DCUSH FINAL EXAM

  1. What criticism did Henry Demarest Lloyd make against Rockefeller’s Standard Oil in Wealth Against Commonwealth (1892)?

Lloyd condemned Standard Oil as a monopoly that used unethical practices to crush competition and manipulate markets, threatening democracy and economic fairness.

  1. Why did western territories take longer than eastern territories to achieve statehood?

Western territories had smaller populations, conflicts with Native Americans, and issues with lawlessness and infrastructure, delaying statehood.

  1. How did expanding agricultural production in foreign countries and the American West lead to the migration of rural populations to cities?

Overproduction led to falling crop prices and debt, pushing struggling farmers to seek jobs in urban industrial centers.

  1. Why was the Hollywood version of the western “cowboy” based more on fantasy than reality? 

It romanticized the cowboy as a heroic loner, ignoring the diverse, often low-paid laborers and harsh realities of frontier life.

  1. Why did President James Buchanan replace Utah’s territorial governor Brigham Young with a non-Mormon appointee in 1857? 

Buchanan wanted to assert federal authority over the Mormon-controlled territory amid fears of theocratic rule.

  1. According to the authors of the Dawes Severalty Act, what constitutes a civilized life for Native Americans in the later nineteenth century? 

Living as individual landowners, farming privately, adopting Christianity, and abandoning tribal culture.

  1. Why was William Tweed so popular with the city’s immigrant poor? 

He provided jobs, social services, and aid in exchange for political support, which immigrants often lacked access to otherwise.

  1. Why did railroad companies and other businesses form “pools” during the Gilded Age? 

To limit competition, fix prices, and stabilize profits by coordinating operations and dividing markets.


  1. How did economic development in Brazil during and after the American Civil War affect the lives of southern cotton farmers? 

Brazil’s cotton production increased, adding competition and lowering global prices, which hurt American farmers.

  1. How did Populists hope to guarantee farmers inexpensive access to markets for their crops? 

By advocating for government ownership of railroads and grain storage facilities to lower transportation and storage costs.

  1. Why did the South fail to attract significant industrial development in the wake of Reconstruction? 

It lacked infrastructure, capital, and an educated labor force, and remained focused on agriculture and low-wage labor.

  1. How did black women challenge the racial ideology of the Jim Crow South? 

They organized clubs, fought for civil rights, promoted education, and protested segregation and lynching.

  1. How did the Civil War come to be remembered by the 1890s as the white North and South moved toward reconciliation? 

As a tragic, mutual struggle rather than a fight over slavery, downplaying Black emancipation to foster national unity.

  1. What explains the appeal of the Lost Cause mythology for southern whites in the late nineteenth century?

It romanticized the Confederacy, framed the war as noble, and justified white supremacy and segregation.

  1. The Farmers’ Alliance hoped to improve American farmers’ economic stress by 

Creating cooperatives and advocating for government intervention, including sub treasuries and regulation of railroads.

  1. Why was the city the focus of Progressive politics?

Urban areas were where industrialization's worst effects—poverty, corruption, health hazards—were most visible.


  1. How did nickelodeons reflect a mass-consumption society in the Progressive era?

They offered affordable, mass entertainment, showing how leisure became commercialized and accessible to the working class.

  1. Why did workers view the introduction of scientific management as a loss of freedom?

It reduced worker autonomy, treated them like machines, and prioritize efficiency over individual skill.

  1. Why did the Socialist Party gain significant political influence during the Progressive era? 

It addressed workers’ rights, economic inequality, and appealed to immigrants and industrial laborers left behind by capitalism.

  1. What brought about a new wave of sympathy for the plight of women striking in the garment industry in Lawrence, Massachusetts? 

Public outrage grew when police attacked children of strikers and conditions were exposed, prompting national support.

  1. Why did the women’s suffrage movement increasingly focus its attention on a national amendment to the Constitution? 

State-level efforts were slow and inconsistent; a national amendment promised permanent, universal suffrage.

