Multiple Choice -- 40%  [NOTE:  See quizzes and notes for lecture and textbook subjects.]

Essay -- 60%

Answer one (1) of the following questions with an extended essay that draws upon class lectures and assigned readings.  Be sure to answer all parts of the question you select.

[NOTE:  On your test, you will have two essays from which to choose.]

1.    How did the evolution of the Soviet threat shape American foreign policy during the early cold war?
       [HINT:  explain the legacy of World War II.]

Address each of the following questions with at least one paragraph for each as you answer the question above.

• What role did the atomic bomb play?
• Why was the Truman Doctrine important in shaping official policy toward the Soviet threat?
• Why did Marshall believe the European Recovery plan was essential?
• What is the significance of 1949?
• Did Korea make NSC 68 the inevitable foundation of American foreign policy during the cold war?

Remember to define your terms.  Be sure to give examples.

2.    Why did policymakers base United States foreign policy on containing the Communism during the cold war, 1945-1989?
       [HINT:  Define “containment.”]

Address each of the following questions with at least one paragraph for each as you answer the question above.

• Why did the United States feel it had to intervene in Korea?
• Did the United States view Vietnam as a test of American resolve?
• How did President Nixon seek to change the Soviet threat?
• Why did Ronald Reagan escalate the Soviet threat?
• Who ended the cold war?

Remember to define your terms.  Be sure to give examples.

3.    How did “the Movement” of the 1960s reflect a rejection of the American Way of Life?
       [HINT:  Define “the Movement.”]

Address each of the following questions with at least one paragraph for each as you answer the question above.

• How accurate was the American Way of Life?
• How did the civil rights movement reject American society?
• How did the women’s, anti-war, and gay rights movements of the 1960s reject the American Way of Life?
• How did the culture of the 1970s represent the antithesis of the American Way of Life?
• Why was the “Reagan Revolution” a rejection of the Movement?

Remember to define your terms.  Be sure to give examples.

4.    Why did the United States become entangled in Vietnam?
       [HINT:  explain how post-World War II politics determined American policy toward nationalism in Vietnam.]

Address each of the following questions with at least one paragraph for each as you answer the question above.

• How did “containment” shape US policy in the 1950s?
• Why did President Kennedy commit increasing amounts of aid to South Vietnam?
• Why did President Johnson believe in a military solution?
• How did President Nixon extricate the United States from its commitment to Vietnam?
• Did the United States fail in Vietnam?

Remember to define your terms.  Be sure to give examples.

5.    How did the Soviet threat affect life in the United States during the cold war?
       [HINT:  explain the roots of American anti-Communism.]

Address each of the following questions with at least one paragraph for each as you answer the question above.

• How accurate was the American Way of Life?
• How did the McCarthy era represent a reaction to the Soviet threat?
• How did domestic political concern for the Soviet threat determine policy toward Vietnam?
• How did the Watergate cover-up temporarily shatter the cold war consensus?
• How did the defense spending programs of President Reagan change the welfare state in the 1980s?

Remember to define your terms.  Be sure to give examples.

NOTE:  Use your Blue Book to write your essay.  Material written on the test sheet will NOT be considered.  Stay cool and keep moving.

© David Marcus Lauderback, 2012 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED