Guiding Questions and Resources for After the Fact Seminar Discussions

“U.S.D.A. Inspected”

Questions to Consider:

• What’s the relationship between The Jungle and the Meat Inspection Act? Be able to distinguish between the “simple” story and the more complex story recounted by the authors.
• Who exercised power during the legislative process and why?
• To what extent did the Meat Inspection Act represent a victory for reformers? A victory for the packing industry?
• What role did Teddy Roosevelt play in the process?

View Our Response Paragraphs here: https://classof2009honors.wikispaces.com/usda

Howard Zinn, “The Empire and the People”

Questions to Consider:

• What relationship does Zinn identify between the Depression of 1893 and the drive for overseas expansion at the turn of the 20th century? To put this another way, why did Teddy Roosevelt welcome almost any war at this point in U.S. history?
• According to Zinn, is overseas expansion a break from the past policies or a continuation? Support your answer with examples.
• According to Zinn, what factors lay behind U.S. interest in Cuba? What groups supported intervention? Why?
• What groups did not? Why?
• Who benefited from the outcome of the war and the defeat of the Spanish?
• According to Zinn, what impact did the Platt Amendment have on Cuba? Why did the U.S. shift its original policy toward Cuba as represented by the Teller Amendment?
• Zinn is particularly critical of U.S. involvement in the Philippines. Who supported this involvement? Who opposed it?
• What role did race play in American foreign policy during this period?
• If war was believed to be a way to unite the nation and overcome divisions–particularly class divisions–did the Spanish American War do that?
• What’s Zinn’s thesis in this chapter? How does he support his argument? Is he convincing? Is there another way to tell this story? Another set of motivations?

Sacco and Venzetti

Questions to Consider:

The Decision to Drop the Bomb

Guiding Questions

• What role do models play in history? What types of models exist to describe the decision making of large organizations? What are the pros and cons of these models?

• What is the difference between decision making by a committee and decision making by an individual? Did the committees which made decisions during the Manhattan Project make decisions which were in the best interest of the United States?

• Based on the models presented in the chapter, what factors shaped the decision to drop two nuclear bombs on Japan during World War II?

• Were these decisions justified? Explain your reasoning.

From Rosie to Lucy

Questions to Consider

• What is the “feminine mystique” and how does it apply to this article?

• What happened to the role and status of women between World War II and the 1950s? What caused this change?

• How much of a role did the media play in this change? Is the media a reflection of society? Does the media shape society? How does this analysis apply to 1950s sitcoms?

• What about today? Do you see any connections between the discussion of media in this article and the media today?