Review Sheet for APUSH Unit 8 Exam
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What was George Kennan’s Cold War policy?
Know the parts of Truman’s Fair Deal.
What were the major goals of American foreign policy in Asia after WWII?
Understand the Red Scare of the post-WWII era.
o Why was the Alger Hiss trial significant?
o What was McCarthy’s role in this Red Scare?
o What were the results of this Red Scare?
o Why did McCarthy finally fall out of favor?
o What contributed to the anti-communist movement following WWII?
Understand the Korean War.
o Know the causes and results of this conflict.
o Understand the conflict that emerged between Truman and General MacArthur.
What was NSC-68, and what did it reveal about U.S. foreign policy?
Understand the domestic policies of the Eisenhower administration.
o What were Eisenhower’s economic policies?
o What were Eisenhower’s policies toward Native Americans?
o What contributed to the suburbanization of America in the 1950s?
 Role of Levittown?
 Interstate Highway Act?
o Why was the U.S. so prosperous and productive during the 1950s?
o What are the characteristics of rock and roll and what did it reveal about American culture in the
postwar era?
o Understand the main ideas and significance of the Supreme Court Case of Brown v. Board of
Education.
o Understand the main events and significance of the Montgomery Bus Boycotts and the role of Rosa
Parks.
o Understand the main events and significance of the Little Rock, Arkansas incident.
o What was
Understand the foreign policies of the Eisenhower administration.
o Where did the CIA engineer political coups in the 1950s? Why?
o What was the New Look?
o How did the U.S. respond to Sputnik?
What are the main parts of Johnson’s Great Society? Be as specific as possible. Utilize the textbook as
well as the handout for this question in particular. Address each of these topics with specificity:
o Education
o Medical Care
o Immigration Reform
o Civil Rights
o Community Action programs to end poverty
Why was the Election of 1964 so significant? Why was it such a landslide and how did this influence
Johnson’s legislative agenda?
Civil Rights Movement
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What does the Voting Rights Act do?
What is black power? How does it differ from Martin Luther King’s vision of achieving equality?
What is the role of Malcolm X in changing the focus of the Civil Rights Movement? Where, when,
and why is he assassinated?
o Who is Stokely Carmichael and how does he contribute to the changes in the Civil Rights
Movement?
o What are the Black Panthers and what is their goal in furthering civil rights for African Americans?
o Where, when, and why is Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated?
List the importance of the following Supreme Court Cases of the 1960s and 1970s:
o Gideon v. Wainwright
o Escobedo v. Illinois
o Miranda v. Arizona
o Griswold v. Connecticut
o Roe v. Wade
Vietnam War:
o Under Johnson:
 What is the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution? Why is it so important?
 What is meant by escalation? What evidence is there of escalation?
 What is the Tet Offensive? What were the results and significance of this event?
o Under Nixon:
 What is Vietnamization?
 What is the Nixon Doctrine?
 Why did Nixon engage in the bombing of Cambodia, and why was this so controversial?
 What is the War Powers Act and why was it passed?
 How did Nixon eventually bring U.S. involvement in Vietnam to an end?
o Antiwar Protests:
 What groups of people primarily protested the Vietnam War?
 What happened at Kent State and Jackson State?
 What was the My Lai Massacre and how did this contribute to the antiwar movement?
 What were the Pentagon Papers and how did this contribute to the antiwar movement?
 How was the antiwar movement expressed in music?
Counterculture Movement:
o What was the SDS and the Free Speech Movement? Where did it begin? What is the significance?
o What are flower children?
o What was the Sexual Revolution, and why was it significant?
o What was the focus of the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, and why was it
significant? What is ERA, and why didn’t it pass?
Election of 1968:
o Who are the major candidates? (Look at third party candidates as well)
o Who is assassinated and why?
o What happens at the 1968 Democratic Convention?
o What is the significance of this election?
Nixon’s Foreign Policy:
o What is détente? SALT I?
What is the role of Henry Kissinger in Nixon’s policies with China?
What policies are adopted with respect to China?
What is the Yom Kippur War, and how does it contribute to the OPEC Embargo of 1973? Why is
this embargo significant?
Nixon’s Domestic Policy:
o When was the moon landing, and why was it significant?
o What is stagflation, and why did this emerge?
o What were the environmental policies of the Nixon administration?
o Summarize the Watergate scandal. How was Nixon tied to the Watergate scandal? Why did Nixon
resign? What was the significance of this scandal?
Gerald Ford’s presidency:
o Why did he pardon Nixon?
o What are the Helsinki Accords?
o What happened in Cambodia and in Vietnam during Ford’s presidency? Why was this significant?
Feminist Victories and Defeats
o How did Title IX change school athletics?
o What is ERA? Who supported it? Who opposed it?
Black and White
o What is “white flight” and how did impact the cities and suburbs of the United States?
o How did the Supreme Court decision in University of California v Bakke impact affirmative-action?
o What substantial changes came about because of United States v. Wheeler?
o How did Native Americans use the civil rights protest ideas to gain power?
