AP U S History



AP U S History

Attack The DBQ

Working With Historical Documents

Documents are the building blocks of historical scholarship. Analysis of documents is the starting place for all historians. Documents are evidence; their study must be mastered. History comes alive when you read a diary. You begin to understand that historical characters are human beings with human weaknesses. The struggle of a pioneer woman leaps out from this terse diary notation: "Got up a five, cut wood, cooked breakfast, cleaned stove, nine o'clock, delivered my son." In its finest moments, history erases the years separating the experiences of human beings.

The observations of eyewitnesses to an event are termed primary sources. Primary sources do not have to be original. A copy of the Declaration of Independence is a primary source because it exists in the same wording as the original. Writing based on the study of primary sources is a secondary source. A historian investigating the evolution of municipal government (1650-1825) reads various collections of laws for the colonies and early states. On the basis of his reading of primary sources he writes an interpretation explaining how municipal government changed from being mostly interested in promoting trade to being primarily interested in providing municipal services such as police protection, sewer drainage, clean water and fire protection. The resulting book, The Municipal Revolution in America :1650-1825, by John Teaford, is a secondary source.

Beyond the secondary source is the third level source. You are familiar with this example, a textbook. No author can read all the primary and secondary sources in American History. A historian tries to absorb as much history as possible while writing a textbook. Any textbook is by its very nature inadequate in terms of absolute correctness of all factual information. It requires time to update interpretations as new information becomes available. The advantage of this source is that it gives you a general idea of the topic you are interested in. Secondary sources give specific information. Primary sources give you the opportunity to analyze and synthesize the data for yourself.

Working with documents is exciting, provided you maintain a dash of skepticism. You must be prepared to test the credibility and authenticity of the document. Be prepared to look beyond the obvious. The first test of authenticity is to test the date of the document. The type of paper (photocopy of Declaration of Independence), literary style, corroboration of from other sources. How did the document come to be located where it is now? Documents have pedigrees, and now we have computer analysis to determine authenticity. The second test asks whether the document's author was in a position to observe. Was he knowledgeable? Biased? Does the contention match other statements made by the author. (Hitler and Jews). This is tricky as fifty campaign speeches might not mean as much as a private letter (if authentic). Some examples; newspapers (who do they write about?), a typical restored early 1800 home (why was this one restored?) Ideology (politically correct) plays a role. (propaganda vs. patriotic films).

Types of Documents

Documents and physical evidence surround us. Your personal history appears in family photos, report cards, a stuffed animal and school play program, notes to classroom friends. Society's documents range from official documents to physical remains. At a local public archive, a depository of public records, the variety of official records is astonishing; church records, court records, census records, cabinet meetings, voting records, city records, state records, police records, hospital records, legislative records, city council minutes, government surveys, governments publications, local maps, various collections of private papers.

The Document Based Question

The required Document Based Question (DBQ) differs from the standard essay in its emphasis on the candidate's ability to analyze and synthesize historical data and assess verbal, quantitative or pictorial materials as historical evidence. Like the standard essay however, the DBQ will also be judged on its thesis and argument. An essay question based on documents is a special type of essay question. It requires you to answer using document based evidence and your knowledge of the time period or the events alluded to in the question. For example, one question might involve comparing four accounts of the Battle of Lexington by four different generations (It also might have as its documents, four paintings by different generations). How and why are the accounts different?

Although confined to no single format, the DBQ that was introduced in the 1982 examination differs from those given during the preceding ten years. Significantly fewer documents are presented and greater emphasis is placed on outside knowledge. This latter format has persisted through 1993, and thus the present DBQ Format demands additional information and understanding beyond the actual documents. As in the past, the documents are unlikely to be familiar classes such as The Emancipation Proclamation or The Declaration of Independence, but their authors may be major historical figures. The documents will vary in length and will be chosen to illustrate interactions and complexities within the material. The material will include (where the question is suitable) charts, graphs, cartoons and pictures, as well as written materials. In addition to calling upon a broader spectrum of historical skills, the diversity of materials will allow students to assess the value of different sorts of documents.

Scores earned on the multiple choice and free response sections will each account for one half of the candidate's total examination grade. Within the free response section, each of the two essays written will be weighted equally. The DBQ will typically require students to relate the documents to a historical period or theme, and thus to focus on major periods and issues. For this reason, outside knowledge is substantially more important than it was in DBQs offered before 1982 and must be incorporated into the students essay if the highest scores are to be earned. It should be noted that the emphasis of the DBQ will remain on analysis and synthesis, not historical narrative.

Steps in answering DBQs

1. Read the question carefully. Know what the question is asking. You must be able to put the given information into a larger historical context. The College Board expects students to bring outside information into the essays. Using the documents alone will not result in a high score. One teachers suggests that you make notes on the question without first reading the documents.

2. Read the documents carefully but rapidly. Do not get bogged down in a document, get an overview and the information that pertains to the question. Take brief notes to reflect how the document contributes to your answer (thesis).

3. Use the document to draw conclusions. Underline key words and phrases that give you exactly what the question asks for. Everything you write should point toward these words or phrases. AP Readers are looking for application of the data, not summaries or paraphrases. Do not quote long passages from a document. Anything longer than ten words should be summarized in your own words.

4. Use 10-15 minutes to organize the data into the form the question is asking (e.g. compare and contrast). You will probably want to make a brief outline of your essay at this point.

5. After organizing the data develop Thesis Statement (who, what, when, where) for your essay. Your thesis is your interpretation and may be unique and original. A good thesis must

involve both the topic and an attitude toward the topic. Use most of the documents in supporting your thesis.

6. Your DBQ response should be about five paragraphs. Be sure you define the terms (e.g. a liberal is...) and always deal with the issues in the question in the same sequence that the question does. Use as many facts as you can to illustrate your interpretation. The extensive and specific material you study for the multiple-choice preparation should be of help here, and of course you would use the documents. Remember that your essay should always focus on the proof of your thesis. Do not wander off course. We have all had to listen to someone who never comes to the point of a story. Focus on what your evidence proves. This will show your ability to understand and interpret historical data, not just spew out facts.

7. Organize your conclusion, perhaps restating your thesis in different words. Be sure the conclusion goes beyond a mere summary to a statement of importance. Say with confidence that you are correct in the ways you see things.

