1. Discuss what happened to African-Americans in the post-Reconstruction South. How did the federal government react to these developments? What impact did these developments have on national politics?
2. Write an essay on the rise of populism in the 1890s. How and why was the Populist party founded? What did it hope to accomplish? Why did it fail to become a major party and gain control of the federal government? Did it accomplish anything?
3. Discuss the election of 1896. Who were the candidates? What were the issues? What was the outcome? Why was it an important watershed election?
4. In 1898 the United States declared war on Spain, although there seemed to be little provocation. Why did the majority of Americans and most government leaders favor war?
5. With the annexation of the Philippines, the United States for the first time imposed its rule on a distant people by military force. How can you account for this change in U.S. foreign policy? What pressures and groups led the nation in this imperialistic direction? Were there countergroups trying to prevent this course? If so, why were they unsuccessful?