1. Compare and contrast the old immigrants (pre-1880s), the new immigrants (1880-1920), and the post-1960 immigrants. Who composed each group? Why did each group come? What characteristics did each display? How did each fare in the United States and why?
2. Assess how much progress toward full economic, political, and social equality with whites African Americans had made by 2002. Back up your assessment with as many specific facts as possible.
3. Pretend that you are a filmmaker working on a forty-five-minute documentary about the changing role of women in American society from Reconstruction to 2002. Which persons, events, trends, and laws would you depict in your movie? Why did you make these particular choices?
4. Discuss the impact of World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War on American society at home. In your answer consider effects on the economy, women, families, minorities, domestic reform, and civil or constitutional liberties.
5. Compare and contrast the Populist, progressive, New Deal, and Great Society reform programs. What do you see as the major achievements of each? What do you think were the most serious failures? How much of each of these programs has been dismantled by 2003?
6. Discuss the Latin American policy of the United States from Theodore Roosevelt's corollary to the start of the twenty-first century.
7. Trace federal-government policies toward labor and unions from the late nineteenth century to 2002. During which periods has the government been most prolabor? During which periods has government been most hostile to unions? How have the changes in government policy affected the labor movement?
8. Initially the majority of the American people did not wish to enter either World War I or World War II. Yet the United States entered both conflicts. Why?
9. From the late nineteenth century to the present, progressive-liberals and conservatives have argued over the proper role of the federal government in the economic and social life of the nation. Explain the positions of each side and the rationales for their positions. Discuss concrete examples of legislation, federal programs, and Supreme Court decisions, from the 1890s to 2002, that have followed the philosophy of each political camp.
10. Discuss the origins of the Cold War and its impact on U.S. domestic and foreign policy since 1945. When and why did the Cold War end? How has its end affected U.S. foreign policy?
11. How do you define the American dream? Based on your definition, during which period between the 1870s and 2002 has American society come closest to fulfilling your vision? Explain your choice by discussing as many facts about that period as possible.
12. Discuss the preservation, conservation, and environmental movements in the United States from the late nineteenth century to 2002. What environmental issues have these movements addressed at various periods? What obstacles and opposition have the movements faced? What do you consider the greatest achievements, if any, of these movements?
13. Compare and contrast government actions toward potential domestic enemies of the United States in the 1919-1920 Red Scare, the post-Pearl Harbor years of 1942-1944, the post-World War II McCarthy era (1947-1954), and the post-September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
14. Trace the rise of neo-conservatism and the "radical right" in American politics from the 1950s through 2002. Who in American society has backed the "right?" Why?