What if the Far West had not been settled?

Choose one of the following topics and write a speculative, critical thinking paper, four to six full pages long, or produce a project according to the guidelines on the next three pages. 1. What if the Far West had not been settled? The cavalry had lost more battles like Little Big Horn? The frontier never ended? The era of cowboys and gunfights had gone on longer? Choose one topic. 2. What if the Populists had prevailed in 1892 or 1896 or the farmers and laborers had prevailed over the industrialists? How might that have changed the direction that the country took into the twentieth century? 3. What if fewer or what if more of the Progressive goals had been adopted? What if Teddy Roosevelt and/or Woodrow Wilson had adopted all or most of the Progressive agenda?4. Suppose the United States stayed out of the First World War completely. How might subsequent history have been different? Or, what if the U.S. Senate ratified the Treaty of Versailles and the U.S. joined the League of Nations? 5. What if Hoover had beaten Roosevelt in 1932 and there was no New Deal? Speculate on how things might be different then (regarding the Great Depression) and now (in terms of programs, big government, and so on). You can also reverse any other election, if you prefer (What if Gore carried Florida? Or Kerry carried Ohio? Or McCain carried more states? Or Romney defeated Obama?) (Sanders vs. Trump in 2016?) 6. What if the United States had never entered the Second World War or lost the war to Germany and Japan or never dropped the atomic bomb or never had it to begin with? Choose one scenario and speculate on how things would have been different then and now. (Note: This is probably the most difficult what if? type of question. Many people choose this thinking that it is easy. This is the most difficult question on this list. Remember that the emphasis in this assignment is on logic, thoughtful research, and critical thinking and not on writing a wild, illogical story. Constantly ask yourself about any of these topics: how probable and possible and believable is my alternate history?) 7. What if John F. Kennedy had not been assassinated? Or Martin Luther King, Jr., or Robert F. Kennedy, or Malcolm X? 8. What if the U.S. had never entered Vietnam, or left the war earlier, or used massive force and conquered North Vietnam? Or, what if we had not gotten involved in the Persian Gulf War (Desert Storm) or Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, or Afghanistan or now Syria? What might the consequences have been? 9 What if Y2k had really happened as some people feared? Or, what if the CIA and FBI had prevented 9/11? Or, what if there had been more 9/11 style attacks up to this point in time? What if we had not invaded Afghanistan or Iraq? Choose one of these options or make up variations upon them. 10. Design your own speculative paper. Choose a key person or event and speculate on how U.S. history would have been different if he or she had never lived or the event had never happened. You may choose from the realm of politics, literature, science, the military, art, philosophy, entertainment, sports, or religion or anything that interests you as long as removing that person or changing that event would make some difference in United States history. If you take this option or want to do a modified version of the other standard questions, please see the instructor and clear your topic first.