Which event do you think had greater historical significance for the U.S. West, the Great Depression of the 1930s or World War II?  In giving your answer, make sure to consider both possibilities and to tell me how you would choose to measure "significance" as well as to include a wide range of specific examples. 

The presence of the federal government has been highly significant in the history of the 20th-century West, and so has its involvement in the region's economy, from the federal dam-building projects of the 1930s and the industrial buildup of the World War II and Cold War periods to the rise of a service economy and deregulation policies of more recent decades.  In an essay that covers the entire period from 1930 to 2000, analyze the many ways that the federal government worked to spur or to limit economic opportunity among westerners.  Be sure to think broadly about the many groups affected by federal policy, including workers (including women, African Americans, Latinos), capitalists and corporations.

Twentieth-century Native peoples found land, natural resources, and treaty rights central to ensuring tribal sovereignty. In an essay covering the period from 1934 to the present, analyze how Native peoples used their land base, culture, pan-Indian identity, and the tools of white economy, politics, and legal system to foster claims for sovereignty.  To what extent have Native peoples been successful at asserting their sovereignty, and at keeping their tribal cultures and Native identities intact?

Compare and contrast the lives and accomplishments of any two of the following four politicians: Edward Roybal, Lyndon Johnson, Harvey Milk, Ronald Reagan.  To what extent did their careers reflect developments in western history during their lifetimes?  To what extent did their actions challenge and/or change the history of western politics?

Boundaries between the West's diverse communities have often had race as a primary delimiter. The federal government has often been the main arbiter in this process. How have shifts of people–by cross border immigration, internal migration, termination, internment, and postwar migration–been shaped by federal policy from the 1930s? Have federal policies granted equal opportunity to all comers, or have groups had to challenge government policy to gain employment, residency, and civil rights in the West?