Midterm Study Guide Spring 2014
1. Which event led to a fierce congressional debate over U.S. expansionism near the
end of the 1800s? (SSUSH14b)
the end of the Spanish American War
2. What was primarily at issue in the Spanish-American War? (SSUSH14b)
European countries relationship with Cuba/western hemisphere
3. At the end of the nineteenth century, America fought a war in the Philippines in order to create what? (SSUSH14b)
Establish an overseas empire for the U.S.
4. How did U.S. involvement in Latin America affect the creation of the Panama Canal? (SSUSH14c)
The U.S. aided a revolution against Columbia and gained Panama its independence
5. Who would have benefited most from the opening of the Panama Canal?
The U.S. military and shipping industries
6. Describe Theodore Roosevelt’s ideas about U.S expansion?
Big Stick Diplomacy— speak softly and carry a big stick.
7. What was the Roosevelt Corollary and what document is it related to?
Monroe Doc trine---adds a military police power policy to it
9. What were isolationists and what did they support? (SSUSH15a)
They didn’t want to the US to get involved in foreign affair and they supported isolationism
10. How did unrestricted submarine warfare lead to direct U.S. engagement in World War I? (SSUSH115a) German U boats were sinking American merchant ships
11. In the months leading up to World War I, the United States wanted to maintain its neutrality. Why? (SSUSH15a) to avoid war and continue trade and business with all of Europe
12. What was the Great Migration and when did it occur?(SSUSH15b)
Movement of African Americans from the South into Northern cities during WWI/1910-1920
13.Who was Eugene Debs? (SSUSH15b)
Socialist leader and labor union advocate
15. What were the “Fourteen Points”? (SSUSH15c)
Woodrow Wilson’s ideas for peace following WWI.
16. What was the intended purpose of the League of Nations?(SSUSH15c)
To prevent another global conflict like WWI
17. Why did President Woodrow Wilson oppose harsh restrictions on Germany following WWI? (SSUSH15c) he didn’t want the victors to take German territory for fear of retaliation
18. What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles? (SSUSH15c)
Forced harsh punishments on Germany including war reparations, loss of territory, war guilt, and de-militarization
19. What was the Red Scare and how did it impact immigration? (SSUSHb)
Fear of communism spread across the U.S. Many immigrants from eastern Europe were persecuted for fear of ties to communist parties
20. What was established in the Eighteenth Amendment? (SSUSH15d)
Banning of alcohol/Prohibition
21. During prohibition, bootlegging was popular in large cities. What were establishments that provided alcohol called? (SSUSH15d)
speakeasies
22. How did radio and movies have a direct impact on American society?(SSUSH16b)
Spread news and entertainment rapidly and widely
23. How did Langston Hughes contribute to African-American Culture in the 20th Century? (SSUSH16d) he was a poet that inspired many during the Harlem Renaissance
24. What was the Harlem Renaissance? (SSUSH16d)
Flourishing of black culture in the 1920s
25. Irving Berlin is most closely associated with what place? (SSUSH16d)
Tin Pan Alley
26. What was President Hoover’s response to the Great Depression? (SSUSH17c)
He encouraged cooperation, patience, and charity
27. What were the major causes of the economic depression of 1929? (SSUSH17a)
Overproduction, underconsumption , poor investing, stock speculation
28. How did human factors contribute to the environmental devastation caused by the Dust Bowl? (SSUSH17b)
Over farming/overproduction
29. What were Hoovervilles? (SSUSH17c)
Shanty towns built during the Great Depression out of scrap supplies
30. Since 1934, companies that wish to publicly sell stock are required to disclose information about their business practices and the risks involved in investing. Why? (SSUSH17a)
Poor investing practices was one of the primary causes of the depression
31. What was Franklin Roosevelt’s domestic program for addressing the Great Depression called? (SSUSH18)
The New Deal
32. What was the purpose of the Tennessee Valley Authority? (SSUSH18a)
Control flooding, bring electricity and jobs to poor area of the south (Tennessee Valley)
33. As part of the second New Deal, Franklin Roosevelt wanted to help guarantee retirement incomes of Americans. Which program was responsible for this? (SSUSH18c)
Social Security Act
34. How did WWII impact the Great Depression? (SSUSH18)
It stimulated the economy and brought the country out of depression
37. How did A. Philip Randolph’s proposed march on Washington affect President Franklin Roosevelt’s domestic policies during World War II? (SSUSH19a)
It forced the president end discrimination in hiring practices by government agencies
38. What were Japan’s reasons for the bombing of Pearl Harbor?(SSUSH19b)
Imperial competition, need for raw materials in Pacific
39. Why was internment of Japanese-Americans particularly harsh during World War II compared to other ethnic groups?(SSUSH19b)
Because the Japanese had directly attacked the U.S.
40. What occurred on D-Day? (SSUSH19c)
The invasion of Europe by allied powers at Normandy, France
41. How were U.S. factories and industry changed by WWII? (during the war)(SSUSH19d)
They converted from consumer goods to war materials
42. Describes the employment of women during World War II. (SSUSH19d)
Women worked as nurses/secretaries/factory workers, etc.
43. What was the result of the Manhattan Project? (SSUSH 19e)
Nuclear weapons/atom bomb
44. The development of the atomic bomb was important to the scientific community because (SSUSH19e) led to many new scientific discoveries
45. Why were air and naval tactics important to the US in the Pacific Theater during World War II? (SSUSH19f) mmost battled were fought in the sea or on islands in the Pacific
46. What was significant about the Battle of Midway? (SSUSH19c)
It stopped the advancement of Japan in the Pacific and was a turning point for the U.S.