Students are to answer the questions using the assigned readings for the week. Students will need to respond to at least one classmate and to the instructor. All work must include references and/or citations. Minimum word count for each question is 150 words 

 Question #1 This course begins with the study of U.S. history from 1865-present-day. Please share your understanding about American history before taking this course. If you have not taken history before, please state this. Have you taken an online course before? If so, please share your experience in that course and what resources you used to assist you with being successful? As you begin to read the course materials, how would you define the term history? Identify at least two cultural events in Unit 5 and 6 that you gained the most insight from. Question #2 The period after the Civil War was known as Reconstruction. Discuss your understanding of this period and how did this period effect the South? Discuss the role of slaves, who are now called freedmen. Discuss the challenges or achievements that the newly freed slaves encountered after the Civil War. Identify some of the significant events from the reading that impacted the lives of the former slaves? How did the 13th, 14th, or 15th amendment impact their lives? Based upon the reading, do you believe that Reconstruction was successful? Please explain why or why not? Question#3 How did the American West change the landscape and lives for many Americans? What impact did American policy have on the lives of Native Americans? (Please provide examples) How did the railroad industry impact Western life? Question #4 How did the Gilded Age change lives for Americans? Who were some of the Industrialists who changed American Big Business and how did they change it? How did these changes impact the East (urban cities)? Question #5 Discuss your understanding of the American involvement in World War I. What were the origins of this conflict and what led to the American involvement? What was the initial policy of the U.S. before the War? Question #6 After reading lessons 20-21 and watching the films, discuss the role of the following during the War and the impact each group had on the war. Select at least two nations listed below and your understanding of their role during World War I. What impact or involvement did these nations have on the war? • Germany • United States • France • Great Britain • Mexico • Austria-Hungary • Russia • Belgium • Italy • Romania • Serbia • Japan • Ottoman Empire • Bulgaria • Greece Question #7 What impact did Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points and the Treaty of Versailles have on War? Do you believe that these resolved any issues between the nations? Please explain why or why not?