NAME: ________________________________________

American II --Honors -- Thematic Study Guide

Issue I: America and Foreign Policy (what is America’s role in the world?)
1904 Roosevelt Corollary
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1947 Truman Doctrine
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1969 Apollo 11 Mission
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
Post-9/11 War on Terrorism
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
SUMMARY: What conclusions can be drawn? Is there any remnant of this issue in today’s current events? Explain

Issue II: Expanding and Protecting Civil Rights (What should the government do to expand and
secure the rights of its citizens?)

1868: Fourteenth Amendment

Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1920: Nineteenth Amendment
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1964: Civil Rights Act
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1972 Equal Rights Amendment
Situational
details?
Connection to
issue?
SUMMARY: What conclusions can be drawn? Is there any remnant of this issue in today’s current events? Explain

American History II – Mr. Jeffers – Parkland; adapted from United States History Reading and Note-Taking Study Guide
 NAME: ________________________________________
Issue III: Federal Power and States Rights (What’s the proper balance?)
Compromise of 1877
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
New Deal
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1957 Little Rock Crisis
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1965: The Voting Rights Act
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
SUMMARY: What conclusions can be drawn? Is there any remnant of this issue in today’s current events? Explain

Issue IV: Checks and Balances (How does each branch of government prevent the other two from gaining too
much power?)

1868: Johnson Impeachment

Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
FDR’s Court Packing Plan
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1973 War Powers Act
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1998 Clinton Impeachment
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
SUMMARY: What conclusions can be drawn? Is there any remnant of this issue in today’s current events? Explain

American History II – Mr. Jeffers – Parkland; adapted from United States History Reading and Note-Taking Study Guide
 NAME: ________________________________________
Issue V: Migration and Urbanization (What factors influence the migration of Americans from one area
to another and what impact does that have on settlement patterns and social problems?

1862: Homestead Act

Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1880-1920 Urban Migration
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1910-1930 The Great Migration
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1950s Suburban Flight
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1970s to present – Sunbelt Growth
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
SUMMARY: What conclusions can be drawn? Is there any remnant of this issue in today’s current events? Explain

Issue VI: Treatment of Native Americans (How should the U.S. deal with its indigenous population?)
1887: Dawes Act
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1934 Indian Reorganization Act
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1975 Indian Self-Determination and Educational Assistance Act
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
SUMMARY: What conclusions can be drawn? Is there any remnant of this issue in today’s current events? Explain

American History II – Mr. Jeffers – Parkland; adapted from United States History Reading and Note-Taking Study Guide
 NAME: ________________________________________
Issue VII: Social and Economic Reform (CHANGE) (How has the U.S. responded to pressing
societal problems?)

1896 Cross of Gold Speech

Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
Child Labor Laws and Minimum Wages Laws
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1963 March on Washington (and 1964 in Selma)
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1990s-2000s Healthcare Reform
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
SUMMARY: What conclusions can be drawn? Is there any remnant of this issue in today’s current events? Explain

Issue VIII: American Expansion (What factors influenced the adding of American territory in the late 19 th

Century?)

1840s: Texas Annexation and Mexican Cession

Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1867 Alaska Purchase
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1893 Hawaiian Revolt
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1898 Spanish American War
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
SUMMARY: What conclusions can be drawn? Is there any remnant of this issue in today’s current events? Explain

American History II – Mr. Jeffers – Parkland; adapted from United States History Reading and Note-Taking Study Guide
 NAME: ________________________________________
Issue IX: America at War (For what reasons and with what success has the U.S. gone to war in the 20 th
Century?)

1917-18 World War I

Situational
details?
Connection to
issue?
1941-45 World War II
Situational
details?
Connection to
issue?
1950-53 Korean War
Situational
details?
Connection to
issue?
1961-73 Vietnam War
Situational
details?
Connection to
issue?
1990 Operation Desert Storm
Situational
details?
Connection to
issue?
SUMMARY: What conclusions can be drawn? Is there any remnant of this issue in today’s current events? Explain

Issue X: Immigration (How should the U.S. regulate those entering its borders?)
1882: Chinese Exclusion Act
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1924 National Origins Act
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1990 Immigration Act
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
SUMMARY: What conclusions can be drawn? Is there any remnant of this issue in today’s current events? Explain

American History II – Mr. Jeffers – Parkland; adapted from United States History Reading and Note-Taking Study Guide
 NAME: ________________________________________
Issue XI: Role of Government in Economy (What is the proper balance between a free market
economy and government regulation to ensure fairness?

1890: Sherman Anti-Trust Act

Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1906 Pure Food and Drug Act
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1913 Federal Reserve Act
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
2001 Bush Tax Cuts
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
SUMMARY: What conclusions can be drawn? Is there any remnant of this issue in today’s current events? Explain

Issue XII: Individual Freedoms v. National Security (What’s the proper balance between the
security of the nation and the freedom of its citizens?)

Japanese Internment during WWII

Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
McCarthyism during the Cold War
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
the Patriot Act after 9/11
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
SUMMARY: What conclusions can be drawn? Is there any remnant of this issue in today’s current events? Explain

American History II – Mr. Jeffers – Parkland; adapted from United States History Reading and Note-Taking Study Guide
 NAME: ________________________________________
Issue XIII: Poverty and Prosperity (How should America deal with the gap between the rich and the poor?)
Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth” in Gilded Age
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1933 New Deal
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1964 War on Poverty
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1980s Reaganomics
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1996 Welfare Reform Act
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
SUMMARY: What conclusions can be drawn? Is there any remnant of this issue in today’s current events? Explain

Issue XIV: Environmental Concerns (How does America balance economic development with the
protection of the environment?)

1872: Yellowstone National Park

Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1962: Silent Spring
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1970: Clean Air Act
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
SUMMARY: What conclusions can be drawn? Is there any remnant of this issue in today’s current events? Explain

American History II – Mr. Jeffers – Parkland; adapted from United States History Reading and Note-Taking Study Guide
 NAME: ________________________________________
Issue XV: Education In America (How should we go about educating American children?)
1903 DuBois-Washington Debate
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1954 Brown v. Board of Education
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
2001 No Child Left Behind Act
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
SUMMARY: What conclusions can be drawn? Is there any remnant of this issue in today’s current events? Explain

Issue XVI: Global Interdependence (Is global interdependence good for America?)
1930 Smoot Hawley Tariff
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1944: World Bank
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
1993: NAFTA and GATT
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
2000: Globalization Debated
Situational
details?
Connection
to issue?
SUMMARY: What conclusions can be drawn? Is there any remnant of this issue in today’s current events? Explain

American History II – Mr. Jeffers – Parkland; adapted from United States History Reading and Note-Taking Study Guide