Carter’s Presidency:
o Understand the results of the Camp David Accords
o How did a rise in oil prices and the Iranian Revolution impact the economy?
o What is stagflation?
o Why did the SALT II treaty fail to be ratified?
o What was the Iran Hostage Crisis and strategies were used to solve the crisis? Were they effective?
1980 Election:
o Who were the “neo-conservatives” and how did they influence the 1980 election?
o Who were the “moral majority”?
Understand Reagan’s domestic and economic policies:
o What were Reagan’s campaign goals concerning the economy?
o What is the purpose behind Reaganomics (or Supply-Side economics)?
o What were the initial results of Reaganomics?
o As the economy rebounded, what were the drawbacks evident in income distribution? How did
“yuppies” demonstrate this difference? How did military spending play a role in the rebound?
o Why was there a budget deficit during Reagan’s administration?
o How did Reagan save the S&L institutions?
Reagan’s foreign policy:
o Understand how SDI was used the show the overwhelming strength of the U.S.
o Understand Reagan’s military advisement in: Grenada, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Libya
 Who were the Sandinistas and the Contras? Who did the U.S. support?
 What was the Iran-Contra Affair? Why did it involve a congressional investigation?
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How did Glasnost and Perestroika influence U.S. and Soviet relations? How did relations change
from the breakoff of arms negotiations in 1983 to the INF treaty in 1986?
What historic situation was involved in the candidates of the 1984 election?
George H. W. Bush (41) presidency:
o “a kinder, gentler America”.
o What stunning changes came about in Europe in 1989? What happened in China the same year?
 Why did these events happen?
 What results happened in Eastern Europe following the fall of the Soviet bloc?
o Understand the reasons for the Persian Gulf Crisis and the U.S. response to it.
 How long did it last?
 “Operation Desert Storm”
 Why was Saddam Hussein left in power?
o American Disabilities Act 1990
o Clarence Thomas appointment. What fervor surrounded the hearings?
Bill Clinton’s Presidency:
o How did the 3rd party of Ross Perot influence the 1992 election?
o What settlement was reached when Clinton advocated an end to the band on gays and lesbians in
the military?
o Who spearheaded the healthcare reform bill? What was the end result?
o How did the Brady Bill and anticrime bill change gun control?
o What violent events happened in Oklahoma City, Waco, Texas, and Columbine High School?
o What was the Welfare Reform Bill and why did Clinton have to make concessions on it?
o What were NAFTA and WTO? How did these reverse earlier trade laws?
 Why were some Americans upset about these new agreements?
 How did they benefit some American companies?
o Foreign Policy:
 Understand the rising influence of the Chinese markets on American diplomacy.
 In which regions did President Clinton NOT get involved
 How was hope kindled in the Middle East and what made that hope dissipate?
o Why was Clinton actually impeached?
2000 Election
o What made the election results so confusing? How was this going to be resolved?
o Why did the Supreme Court step in?
o What was the Kyoto Treaty?
o What were the initial steps taken by President Bush after the 9/11 attack?
o How did the US Patriot Act expand the powers of the presidency?
o What was the reason Bush gave the American people for initiating the invasion of Iraq?
Why did many feminists remain frustrated at the opening of the new century?
Explain the chasm that existed between the affluent and the poor in the later part of the 20th century.
What problems were destined for the country as the population aged?
Where were most New Immigrants from?
o How did Caesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers organizing Committee improve working
conditions?
Possible Essay Questions:
1. (2011) Analyze the international and domestic challenges the United States faced between 1968 and 1974,
and evaluate how President Richard Nixon’s administration responded to them.
2. (2003) Describe and account for changes in the American presidency between 1960 and 1975, as
symbolized by Kennedy’s “Camelot,” Johnson’s Great Society, and Nixon’s Watergate, In your answer ,
address the powers of the presidency and the role of the media.
3. (2003) Compare and contrast United States society in the 1920s and the 1950s with respect to TWO of
the following: race relations, role of women, consumerism.
4. (2004) “Between 1960 and 1975, there was great progress in the struggle for political and social equality.”
Assess the validity of this statement with respect to TWO of the following groups during that period:
African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Women.
5. (2004) Analyze the successes and failures of the United States Cold War policy of containment as it
developed in TWO of the following regions of the world during the period 1945 to 1975: East and
Southeast Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East
6. (2010) Analyze the effects of the Vietnam War on TWO of the following in the United States in the period
from 1961 to 1975: the presidency, the population between 18 and 35 years old, Cold War diplomacy.
7. (2012) Compare and contrast the Cold War foreign policies of TWO of the following presidents: Harry
Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon
8. (2013) Between 1945 and 1975 various groups in the United States engaged in protest. Analyze the reaons
that protest emerged in this period for TWO of the following groups: African Americans, College students,
Latino Americans, Women