8. Budget your time and write as neatly as you can. Neatness is an intangible, but new research shows that it counts more than we previously had thought.

How to Analyze Documents

I. Visuals

A. Pictures and Photographs

(1) Subject; What person, event or subject is represented? (2) Time and Place; when and where is subject taking place? (3) Point of View; is artist/photographer trying to present his viewpoint? (4) Emotional Impact; what is the general impression? (5) Form of Expression; what kind of image is it? (6) Is there Symbolism?

B. Cartoon

(1) Who are the characters? Realistic or exaggerated? Note expressions. (2) What symbols are employed? (Uncle Sam, the flag, justice) (3) What is the overall impression of the cartoon? (4) Note title of cartoon.

C. Poster

(1) Publisher? For what reason? (2) Title (3) Intended for what audience? (4) Purpose of the poster or evidence.

D. Diagrams and Flowcharts

(1) Used to summarize an important idea and to illustrate the idea's parts (2) Check Title (3) Examine the parts (4) Labels.

E. Maps

(1) Maps deal with a specific time period (2) a map focuses on a specific time period, event or development, often a change over time illustration (e.g. Compromise of 1850) (3) place the subject in a specific location (4) check title (%0 check key or legend (5) remember the difference between geographic maps and electoral result maps.

F. Charts

(1) Usually illustrate a relationship between two subjects (e.g. time & voting, age & prohibition leadership) and this relationship increases or decreases. (2) Check title and category title (3) are numbers percentages or absolutes. the numbers are used, either absolute or per cent, to convey an idea. (4) Be careful of large numbers that are abbreviated in say thousands 62= 62,000

(5) Were the changes illustrated significant? (is a 10% increase or decrease significant?) (6) Remember the possible influence of major events on a time period (e.g. World War I on 1914-1920) (7) remember the chart illustrates a trend only for a specific time period (8) be aware of a chart with a collapsed X or Y axis (1770-75, 1784-92). It is intended to indicate that a specific time period was left out of the chart.

G. Graphs

(1) read the key (2) notice the title (3) look for dates (4) graphs use statistical data to present historical comparisons or changes over time (5) Pie Graph; each circle represents the total quantity (100%) Portions represent a percentage.(6) Bar Graph One usually represents a percentage or quantity and the other a time period (7) Line Graph; read both axis. Unlike a bar graph, which shows a subject at a specific time, a line graph can show trends over every part of a time period, and can show several trends at once.

Pie Graph

Bar Graph

Line Graph

II Printed Materials

A Newspapers

(1) Editorial or article?. You should be aware that before the 20th Century it was hard to distinguish (2) Interview (3) Newspapers political or economic bias (urban, south?) (4) letter to the editor (4) may reflect mass opinion, or be an attempt to influence mass opinion.

B. Magazine or pamphlet

(1) same check as newspaper (2) what is the magazine's audience?

C. Book

(1) Is it contemporary? Eyewitness or second hand account? (2) disinterested observer or politically partisan? (3) Evidence or opinion? (4) Preface is a personal statement (5) novels can be symbolic (6) recollection of event, long after it happened? (7) Memoirs, views that are select and personal and rarely self critical.

D. Poem

(1) usually use language as art rather than to give opinion (2) usually a spiritual or symbolic view of period, event or idea.

III Personal Documents

A. Speech

(1) to what audience (2) rough draft? (3) official speech or informal (4) campaign speech (5) from what you know of the speaker, is this the view you would expect him to take?

B. Letter

(1) official or personal? (2) to subordinate or superior (3) what is the relationship between the two people? (4) public or private (5) from an organization (6) is the date significant?

C. Diary

(1) personal (2) after or before the fact? (3) diary not usually self critical

IV Political Document

A. Party Platform (1) candidate may not Agree (2) often a compromise document (3) a convention declaration, such as Seneca Falls may describe present conditions, or show the organization's goals and expectations.

V Public Records

A. Laws, proclamations, executive orders

(1) why was the law passed? (2) symbolic, or really expected to be enforced? (3) federal, state or local?

B. Court Decision

1) does it declare a law unconstitutional

2) create new problems

3) does the law represent the views of a particular group, section, party or class?

4) was the decision enforced or obeyed?

5) narrow or broad interpretation of the constitution?

6) note the vote (5-4?)

7) trial transcript.

C. Legislative Debate, Congressional Record, Congressional Testimony

1) was this for colleagues or constituents

2) any other evidence of influence of the speaker among his peers

3) person known for other activities

4) what point of view does the person testifying have?

D. Government Agency Report

(1) federal, state or local? (2) how does it reflect the general tone of government at the time? (3) agency reports are rarely critical of themselves (4) a report may be intended to lay a basis for future expansion in scope, powers or increased funding.

E Other Documents

1) Diplomatic correspondence (2) official letters (3) Treaties.

Here is what I give my kids -- it comes in part from many of you!

How to answer a Document Based Question

1. Read the question carefully.

2. Note that you will ALWAYS be asked to "use the documents AND your knowledge of the time period" (meaning any knowledge NOT contained in the documents) to answer the question.

3. Before you read the documents, write out any facts that you think will be pertinent. This will give you a basis for theoutside information that you will need in the answer.

4. Now that you have some outside information, begin to read the documents. Make notes on the documents as you read them, mentally thinking how you could organize your answer and about the viewpoint that you wish to take. Do NOT under ANY circumstances simply discuss each document in order (for example, "document A says this, document B says this . . ."). This is called a "laundry list" and will ALWAYS receive a low grade.

5. Group the documents logically by topic AND category of proof.

6. Begin writing your answer. As with any good essay, your introduction should set your essay in time and place, present a thesis, and provide your reader with a sense of what general categories of proof you will use (aka a "partition").

7. Be sure to pull information from the documents and your bank of outside information. The only indication you need to give for when you use information from a document is to write the letter in parentheses -- (Doc A). It is better to mention the author or source of the document, rather than say, "Document A proves . . ." Quote very sparingly from the documents, pulling key words or phrases rather than writing out full sentences or lengthy passages.

8. The BEST answers are those that are ANALYTICAL, that use the information to prove or disprove a point. Remember the concept of a REFUTATION - the writing technique of acknowledging that there are other points of view besides your own, but that your point of view is nevertheless the best. Longer essays are usually, but not always, better. Good writing and perceptive observations (drawing conclusions from the documents) are the goals to attain.

