Part I.  Identification: 26.66% (40 points) of the exam will be based upon your ability to identify and give the significance of the following terms.  For each one, be prepared to write a short paragraph (3-5 sentences) in which you consider the "who, what, when, where, and why" of each item, as well as why these are SIGNIFICANT.  For Acronyms, be sure to correctly identify what the letters stand for in their appropriate historical context.  For example, the AAA is NOT the American Automobile Association, but the Agriculture Adjustment Administration.  The item might be the first, last, most typical, exceptional, beginning or end of something, start or end of a trend, turning point, or some other factor that sets it apart from other items. Out of the 10 points offered for each item, approximately 70% of your grade will be awarded for correct identification, with the remaining 30% counting towards the significance.  Those terms appearing on the exam will be selected from the following:
 
 

Potsdam Conference	United Nations	"Iron Curtain"	Truman Doctrine	George Kennan
Marshall Plan	Mr. X	National Security Act	NATO	SEATO
Warsaw Pact	"containment"	Berlin Airlift	Chiang Kai-Shek (Jiang Jeshi)	Mao Tse-Tung (Mao Zedong)
NSC-68	Pusan Perimeter	Inchon	Douglas MacArthur	G.I. Bill
HUAC	Alger Hiss	Joseph McCarthy	Army-McCarthy Hearings	Federal Highway Act
John Foster Dulles	"brinksmanship"	Quemoy and Matsu	"domino theory"	Nikita Kruschev
Sputnik	NASA	U-2	Fidel Castro	Levittown
"suburbia"	Ray Kroc	McDonalds	William Whyte	judicial restraint
judicial activism	CORE	SNCC	SCLC	Earl Warren
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)	Rosa Parks	Martin Luther King, Jr.	Stokeley Carmichael	Black Panthers
Civil Rights Act (1957)	Civil Rights Act (1960)	Bay of Pigs	"détente"	Ho Chi Minh
Dien Bien Phu	Geneva Accords (1954)	Cuban Missile Crisis	Civil Defense	"duck and cover"
Robert F. Kennedy	Robert S. McNamara	Peace Corps	"flexible response"	Green Berets
Viet Cong	U.S.S.Maddox	Tonkin Gulf Resolution	ROLLING THUNDER	Ia Drang
"search and destroy"	"attrition"	William Westmoreland	The Great Society	E.E.O.C.
Civil Rights Act (1964)	Voting Rights Act (1965)	VISTA	CAP	"new left"
SDS	"free speech movement"	Port Huron Statement	in loco parentis	"hippies"
Haight Ashbury	Tet Offensive	"credibility gap"	Chicago 7/8	:Woodstock
Charles Manson	"Vietnamization"	LINEBACKER	Kent State	Watergate
Pentagon Papers	C.R.E.E.P.	H.R. Haldeman	John Ehrlichman	Ayatollah Khomeni
OPEC	Camp David Accords	S.A.L.T.	E.R.A.	Cesar Chavez
American Indian Movement	glasnost	Iran-Contra	Oliver North	Ross Perot

Part II.  Essay:  The first essay question will be worth 25 points (16.66% of the total).  The exam will include a choice of questions based upon the topics outlined below.  While they may not appear exactly in the same format, the information asked for will be essentially the same.  Your task is to craft that information into an effective essay.  To write persuasively, it is absolutely necessary that you develop an argument (take a point of view), write in complete sentences, and use proper grammar.  An "A" essay will be one that does all of these, as well as contains specific examples from the text and lectures to support any assertions that are made.

Origins of the Cold War:  Trace the origins of the Cold War.  Did the Cold War emerge as a consequence of conscious decisions on the part of the United States and the Soviet Union, or was it the product of misunderstanding and confusion on either side?  Explain.

1950s America:  Why was American society in the 1950s a society driven by consensus and consumerism?  What factors contributed to a fear of outsiders?  What made economic prosperity possible during the post-WWII period?  What were the consequences?

Civil Rights:  Why was the "second reconstruction" necessary?  How did the Civil Rights movement emerge in the United States, and what were the stumbling blocks to social, racial, and political equality?  When did the Civil rights movement end?

Vietnam:  How did the United States get drawn into Southeast Asia?  Was it a product of conscious decision making based upon sound political philosophy, or did the U.S. simply get sucked into a quagmire?  Justify your answer.

The Movements:  What features defined "the Movement"?  Was it one single movement, or a conglomeration of different movements that evolved over time?  Which of the movements was most influential in changing American society over the long term?

Crisis of Confidence:  How did the political events of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, lead to an erosion of confidence in national leadership?  Did this collapse simply represent poor leadership, or were there other, seemingly higher motives that governed presidential action during this period?  Explain.