Essay Question 1.
Explain and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the liberal state in the 1960s. What were the goals, styles, achievements, and limitations of the presidential administrations of John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson? Assess the goals, achievements, and limitations of the modern Civil Rights Movement. What factors led to its emergence in the post-World War II era?
Essay Question 2:
The late 1960s and 1970s were turbulent years both at home and abroad for the United States. Evaluate the failures and successes of the Nixon presidency during this period focusing on the issues of Civil Rights, the Vietnam War, America’s relations with Communist China and the Soviet Union, and Watergate. What was the impact of the Nixon years on the presidency and political participation? How did conservative ideas shape the social, cultural and political landscape of the 1980s and 1990s?
Essay Question 1:
Assess the conflicting political and economic goals of the United States and the Soviet Union for the postwar world, and how these clashing aims launched the Cold War. Why did fear of Communists in positions of influence escalate in the late 1940s and early 1950s? Did the emphasis on containing Communism impact the U.S. decision to engage militarily in Korea and Vietnam?
Essay Question 2:
In the 1980s and early 1990s, the Republican Party’s pursuit of conservative agenda led to the reversal of the liberal policy that had guided America since the New Deal years. Discuss the basic elements of the conservative coalition. Also examine the impact of new conservative social policies under Presidents Reagan and George Bush on America’s racial minorities, the working-class, and women. What led to the end of Communist rule in Eastern Europe and the breakup of the Soviet Union? How did the end of the Cold War contribute to the growth of globalization?