DBO Do's and Don'ts

1. Do Stress the thesis.

*Identify aspects of the argument you will present

Don't Avoid a position of 100% agreement or disagreement with the statement in the question.

2. Do Bracket the documents where used in paper. (Doc. A)

Don’t State in your paper....."Document A says".

3. Do Combine documents wherever possible and appropriate.

Don't List the documents in the same order they are presented in the question.

4. Do Paraphrase, restate and analyze the documents.

Combine document information with outside data.

Don't Quote the documents without comment????

5. Do Acknowledge points that disagree with your thesis, but try to minimize (negate) their importance in some way.

Don't Ignore points that are opposite your position.

6. Do Use as many documents as possible.

Don't Ignore outside source material. (One vital piece of information is always intentionally excluded from the documents)

7. Do Make a list of outside material. [elephant in closet]

Don't Read the documents before you make this list.

* helps to identify the missing piece of data (#6).

Writing the DBQ Essay

The Document-based Question (DBQ) requires the construction of a coherent essay that integrates interpretation of the supplied documents with a demonstrated knowledge of the historical period in question. Higher scores are earned with essays that successfully incorporate primary evidence from the documents with traditional historical themes and maxims. The student who simply describes the contents of the documents and fails to place them into historical perspective will receive a low score on the DBQ essay.

Simple sequence for writing a DBQ essay:

1. Read the question and identify the historical period being discussed.

2. Brainstorm a list of relevant issues, historical terms, names, or events that are significant to that period of history. When complete, this list should be examined for logical division into sub-topics.

3. Read the supplied documents. In the margin of the documents, make notes that add to or embellish your brainstorm list.

4. First Paragraph:

a. Write one clear sentence that states a thesis, what the essay will prove.

b. Specify three or four sub-topics to the thesis. (logical segments or divisions of the overall thesis).

c. You may elaborate on each of these sub-topics with simple defining sentences.

5. Second Paragraph:

a. Begin with a sentence that re-introduces one of the sub-topics.

b. Support that topic sentence with outside information from your brainstorm list.

c. Support your outside information with a reference to one or more of the supplied primary sources. Be sure you use and cite the documents properly

d. Write a concluding sentence that relates the paragraph's topic back to the thesis.

e. Write a transitional sentence introducing the next topic.

6. Subsequent Paragraphs:

Continue this procedure until you have exhausted your brainstorm list for possible sub-topics. If you have outside information that is not supported by the primary documents, include that information anyway. Accurate student-supplied information will garner points, even without support from the documents; any use of the primary documents not supported with outside information will not garner points and should be avoided.

7. A conclusion is not necessary, but it will score you extra points if done properly. If you decide to write a concluding paragraph, be sure that what you write is more than just a restating of the thesis.

8. DBQ Documents check site

and

2001 DBQ Possibilities

Topics

The Jazz Age

Cultural Tensions in the 1920s

American Isolationism, 1920-1941

The Great Depression: Causes, New Deal, Social and Cultural Effects

The Road to War, 1933-1941

The Homefront, 1941-1945

Wartime Diplomacy

The Cold War

The Second Red Scare: The McCarthy Era

The Conservative Reaction, 1952-1960

The Black Revolution

Challenges of the 1960s: New Frontier, Great Society, Politics of Protest

Lost Crusade in Vietnam

Some sample questions

1. The 1950s are viewed by many as a decade of national conservatism; however, there are many national indicators that would dispute this assessment. Do you agree or disagree with this statement, and give your reasons why.

2. The 1960’s are often seen as a period of turbulence and revolt, but is this view an accurate representation for this decade? Assess the validity of this statement by analyzing the documents provided along with utilizing any prior knowledge of the time period: The 1960’s are a time of unprecedented social tumult in the United States.

3. Using the following Documents and your knowledge of the period to examine the validity of this statement. "Despite strong domestic objection, fighting the Viet Nam war was a noble cause. We were protecting America’s image and engaging in a humanitarian act to save the Vietnamese people from the ever growing threat of communism."

4. The United States, during the 1920s, found itself in a time of strict conservatism rather than in a time of rapid radicalism. Assess the validity of this statement. Use the following documents as a resource for your response.

5. The US became involved in the Vietnam War on the side of the South Vietnamese. Using the following documents and your knowledge of the war, determine whether the actions the US took during the Vietnam conflict are justifiable.

6. Access the validity of the following statement. Based on the natural tendencies of communism, and its chief leader the Soviet Union, led to an inevitable conflict with the Western World. Furthermore its policies and actions led to a necessary policy of containment to ensure the liberties of a free world.

7. American international involvement from 1945 to 1970 was responsible for the escalation of the Cold War. Assess the validity of the statement.

8. The United States, during the 1920s, found itself in a time of strict conservatism rather than in a time of rapid radicalism. Assess the validity of this statement. Use the following documents as a resource for your response.

9. Assess the validity of the following statement: “Throughout the mid-twentieth century, the civil rights movement in the United States was met with continuous positive support.”

11. Assess the validity of the following statement: “World War II was a major catalyst for change in the United States during the 20th Century.”

12. "Considering the effect, the internment [confinement] of the West Coast Japanese is one of the worst blow American liberties have sustained in our history." Assess the validity of this statement. Eugene V. Rostow, 1945; War Relocation Authority

13. Assess the validity of this statement: “Many historians view the United States’ reasoning for entering World War II to be moral fervor born of nationalism, the desire to extend democracy and the need to protect our borders from real or potential enemies.”

14. “Just being another decade on the timeline was not good enough for the 1920’s.When its brief turn came it had to be the biggest, the loudest, and the brightest.” – Kevin Rayburn. Evaluate this statement.

15. World War II was more important than the Great Depression in fundamentally transforming American society.  Assess the validity of this statement based on your knowledge of American society between 1930 and 1945 and the documents below.  

16. President Franklin Roosevelt moved the generally isolationist American public to an interventionist position on entering WWII by failing to reveal foreknowledge of an attack on Pearl Harbor.Using the documents and knowledge of the period 1921-1945, assess the validity of this statement.   

17. The United States government "relocated" Japanese-Americans on the West Coast to internment camps for the duration of World War II for national security reasons.  Evaluate this statement using the documents below and your knowledge of America during World War II.    

