ADD TO THIS LIST AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH SECTION, PLEASE



Questions You Still Have: What Do You Need/Want to Know?

In simple terms, what caused the sub-prime mortgage scandal?
Review what happened during the 2000 election (Robbie)
Review religion's role in politics and government (Is it growing? How is it viewed?) (Thibault)
Review the issue with Florida during the 2000 election. (Courtney)
Review Clinton's actions post-Cold War (Christine)
History of U.S. currency policy and its effect on macroeconomics (international and domestic). (Brian Burns)
The history, policies, and macroeconomic effects of the Federal Reserve (Brian Burns)
The thesis of Keynesian economic theory and its justifications (Brian Burns)
A history of US environmental policy (Brian Burns)
The failure of post cold war diplomatic and military strategy (Kendrick)
The growing wealth gap (Kendrick)
How pro-active America can and should be in its fight against terrorism (Kendrick)
America's Image abroad (Kendrick)
Review Clinton's foreign policy issue. What was he trying to achieve? What did he achieve? (Eleni)
The uses of a state definition of marriage. (Brian Burns)
Review on the effects of the Abu Ghraib Scandal. (Colin Leach)
Review Clinton's post cold war foreign policy. (Lex)
Review the 2000 election - Florida and Supreme Court. (Rachel)
Review what the importance of the 2000 election confusion was. (emma)
Review the affect of the 2004 and 2008 elections on our secular state and how the reality of a secular state is changing. (emma)
Review the 2000 election in Florida. (Tommy)
Review the confusion with the Florida votes in the 2000 election, and also why the Supreme Court handled it instead of the Florida government. (Emma B.)
What is the world community of free-market democracies, and how has it grown more interdependent? (Jasper)
How did post-Cold War US foreign lead to the tarnishing of the world's image of America? (Jasper)
The policies on same-sex marriage in different states. (Pippa)
The Shia & Sunni in Iraq: Why there was violence? Reasons for the Sunni Awakening? (Olivia L.)
Clinton's problems generating a new post- Cold War foreign policy. (Graham)
Why did the U.S. attack Iraq in response to 9/11? I know we believed they had nuclear weapons, but why did we think that they had them In the first place (in other words, why investigate Iraq? (Adam P.)
Bill Clinton's struggle with creating a foreign policy. (Morgan)
Was the Iraq war in the end a victory? How do we define victory? (Noah)
Historical Terms/ Vocabulary: What Facts Should A Student of American History Know?

Containment vs Enlargement as foreign policy
Define Realpolitik (Robbie)
What was the Abu Ghraib Scandal? (Thibault)
Define "failure of imagination". (Courtney)
What factors triggered The Iraq War? (Christine)
When the american left wished for more regulation in finance (post-2008 recession), exactly what kind of regulation did they wish for? (Brian Burns)
Bernie Madoff
How would the right wing's proposal to increase revenue by lowering taxes make actual financial sense?
What was the controversy surrounding the 2000 election? (Lex)
Is Thomas Friedman's "Green Solution" truly possible at the moment? (Colin Leach)
Explain the two sides of affirmative action. (Rachel)
assimilability (emma)
What is "hegemony on the cheap"? (Tommy)
Detterence (Emma B.)
Affirmative Action (Jasper)
Free-Market (Jasper)
Pluralism (Olivia L.)
Terrorism and reasons why the U.S was a "number 1" target to strike. (Olivia L.)
Define facade
Embryonic stem cell research controversy, including Bush's decision and people's opinions on the matter (Morgan)
How did President Bush define the "Axis of Evil?" (Noah)
What points led up to 9/11 (Graham)

Consider both famous and not so famous women. Famous: Eleanor Roosevelt, Marion Anderson, Frances Perkins, Dorothea Lange. Not famous: dust bowl migrants; factory workers

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How did African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos fare during the Great Depression? Was their experience similar to or different from that of caucasian Americans? Were there any special programs set up to meet their needs?

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Why did the Supreme Court invalidate the AAA and the NRA? How did FDR try to prevent this from happening in the second New Deal?

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Father Coughlin, radio priest; Dr. Francis Townsend, advocate of old age pension plan; Huey Long, a chicken in every pot; Norman Thomas, socialist

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Works Progress Administration; theater, murals (Diego Rivera); newspaper; slave narratives

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John Maynard Keynes' influence; try anything attitude. . .

