EXAMPLES OF ESSAY QUESTIONS-Unit 11

  1. What were the major sources of the progressive movement? Which of those sources were most significant, and why?
  2. Why did journalistic “muckrakers” play such a large role in the progressive movement? What does their strategy of publicizing social problems indicate about the strengths and weaknesses of American progressivism?
  3. Would you label Theodore Roosevelt a radical, liberal, moderate, or conservative? Justify your choice.
  4. Identify the “three Cs” of President Roosevelt’s Square Deal. Describe what he did to bring progressive reform action in each of the three areas. Did the Square Deal succeed in its goal of using the federal government to mediate between powerful interests?
  5. Compare and contrast Roosevelt’s New Nationalism and Wilson’s New Freedom programs. Which seems to you to be the more realistic response to industrialization? Why?
  6. Compare the issues and candidates in the presidential elections of 1912 and 1916. Account for
    Wilson’s victory in each case.
  7. It has been said that despite his intentions and idealistic pronouncements, “Woodrow Wilson’s Latin American and Caribbean policy became simply an extension of Roosevelt’s ‘big stick’.” Do you agree? Why or why not?
  8. Assess America’s policy of neutrality at the outset of World War I. Consider both
  9. Wilson’s policies in regard to Britain and Germany.
  10. the sentiments of the American public.

Were we “neutral in thought as well as deed”? Explain.

  1. Critically evaluate Woodrow Wilson’s personal qualities as well as his presidential leadership and policies. How did his personality affect his policies and their outcome?
  2. Based on Varying Viewpoints, why do historians disagree so strongly about “who were the progressives”? Which interpretations of American progressivism seem most persuasive? Why?
  3. Summarize the impact of American participation in World War I on
  4. the national economy.
  5. civil liberties.
  6. public attitudes.
  7. Summarize President Wilson’s Fourteen Points. Which were substantially attained as a result of American participation in World War I? Which were not? Why?
  8. Why did the United States fail to join the League of Nations? Consider the role of
  9. Wilson himself.
  10. Henry Cabot Lodge.
  11. the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.
  12. American political traditions.
  13. Assess the significance of Wilson’s moralistic idealism on his
  14. call for America’s entry into World War I in 1917.
  15. Fourteen Points.
  16. campaign for American participation in the League of Nations.