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VirginiaUS History

Reporting Category 3: Virginia and United States History, 1914 to 1945

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What caused the Great Depression, and how did it affect Americans?

Explain the causes of the Great Depression, including the stock market crash of 1929, and its economic and social effects on the American people (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.10).
A SOL-level answer on the Great Depression for the VUS exam: the causes (the 1929 stock market crash, overproduction, bank failures, buying on credit, uneven wealth), and the human effects (mass unemployment, bank and business failures, the Dust Bowl, and widespread hardship).
12 min answer →

How did the New Deal respond to the Depression and reshape government?

Explain the New Deal: its goals of relief, recovery, and reform, key programs, the expansion of the federal government's role, and the debate over the New Deal (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.10).
A SOL-level answer on the New Deal for the VUS exam: Franklin Roosevelt's relief, recovery, and reform response to the Depression, key programs like the CCC, Social Security, and the FDIC, the lasting expansion of the federal government's role, and the debate over the New Deal.
13 min answer →

How did the rise of dictators and Pearl Harbor draw the United States into World War II?

Explain the causes of World War II, the rise of totalitarian and fascist powers, American isolationism, and the events that drew the United States into the war, including Pearl Harbor (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.10).
A SOL-level answer on the road to World War II for the VUS exam: the rise of totalitarian and fascist dictators, the failures that led to war, American isolationism and the shift to aiding the Allies, and the attack on Pearl Harbor that brought the United States into the war.
12 min answer →

How did American society boom and clash during the 1920s?

Describe the political, social, and economic changes of the 1920s, including prosperity and consumerism, the Harlem Renaissance, Prohibition, and the cultural conflicts over immigration, race, and values (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.10).
A SOL-level answer on the 1920s for the VUS exam: the postwar economic boom and consumer culture, the cultural ferment of the Harlem Renaissance and jazz, Prohibition and its effects, and the era's deep conflicts over immigration, race, religion, and the role of women.
12 min answer →

How did total war transform American society at home?

Describe the impact of World War II on the American home front, including economic mobilization, the expanded roles of women and minorities, Japanese American internment (Korematsu v. United States), and the war's role in ending the Depression (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.10).
A SOL-level answer on the World War II home front for the VUS exam: economic mobilization and the end of the Depression, women in war work (Rosie the Riveter), the expanded roles and continued discrimination faced by minorities, and the internment of Japanese Americans upheld in Korematsu v. United States.
12 min answer →

How did the Allies win World War II, and what was the Holocaust?

Describe the major theaters, turning points, and leaders of World War II, the strategy that defeated the Axis, the Holocaust, and the decision to use atomic weapons to end the war (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.10).
A SOL-level answer on World War II abroad for the VUS exam: the European and Pacific theaters, the turning points (Midway, Stalingrad, D-Day), the Allied leaders, the Holocaust, and the decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end the war.
13 min answer →