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FDR was re-elected in 1936; he revamped New Deal programs in his second term a) to respond to critics from right and left and b) to try to make New Deal programs capable of withstanding Supreme Court scrutiny.

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F Block

1. Name an example of a conflict that ensued form the diffs between modernism and traditional values
2. Why are the 1920s considered their own era
3. While the auto industry increased, what industry decreased?
4. What was the Mellon Plan? How did it show something key about the 1920s?
5. Fordney McCumber Act
Teapot Dome Scandal?
6. What did the Volstead Act Enforce?
7. What aspects of American industry increased in addition to the auto industry?
8. What industrial sectors decreased?
9. What was the Red Scare/Palmer Raids?
10. What was the Harlem Renaissance? Why did it coexist with a historical resurgence of the KKK?
11. High immigration rates/resurgence of nativism/National Origins Act of 1926


B Block
1. Explain 3 major goals of President Harding; connect this to how Republican views changed
2. How did the US government react to the Red Scare and limit immigration?
3. What was the most notable consumer product in the 1920s, and how did it affect the US economy in the big picture?
4. What was THE key contradiction in 1920s America? Explain.
5. How did the pre WWI years differ form the 1920s in terms of American life and the economy?
6. Why was the Harlem Renaissance significant?
7. What are the parallels between the rise and fall of the US economy in 1990-2011 and the 1920s, specifically regarding credit?

U.S. History Films List: a collection of suggestions from other people-I have bold faced my top ten . . .

The First List is from John Nesbit, of Phoenix, AZ. http://www.epinions.com/content_1965662340

1. The Crucible (1996) This underrated film based on Arthur Miller's play explores the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1632. Miller actually did quite a bit of research for his play, using trial records as he created the dialogue. Although we'll never know definitively what caused the mass hysteria at Salem, Miller's psychological and sociological study gives as much insight as the historical records. With Miller himself acting as a consultant during the filming, the play remains very true to the spirit that he intended when he penned it in the 1950's as a thinly disguised criticism of McCarthyism. With an excellent cast and location filming on the Massachusetts coast, The Crucible captures the Puritan colonial period better than any other film to date.
2. The Last of the Mohicans (1992) Daniel Day Lewis must be type cast as the American colonial guy (he also stars in The Crucible). But here he heroically represents the idealized American frontiersman in Michael Mann's excellent adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's immortal novel, set during the French and Indian War in upstate New York. Michael Mann's lyrical adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's novel actually presents a good picture of what the French and Indian War was like, and foreshadows the coming American Revolution. Mann's cinematic landscapes are always pretty to look at, and the battle scenes here are choreographed brutally and as realistically as the romanticized Cooper work can allow.
3. Gone with the Wind (1939) To portray the thinking of the South during the Civil War period, this Clark Gable/Vivian Leigh classic has to be on anyone's historical film list. Give the film credit for holding up over the years-it still packs people into theaters whenever it gets re-released to the big screen (especially in the South). Sure it's smaltzy in parts by today's standards, but Gone with the Wind remains a lot of fun. For historical purposes, the first half of the film stands up much better than the second half, which mostly emphasizes the love story. To give some balance to the Union forces, you could justify showing Glory as well.
4. Little Big Man (1970) Arthur Penn creates a humorous account of the Indian Wars on the Great Plains of 19th century America, but with a serious undertone. Dustin Hofmann's character serves as a narrator who knows the ways of both the Indians and settlers, but the brutal re-creation of the Sand Creek massacre and a later bloody slaughter of women and children confirms who the true human beings are.
Who can forget Old Lodge Skin's observation? ". . . But the white man, they believe EVERYTHING is dead. Stone, earth, animals. And people! Even their own people! If things keep trying to live, white man will rub them out. That is the difference." A surprising choice perhaps, but I really do enjoy Arthur Penn's humorous treatment of the old West here. It's one of the first sensitive treatments of Native Americans that I can recall, at least in a major release. Chief Dan George is priceless as a wise and very human elder. Despite the liberties that the film takes with history, this film did open my eyes more to the injustices suffered by the native people, and inspired me to read more background about that historical period, which led me to live on the Navajo reservation for over 20 years.
5. Grapes of Wrath (1940) John Ford's classic rendition of Steinbeck's novel captures the spirit of the Great Depression and the plight of poor folks of that time better than any film I can think of. The film portrays the courageous Joad family in pursuit of the American dream in the face of adversity-two especially memorable moments occur with Tom's farewell and Ma Joad's "we are the people" speech. Some of the camera shots even look like the published photos coming out of the Dust Bowl from the 1930's.
6. Patton (1970) George C. Scott becomes George S. Patton in this epic war film. You can learn a lot of WWII history through the film (at least the U.S. involvement on the European front), but even better - you can gain insights into the complex and controversial poet warrior himself. For people who wonder whether the film is for hawks or doves, the answer is "yes." Above all, Patton remains a character study.
7. The Right Stuff (1983) There are a number of films that you can use to show the Cold War and demonstrate the paranoia of the 1950's, but why not focus on one of the seminal events of the period-the launch of sputnik, which triggered the Space Race. This film is great for watching whenever you need a lift about what is right and good about the American spirit. It's an incredibly well written and edited film about a turning point in our history when we began to earnestly reach for the stars.
8. Woodstock (1970) The 1960's are a turbulent turning point in American history that must be represented by film. Even though works like Easy Rider and The Graduate capture the spirit of the period, Woodstock has to rank as a singular film to represent the era. This documentary is a well-done film that captures the overall flavor of the 1969 festival, complete with local townspeople reactions and skinny-dipping. There are a number remarkable concert performances preserved forever in our memories-Richie Havens, Joan Baez in the night rain, Santana, Sly and the Family Stone. Just the footage of Hendrix would be worth the price of the video!
Woodstock truly IS a piece of history that defines a moment. Sure, there were a half a million people who attended the rain soaked, muddy event for three days of Peace and Music in upstate New York, but Woodstock enabled the event to live on afterwards and grow into legendary status. What could have been a small footnote in history has been expanded to mark the event with more significance than it may have originally had, and this is largely due to this documentary.
9. Apocalypse Now! (1979) Francis Ford Coppola has constructed the definitive Vietnam movie even though Apocalypse Now isn't just about the war. Coppola's film explores the dark regions of the heart and soul in a well-conceived metaphorical rendition of Conrad's novel that we see through Captain Willard's eyes as he pursues Kurtz and to "terminate" his command "with extreme prejudice!"
There are so many memorable scenes here - skiing on the river, surfing in the midst of chaotic shelling, the massacre in the boat, the bridge scene at night, the Wagnerian operatic huey attack on the village, and others. Who will ever forget Robert Duvall's statement, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning . . . Smelled like. . . victory." While other films about the Vietnam War will become film footnotes in history, Apocalypse Now is destined to be viewed and re-examined for many decades to come. Vietnam may provide the subject matter, but this landmark film reaches far beyond its Southeast Asian boundaries into the universal.
Note: For a more straight-forward accounting for the Vietnam War you may prefer Oliver Stone's autobiographical Platoon, but Stone cannot resist preaching to us in any of his films.
10. All the President's Men (1976) Why cover Watergate when there are so many other choices available? For one thing, Watergate must be regarded as an important turning point in American history-never again will Americans naively regard their political leaders as highly. So, the scandal in a sense destroyed much of our innocence, and pointed out the value of freedom of the press. Another reason is that Pakula's film is an intelligent and finely crafted work. Students will need to take notes to keep up with all the Watergate figures-but so did those of us who attempted to follow the situation as it was happening. Never before did we become as familiar with the White House staff.