  1. Why did businesses support the Pure Food and Drug Act?

It restored consumer confidence in products and allowed trustworthy companies to outcompete dishonest ones.

  1. Why were many Americans drawn to the Socialist Party in the election of 1912?

It addressed the problems of inequality, workers' rights, and economic justice during a time of industrial unrest.

  1. Why did World War I transform Western civilization so profoundly?

It caused massive casualties, disillusionment, economic upheaval, and questioned the values of progress and nationalism.



  1. Why were Americans divided over the outbreak of the Great War?

Ethnic ties, political beliefs, and economic interests led to differing opinions about supporting Allies or staying neutral.

  1. Why were women so influential in the outcome of the election of 1916?

They supported Wilson’s peace platform and feared that Republican Charles Evans Hughes would lead the U.S. into war.

  1. Why did the War Industries Board establish standardized specifications during World War I?

To maximize efficiency and coordination in war production by reducing variety and simplifying manufacturing.

  1. How did the Committee on Public Information present its message to encourage Americans to remain loyal and support the war effort?

Through propaganda—posters, films, speeches, and pamphlets promoting patriotism and demonizing the enemy.

  1. Why did World War I threaten to tear the women’s suffrage movement apart?

Some women supported the war effort, while others opposed it, creating divisions over how to best advance suffrage.

  1. Why did Americanization programs often target women?

Mothers were seen as cultural transmitters, so teaching them American values was believed to shape the next generation.

  1. How did Garveyites define freedom at the time of World War I?

Freedom meant Black self-reliance, pride, economic independence, and a return to Africa for some.

  1. What was the impact of the automobile on life in the United States in the 1920s?

It transformed transportation, enabled suburban growth, and fueled industries like steel, rubber, and oil.

  1. Why did General Motors (GM) surpass Ford in automobile sales in the 1920s?

GM offered cars in multiple styles and colors, appealing to consumer desires for choice and status.




  1. How was American life different in the 1920s than it had been for previous generations?

It was more urban, consumer-driven, and culturally dynamic, with new forms of entertainment and shifting morals.

  1. How did the Committee of Public Information, created during World War I, affect businesses in the 1920s?

It taught businesses effective mass advertising and public relations techniques to shape public opinion.

  1. Why did many labor unions see membership decline in the 1920s?

Anti-union sentiment, employer resistance, and the Red Scare associated unions with radicalism and un-Americanism.

  1. What was the stated purpose of the Equal Rights Amendment introduced in the 1920s?

To eliminate all legal distinctions based on sex and guarantee equal rights under the law for women.

  1. Why did cigarettes become known as “torches of freedom” during the 1920s?

Women smoking was used as a symbol of female independence and liberation in public relations campaigns.

  1. What did President Harding mean when he called for a “return to normalcy”?

A return to pre-WWI isolationism, limited government, and traditional values after the upheaval of war and progressivism.

  1. According to Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, how could corporations have helped to prevent the Depression?

By increasing worker wages and purchasing power, which would have stimulated demand and economic stability.

  1. What was the first crisis that President Roosevelt chose to deal with as soon as he took office? 

The banking crisis—he declared a “bank holiday” to stabilize the financial system.

  1. What was significant about the Glass-Steagall Act signed into law in 1933?

It separated commercial and investment banking and created the FDIC to protect depositors.

  1. What was the goal of the Civilian Conservation Corps?

To provide jobs for young men in conservation projects like reforestation, soil conservation, and park development.

  1. What was the goal of the Agricultural Adjustment Act?

To raise crop prices by paying farmers to limit production, reducing surpluses.

  1. What innovation did Roosevelt bring to the national housing crisis? 

He created government-backed mortgage insurance to make home ownership more affordable (via the FHA).

  1. What best describes the state of the New Deal by the end of Roosevelt’s first term in 1937?


It had provided relief and reforms, but faced opposition from conservatives and the Supreme Court.


  1. What factors contributed to the growth of union membership in the 1930s?

New Deal protections (like the Wagner Act), industrial organizing by the CIO, and worker frustration with conditions.

  1. What were President Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms?

Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

  1. How did President Franklin Roosevelt’s foreign policy differ from that of President Herbert Hoover?

FDR was more interventionist, promoting the Good Neighbor Policy and gradually moving the U.S. toward support for the Allies.

  1. Why did many Americans hope to avoid involvement in the war in Europe that began in 1939?

They remembered the losses of WWI and favored isolationism to avoid being dragged into another foreign conflict.


  1. What was President’s Roosevelt’s “cash and carry” plan?

It allowed nations at war to buy arms from the U.S. if they paid cash and transported them themselves.

  1. What pre-wartime group did Henry Ford, Charles Lindbergh, and Father Charles Coughlin join, much to the dismay of President Roosevelt?

The America First Committee, which opposed U.S. involvement in WWII.

  1. Why did Franklin Roosevelt decide to seek a third term as president in 1940?

He believed his leadership was needed as global war threatened democracy and U.S. security.

  1. What was the primary impact of the Lend-Lease Bill that was passed in 1941?

It allowed the U.S. to supply military aid to Allied nations, moving it closer to active involvement in WWII.

  1. What best describes the United States’ experiences in the first months after the country entered World War II?

The U.S. suffered early setbacks, especially in the Pacific, before fully mobilizing its economy and military.

  1. Why was it unlikely that the Soviet Union was going to embark on a new military campaign in the years following World War II?

The USSR had suffered enormous casualties and devastation during WWII, leaving it economically and militarily drained.

  1. Why were American diplomats particularly dismayed that the Soviets installed a procommunist government in Poland in 1945?

It violated wartime promises of free elections and signaled Soviet intentions to dominate Eastern Europe.

  1. What was the phenomenon known as the Iron Curtain?

A metaphor for the division between Western democracies and Eastern communist countries under Soviet control.

  1. What was advocated by the Truman Doctrine?

U.S. support (economic and military) for countries resisting communism, starting with Greece and Turkey.

  1. What obstacle did Harry Truman face when he assumed the presidency following the death of Franklin Roosevelt in April 1945?

He lacked foreign policy experience and inherited a global war and postwar planning responsibilities.

  1. What was the purpose of the Marshall Plan?

To provide economic aid to rebuild Western Europe and prevent the spread of communism.

  1. Why did the American government agree to spend billions of dollars on the economic recovery of Europe at the end of the war?

To promote political stability, rebuild markets for U.S. goods, and contain communism.

  1. How did the United States respond to Stalin’s blockade of the city of Berlin?

With the Berlin Airlift, flying in supplies to sustain West Berlin.

  1. What was true about the American gross national product (GNP) between 1946 and 1960?

It doubled, reflecting strong postwar economic growth and rising living standards.

  1. How did Los Angeles epitomize America’s new love affair with the automobile in the 1950s?

It expanded rapidly with freeways and car culture, becoming the model of suburban, car-centered life.

  1. What was one major difference in the consumer culture of the 1950s from previous eras of United States history?

Mass consumption became central to American identity, with new technologies and widespread advertising.

  1. What was one major impact television had on American culture in the 1950s?

It shaped public opinion, unified popular culture, and brought news and entertainment into every home.

  1. What was the role played by television in the Army-McCarthy hearings?

It exposed McCarthy's bullying tactics to the public, leading to his fall from influence.


  1. Why did auto manufacturers and oil companies vault to the top ranks of corporate America in the 1950s?

Car ownership boomed, spurring demand for vehicles, gasoline, highways, and related infrastructure.

  1. What gave the conservatives of the 1950s their political unity?

Opposition to New Deal liberalism, communism, and social change unified various conservative factions.

  1. Why were American suburbs in the 1950s so uniformly segregated?

Federal housing policies and real estate practices like redlining and restrictive covenants enforced segregation.

