Unit 7 LEQs (Long Essay Questions)
Unit 7 (Period 7: 1890-1945)
LEQ 1
Prompt:
Evaluate the extent to which the Progressive Era (c. 1900-1920) achieved its goals in improving democracy, promoting social welfare, and regulating the economy.
Reasoning Skill:
Change & Continuity over Time
Suggested Focus Points:
LEQ 2
Prompt:
To what extent did U.S. involvement in World War I and its aftermath represent a turning point in American foreign policy and civil liberties?
Reasoning Skill:
Causation
Suggested Focus Points:
LEQ 3
Prompt:
Analyze how the Great Depression and New Deal transformed the relationship between the federal government and American citizens, both immediately and in long-term effects.
Reasoning Skill:
Continuity & Change
Suggested Focus Points:
LEQ 4
Prompt:
Assess the extent to which World War II (1939-1945) altered American society, particularly with respect to race, gender, and America’s global role.
Reasoning Skill:
Comparison (before vs. after) and/or Change over Time
Suggested Focus Points:
Unit 7 (Period 7: 1890-1945)
LEQ 1
Prompt:
Evaluate the extent to which the Progressive Era (c. 1900-1920) achieved its goals in improving democracy, promoting social welfare, and regulating the economy.
Reasoning Skill:
Change & Continuity over Time
Suggested Focus Points:
- Reforms in political democracy: direct election of U.S. Senators (17th Amendment), women’s suffrage (19th Amendment), municipal/state reforms
- Social welfare and labor reforms: child labor laws, public health/sanitation, settlement houses, working hours
- Regulation of business: trust busting, the Interstate Commerce Commission, Food and Drug legislation, conservation policies
- Addresses key concepts from Period 7: Progressive reform movements, regulation of corporations, political reforms.
- Encourages students to use continuity and change: what persisted vs. what changed.
- Hits themes: Politics & Power; Work, Exchange, & Technology; Social Structures.
LEQ 2
Prompt:
To what extent did U.S. involvement in World War I and its aftermath represent a turning point in American foreign policy and civil liberties?
Reasoning Skill:
Causation
Suggested Focus Points:
- U.S. before WWI: policy of neutrality/isolationism vs. causes that pushed toward intervention (e.g., economic interests, diplomatic pressures)
- Domestic impact: Espionage & Sedition Acts, suppression of dissent, treatment of immigrants, Red Scare
- Post-war consequences: League of Nations debate, return to isolationism, changes in public opinion and foreign policy orientation
- Matches CED topics for Period 7: WWI, home front, civil liberties.
- Ties to foreign policy shifts and domestic policy.
- Requires students to examine causes and consequences.
LEQ 3
Prompt:
Analyze how the Great Depression and New Deal transformed the relationship between the federal government and American citizens, both immediately and in long-term effects.
Reasoning Skill:
Continuity & Change
Suggested Focus Points:
- Hoover’s vs. FDR’s responses to the Depression: relief, recovery, reform; public expectations of government
- New Deal programs: Social Security, public works (WPA, CCC), banking regulation, the role of the federal regulatory agencies
- Long-term effects: legacy of welfare programs, shifting political coalitions (Democratic Party), legal precedents, expanded government powers
- Factory of relevant CED content: economic collapse (1929), New Deal, long-term reforms.
- Connects to themes: Work, Exchange, & Technology; Politics & Power; Economy & Society.
LEQ 4
Prompt:
Assess the extent to which World War II (1939-1945) altered American society, particularly with respect to race, gender, and America’s global role.
Reasoning Skill:
Comparison (before vs. after) and/or Change over Time
Suggested Focus Points:
- Changes on the home front: women’s roles (Rosie Riveter, workforce), African Americans (The Double V campaign, migration), interment of Japanese-Americans
- Postwar global role: United Nations, U.S. as global superpower, economic leadership, beginning of Cold War diplomacy
- Social changes: expectations of civil rights, gender norms, veterans’ programs (GI Bill), demographic shifts
- Period 7 includes WWII and its consequences; this prompt makes students consider multiple dimensions of change.
- Engages with both domestic (race, gender) and international (foreign policy) content.