18. How did the economic and social impact of World War II alter American society between 1939 and 1965 with regard to: minorities, women's status, middle class lifestyle

19. America following the Second World War can best be characterized as a content society, primarily concerned with consumer goods and conformity.  Using the documents and your knowledge of the period 1945-1961, assess the validity of this statement.

20. To what extent did the decade of the 1950s deserve its reputation as an age of political, social and cultural conformity? 

21. Using the base mark of 1945, investigate and explain the impact of the outbreak of the Cold War upon the United States in any two of the following areas: domestic affairs, foreign policy, military strategy.         

22. American society achieved a remarkable degree of cultural consensus and affluence between the years 1945 and 1960.  Assess the validity of this statement using your knowledge of American society during this time period and the documents below.  

23. To what extent was the United States successful in preventing the world-wide spread of Communism between 1945 and 1970?   Answer the question using your knowledge of the period and the documents below.    

24. More than any other influence of the 20th Century, the decisions of the Warren Court [1953-69] had a revolutionary impact on American society.  Assess the validity of this statement.    

25. Discuss the different approaches taken by African Americans in their struggle for civil rights during the 1960s.  Be sure to include an analysis of the reasons why those approaches varied.

26. Analyze the events of 1968 that made this year a turning point in late 20c American social and political history.   

27. Using the documents and your knowledge of the time period 1928 to 1945, analyze the extent to which the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt effected the powers of the Presidency.

28. Using the documents and your knowledge of the time period, assess the validity of the following statement:  "Mobilizing for World War 2 did more to 'heal' the Great Depression than all of the programs of the New Deal."

29. Using your knowledge of the time period AND the documents provided, evaluate the Civil Rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s and their impact on American society.

30. In what ways did the social and economic strains of the Great Depression change the role of the Federal Government in American Society.

31. Using the documents and your knowledge of the period, explain how the consumer economy of the 1950s effected the American family.

32. Using the material provided and substantial relevant information from your own knowledge of the period, compare and contrast American isolationism of the 1920s and 1930s, with the isolationism of the 1950s.

33. Using your knowledge AND the documents provided write a well-reasoned essay in which you discuss the social, political, and economic impact of FDR's New Deal on American Society.

34. By the end of the 1960s American society had undergone many major changes.  Using the documents and your knowledge of the time period 1950-1970, discuss these changes in relation to race, gender, and economic condition. 

35. Using the accompanying documents AND your knowledge of the time period, analyze the extent to which the Vietnam War was the cause of the social and political upheaval of the 1960s.

36. The fifty year period between 1920 and 1970 saw the ratification of seven different Constitutional Amendments.  Using the following documents and relevant outside information, discuss the reasons that these years made such an impact on the United States Constitution.

37. Using the documents and your knowledge of the period 1945-1955, analyze the factors that led to the Cold War.

38.  Evaluate the impact of World War II on: the American economy from1945-1960; minority rights; the breakdown of social class barriers (Pick any one).

39. To what extent were American fears regarding communism from 1945-1960justified?

40. Evaluate the effectiveness of the New Deal on correcting economic problems AND preserving democracy in the U.S. during the 1930s.

41. Evaluate the American response to nationalist movements around the world between 1945 and 1960.

42. To what extent did the Eisenhower Administration return the nation to alaissez faire government with regards to social problems and the economy?

43. To what extent did the New Frontier and Great Society break new ground or merely extend the New Deal?

44. To what extent has domestic fiscal policy affected foreign policy decisions from the Truman administration to the Johnson administration.

45. To what extent has the federal government provided inclusion for the rights of the minority from 1945 to 1970.

46. To what extent has human endeavor affected economic development from 1945 to 1970.

47. To what extent did the technology of World War II spur political and economic development from 1945 to 1970.

48. To what extent did popular support of American foreign policy in Asia evolve from 1945 to 1970.

49. To what extent could the diplomacy, economics, and society of the United States from 1929-1945 be said to be intent on freedom from fear?

50. To what extent did the media impact America politically, socially, and economically from 1925-1945?

51. The social and economic standing of women and other minorities improved as a result of the demand for labor before and after World War II. Assess the validity of this statement.

52. To what extent did the economics of the 1920s and 1930s act as a force for social change?

53. To what extent were the political, economic, and cultural changes of the Roaring Twenties the beginning of a new era in American history?

54. To what extent did the new deal’s objectives successfully alleviate the depression by 1941?

55. U.S. foreign policy changed dramatically between 1930-1960. Assess the validity of this statement.

56. Analyze the extent to which technology affected U.S. migration patterns between the years 1920-1970.

57. WWII significantly changed the aspirations of women and minorities. Assess the validity of this statement.

58. Analyze the extent to which nuclear weapons aided or impeded America’s ability to successfully engage in military conflicts since WWII.

59. The end of WWII left the United States and the Soviet Union as the two dominant world powers. The Cold War confrontation created a struggle between capitalism and communism. To what extent did this shape American foreign policy?

60. To what extent did the Domino Theory affect United States foreign policy between 1945 and 1975?

61. To what extent did the federal programs of the New Deal change the role and expectations of the American public towards the federal government?

62. “A disillusioned America turned away from idealism after World War I and toward social conservatism, a new mass-consumption economy, and exciting new forms of popular culture that undermined many traditional values.” Assess the validity of this statement using these documents and your knowledge of U S History.

63. To what extent was the role of American women affected between the time period of 1920 – 1970?

64. To what extent did Truman’s racial policies lay the groundwork for the civil rights movement?

65. To what extent did Johnson’s policies in Vietnam doom the U.S. to defeat?

66. Assess the validity of this statement: U.S. capitalist economy benefited from the Cold War.

67. To what extent were the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine origins of the policy of containment, and were they successful?

68. Compare the difference in the mood of the U.S after WWII that made it possible to join the United Nations with the mood after WWI, which made it impossible to join the League of Nations.

 

2001 DBQ STUDY KIT

Overview

Likely topics:

•          1950s: politics, economics, society, culture (strong possibility)

The "Affluent Society"

"Red Scare"/McCarthyism

Eisenhower's "dynamic conservatism"

Cult of Domesticity

Civil Rights

Emerging youth culture

Television

To what extent was there cultural consensus or conformity in the 1950s?

 

•          Impact of World War II on US society during the war and after the war

Note: aside from 1930s neutrality questions, there have been no direct WWII questions since the 1980s (and these were done obliquely).

•          From Isolationism to Globalism

Isolationism in the 1920s and 1930s

Roosevelt’s internationalist tendencies and U.S. entry into WWII

Post-war international structure: United Nations, IMF, World Bank

Cold War (U.S. is committed to containment of communism)

 

•          Cold War: 1945-1970; could focus on a specific decade or perhaps "roots" of the Cold War

Truman's Cold War policies?

Eisenhower's policies?

Kennedy's policies?

Vietnam War?

To what extent was the U.S. successful in containing communism?

How did the Cold War affect America at home?

 

•          Unionism: 1920-1970

 

•          New Frontier and the Great Society

 

Other possible but less likely DBQ Topics:

•          1920s society (not likely -- 1986 DBQ and 1999 FRQ)

•          1920s conservative politics (possible but perhaps too narrow; it could be part of a larger question)

•          Great Depression and New Deal (not likely -- 1984 DBQ on Hoover vs. Roosevelt)

•          Isolationism and neutrality in the 1920s and 1930s (not likely -- 1998 FRQ)

•          Atomic bomb (already addressed in 1988 DBQ)

•          1960s: (not likely as 1995 DBQ covered this period and 2000 FRQ hit 1960s head on)

1920s

•          “Americanism”: White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) values

o        “Red Scare”: 1919-1920 – Palmer Raids against Russians and suspected communists

♣          Strong anti-union sentiment

o        Anti-immigration/anti-foreignism

♣          Immigration Act of 1921: Reduces E. European immigration

♣          National Origins Act of 1924: Significantly reduces E. European immigration; bans Asians

♣          Sacco and Vanzetti

♣          KKK

o        Anti-modernism

♣          Creationism vs. evolution (Scopes Trial)

♣          Popular evangelism: Billy Sunday, Aimee Semple McPherson

o        Prohibition (anti-wet)

•          “Roaring 20s” Economic Boom

o        Business seen almost like a religion (Bruce Barton: The Man Nobody Knows)

o        Henry Ford: assembly line (adopts ideas of Fredrick W. Taylor)

o        Buying on credit

o        Chain stores

o        New industries: movies, radio, automobile, airplane, synthetics, electric appliances, sports

o        White collar jobs: sales, advertising, management

o        “Welfare Capitalism”: If businesses take better care of their workers, unions will no longer be necessary

•          Women’s issues and the sexual revolution

o        19th Amendment

o        Alice Paul, Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

o        Sigmund Freud

o        Margaret Sanger: birth control

o        Flappers

o        Women in speakeasies

o        Increase of women in workplace

o        Liberalized divorce laws for women

•          Culture

o        The “Jazz Age”: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington

o        Harlem Renaissance: Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Marcus Garvey

o        “Lost Generation”: criticized materialism of 1920s – F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, H. L., Mencken, Sinclair Lewis, William Faulkner, Gertrude Stein

o        Icons: Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth 

•          Conservative politics under Harding, Coolidge and Hoover: 1920-1932

o        Harding’s conservative agenda (continued by Coolidge)

♣          Belief that purpose of gov’t is to make business more profitable

♣          Conservative “Old Guard” idea of laissez faire

♣          Tax cuts for wealthy, “trickle down” theory (Andrew Mellon)

♣          Anti-trust laws not enforced

♣          Prominent businessmen occupy top cabinet positions

♣          Federal government not responsible for helping ordinary citizens (state and local government responsibility)

♣          Rejected programs to help farmers

♣          Rejected public control of electricity (Muscle Shoals)

♣          Exception: Hoover was a progressive; head of Dept. of Commerce

o        Harding scandals: Teapot Dome, etc.

•          The Great Depression

o        Long-term causes

♣          Weak industries: farming, railroads, cotton

♣          Overproduction/underconsumption

♣          Unstable banking system

♣          Uneven distribution of income

♣          Weak international economy: high tariffs, debt problems from WWI

o        Short-term cause: Stock Market Crash of 1929 (?)

o        Results

♣          25% unemployment (33% including farmers); as high as 50% in Chicago

•          Blacks, blue collar workers most affected

•          “Hoovervilles”, hoboes, families broke up; marriages were delayed

♣          25% of banks failed

♣          Thousands of businesses failed

♣          25% of farms went under

•          “Dust Bowl” esp. in Oklahoma and Arkansas

o        Hoover’s response

♣          Agriculture Marketing Act

♣          Volunteerism and charity

♣          Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)

♣          Moratorium on international debts

 

 o        New Deal

♣          Franklin Roosevelt and the “brain trust” (incl. Eleanor Roosevelt)

♣          New Democratic coalition: working class, blacks, intellectuals

♣          End to prohibition

♣          First New Deal (1933-35): more aimed at relief and recovery

♣          Second New Deal (1935-38): aimed at reform

♣          Relief: FERA, CCC, PWA, WPA, NYA

♣          Recovery: NRA, AAA, Emergency Banking Relief Act; end of Gold Standard

♣          Reform: TVA, Social Security, Wagner Act, FHA, FDIC, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Rural Electrification Act, Fair Labor Standards Act

♣          Challenges to New Deal

•          American Liberty League (conservatives)

•          Father Charles Coughlin

•          Huey Long (socialist ideas; “Share Our Wealth”)

•          Dr. Francis Townsend (old age pension plan)

•          Schechter vs. U.S. (kills NRA)

•          Butler vs. U.S. (kills AAA)

•          Roosevelt “court packing” scheme

♣          Recession of 1937-38: results in permanent Keynesian deficit spending

♣          End of New Deal: larger numbers of Republicans in Congress + conservative southern Democrats oppose any more New Deal Programs

♣          New Deal evaluated

•          WWII ended the depression: 16% unemployment was the best New Deal did

•          New Deal reforms significantly increased the role of the federal gov’t in the economy and in society

Road to War: From isolationism to internationalism (1920-1941)

 

•          Isolationism after World War I

o        Americans seek “normalcy” under Harding

o        Refuse to sign Versailles Treaty and join the League of Nations

o        U.S. signs “paper agreements” that look good in theory but do little to ensure peace

♣          Washington Disarmament Conference, 1921-22: Five Power Treaty

♣          Kellogg-Briand Pact, 1928

o        Economic isolationism

♣          Fordney-McCumber Tariff of 1922

♣          Great Depression: Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930

