Study
Questions & Essay Topics
Always use specific historical examples to support
your arguments.
Study Questions
1. How did railroads
change American society, politics, and economy in the post–Civil
War era?
2. Many historians
believe that the election of
1896 was the
most critical election of the post–Civil War years. Do you agree
with this assessment? How did the election change American politics?
3. What were the
causes of urbanization during the Gilded Age? What consequences
did this urban revolution have on politics, the economy, and society?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. Why did the Populists gain
so much power in the 1880s
and 1890s, and why
did they disappear soon after that?
2. Compare and contrast Roosevelt’s
Square Deal with Wilson’s New Freedom.
3. What were the causes and consequences
of Progressivism?
4. Describe how three of the
following shaped American politics in the early twentieth century:
Ballinger-Pinchot Affair
Payne-Aldrich Tariff
muckrakers
Underwood Tariff
Square Deal
Progressive Party