The second list is much longer, and you can find an even more extensive list online. Click on the film titles if you are viewing this online, and it will take you to a brief description of the film. This list comes from a group web site called "Teach With Movies." Line 'em up on Netflix and have fun! Source: http://www.teachwithmovies.org/us-history-culture-subject-list.htm

1. Roots Vol. I U.S./1629 - 1750 & Diversity; World/Africa [12+]
2. The Scarlet Letter U.S./1629 - 1750 & Massachusetts; Religions/Christianity; Literature/U.S.
3. Fort Apache U.S./The Frontier and the West & Arizona [8+] (Some Spanish spoken by the Native Americans)
4. High Noon (U.S./The Frontier & the West, 1865 - 1913 and 1945 - 1991 (the Red Scare); Cinema; Literature/Myths of the Western genre; Literary devices: symbol; motif; foil; and expository phase; SEL: Marriage; Leadership; Courage; Moral-Ethical Emphasis: Responsibility; Citizenship) [11+]
5. The Ox-Bow Incident U.S./The Frontier and the West; 1865 - 1913; The Law; & Nevada
6. Amistad U.S./1812 - 1860 & Diversity [14+]
7. All The King's Men U.S./1913 - 1941, Politics & Louisiana; Literature/U.S. [13+]
8. The Color Purple Literature/U.S. & Literary Devices: motif, theme, symbol, characterization; U.S./1865 - 1913, 1913 - 1929; & Diversity/African-American [15+]
9. Inherit the Wind Cinema; U.S./1913 - 1929, 1945 - 1991 & Tennessee [12+]
10. Singing in the Rain (Dr. B's rec, features the story of the creation of the first "talkie," The Jazz Singer).
11. Matewan U.S./1913 - 1929, Diversity & West Virginia; Religions/Christianity [12+]
12. Warm Springs U.S./1913 - 1929 & Georgia; Biography [12+]
13. The Grapes of Wrath U.S./1929 - 1941; Oklahoma & California; Literature/U.S.; [12+]
14. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman U.S./1865 - 1991 & Diversity [10+]
15. Judgment at Nuremberg U.S./1941 - 1945, The Law; World/WW II [10+]
16. The Longest Day U.S./1941 - 1945; World/WW II [10+]
17. Saving Private Ryan Dr. B's recommendation for a movie about D-Day (I have not seen The Longest Day)
18. 12 Angry Men U.S./1945 - 1991 & The Law (due process; jury selection) [11+]
19. All the President's Men U.S./1945 - 1991 & Politics [12+]
20. Baseball: Inning 9. Home: 1970 - 1994 (select from the series) Sports; U.S. History & Culture
21. Breaking Away Sports/Bicycle Racing; U.S./1945 - 1991 & Indiana; [12+]
22. Ghosts of Mississippi U.S./1945 - Present, Diversity, the Law & Mississippi [12+]
23. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner U.S./ 1945 - 1991 & Diversity [10+]
24. High Noon (U.S./The Frontier & the West, 1865 - 1913 and 1945 - 1991 (the Red Scare); Cinema; Literature/Myths of the Western genre; Literary devices: symbol; motif; foil; and expository phase)

Questions about slavery F Block

1. How did slavery come to the English colonies in North America
2. What were the differences and similarities between indentured servitude and slavery 1660s oncward?
3. What were the differences between slavery in African, NoAm and the West Indies (Caribbean) 1700s-1800s
4. Was American slavery an economic institution justified with racism or was purely racism that led to slavery?
5. Did slavery dehumanize people in a way that hadn't happened before?
6. why did the Spanish in Florida encourage American slaves to escape?
7. Did the Dutch bring slavery to the mainland first?
8. Did the distinction between the colonies that were pro slavery and those that were con develop early or shortly before the civil war?
9. Was slavery more severe in the mainland colonies or in the West Indies or Africa? Why do we talk about American slavery more than we talk about slavery in the Caribbean or Africa?
10. Were there Asian slaves in North America?
11. Who determined who the slaves were in Africa/why did slavery start out there?
12. What percent of slaves led a life like the whites described (image of happy slave as portrayed in Gone With The Wind, respected by the families who owned them).
13. Why was escaping to the north better than escaping to the west?
14. What demographic of people owned slaves?
15. White people often justified slaveowning as a civilizing process; well, why didn't they go after other non Christians?
16. How many slave owners actually agreed with the methods they themselves used on slaves. Did they have any moral qualms about what they were doing?
17. What did the Quakers do (literally, what actions did they take) when they protested against slavery?

