United States History Since 1877

Final Exam

Please answer three of the following questions in essay format:

1.    Why did the U.S. Government promise the French that their "sovereignty will be reestablished as soon as possible throughout all of the territory, metropolitan or colonial, over which flew the French flag in 1939" when two weeks later the U.S. government promised "the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live"?

2.    If the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not necessary to force Japan to surrender, why was it done?

3.    How does "a permanent war economy" solve the "problems of control"?

4.    Defend or debate: The United States entered World War II to expand its own empire.

5.    How did the Montgomery bus boycott begin?  What was the end result of the boycott?

6.    Describe how the civil rights movement used busing to protest and tell the results.

7.    What were the Pentagon Papers? Why did the government want to keep them secret? Why was Ellsberg not jailed for releasing classified materials?

8.    What was Watergate and why did Nixon resign?

9.    Fully describe the Iran-Contra Affair from its beginnings prior to Reagan's election to the Senate hearings results.

10.    Why didn't the U.S. government remove Saddam from power after the Gulf War?

11.    What is the purpose of NAFTA?