Sem II Final Exam-- prep

American History Final Exam

Preparation Guide

2007

BACKGROUND:

Contemporary scholars agree that the US Civil War was the single most significant event in US history. The impact of the war may be lodged in our country’s historical memory permanently. In fact, as Professor Joan Waugh of UCLA has said, “The US Civil War created a new nation.” (May 2002, UCLA Lecture) The war began as a call to separate nations (southern states seceding from the “union”) and preserve the economic system of the south. It ended tragically with a horrific loss of life and property. Indeed, it seemed impossible to raise a new nation from the ashes.

PROMPT:

The period of time immediately following the US Civil War is called “Reconstruction” (1865-1877) because after the war the North came up with several plans to help rebuild the South and aid its re-entry into the “Union”. However, the plan that was finally enacted has been termed a failure by historians. Taking that into consideration, write a response to the following:

What was the main reason for the failure of Reconstruction?

Make an argument using at least three examples of historical evidence to support your thesis in a multi-paragraph essay (min=5 paragraphs). Make sure you explain how each example supports your thesis (argument). You may use the notes I gave you in class, your textbook (chapter 18), and any other reputable source you find on your own (only use .edu sources or Wikipedia). You MUST properly cite your sources in MLA style. Bring the guidelines if you think you will forget how to do this. A reference list is not needed, but proper quoting with end parenthesis will be most significant. Attach any source that you found on your own (so make photocopies) to your essay when you turn it in.

Final Exam Checklist

You may do everything up to writing the actual essay. You may prepare notes, brainstorm, outline, select quotes, etc. In order to have enough time to write the essay you should have already created your thesis and found the supporting evidence. Bring all items that will help you on Tuesday. The only thing you may *not* have is a draft of the essay. You will have 90 minutes to write the complete essay.

____ Read essay background and prompt

____ Ask clarifying questions

____ Brainstorm ideas

____ Skim materials for more ideas

____ Create thesis

____ Find supporting evidence (three historical examples)

____ Write out quotes you plan to use (with citation info)

____ Work on paraphrases (using proper citation info)

____ Make an outline of what you plan to say

____ Email any questions to me when necessary.

____ Bring all items to exam (including paper and pens)

bkelley@mayfieldjs.org

GOOD LUCK!

For Friday's Quiz

The only hw this week is to prepare for a quiz this Friday (the one you took in class today).

I will remove some questions to make it a 20 question quiz (total).
Closed notes/book!

Here are the important topics to study:
***
Missouri Compromise
"Great Compromiser"
Compromise of 1850
Fugitive Slave law
John Brown
Results of Election of 1860
How states seceded (order, dates)
Advantages during war (population, factory production, railroads, etc)
Battles: Antietam, Bull Run, Gettysburg (know which side won, and facts)

Bottom line: You have seen/taken the quiz. You know what kinds of facts to study. There will be no surprises, except to see which questions I removed.

Finish classwork (compromise)

Please finish your "failure to compromise" classwork for hw this evening.

Tomorrow, please expect to discuss it and turn it in.

In addition, we will present the "Experience of a soldier" posters.

Failure to Compromise

Use Chapter 16 to discover how the US "failed" to compromise as the historian said in Ken Burn's film we saw recently.

1. List as many compromises you can find from the text (hint: they won't always be named "compromise")

2. Find evidence for how each one failed and describe the failure in paragraph format.

***
Please begin this activity and come with a list tomorrow. You will complete the paragraph part in class tomorrow with the sub (plus an additional activity).

The Cause/s of War

1. Please use your textbook (chapter 16 mostly) and scan it to figure out what you think are the most likely causes of the US Civil War. Follow these instructions:

a) Scan/preview Chapter 16 (other chapters might also be helpful) for ideas.
b) Write a list of potential causes in your spiral.
c) Circle the one YOU would make an argument for as being one of the most significant causes of the US Civil War.
d) Write a list of reasons WHY you think this cause is the most significant (data from book is important in coming up with reasons).

Bring to class FRIDAY (when I will be back).

Tomorrow in class you *should* (if dvd arrives today) be taking notes on a documentary. Details in class.

Modified Research

Research (modified):

• Write a list of all the people in history (any period; world or American) that you have wanted to find something about. If you do this seriously it should take you about 5-10 minutes.

• Circle your top five choices. Write a paragraph or two explaining why you have been interested in these people.

• Choose ONE of the top five and do some mild research on that person. You may use online sources such as Wikipedia or any online encyclopedia. If you do a search for other sites, please do an advanced search and make sure your info is only from sites that end in .edu

• What did you find about this person that was truly interesting to you? Why? Please attach your research to the paper you turn in. Please type this assignment. I recommend practicing your quoting/paraphrasing technique.
  

DUE: TOMORROW

Antebellum America

1. Using the list you created in class plus your textbook write a paragraph or two discussing what you think are the *main* differences between the North and South.

2. Which region of the US was more economically independent? Why? Please support your answer with evidence (in your OWN words).

DUE: Tomorrow.

There will be NO HW tomorrow or through the break...HAPPY TRAVELS!