HST 331, Sec. 201   
Exam #1, Spring 1993
Michael J. McCarthy


Identification (10% of exam)

       Identify 4 of the 7 terms listed below with brief (1-3
sentence) explanations for each that include approximate time and
place (where appropriate) and significance.

       historiography                          William "Boss" Tweed
       primary source                          Social Darwinism
       Frederick W. Taylor                           Emergency Immigration Act
       Wounded Knee, South Dakota


Short Answer Essay (30% of exam)

       Choose one of the two questions below and answer it in essay
form.

1.     Frederick J. Hoffman, in The 20s:  American Writing in the
       Postwar Decade (1962), describes the cultural clash between
       the "old" and "new" America in the 1920s:  "The lines of
       opposition were drawn between what were known as the modernist
       and the fundamentalist camps. . . .  The quarrel between
       modernism and fundamentalism had a long history before the
       1920s, but during that decade it was highlighted by a series
       of bitter controversies climaxed by the Scopes trial in
       Dayton, Tennessee."

       In what ways did the clash between modernist and traditional
       forces manifest itself in America in the 1920s?  What effect
       did this clash have on American politics?

2.     Robert Green McCloskey, in American Conservatism In the Age of
       Enterprise, 1865-1910, writes:  "The new world which dawned
       after Appomattox ushered in not only a radical alteration in
       the economic and social structure of American life, but a
       fundamental revision of the democratic tradition.  Post-bellum
       political thought was distinguished by two salient and related
       characteristics -- its materialist premises and its
       conservative conclusions. . . ."

       What philosophies arose in late nineteenth century America to
       justify the growing disparity of wealth in the nation?  How
       did these philosophies explain the success of some Americans
       and the poverty of others?  What responsibilities did these
       philosophies suggest that the wealthy did and did not have to
       society?



Long Answer Essay (60% of exam)

       Choose one of the two questions below and answer it in essay
form.

1.     Marshall Berman, in All That is Solid Melts into Air:  The
       Experience of Modernity (1982), suggests that the intersection
       of several developments define modern America:  "The maelstrom
       of modern life has been fed from many sources:  great
       discoveries in the physical sciences, changing our images of
       the universe and our place in it; the industrialization of
       production, which transforms scientific knowledge into
       technology, creates new human environments and destroys old
       ones, speeds up the whole tempo of life, generates new forms
       of corporate power and class struggle; immense demographic
       upheavals, severing millions of people from their ancestral
       habitats, hurtling them halfway across the world into new
       lives; rapid and often cataclysmic urban growth; systems of
       mass communication, dynamic in their development, enveloping
       and binding together the most diverse people and societies. .
       . ."

       What event, trend, discovery or development is most
       significant in marking the distinction between "modern,"
       twentieth century America and the America of the 1800s, and
       approximately when did it occur?  Why is this event, trend,
       discovery or development more important than others?


2.     Professor Emil Schwenk, in Postwar America (1978), suggests
       that the end of the Second World War had relatively little
       effect on American history:  "In terms of its impact on
       domestic America, World War II was the single greatest non-
       event in American history.  Little changed within America's
       borders after the war's end.  Following WWII, the American
       economy, culture and society returned to their prewar
       conditions.  An objective observer would be hard pressed to
       distinguish America in 1957 from America in 1937."

       Evaluate Schwenk's claim, paying special attention to the
       following:  What was the general condition of America in the
       1930s?  How did America after World War II differ from America
       prior to US involvement?  What differences between these two
       eras, if any, resulted directly from US participation in the
       Second World War?  What trends occurred independent of US
       involvement in the war?