Instructions: Choose two of the following four questions. Write 4 double-spaced pages answering each of the two chosen questions (8 pages total). Use examples from materials you read and viewed to support your argument. Try to use 2-3 brief examples to support each point you make. Do not use footnotes but include the author and title of the book, article, film, or other source, and page number if you quote from or refer to these sources.

1. Historians have dubbed the 1920s the "Jazz Age" in American history. What do they mean? Describe aspects of the Jazz Age in terms of economy, status of women, fashion, and culture. Does the popularity of jazz, an African-American musical form, mean there was a marked improvement in race relations in the 1920s?

2. During the Great Depression FSA photographers traveled across the country documenting social conditions. What New Deal policies did their work promote? Do you think President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's reforms and new policies such as Social Security were justified during the 1930s economic crisis? How does FSA photographers' portrayal of the crisis compare to Charlie Chaplin's portrayal of life during the 1930s in his film Modern Times?

3. A documentary film Atomic Cafe argues, as many historians do, that the atomic bomb had an important influence on postwar American life and culture. Why did the U.S. enter World War II and why did President Harry Truman decide to use the bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Do you agree with his decision? Why? Do you agree with the documentary's depiction of the bomb's role in postwar politics and culture? Why?

4. As recent public controversies about Ronald Reagan's legacy demonstrate, Reagan's presidency (1980-1988) still influences the direction of U.S. economic and social policies today. Current popular cultural trends such as Hip Hop also started in the 1980. What were the major aspects of U.S. economy and social life during the 1980s and why are they still influential? Do you agree with Michael Moore's critique of Reaganomics in Roger and Me? Why? What does hip hop music from the period tell us about race relations during the 1980s?