Advanced Placement United States History

Unit VIII: "The Age of FDR(1933-1945)

Essay Questions

Directions: Answer the following question based upon the criteria established in evaluating essays. You will have 45 minutes to complete this part of the test so use your time wisely!!! You should spend 7 minutes on the "outline", 4 minutes on the "introduction", 30 minutes on the "body" of the essay, and 4 minutes on the "conclusion". Make certain to show a "relationship" between the "crux" of this question and some other time period in America history (consensus) in you conclusion. Be sure to cite relevant historical evidence to substantiate your generalizations and to illustrate your answer. Use information from the supplementary reading where appropriate.

 1. Noted historian James MacGregor Burns, his biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt, calls him a "lion and a fox." To what extent is this description valid?

 

 2. Prior to American involvement in both the First and Second World Wars, the United States adopted an unofficial policy of neutrality. Compare the policy and its modification during the period 1914-1917 to the policy and its modification during the period 1939-1941.

 

 3. "The New Deal secured the support of labor and agriculture after 1932 as the Republican party had secured the support of industry and commerce since 1920 -- with special-interest programs giving financial aid, legal privileges, and other types of assistance."

 

ASSESS THE VALIDITY OF THIS STATEMENT, GIVING ATTENTION TO BOTH PERIODS OF TIME (1921-1933 AND 1933-1940).

 

 4. "American foreign policy is shaped by developments both at home and abroad." Test this by an examination of American foreign policy during the period 1933-1941.

 

 5. To what extent did the measures of the New Deal reflect a "coherent" economic philosophy?

 

 6. "Some of the most democratic presidents of the United States have also been the most autocratic."

 

ASSESS THE VALIDITY OF THIS STATEMENT WITH REFERENCE TO FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT.

 

 7. "President Roosevelt was naive and ineffective in his conduct of American foreign policy from 1933-1941. To what extent and in what ways do you agree or disagree with this?

 

 8. "FDR's New Deal differed from Hoover's administration in that the New Deal was willing to use government power to adjust the contending claims of major interest groups."

ASSESS THE VALIDITY OF THIS STATEMENT.

 

9. George Kennan in his book American Diplomacy states that American foreign policy has been unduly influenced by sentimental, moral, and ideological considerations. Analyze this interpretation with reference to our decision to go to war in 1941.

 

10. "Unlike the wage earner, the farmer demands government intervention on his behalf. He wants the government as a partner, not as a referee." To what extent do you agree with this statement about the objectives of wage earners and farmers? Confine your discussion to evidence drawn from these TWO periods: 1790-1840 and 1930-1945.

 

11. "Hamiltonian" and "Jeffersonian" describe two traditions in American political thought. Explain briefly the meaning of these two terms. How did the traditions manifest themselves in the political outlook of FDR?

 

12. How do you account for the fact that the Federalist Party disappeared in the early 1800's and the Whig Party in the 1850's, where-as the Republican Party did not disappear after its overwhelming defeat in 1936?

 

13. Identify the forces which created conflicts among Americans during the period 1928-1941 and show how they manifested themselves in relation to foreign policy.

 

14. FDR had an important decision to make in connection with the Supreme Court in 1937. What were the alternatives he had and what decision did he make? What possible motives may he have had and why do you think he made the decision he did?

 

15. Hamiltonian Federalists, Wilsonian Democrats, and New Dealers wanted the government to play a significant role in the American economy. What did each group want the government to do? How do you account for the differences in their policies?

 

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