  1. In addition to sit-ins, what was true of other forms of direct action by civil rights groups?

They included boycotts, freedom rides, marches, and voter registration drives.

  1. Why did many of the African-American civil rights protesters who marched in June 1963 in more than 186 cities hope to be arrested?

Mass arrests would draw national attention to injustice and pressure local and federal authorities to act.

  1. What was one of President Kennedy’s first acts designed to combat communism?

Establishment of the Peace Corps to promote development and goodwill in the developing world.

  1. What did President John F. Kennedy have in common with his predecessor, Dwight D. Eisenhower?

Both were committed to containing communism and increasing U.S. defense capabilities.

  1. What event forced President Kennedy to take meaningful actions in support of the civil rights movement? 

Violent resistance to desegregation, especially in Birmingham, Alabama, shocked the nation and forced federal involvement.

  1. What set Lyndon B. Johnson apart from his predecessor, John F. Kennedy?

He was a master legislator with deep congressional experience, enabling him to pass major reforms.

  1. Why did the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) emerge at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City in 1964?

To challenge the legitimacy of Mississippi's all-white delegation and demand representation for Black voters.

  1. What did Republican Barry Goldwater view as a threat to freedom?

An expanding federal government and liberal policies that he believed undermined individual liberty.

  1. What was the Supreme Court’s ruling in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke?

Race could be one of several factors in college admissions, but racial quotas were unconstitutional.

  1. Why did the CIA seek to destabilize the government of Chile after 1970?

To prevent the democratically elected socialist president Salvador Allende from aligning with the USSR.

  1. What was meant by Nixon’s policy of Vietnamization?

Gradually withdrawing U.S. troops while shifting combat responsibility to South Vietnamese forces.

  1. What were the results of the U.S. invasion of Cambodia in 1970?

It expanded the war, triggered widespread protests (e.g., Kent State shootings), and destabilized Cambodia.

  1. How did American involvement in Vietnam end in 1975?

With the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese forces, marking a defeat for U.S. efforts in Vietnam.

  1. What was the target of the burglars who were arrested during the Watergate break-in in 1972?

The Democratic National Committee headquarters.

  1. What did the events surrounding the Watergate break-in and cover-up suggest about Richard Nixon?

That he abused presidential power and tried to obstruct justice, leading to his resignation.

  1. Why had it been premature for liberals to celebrate the downfall of their political adversary Richard Nixon?

The backlash led to conservative resurgence and the election of Ronald Reagan.

  1. Who in George H. W. Bush’s administration strongly disagreed with Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney about the future of national security after the Cold War?

Colin Powell, who advocated for a more cautious use of U.S. military power.

  1. What was the Contract with America?

A Republican legislative agenda in 1994 promising tax cuts, welfare reform, and smaller government.

  1. How did President Clinton respond to the Republican victory in the 1994 congressional elections?

He moved to the political center and cooperated on welfare reform and budget balancing.

  1. What was the fate of the chief officers of Enron?

They were prosecuted for fraud and other crimes after the company’s massive accounting scandal.

  1. What did fundamentalist Christianity and Islamic fundamentalism have in common in the United States at the beginning of the twenty-first century?

Both reacted strongly against modern secularism and sought to reassert traditional religious values.

  1. Because of the 1965 changes in immigration laws, thirty-five years later what was true of the immigrant population in the United States?

It became more diverse, with more immigrants coming from Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

  1. How could the trend of mass imprisonment in the late twentieth century have been avoided?

Through alternatives to incarceration, such as sentencing reform, rehabilitation, and changes to drug laws.

  1. What was a visible sign of Native American tribal revitalization in the 1990s?

Growth of tribal self-government and economic development, including casino gaming operations.

  1. What was the decision in Casey v. Planned Parenthood of Pennsylvania?

The Court upheld abortion rights but allowed states to impose some restrictions, like waiting periods.

  1. Who organized the 1995 truck bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma?

Timothy McVeigh, a right-wing extremist angry at the federal government.