Study Guide
Final Examination Study Guide
Notes:
1. Bring a blank examination booklet to the examination. I will exchange your booklet for one from my supply as a precautionary measure to prevent cheating.
2. You may answer the questions in any order—just make sure you mark each question clearly.
3. You will have 80 minutes to complete the exam. You should try to spend approximately 40 minutes on the essay and 8 minutes on each identification question.
Part I: Essay Question (50 points)
One of the following questions will appear on the examination. Write a well-developed essay that makes an argument in response to the question and supports it with evidence drawn from lectures and readings. No citations are necessary. Note that the italicized text after each number is the primary question that your argument should address. The rest of the text provides guidelines to help you address the primary question completely and effectively. The best answers will display an awareness of the colonial heritage as well as a broad understanding of developments between the Revolution and the Civil War, and will explore multiple aspects of the problem.
1. How did slavery become such an important and divisive issue in the U.S. during the first sixty years of the nineteenth century, and why was it resolved through warfare rather than by peaceable political means? Your answer should address the economic, political, and social aspects of the problem.
2. How did religion shape the political, economic and social landscape of the United States between independence and reconstruction? Your answer should changing attitudes toward religious beliefs and institutions from the end of the colonial period to the time of the Civil War, and look at how those attitudes shaped some of the key issues during the early Republic, such as slavery, the role of government in the economy, women’s role in society and politics, the role of government in regulating public morality, and
Notes:
1. Bring a blank examination booklet to the examination. I will exchange your booklet for one from my supply as a precautionary measure to prevent cheating.
2. You may answer the questions in any order—just make sure you mark each question clearly.
3. You will have 80 minutes to complete the exam. You should try to spend approximately 40 minutes on the essay and 8 minutes on each identification question.
Part I: Essay Question (50 points)
One of the following questions will appear on the examination. Write a well-developed essay that makes an argument in response to the question and supports it with evidence drawn from lectures and readings. No citations are necessary. Note that the italicized text after each number is the primary question that your argument should address. The rest of the text provides guidelines to help you address the primary question completely and effectively. The best answers will display an awareness of the colonial heritage as well as a broad understanding of developments between the Revolution and the Civil War, and will explore multiple aspects of the problem.
1. How did slavery become such an important and divisive issue in the U.S. during the first sixty years of the nineteenth century, and why was it resolved through warfare rather than by peaceable political means? Your answer should address the economic, political, and social aspects of the problem.
2. How did religion shape the political, economic and social landscape of the United States between independence and reconstruction? Your answer should changing attitudes toward religious beliefs and institutions from the end of the colonial period to the time of the Civil War, and look at how those attitudes shaped some of the key issues during the early Republic, such as slavery, the role of government in the economy, women’s role in society and politics, the role of government in regulating public morality, and