Essential Questions about slavery
A list collaboratively generated by B Block 7 october, 2010

Early Slavery: 1640s-1776
1. Why wasn't there a major slave uprising?
2. How were the slaves dehumanized by their owners?
3. How did the slave owners speak with slaves if they didn't know English? How long did it take them to learn English?
4. Did Europe use Africans for slavery like the Americans did?
5. What were some of the initial reasons that slavery started?
6. What country or who invented the first slave codes?
7. How did Africa respond to the colonies taking slaves from their countries?
8. How did warfare and existing slavery in Africa contribute to the rise of American slavery?
9. What was the history of slavery in Africa?
10. Why the shift from indentured servitude to African slavery?
11. Was North American slavery qualitatively different from conditions of servitude, bondage, and human mistreatment of other humans that had existed in Europe for centuries? Why or why not?

Slavery Develops: 1776-1808 and Slavery At Its Height: 1808-1865
12. Were planters the only slave owners, or did people who didn't really need extra labor help also have slaves as personal servants?
13. Did some slaves go back to Africa?
14. How prevalent were slaves North of the Mason Dixon line?
15. What's the history of the Mason Dixon line?
16. On average, how many slaves died during the middle passage?
17. What was the population of free blacks over time?
18. Were children forced to do the same labor as adults?
19. Were there gender division in labor?
20. What did slaves do when they weren't working?
21. On average how many slaves did the big plantation owners own during the height of slavery?
22. What percentage of the population had slaves in the mid 1800s (=height of slavery)?
23. How many Africans had been enslaved in total by the end of slavery in the US?
24. Were there ever white slaves in the US?
25. Were any of the slaves ever promoted to a higher position of authority over the others?

After Slavery: 1865-current day
26. What happened to former slaves after the slave system was abolished?
27. After the abolition of slavery, did some slaves go back to Africa?

1. Why do American Indians have higher rates of alcoholism?
2. Why are American Indians allowed to have casinos on reservations?
3. How many reservations are left? Where are the most reservations?
4. How long were native Americans living in North America before European contact?
5. How bad is crime on American Indian reservations right now?
6. How many people were in North America prior to European contact?
7. Why didn't the Europeans die from germs brought over from the Americas?
8. How many native American tribes were there and where did they live?
9. Are there famous Native Americans today?
10. American Indian religions?
11. What was their culture like before contact?
12. Who qualifies as American Indian and who gets to decide?
13. What happened to the mound builders?
14. What type of leadership did/do American Indian tribes have?
15. Did any tribes try to assimilate to American culture and how did that work out for them?
16. How did the US government deal with American Indians over the course of its history?
17. Are American Indians taxed by the US?
18. Did the Europeans adopt/adapt any of the American Indian technologies?
19. Are American Indians who step off the reservation diplomatically immune?
20. If you're born on a reservation and you move off, do you have to apply for citizenship?
21. Do people living on reservations have voting rights?

What questions should we ask about American Indians?

1. What was American Indian lifestyle like before European contact and after?
2. How long were American Indians here before European contact?
3. How big was cultural difference between AI and Europeans early on?
4. Who killed whom first?
5. What is the American Indian population today? What was it prior to contact?
6. Are there still Indian reservations where they confined to live (or free to live)? What % of American Indians do live on the reservation?
7. Do American Indians experience discrimination still?
8. What areas had the biggest American Indian pop and what areas do now?
9. Are the indigenous people of South America related to North American Indians?
10. How do the cultures of different tribes vary?
11. How many tribes were there? Are there now?
12. How many generations were in each tribe: lifespan and age at childbearing
13. Did racial discrimination differ from tribe to tribe. . .
14. Did white people distinguish among tribes or did they lump them together as "Indians."
15. What are the different Native American religions?
16. Did Native Americans ever discriminate against white people -were they ever in a position to do so?
17. What were some of the cultural traditions in the different tribes?
18. How did resistance to western influence vary from tribe to tribe?
19. Did the Europeans ever try to understand the American Indians' culture and what were some compromises that Europeans made to American Indians?
20. How did the acceptance of western influence vary from tribe to tribe?
21. Do some American Indian organizations want to and try to regain their land?
22. Why weren't westerners dying from the diseases from the Americas?
23. Why was the technology so different between American Indians and Euros-eg Euros had alcohol, guns, steel, horses.
24. Who qualifies as "genuine" American Indian? Who gets to decide?
25. Is it due to discrimination that there aren't as many opportunities for jobs and education for American Indians?
26. What is the economic and educational outlook for AI? Why?