Now that you've completed the lessons in your course, use the exercises shown here to practice applying your new-found knowledge. This is not a mandatory part of your coursework, but it is useful practice.
Explain three major ways that Reconstruction altered the social and political landscape of the United States. For each of the three changes you name, give a specific example, such as the name of an individual or the name and nature of specific legislation. Provide evidence of each of these changes, either in the form of quotations from primary sources or from secondary source verification. Finally, offer an analysis of what each of these changes meant for American society and civilization, including how they precipitated later racial movements and conflicts in different regions of the country and how they influenced subsequent laws.
Describe two different American inventions that occurred during the Industrial Revolution. For each of the inventions that you name, explain exactly how this invention was made and what individuals or groups contributed to the creation. Then, situate the discovery in the broader context of industrialization, and explain the effect of the invention on how particular individuals or groups lived and worked. Analyze both the pros and cons of industrialization as embodied by the inventions you analyze, and provide as much specific evidence as possible to justify your view.
What do you believe were the three major contributors to increasing urbanization in the United States? Tell the story of each of the causes you are naming, and explain exactly how each cause led more and more people to live in cities. Explain which parts of the country were most heavily impacted by urbanization and why the causes you named played out somewhat differently in different geographic regions. Offer evidence of each of the causes you are describing, using primary as well as secondary source material to justify your arguments. Finally, offer a hypothesis regarding the long term impact of urbanization on subsequent shifts in American society; explain how having more of the population centered in cities impacted politics, culture, and social norms.
Some scholars argue that American imperialism is similar to imperialism by any other powerful nation at a given point in history, whereas others argue that because of its unique geopolitics and colonial history, America's version of imperialism was distinct. Strongly argue for one or the other of these disparate viewpoints. Whichever argument you take up, give specific examples and explanations that help prove your point. Speculate as to the major arguments of the other side, and use historical examples to show why you believe these arguments to be incorrect.
Some historians see the Civil Rights movement as a unified movement fighting for legislative and social justice for people, regardless of their race. Others look at the Civil Rights Movement as a series of different and sometimes conflicting movements with similar but not identical aims. Take up one of the two approaches, and use historical evidence from speeches, photographs, newspaper articles or secondary source materials to prove your point. Explain any implications of your interpretation for later social and political movements, showing how either unity or divisiveness played out in subsequent work for social and political change.
What three to five individuals or groups do you think played the strongest role in the feminist movement of the second half of the twentieth century, and why? Describe the narratives each of these individuals or groups followed and what cause or causes they fought for most stridently. Explain what did or did not contribute to their success in fomenting change. Compare and contrast the individuals and groups you listed to one another, analyzing how their similarities or differences may or may not have contributed to their successes.
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