for global power.

• Thesis: Realist Regressive | Fake idealism for gain | Idealist Progressive

• OE 1: Roosevelt Corollary -> [Regressive + Realism] Claimed the US had the right to use the military in Latin America just to protect American money and security.

• OE 2: Panama Canal Revolution -> [Regressive + Realism] Roosevelt used the Navy to block Colombia from stopping a rebellion so America could easily take the land for trade.

• OE 3: Teller Amendment -> [Progressive + Idealism] A legal promise saying the US would not conquer Cuba, meant to show noble, democratic intentions to the world.

To what extent did the leaders of the Progressive Movement introduce and sell to the American public a new philosophy of government and society?

• Contextualization: Gilded Age corruption and dangerous factories made the new middle class demand government action to clean up society.

• Thesis: New Knowledge | Old Cohesion | New Anti-monopoly

• OE 1: Triangle Shirtwaist Fire -> [Faith in Knowledge + New] After 146 women died, the government relied on data and safety experts to write strict new factory laws instead of just guessing.

• OE 2: 18th Amendment / WCTU -> [Social Cohesion + Old] Progressives sold women's voting and alcohol bans using the old, traditional idea that maternal influence protects the family.

• OE 3: Louis Brandeis -> [Anti-Monopoly + New] This lawyer pushed the brand new idea that the government must actively break up giant corporations to save free competition.

The 1920s were a period of tension between new and changing attitudes on the one hand, and traditional values and nostalgia on the other. What led to the tension between the old and the new, AND in what ways was the tension manifested?

• Contextualization: The 1920s economic boom created a huge culture of buying things and living in cities, terrifying rural Protestants who felt their way of life was dying.

• Thesis: Consumerism Tension | Rapid Change Tension | Isolationist Tension

• OE 1: The "Flapper" -> [Older v. Younger + Mass Consumerism] Modern city women challenged old Victorian rules by buying makeup and partying, showing tension over the new consumer lifestyle.

• OE 2: Scopes Trial (1925) -> [Religious Fundamentalists v. Modernist + Pace of Change] A massive court battle over evolution that showed how freaked out people were by how fast society was changing.

• OE 3: National Origins Act -> [Nativists v. Immigrants + Domestic Isolationism] A traditionalist law that basically banned immigrants from Asia and Eastern Europe to keep America white and Protestant.

Analyze the ways in which the Great Depression altered the American social fabric (traditional values) in the 1930s.

• Contextualization: The 1929 stock market crash exposed a broken economy, causing massive unemployment and completely overwhelming local charities.

• Thesis: Challenged Optimism | Reinforced Isolationism | Reinforced Individualism

• OE 1: "Hoovervilles" -> [Future Orientation (Optimism) + Challenged] Miserable shantytowns built by unemployed people that visually proved the future was bleak and hopeless.

• OE 2: Deportation of Chicanos -> [Domestic Isolationism + Reinforced] Local governments kicked Mexican Americans off relief programs and deported them just to save scarce jobs for white citizens.

• OE 3: How to Win Friends and Influence People -> [Rugged Individualism + Reinforced] A massive best-selling book proving Americans still blamed themselves and believed personal hard work equaled success.

Analyze the responses of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration to the problems of the Great Depression. How effective were these responses? How did they change the role of the federal government?

• Contextualization: When FDR took office in 1933, he abandoned Hoover's hands-off approach and passed experimental laws to save the economy.

• Thesis: Effective Relief | Ineffective Recovery | Effective Reform

• OE 1: Civilian Conservation Corps -> [Relief + Challenged Laissez-Faire + Effective] FDR's national parks project successfully gave young men temporary government jobs in the woods so they wouldn't starve.

• OE 2: Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) -> [Recovery + Challenged Laissez-Faire + Somewhat effective] The government gave cash grants to states to fix the broken economy, but it wasn't enough money to actually cause a recovery.

• OE 3: Securities and Exchange Commission -> [Reform + Reinforced Gov Role + Effective] A permanent structural change giving the government effective police power over the stock market to stop future crashes.

Analyze the impact WWII had on women, organized labor, and racial minorities.

• Contextualization: The massive need for factory workers and soldiers to fight WWII ended the Great Depression, but forcing different groups together caused intense social friction.

• Thesis: Helped Women | Hurt Labor | Hurt Minorities

• OE 1: WAACs and WAVEs -> [Women + Helped] The military officially enlisted thousands of women into the army and navy for the first time, breaking old gender rules.

• OE 2: The "No-Strike" Pledge -> [Organized Labor + Hurt] Union leaders had to promise the government they would not strike during the war, stripping away their only weapon.

• OE 3: Zoot-Suit Riots -> [Racial Minorities + Hurt] A four-day riot where white sailors actively hunted and beat up Mexican American teenagers in Los Angeles.