AP US History Unit 7 Cheatsheet: Progressivism to WWII, 1890-1945

Imperialist Arguments

• Economic opportunities & markets
• Racial superiority theories
• Competition with European empires
• "Closed frontier" narrative (1890s)
• Destiny to spread U.S. culture & institutions

Anti-Imperialist Arguments

• Self-determination principles
• Isolationist foreign policy tradition
• Racial theories (invoked differently)

War Outcomes (1898)

• U.S. acquired Caribbean & Pacific territories
• Increased involvement in Asia
• Suppressed Philippine nationalist movement

Why U.S. Entered (1917)

• Departed from isolationist tradition
• Wilson's call to defend democracy & humanitarian principles
• Limited combat role but helped tip balance to Allies

Postwar Diplomacy Failure

• Senate refused Treaty of Versailles ratification
• U.S. did not join League of Nations

Home Front: Restrictions & Migration

• Increased anxiety about radicalism → Red Scare
• Attacks on labor activism & immigrant culture
• Immigration quotas restricted southern/eastern Europe & Asia
• Great Migration: African Americans fled South for North/West; found opportunity but discrimination persisted

Identify vs. Explain

• Identify: name the concept, development, or process
• Explain: describe causes, effects, characteristics, significance

Sourcing Questions

• Point of view: whose perspective? What biases?
• Purpose: why was this created?
• Historical situation: what was happening when?
• Audience: who was this for?

Comparison Strategy

• Identify similarities and/or differences — do exactly what the prompt asks (one, the other, or both)
• Explain why differences existed (context matters)
• Use specific evidence from both sides

Contextualization

• Place development within broader trends (urbanization, industrialization, global conflict)
• Show how earlier events shaped later ones