Instructions
HIS 125 (Chapters 24-30) Short answer/Essay Questions 10 points
Choose any two of the following to answer as fully as possible identify which question(s) you are addressing. (5 points each). This assignment requires critical thinking/evaluation. Please do not reproduce textbook analysis. I am looking for your interpretation!
- What were the key characteristics of California’s housing boom after World War II? What types of houses were built, and for whom? How did local governments cope with the increased demand for services?
- What was the nature of California’s higher education system by the mid-1960s? Why was the Higher Education Act of 1960 so important?
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3. Write an essay about the discrimination African Americans faced in California in the twentieth century. What different forms did it take? How did it affect the economic status of African Americans, and also where they lived?
4. What were conditions like in Watts by 1960? Discuss the state of its infrastructure, its housing, its economy, its educational system, and its relations with the rest of Los Angeles, including the police.
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5. In the 1960s, California implemented many important changes in its constitution and in how the state government operated. Write an essay in which you discuss the most important changes to the constitution and state government. Also assess whether or not this improved California government and made California more democratic.
6. Many college campuses erupted in protest in the 1960s. What were the various issues the students were protesting? What tactics did they use? What were the long-term results of the student protest movement?
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7. California’s minority groups made significant progress in the 1970s and 1980s. Write an essay in which you discuss the challenges and gains made by the group of your choice.
8. Jerry Brown’s two terms as governor brought major changes to California. Write an essay in which you discuss his important policies and what the impacts of those policies have been.
9. What were Ronald Reagan’s political principles and how did he try to implement them during his two terms as governor? What were the main results of his governorship and what explains them?
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10. What are the main arguments given by anti-environmentalists against environmental protection laws? How would a typical environmentalist likely respond?
11. First discuss the key threats climate change poses for California. Then discuss the important measures California has taken to combat climate change. Finally, examine how the federal government helps or hinders those efforts.
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12. Along with the rest of the country, California experienced a painful recession in the early 1990s. How did this recession affect important economic sectors in California? How did the state government respond?
13. Pick two of the following groups and discuss how they fared politically during the 1990s: women, gays and lesbians, Hispanics, blacks.
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14. In 2000 California spent billions of extra dollars on electricity. What caused the huge spike in price and how did the California and federal governments deal with it?
15. The Great Recession caused major economic disruption in California. Write an essay in which you evaluate in what ways California has recovered from the Great Recession – and in what ways it has not.