You are a highly respected reporter in New York City. The year is 1920.

You have been contracted to write an essay describing the most significant changes

in the economic life of the United States since 1860, and how those changes have

affected:

                1. the social life of the nation

           or  2. the political life of the nation.

Your essay should run between 600 and 800 words in length (3 pages).

Select one of the following questions, and write a three paragraph essay as

your answer:

A. How useful are novels as sources for understanding our historical past? Provide

examples from the novels discussed in class, Ragtime and The Alienist, as well as

any other novels that you consider appropriate examples .

B. Compare and contrast the economic and social changes in the United States,

Japan, and Mexico, as described in the class presentation “The Great Transformation.”

C. Describe the significance of the construction of the Panama Canal and the Los

Angeles Aqueduct in the development of California in the early 20th century. How did

these projects epitomize the ideals of the Progressive Age and who were the major

individuals behind each project?

Part Three: 0—20 points

Select one of the following questions, and write a three paragraph essay for your 

answer. Each essay requires a footnote reference from an Internet source available

through the course web site.

For information on the use of footnotes, read the Footnote description in A Student’s

Guide to History in the History Research Room on The American Promise Web Site, 

or from copies available in the Instructor Reserve section of the Palomar College Library:

A. Describe the role of John D. Rockefeller in creating the Standard Oil Company,

and describe why individuals such as Theodore Roosevelt and Ida Tarbell supported

Anti-Trust action by the Federal Government against Standard Oil.

Include in your essay a brief reference to one of the two muckraker articles available

on the Internet through the course web page, the article by Tarbell or H.D. Lloyd. Your

reference should point out a criticism of Rockefeller and Standard Oil made by the

article.

B.  How did Jacob Riis change the way people in New York City learned about the

process of change in their city, particularly in the tenement districts where many

immigrants settled? Provide a brief citation from a chapter in How the Other Half Lives

as an example of his reporting on social and economic issues. This text is available on

the Internet through the course web page.

Additional source: After the Fact, chapter 8, “The Mirror with a Memory.”

C.  Describe how the role of the United States in world affairs changed as a

consequence of participation in the War with Spain in 1898 and the First World War.

How did presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson view this new world

role? Provide a reference from the Internet site Anti-Imperialism in the United States

on the opposition to American expansion during this period.

D.  The Progressive Age witnessed a new cooperation between government and

reformers in an effort to bring a new order to American life in the aftermath of the

disruptive influences of the industrial revolution, urbanization, and massive immigration

both internal and external.

Discuss how the policies of President Theodore Roosevelt embodied the new attention

paid to consumer issues and the dangers to the environment voiced by the journalists

known as “muckrakers.” Provide a reference from Roosevelt’s speeches on “The New

Nationalism” or “The Man with the Muck Rake” available on the Internet.

Additional source: After the Fact, chapter 9, “USDA Government Inspected.”

The following information must be in the upper left-hand corner of the first page of

your exam:

        Your name, History 102, Spring 2000, the class meeting time (MW Noon).

Skip two spaces type “Part One,” and the title of your essay. Then begin your essay.

Parts Two and Three should each begin on new sheets of paper. Each sheet must also

be numbered.

When a question requires an Internet reference, use the following format for your footnote:

1. Jacob Riis, “A Raid on the Stale-Beer Dives,” chapter 7 in How the Other Half Lives.

http://www.cis.yale.edu/amstud/inforev/riis/chap7.html

1. Ida M. Tarbell, “The Oil War of 1872,” chapter 3 in The History of the Standard Oil

Company.

http://www.history.rochester.edu/fuels/tarbell/UPTO85.HTM

1. Theodore Roosevelt, “The New Nationalism,” speech, August 31, 1910.

http://www.tamu.edu/scom/pres/speeches/trnew.html