♣          Refuse to forgive European debts (although Dawes Plan does help until 1929)

♣          FDR kills London Economic Conference, 1933

•          Political isolationism in 1930s

o        Hoover-Stimson Doctrine: Does not recognize Japanese conquest of Manchuria

o        Nye Committee, 1934

o        Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, and 1937

♣          Meanwhile: Italy invades Ethiopia, Spanish Civil War, Germany remilitarizes

o        Americans react negatively to FDRs “Quarantine Speech” of 1937

o        Americans want U.S. out of China after Panay incident

o        U.S. remains neutral after Germany invades Poland in Sept. 1939

o        America First Committee (incl. Charles Lindbergh) urges U.S. neutrality

•          End of Neutrality

o        1939 Neutrality Act: Democracies can buy weapons from U.S. on “cash and carry” basis

o        Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies

o        1940 (Sept.), Destroyer-Bases Deal

o        “Arsenal of Democracy Speech,” Dec. 1940: U.S. should be “great warehouse” of democracy

o        Four Freedoms Speech: FDR convinces Congress to support Lend Lease, Jan. 1941

o        Lend Lease results in an “unofficial” economic declaration of war against Axis Powers, April 1941

o        Atlantic Charter (in response to German invasion of USSR), Aug. 1941

o        Official neutrality ends when Japan attacks Pearl Harbor

 

Impact of World War II on US society

•           During WWII

•          Ends the Great Depression (New Deal still had 16% unemployment, even in best of times)

•          Massive mobilization: Selective Service System, OWM, OPA

•          Women join the Armed Forces (WACs, WAVES, WAFs) and industry (“Rosie the Riveter”)

•          African Americans: A. Philip Randolph, March on Washington Movement, FEPC

•          Mexican immigration through Bracero Program

•          Japanese Internment

•          Race riots against blacks in northern cities; Zoot Suit Riots in L.A.

•          Union issues: War Labor Board; John L. Lewis; Smith-Connolly Act

•          Movement from the Northeast into the Sunbelt (South and Southwest)

•          405,000 Americans dead; minimal damage to American property (unlike devastated Europe & Japan)

•                       After WWII

•          U.S. produces ½ of world’s goods; leads to the “Affluent Society”; G.I. Bill of Rights

•          U.S. emerges as leader of the free world and as the world’s only atomic power (until 1949)

•          International financial structure: United Nations, IMF, World Bank

•          Smith Act of 1940 (leads to persecution of communists after the war)

•          Union strikes in 1946 leads to Taft-Hartley Act of 1947

 

1945-1960: Politics, Economics, Society

Truman’s Domestic Policy

Unable to advance further New Deal programs due to conservative coalition in Congress (Republicans and Southern Democrats)

Civil Rights

To Secure These Rights

Desegregation of Armed Forces, 1947

Election of 1948: Truman (D), Thomas Dewey (R), Strom Thurmond (“Dixiecrats”), Henry Wallace (Progressive)

The “Fair Deal”

The “Vital Center”

Eisenhower's "dynamic conservatism"

•         Maintains (but doesn’t expand) New Deal programs: Department of Health and Welfare

•         National Highway Act; St. Lawrence Waterway

•         Seeks to balance the budget

•          “New Look” military – emphasis on nuclear forces; “more bang for your buck”

•         Federal government should not get involved in social issues; states should be responsible

•         African American Civil Rights – 1950s

•         A. Philip Randolph during WWII: March on Washington Movement, FEPC

•         Truman: To Secure These Rights, desegregation of Armed Forces

•         Brown v. Board of Education, 1954

•         Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1956

•         Martin Luther King, Jr., Southern Christian Leadership Council

•         Crisis in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1957

•         Greensboro sit-in, 1960

•         African American Civil Rights – 1960s

•         Freedom Riders

•         James Meredith, Ole’ Miss

•         Birmingham march, 1963

•         March on Washington, 1963: “I Have a Dream” speech

•         Civil Rights Act of 1964

•         Voting Rights Act of 1965

•         Affirmative Action

•         Malcolm X, Nation of Islam

•         Black Power, Stokely Carmichael

•         1968 Assassination of MLK, Malcolm X

"Affluent Society": 1950-1970

•         World War II: high employment, savings, moderate increase in standard of living

•         National income nearly doubles in 1950s; almost doubles again in 1960s

•         Suburbia (beginning with Leavittown)

•          National Highway Act

•         Consumerism: homes, TVs, cars, appliances, vacations, etc.

•         High defense spending accounts for 50% of federal budget; stimulates economic growth

•         Impact of television on society: advertising, “idealized family,” standardization of culture

Cult of Domesticity (conformity?)

•          Baby boom

•          Dr. Spock:

•          Middle-class men make enough $ so women don’t have to work (not true in working class families)

•          Impact of TV, movies, magazines, etc.

Unions

Weak in 1920s (during conservative administrations of Harding, Coolidge & Hoover)

Numbers decreased due to “Welfare Capitalism” and anti-union sentiment

Significant increase in power after Wagner Act of 1935 (National Labor Relations Act)

John L. Lewis: strikes during World War II

Smith-Connolly Act of 1943

Taft-Hartley Act (1947): no more “closed shop”

“Right to Work” laws: some states outlawed “union shop”

Merger of AFL and CIO in 1955

Corruption under Jimmy Hoffa and Teamsters

Landrum-Griffin Act: Ike and Congress seek to reduce unions’ political influence

Union membership peaks by 1970; steady decline to the present

Conformity in 1950s

•         Cult of Domesticity

•         Patriotism (anti-Communism)/ “Red Scare”/McCarthyism

•         Religious revival

•         Suburban lifestyle

•         Television: portrayal of “idealized society”

•         Lowest percentage of foreign-born Americans in U.S. history

•         Challenges to conformity

•         Emerging youth culture: Rock n’ Roll, Elvis; movies – Marlon Brando, James Dean

•         Beat generation: Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsburg

•         Civil Rights (challenges White-dominated society)

•         Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique, 1963

"Red Scare": 1946-196?

