Final Exam – US History to 1877
Answer two of the following questions. Each answer should have a minimum of six paragraphs:
1) a thesis or major argument,
2) an explanation – with at least three facts that back up your thesis,
3, 4, 5) Historical evidence that validates your argument, covering one fact per paragraph
6) a conclusion. Each question is worth 300 points. Short answers will be graded as unsatisfactory.
The exam requires the student to answer two questions
Essays will be graded in four areas: the argument, which needs to come first and should consist of at least one paragraph on why the essay chooses the argument that it does, the explanation of the argument, which comes second and which lays out the main outline of the argument and three or four major points to be covered to support the argument and which should consist of at least one paragraph, the historical evidence for each of the major points
presented in the explanation in turn, which should consist of at least three paragraphs, one
for each of the major points and then the conclusion, which explains how the student
achieved the goal of supporting the argument and should consist of at least one paragraph. The student should finish with an essay of at least six paragraphs. Do not use outside sources for a take-home exam. no material from outside sources is allowed. The only acceptable sources are the textbook, the PowerPoint presentations and any class notes the student has taken.
1) What do you think is the best interpretation of Thomas Jefferson, as basically similar to Andrew Jackson and his policies or as the inspiration for the policies of Abraham Lincoln? Explain and defend your answer.
2) The War of 1812 is considered by many historians to be a Second American Revolution. Was the most important aspect of the War of 1812 the nation’s postwar economic development, or the rise of sectionalism after 1815 or the impact on preserving and extending slavery after 1815? Explain and defend your answer.
3) What is your interpretation of Jacksonian Democracy, was it primarily a Herrenvolk democracy or was it advancing an ideology of the self-made man and even the self-made woman? Explain and defend your answer.
4) What was the most important aspect of Manifest Destiny, its racist overtones, its positive impact on the economic growth of the country or its intensification of the conflict over slavery? Explain and defend your answer.
5) Why do you think the woman’s movement of the mid-19th century failed in its efforts to make significant gains for women at that time, the lack of a unified woman’s organization and the lack of a leader of the movement or was the movement overwhelmed by the abolitionist movement of that time? Explain and defend your answer.
6) What year did the Civil War become unavoidable for all practical purposes, 1854 or 1857? Explain and defend your answer.
7) Why did the Civil War end in a Northern victory, was it because of the North’s superior military leadership, its superior political leadership, its diplomatic success in preventing British and French intervention, or was it because of Northern victories in specific battles during the war, and not its superior resources? Explain and defend your answer.
8) What was the most important result of the medical revolution of the Civil War, the contribution of medicine to the Union victory or the long-term impact on the country’s health and well-being? Explain and defend your answer.
9) What is the best interpretation of Reconstruction, that it failed to achieve anything close to civil rights for African Americans at that time or as a partial success where Reconstruction efforts so secure rights for African Americans failed in the short run but managed to succeed in the long run? Explain and defend your answer.
Please only choose 2 topics out of the 9 listed and write 6 paragraphs for each, using the instructions listed above.
The only source needed is the book and the attached PP
and the following book: America: Two Directions: Part One, Beginnings-1877