Your final exam is scheduled for Tuesday December 8 from four through seven p.m. The following essay will appear on your final. It will be worth 50 percent of your exam grade.
Write a history of the United States from 1960 through 1988. Be sure to refer to your Anderson, Douglas, Foner, Phillips-Fein, and Addington readings, your online readings, materials from the course PowerPoint slides, and my lectures.
First, explain why the country went through such an insurgent, and, by some standards, radical phase during the years 1960 through 1972. What was the country responding to? What were the main social movements during this period (name three) and what issues did they address? How successful were they? What impediments did they face?
Next, how did conservatism respond and grow during this period? What did conservatives say that they wanted? What were the different types of conservatives that emerged during these years? How did liberals, radicals, and conservatives differently define “freedom”?
Then, why do you think that the politics of the 1960s and 1970s eventually declined? What was Ronald Reagan’s message in 1980, and why did that message appeal to the country’s voters? Describe three of the Reagan administration’s main policies.
Your exam will also include seven identifications, each worth ten points. Please describe five in paragraphs or four or five sentences.
PS: Bring a blue book!