•          Smith Act, 1940

•          House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

•         Alger Hiss Case; Richard Nixon

•          Truman’s Loyalty Program, 1947

•          1949: China becomes communist; Soviets detonate A-bomb

•          McCarthyism, 1950-1954

•          Rosenbergs, 1950

•          McCarran Act, 1950

•          John Birch Society, 1958; “impeach Earl Warren”

•          Sputnik, 1957

•          Building of bomb shelters in back yards, late 50s-early 60s

To what extent was there cultural consensus in the 1950s?

•          Political: “Vital Center” – belief in 1) economic growth solving all social problems (while maintaining safety net of the New Deal); 2) pluralism – fair competition among competing political and economic interests; 3) anti-communism

•         Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy & Johnson play to the “Vital Center”

•         Why does “Vital Center” shatter in 1968?

•          Economic growth does not mean end to poverty in the inner cities

•          How can there be equal competition if blacks and women are not equal?

•          Blind anti-communist ideology leads to the failure of U.S. in Vietnam

•          Dominance of middle class values in suburbia, TV, movies, etc.

•          Religion: everyone expected to go to church; Eisenhower inserts “under God” in Pledge of Allegiance

•          Family was the center of social life

•         To what extent was there a lack of cultural consensus in the 1950s?

•          Emerging youth culture

•          Not all groups agreed with white-dominated middle-class values: blacks, working women, working class

Cold War: 1945-1970

•          Overview

•          U.S. fights in two major wars:

•         Korea (1950-1953): successful containment of communism south of 38th parallel; 54k dead

•         Vietnam (1964-1973): unsuccessful containment of communism in S. Vietnam; 58k dead

•          Two major crisis nearly lead to World War III

•         Berlin Crisis, 1948-49; Berlin Airlift

•         Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962

•                       To what extent was U.S. successful in containing communism”?

•          Europe: successful in preventing Soviets from expanding beyond where it already existed at the end of World War II; NATO vs. Warsaw Pact

•          Asia:

•         China: unsuccessful (Mao Tse-tung wins communist revolution in 1949)

•         Korea: successful containment of communism

•         Taiwan: successful (U.S. demonstrates commitment to prevent Red China invasion)

•         Vietnam: unsuccessful

•          Latin America

•         Cuba: unsuccessful (Cuba under Castro becomes strong ally of Soviet Union)

•         Guatemala, 1954: CIA overthrows communist-leaning leader

•         Organization of American States, 1946: anti-communism collective security (success?)

•          Middle East

•         Suez crisis: success (U.S. & Soviets work together against Britain, France & Israel)

•                       “Roots of the Cold War”

•         U.S. had tried to defeat Bolshevik revolution by invading Russia at Archangel in 1918.

•         Communist and democratic/capitalistic ideology non-compatible

•         Failure of Allies to open 2nd front against Germany in 1943 angers Stalin

•         U.S. failure to inform Stalin of A-Bomb until July, 1945 angers Stalin

•         U.S. termination of Lend-Lease to Soviets (while Britain continued to receive aid) angers Stalin

•         Stalin promises free elections for E. Europe at Yalta. 1945

•         Stalin refuses free elections for E. Europe at Potsdam, 1945 (angers Allies)

•         Stalin refuses to give E. Germany back (angers Allies)

•         Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech of 1946 is a wake up call to Americans vis-à-vis Soviet threat

•      Truman's Cold War policies

•         Truman Doctrine

•         Marshall Plan

•         National Security Act

•         Berlin Airlift

•         NATO

•         NSC-68

•         Korean War

 

•          Eisenhower's policies

Secretary of State John Foster Dulles: “Massive Retaliation”; brinksmanship

“New Look Military”

CIA overthrows Moussadegh in Iran, 1953; returns Shah to power

CIA overthrows leftist leader in Guatemala, 1954

“domino theory”: provides aid to France and later S. Vietnam

“Peaceful Co-existence” with Soviets (Khrushchev); Geneva Summit, 1955

Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD)

•         Does not intervene during Hungarian uprising, 1956 (end of massive retaliation?)

•         Intervenes in Suez Crisis, 1956 (along with Soviets)

•         National Education Act (in response to Sputnik)

•         NASA (in response to Sputnik)

•         U-2 incident

•         Plans to overthrow Castro

 

•          Kennedy's policies

•         “Flexible Response”

Undertakes huge military build up (although he knows there is no “missile gap” with the Soviets)

•         Peace Corps, 1961

•         Alliance for Progress, 1961 (“Latin American Marshall Plan”)

•         1961, Refuses Khrushchev’s ultimatum for U.S. to leave W. Berlin; Soviets build Berlin Wall

•         Bay of Pigs Invasion, 1961

•         Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962

•         Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, 1963

•         Sends 16,000 military advisers to Vietnam; approves of the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem

 

•          Johnson’s Vietnam policies

•         Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, 1964

•         Operation Rolling Thunder, 1965

•         Escalation, 1965-1968

  

•          Vietnam War

•         Dien Bien Phu, 1954

•         Geneva Conference, 1954: Vietnam temporarily divided into North and South

•         Dulles forms SEATO (South East Asia Treaty Organization); only a few countries join

•         Ho Chi Minh (leader of Vietminh) vs. Ngo Dinh Diem (leader of S. Vietnam)

•          Vietminh in N. Vietnam support Viet Cong in S. Vietnam

•         “domino theory”: Eisenhower provides aid to S. Vietnam from 1954-1961

•         Kennedy increases military advisors in S. Vietnam: 1961-1963

•         Kennedy tacitly approves assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem, 1963

•         Gulf of Tonkin incident; Gulf of Tonkin Resolution under Johnson begins war for U.S.

•         Pleiku results in “Operation Rolling Thunder”

•         Escalation under Johnson: 1965-1968; 500,000 men in Vietnam by 1968

•         U.S. Army led by William Westmoreland; “body counts”; “search and destroy”; napalm

Tet Offensive, 1968: Americans believe war can’t be won (begins the end of U.S. involvement)

•         1969, Nixon announces secret plan to end the war but it continues 4 more years.

•         1969, Nixon begins secret bombing in Cambodia, Laos, & N. Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh Trail)

•         1970, Nixon announces invasion of Cambodia; mass protests result: Kent State, Jackson State

•         1972, Paris Peace Accords result in plan for ending the war (not accepted until 1973)

•         1973, U.S. pulls out of S. Vietnam

•         1975, communists overrun Saigon and unify Vietnam under communism

•          Vietnam at home

Vietnam does not become priority for U.S. public opinion until Gulf of Tonkin Incident, 1964

Escalation in 1965 results in the draft

The “New Left” led by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) spur youth public opinion concerning anti-draft and anti-war sentiment.

