History of USA Past Paper Analysis

1-Introduction/Ancient Times – 1492/1492-1606

a)Discuss in detail the impact of British advent in USA (2017)

2-USA as a British Colony (1606-1783).

a)2016 - The American Revolution was the child of Enlightenment. Comment
b)2018 – Why did American colonies criticized the Stamp act 1765? What were the Stamp Act crisis and its repercussions on US society?
c)2018 – What is the variance between the Treaties of Paris 1763 and 1783? Elaborate on their significant effects on the US.
d)2019 - What were the factors which led to the formation of the New England Confederation of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven Colonies, in 1643?

3-Expansion of USA: From 13 to 50 States (1820 - 1949)

a)2017 - Expansion of USA during 1900-1949
b)2019 - The westward expansion was a story of annexation, concessions, and purchases, since the declaration of Independence. Discuss.

4-Constitution of the USA: Salient Features

a) 2017 - Write a critical note on the formation and structure of the USA Constitution.

5-Civil War between the North and the East (1850 - 1869)


a)2019 - American Civil War (1860-1865) was an outcome of the “clash of economic interests as well as of social ideals. Elaborate with arguments.

6-Industrialization and its emergence as one of the world powers (1870 -1916)

a)2016 - How urban life was affected in the USA during the first two stages of industrialization?
b)2020 - How did the American-Spanish War in 1898 raise the United States status as one of the leading world powers?

7-USA’s role in the Two World Wars (i. 1914 – 1918, ii. 1939 - 1945)

a)2020 - After the end of WWI (1914-1918), why the US President Woodrow Wilson failed to convince the US Congress to become part of the League of the Nations despite his longstanding efforts for the creation of this International Organization through the prism of his Fourteen Points?

8-Post 1945 world scenario and the emergence of USA & USSR as Two World Powers.

a)2016 - U-2 incident
b)2018 – Trace out the reasons for US economy augmentation in the post-WW II era.
c)2018 – Write an all-inclusive note on the beginning and end of the Cold War.
d)2020 - In the wake of WWII (1939-1945), two major powers the US and the Soviet Union emerged constituting a bipolar system. Elaborate conceptually if the bipolar world remained more peaceful and stable than the multi-polar world in the pre-World Wars era.

9-American Role in the Cold War and its emergence as the Sole super Power (1945 – 1990).

a)2016 - What economic problems were faced by Ronald Reagan and how his government dealt with the economic crisis?
b)2016 - Eisenhower doctrine
c)2017 - What factors led the USA to emerge as a big power after World War II?
d)2019 - What were the economic challenges President Clinton faced in the post-Cold War era? How did he deal with these challenges?
e)2020 - Since the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949, why the United States desires to further expand NATO? Elaborate opportunities and challenges for the expansion of NATO.

10-International Concerns of USA: An Overview.

a)2016 - “The Bush Doctrine is the name given to a set of foreign policy guidelines”. Comment.
b)2017 - Discuss the Muslims’ perceptions of the USA.

11-Progressive Era: Reforms of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson,

a)2016 - Dollar diplomacy
b)2017 – Woodrow Wilson as President of US

12-The Great Depression and the New Deal

a)2016 - Discuss in detail the causes and effects of the Great Depression on the people and society of the United States of America.
b)2019 - Critically evaluate the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt concerning his accomplishments and failure.

13-Civil Rights Movement

a)2016 - What factors led Blacks to start the Civil Rights Movements? Discuss the role of Courts and State in giving rights to the blacks.
b)2018 – Critically trace the African American Struggle for equality and how many of them rose to the highest office.
c)2018 – Discuss the factors that have contributed to the amended status of American women with a special allusion to modern Feminism.
d)2019 - Discuss the philosophy of ‘Non-Violence’ concerning the Civil Rights Movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

14-United States Role in International Conflicts

a)2017 - Highlight the role played by the USA in some major international conflicts.
b)2018 – “New US Afghan policy may push Pakistan towards China”. Assess the observation in the perception of the current deteriorating US-Pakistan relations.

15-US Presidential Election

a)2017 - Examine the merits and demerits of the US Election System to elect President.

16-Separation of Powers and Check & Balances

a)2020 - Amongst the Congress, the Judiciary, and the Executive branches of the United States Government, which one of the government branches is much more powerful and why? Elaborate through the prism of the US Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances systems.

17-Others/General

a)2019 - What are the features of the recent wave of Nationalism in American Foreign Policy under the Trump Administration?
b)2020 - The tectonic plates of international politics seem to shift away from Europe to the Asia-Pacific region, which the U.S. President Barak Obama had termed as a “pivot to Asia” or “rebalancing” strategy. In the light of the changing geostrategic environment, how could you see the rise of China vis-à-vis the U.S. geostrategic interests in the Asia-Pacific region?
c)2020 - Even though Great Britain and the United States of America fought a Revolutionary War in the 1770s and the War of 1812, how did the two powers come closer in the later parts of the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries? Elaborate.