wirevicus

Your mid-term examination is scheduled for Thursday, February 11, and will cover materials from weeks one through four—specifically the years 1917 through 1929. Here are three essay questions. Two will appear on your examination. You will have to answer one in great detail. It will be worth 50 percent of your grade.

1. During the War to Save Democracy (1917-1918) we experimented with government control of our economy and society to a degree unprecedented in U.S. history. Describe the principal economic and social policies that the government pursued during the War to Save Democracy. How in the course of this experiment did the government take the reigns of the U.S. economy and civil society? Did we almost lose Democracy at home? Who went along with the government’s policies? Who didn’t? Why?

2. The “Normalcy” that followed the First World War was accompanied by a huge backlash that emphasized nativism, racism, and social purity. Describe the movements and government policies that characterized this backlash and made some of its goals the law of the land. Discuss key events that took place during the 1920s that symbolized the xenophobic attitudes of the period. Compare the government’s attitude towards organized labor during the War and the 1920s. Why did it change?

3. The Harlem Renaissance did not spring up out of nowhere; it flowed from African-American aspirations and organizing that started before the First World War. Starting with W.E.B. DuBois’ leadership, write a history of black activism from the First World War through the 1920s. What were the main goals of the civil rights movement and black consciousness movements during these years? How did the Harlem Renaissance represent both an extension of these movements and a departure from them? Cite specific examples from the Renaissance to support your assertions.

10  identifications will also appear on the exam. You will have to identify seven of them in paragraphs of four or five sentences. Each will be worth seven points. The identifications will consist of important people, laws, or events that I have discussed in class and that are included in your readings. 7×7=a maximum of 49 points and you get one point free.

PS: Bring a blue book!