U.S. History Homework

1st Nine Weeks

Week of Monday, August 10th to Friday, August 14th
Weekly Essay Topic: What is manifest destiny? What role did this concept play in the expansion of the western United States?
Reading Assignment: Ch. 1 Sec. 4 [America Purchases Louisiana], Ch. 2 Sec. 5, Ch. 6, & Ch. 7 Sec. 1 [Imperialists Believe in National Superiority] (Westward Expansion)
Week of Monday, August 17th to Friday, August 21st
Weekly Essay Topic: What were the Plains Wars, & what things led to this? How did this conflict end? Discuss major milestones of the Plains Wars.
Reading Assignment: Ch. 1 Sec. 4 [America Purchases Louisiana], Ch. 2 Sec. 5, Ch. 6, & Ch. 7 Sec. 1 [Imperialists Believe in National Superiority] (Westward Expansion); Chapter 3 Section 4, Chapter 6 Section 1 [Black Southerners Gain & Lose], & Chapter 9 Section 1)
Week of Monday, August 24th to Friday, August 28th
Weekly Essay Topic: How did the Reconstruction plans of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, & the Radical Republicans differ? Why was there such friction between Johnson & the Radical Republicans over the Reconstruction of the South?
Reading Assignment: Chapter 3 Section 4, Chapter 6 Section 1 [Black Southerners Gain & Lose], & Chapter 9 Section 1 (Reconstruction of the South); Chapter 4 (Second Industrial Revolution)
Week of Monday, August 31st to Friday, September 4th
Weekly Essay Topic: What technological advance developed during the late 1800s or early 1900s do you feel has had the longest lasting impact on American life. Support your answer with specific examples.
Reading Assignment: Chapter 3 Section 4, Chapter 6 Section 1 [Black Southerners Gain & Lose], & Chapter 9 Section 1 (Reconstruction of the South); Chapter 4 (Second Industrial Revolution)

Week of Monday, September 7th to Friday, September 11th
Weekly Essay Topic: How did the belief in Social Darwinism held by many big business owners conflict with the desires of many labor unions for better wages, benefits, & working conditions for laborers? Discuss some labor disputes that took place during this era & how these disputes were ended.
Reading Assignment: Chapter 4 (Second Industrial Revolution); Chapter 5 & Chapter 7 Section 2 & 3 (American Urbanization & the Gilded Age)

Week of Monday, September 14th to Friday, September 18th
Weekly Essay Topic: What is the difference between a "new" immigrant & an "old" immigrant? Which type of immigrant was more accepted by most Americans & why?
Reading Assignment: Chapter 5 & Chapter 7 Section 2 & 3 (American Urbanization & the Gilded Age)
Week of Monday, September 21st to Friday, September 25th
Weekly Essay Topic: How did Charles J. Guiteau’s assassination of President James A. Garfield in 1881 contribute to the adoption of the Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883? What specifically did the Pendleton Act do?
Reading Assignment: Chapter 5 & Chapter 7 Section 2 & 3 (American Urbanization & the Gilded Age)
Week of Monday, September 28th to Friday, October 2nd
Weekly Essay Topic: What policies did the People’s Party (Populist Party) favor, and why were these policies favored? Who would be helped the most and the least by Populist policies? Make sure to discuss the gold v. the silver standard.
Reading Assignment: Chapter 5 & Chapter 7 Section 2 & 3 (American Urbanization & the Gilded Age); Chapter 9 (Imperialism)
Week of Monday, October 5th to Friday, October 9th
Weekly Essay Topic: No Weekly Essay!!!
Reading Assignment: Chapter 9 (Imperialism)

2nd Nine Weeks

Week of Monday, October 19th to Friday, October 23rd
Weekly Essay Topic: Some people call the Spanish-American War a "Little Splendid War." Why might this be a fair description of this war?
Reading Assignment: Chapter 7 Section 1 & Chapter 8 (Progressive Era)

Week of Monday, October 26th to Friday, October 30th
Weekly Essay Topic: Summarize the four The Jungle readings. What things struck you the most when discussing Upton Sinclair's The Jungle in class?
Reading Assignment: Chapter 7 Section 1 & Chapter 8 (Progressive Era)
Week of Monday, November 2nd to Friday, November 6th
Weekly Essay Topic: Which progressive president (T. Roosevelt, Taft, or Wilson) do you feel best captured what it meant to be a progressive? Support your position using specific examples.
Reading Assignment: Chapter 7 Section 1 & Chapter 8 (Progressive Era); Chapter 10 (World War I)
Week of Monday, November 9th to Friday, November 13th
Weekly Essay Topic: What events caused the United States to enter the “Great War” on the side of the Allies? Give specific examples.
Reading Assignment: Chapter 10 (World War I); Chapter 10 Section 4 & Chapter 11 (Roaring '20s)
Week of Monday, November 16th to Friday, November 20th
Weekly Essay Topic: Why did the U.S. not approve of the League of Nations & the Treaty of Versailles? Explain.
Reading Assignment: Chapter 10 Section 4 & Chapter 11 (Roaring '20s)
Week of Monday, November 23rd to Friday, November 27th
Weekly Essay Topic: Why do you think that the person you researched was looked upon by many people as a hero during the 1920s?
Reading Assignment: Chapter 10 Section 4 & Chapter 11 (Roaring '20s)
Week of Monday, November 30th to Friday, December 4th
Weekly Essay Topic: How did Henry Ford’s development of the assembly line affect the automobile industry? How did the increased number of automobiles in the U.S. permanently change modern American culture?
Reading Assignment: Chapter 10 Section 4 & Chapter 11 (Roaring '20s)
Week of Monday, December 7th to Friday, December 11th
Weekly Essay Topic: How did radio change American society during the 1920s. Make sure to discuss specific examples.
Reading Assignment: Chapter 10 Section 4 & Chapter 11 (Roaring '20s)
Week of Monday, December 14th to Friday, December 18th
Weekly Essay Topic: No Weekly Essay
Reading Assignment: No Reading Assignment