US Independence

1. Political, economic, social, intellectual and religious causes of rebellion; the role of foreign intervention; conflicts and issues leading to war

Nation-building and challenges, 1781-1840

2. United States' position towards Latin American independence; events and reasons for the emergence of the Monroe Doctrine

3. United States: Articles of Confederation; the Constitution of 1787: philosophical underpinnings; major compromises and changes in the US political system

4. War of 1812: impact on the United States

5. Changes in the conditions of social groups such as Native Americans, slaves, immigrants in the new nation

Civil War: causes, course and effects 1840-1877

6. Cotton economy and slavery; conditions of enslavement; adaptation and resistance such as the

Underground Railroad

7. Origins of the Civil War: political issues, states' rights, modernization, sectionalism, the nullification crisis, economic differences between North and South

8. Abolitionist debate: impact of arguments for and against slavery

9. The two presidents: the Lincoln&endash;Douglas debates; the impact of the election of Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation; Jefferson Davis's leadership of the Confederacy

10. Union versus Confederate: strengths and weaknesses; economic resources; significance of leaders during the US Civil War (suitable examples could be Grant and Lee, Sherman and Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson)

11. Major battles of the Civil War and their impact on the conflict: Antietam and Gettysburg; the role of foreign powers

12. Reconstruction: economic, social and political successes and failures, particularly of African-American politicians; economic changes

13. African Americans in the Civil War and in the New South: the Black Codes and Jim Crow Laws

The development of modern nations 1865-1929

14. Causes and consequences of railroad construction; industrial growth and economic modernization; the development of international and inter-American trade; neocolonialism and dependency

15. Causes and consequences of immigration; emigration and internal migration, including the impact upon, and experience of, indigenous peoples

16. Development and impact of ideological currents including Progressivism, Manifest Destiny, Populism, nationalism, Social Darwinism, nativism

17. Social and cultural changes: the arts; the role of women

18. Influence and effectiveness of leaders in the transition to the modern era: political and economic aims; assessment of the successes and failures of Theodore Roosevelt or Woodrow Wilson

19. Social, economic and legal conditions of African Americans between 1865 and 1929; the Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance; the search for civil rights and the ideas, aims and tactics of Booker T Washington, WEB Dubois or Marcus Garvey

Emergence of the Americas in global affairs 1880-1929

20. United States' expansionist foreign policies: political, economic, social and ideological reasons

21. Assessment/impact of United States' foreign policies: the Big Stick; Dollar Diplomacy; Moral Diplomacy, Good Neighbor Policy (to 1945)

22. Wilson's peace ideals and the struggle for ratification of the Versailles Treaty in the United States; impact of the war on the United States' status and foreign policy

23. Impact of the First World War on the US: economic, political, social effects

The Great Depression 1929-1939

24. Analysis of one or more causes of the Great Depression

25. Evaluation of the effectiveness of FD Roosevelt's New Deal in the United States: specific programs or criticisms of the New Deal

26. Impact of the Great Depression on society: African Americans, women, minorities

27. The Great Depression and the arts: photography, the movie industry, the radio, literary currents

The Second World War 1933-1945

28. Hemispheric reactions to the events in Europe: inter-American diplomacy; cooperation and neutrality, impact of Good Neighbor Policy

29. Social impact of the Second World War on: African Americans, Native Americans, women and minorities

30. Treatment of Japanese Americans (be careful &endash; easy to turn into a report; that's bad)

31. Reaction to the Holocaust in the Americas

32. Impact of technological developments, particularly atomic weapons

Political developments after the Second World War 1945-1979

33. Evaluation of domestic policies of Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon or Carter (a wide variety of possibilities &endash; taxes, health care, economics, labor unions, crime, segregation, Native Americans)

34. Evaluation of Johnson: "the Great Society"; civil rights

35. The Cuban Revolution: political, social, economic causes; impact on the region

36. Analysis of rule of Fidel Castro in Cuba: political, economic, social or cultural policies; treatment of minorities; successes and failures

37. Evaluation of US policy toward military regimes in Latin America: rationale for intervention; challenges; policies; successes and failures

The Cold War and the Americas 1945-1981

38. Harry S Truman and the start of the Cold War: containment and its impact

39. Reasons for the rise of McCarthyism or its effects on US domestic or foreign policy

40. The impact of the Cold War and on society and culture

41. The Korean War: evaluation of military, diplomatic or political outcomes

42. Dwight Eisenhower: effectiveness of New Look/massive retaliation; criticisms

43. United States' involvement in Vietnam: assessment of military efforts; impact of media coverage or protest movement (many possibilities); impact of war upon politics

44. Evaluation of a US foreign policy from Kennedy to Carter: Kennedy's Alliance for Progress; Bay of Pigs, missile crisis or Cuban embargo; Nixon's covert operations and Chile; Carter's quest for human rights and the Panama Canal Treaty

Civil rights and social movements in the Americas after World War II

45. Native Americans rights: AIM, Alcatraz, Wounded Knee, US policies through Bureau of Indian Affairs

46. African Americans and the Civil Rights Movement: origins, effectiveness of tactics or organizations (NAACP, SCLC, National Urban League)

Impact of legal challenges to segregation; effectiveness of laws (Voting Rights Act, Civil Rights Act, etc.)

47. Evaluation of leadership: Dr Martin Luther King; Malcolm X, women

48. Impact of radical African American activism: Black Panthers; Black Muslims; Black Power; Stokely Carmichael

49. Evaluation of social or political impact of "counterculture" and protests of the 1960s and 1970s

50. Impact of feminist movements

Into the 21st century - from the 1980s to 2000

51. Evaluation of domestic or foreign policies of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, or Bill Clinton

52. Effects of globalization: social, political or economic

53. Revolution in technology: social, political and economic impact such as the role of the media and the Internet

54. Evaluation of environmental movement or legislation