•          The “Counterculture” emerges, largely inspired by anti-war feelings

•          Burning of draft cards; massive protests at university campuses across the country

Hawks (pro-war) vs. Doves (anti-war) in Congress

Women, civil rights advocates, and liberals join the anti-war movement

Congressional investigation led by Senator Fulbright shows that the gov’t has mislead the public concerning the war.

Tet Offensive in 1968 results in massive protests at home to end the war

Johnson decides not to seek re-election (Vietnam has claimed a presidency!)

Riot outside 1968 Democratic Party Convention in Chicago between anti-war protesters & police

Nixon wins election in 1968 on platform to bring the war to an end but to have “peace with honor”

•          The “Vital” Center is shattered

•          Republicans control the White House for 20 of the next 24 years.

Mylai Massacre (revealed to U.S. public in 1969)

Nixon’s “Silent Majority” speech, 1969

“Vietnamization,” 1969

1971, Pentagon Papers

•         26th Amendment, 1971

1972, Nixon thinks anti-war sentiment will cost him election; seeks to discredit Democrats (results in Watergate)

•          How did the Cold War affect America at home?

•         “Red Scare” – 1947-196?

•         Increased military spending spurs the “Affluent Society”

•         “Vital Center” emerges: anti-communism

•         Korean War makes Truman unpopular; he doesn’t run again in 1948

•         Space Race begins after Sputnik, 1957

•         Kennedy assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald, who hates Kennedy for his anti-Cuban policies

Vietnam tears American society apart: Hawks vs. Doves; youths vs. authority; “Vital Center” shattered; new political backlash of “silent majority” (white middle-class)

•          Counterculture emerges

•          “New Left”, women, civil rights advocates oppose the war.

•          A culture war between conservatives and liberals climaxes in 1968 and continues to the present.

Vietnam destroys Johnson’s hopes of a “Great Society” and eventually destroys his presidency

The war helps Nixon get elected and begins a new conservative era in American politics

The war triggers inflation that plagues the U.S. economy in the 1970s

 

•          1960s: Politics

John F. Kennedy: The New Frontier

•          Election of 1960: Kennedy vs. Nixon; importance of TV debates

•          JFK, like Truman, is unable to get major initiatives passed due to conservative coalition in Congress

•          Tax cut issued to further stimulate economy

•          Forces steel industry not to raise prices

•          Initially ignores civil rights movement; finally gives support after Birmingham march in 1963

•         Sends Civil Rights Bill to Congress (does not get passed until Johnson is president)

•          Space Race: goal of putting man on the moon (achieved in 1969)

Lyndon B. Johnson: The “Great Society”

•          Election of 1964: Johnson v. Barry Goldwater

•          “War on Poverty” (influence of Michael Harrington’s The Other America)

•          Civil Rights Act of 1964

•          Voting Rights Act of 1965

•          Medicare Act of 1965

•          Head Start; federal funding for troubled schools

•          Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): Robert C. Weaver (1st black cabinet member)

•          Affirmative Action

•          Immigration Act of 1965: end to quota system

•          National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH); National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)

•          Public television (PBS)

•          Selects Thurgood Marshall as first African American to Supreme Court

  

•      1968

•          Tet Offensive

•          Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.; black leadership shifts to militants (i.e., Black Power, Black Panthers)

•          Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy

•          Riot at Democratic Party Convention in Chicago

•          Election of 1968

•         Nixon (Republican) vs. Hubert Humphrey (Democrat) vs. George Wallace

•         Nixon’s victory destroys the “Vital Center”; conservative backlash against liberalism begins (Nixon’s “Moral Majority” speech of 1969)

 

•          1960s Society: Far less consensus and conformity than 1950s

Civil Rights Movement (see above)

Impact of Vietnam War (see above)

“New Left” – Students for a Democratic Society (SDS); Tom Hayden

“Counterculture”: Woodstock

Rachel Carson: Silent Spring – beginning of environmental movement

Women’s Issues

•          Birth control pill; sexual revolution

•          Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique, 1963

•          National Organization for Women (NOW): equal pay; abortion, divorce laws, ERA

•         Cesar Chavez, United Farm Workers

•         American Indian Movement founded, 1968

•         “Long Hot Summers” 1965-1968: inner city riots in black communities

•                       Watts Riots, 1965

•                       Kerner Commission

•                       Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

•         Warren Court: (most significant court of the 20th century?)

•          Brown v. Board of Education, 1954

•          Engle v. Vitale, 1962: bans mandatory school prayer in public schools

•          Wesberry v. Sanders, 1964: “one person; one vote”

•          Rights of the accused

•             Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963: right to a lawyer, even if one can’t afford it

•             Escobedo v. Illinois, 1964: right to a lawyer from the time of arrest

•             Miranda v. Arizona, 1964: rights of defendant must be read at time of arrest

 

Other Possible DBQ Questions 2001

[pic]

Written Document Analysis Worksheet

1. TYPE OF DOCUMENT (Check one):

|___ Newspaper |___ Map |___ Advertisement |

|___ Letter |___ Telegram |___ Congressional record |

|___ Patent |___ Press release |___ Census report |

|___ Memorandum |___ Report |___ Other |

2. UNIQUE PHYSICAL QUALITIES OF THE DOCUMENT (Check one or more):

|___ Interesting letterhead |___ Notations |

|___ Handwritten |___ "RECEIVED" stamp |

|___ Typed |___ Other |

|___ Seals | |

3. DATE(S) OF DOCUMENT: _________________________________________

4. AUTHOR (OR CREATOR) OF THE DOCUMENT: _______________________

POSITION (TITLE): _____________________________________________

5. FOR WHAT AUDIENCE WAS THE DOCUMENT WRITTEN? ______________

_______________________________________________________________

6. DOCUMENT INFORMATION (There are many possible ways to answer A-E.)

A. List three things the author said that you think are important:

1. ______________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________________

B. Why do you think this document was written?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

C. What evidence in the document helps you know why it was written? Quote from the document.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

D. List two things the document tells you about life in the United States at the time it was written:

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

E. Write a question to the author that is left unanswered by the document:

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Designed and developed by the

Education Staff, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC 20408.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download