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!

Essay Question for Exam

In the years from 1820-1860, the US grew from "sea to shining sea". What were some key developments that made growth possible? What were some key problems from this massive expansion?

Please get your evidence from the document page I gave you AND the textbook.

You may pre-write (brainstorm, outline, notes, quotes), but NOT write a full draft.

Bring all to class tomorrow. You will be granted 45 minutes.

Finish Research Questions

Friday's classwork will be due TOMORROW...

• double spaced
• typed
• 10-12 font
• readable font (not all caps or curly-cues)

Proper Paraphrasing

1. Attempt to properly paraphrase a passage from chapter 13 on the Mexican-American war IF your topic is about what LED to the conflict. To do this you should write at least one paragraph and include the paraphrase within it and use proper citation.

HINT: It is NOT the same as quoting, but does follow similar citation rules.

Bring research notebook to class tomorrow and be prepared to write about your historical person.

Upcoming Test

Test coming 3/29-3/30 (both dates)
**
Westward Expansion Exam

• open book/note
• all essay and short answer

Topics:
***

• Monroe Doctrine
• Andrew Jackson's presidency
• Indian removal
• Manifest Destiny
• Mexican-American War

Research Due Monday

All notes for your research project are due on MONDAY 3/19.

This will be considered a Q3 grade. If you don't have them Monday you will receive a zero on this part of your project (100 points).

Research HW (Take Notes)

Take notes this week on your sources. Remember that you need FIVE sources overall (one from each category listed on the original sheet).

When you take notes, keep in mind your new information on paraphrasing/quoting.
Also, please make sure you consider these topics while taking notes:

1) Early life & history of person
2) Struggles of person
3) Achievements/successes of person
4) Your opinion on person

Finish Works Cited practice

1. Finish your Works Cited practice from the other day.

2. Read and highlight the second plagiarism handout.

Due-- Tomorrow

Research Books by Friday

• Please bring at least TWO books and ONE article for your research project on FRIDAY.
• Please also bring your research binder.
• IF you have trouble with this, it is YOUR responsibility to let me know so we can problem solve your dilemma.

American Indian Relations 1800-1860

1. Please find any/all references about American Indian relations in your textbooks from the time period between 1800-1860.

• The information you find should be presented chronologically and should include page numbers where the information can be found plus a BRIEF description of the events.

Example: In 1823 Andrew Jackson proposed the Indian Removal Act which promised to move American Indians off their land (p. xvi).

DUE: TOMORROW!

Week's Schedule

1. Continue finding sources for your research. Bring actual BOOKS/Articles to class on THURSDAY 3/1.

2. Mon-Wed we will continue discussions on Westward Expansion (focusing on American Indian relations).

3. Thurs-Fri will be research based and will include focus on how to take bibliographic information (with handouts) and how to determine which information is the most accurate for your research.

Finish War of 1812 class work

1. Finish the sheet on War of 1812 tonight.

2. Remember, Research part 1 (list of keywords, list of sources) is due Wednesday.

There will be NO hw over the break!

Research Part 1-- Keywords, Finding Sources

1. Please write up a list of keywords based on your person. For example:

person's name, occupation, invention/works, time period, etc

2. Use this list to begin searching library catalogs for info. Here are the links for Pasadena and LA libraries. If you live in San Marino, please try to use another library because their temporary library will not have enough info. for your project. I highly recommend using LAPL for its extremely large collection.

www.lapl.org

http://catalog.pasadenapubliclibrary.net/

3. When you do your searches, please PRINT out a list of the books/sources you found. You do not need to bring books in to class at this time.

DUE: WEDNESDAY (VALENTINE'S DAY!) :)

Notable Person

1. Research up to 5 people from the list distributed today in class.

Please use Wikipedia OR www.biography.com

2. If you want to do a person NOT on the list, please make a proposal including birth-death dates. Please understand I will have final say on any proposed notable individuals.

Please turn in your essay tomorrow

Please remember to turn in your essay (from the weekend) to the tray by tomorrow. Thank you.

HW and Quiz Tomorrow

1. Get prepared for a short quiz tomorrow on political parties.


You should know these items:

• definition of political party
• difference between two-party, multi-party, one-party systems
• origin of political parties in US (see p. 287-289)
• why Washington (and Jefferson early on) didn't like parties (p.287)
  
• why the Federalist party split (p.292)
• how you feel about parties

Political Parties

Go to this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_party

Read all about political parties; explore.

Answer this question:

Do you think the US two-party system is adequate for our country? Can you think of another, better solution to parties in the US? Please describe it...

Thomas Jefferson Essay

• Please make an argument for the MOST SIGNIFICANT event/policy within Jefferson's presidency (based on last night's hw).
• Write a draft of an essay for this. You MAY skip the conclusion (i.e: write 4 paragraphs).
• Please focus on SUPPORTING your argument with EVIDENCE from within the text.
• Quotes (not paraphrases) are MANDATORY. This means you will need to use quotation marks as well as page numbers from the text. Remember the format goes like this: "Thomas Jefferson said the sky was blue." (p. 235)
• All evidence should be in CHRONOLOGICAL order.

You may use a hw pass for this assignment, but it will only delay when you have to turn it in because it will be graded as Writing Practice.

DUE: TOMORROW

Thomas Jefferson

Go through chapter 10 (Age of Jefferson) be prepared discuss FIVE SIGNIFICANT policies that TJ helped shape/control during his tenure in office.

Write them down in narrative format (ie: paragraphs).


Ok 1 hw pass will suffice for this assignment...

Game Cards

1. Finish all game cards by Monday.

2. Remember you will recite the Preamble on Monday (perfect recitations = a chance to shoot a basket).

3. Game will be Tuesday; Test will be Friday (open note).

Prepping Amendments

• Read your assigned amendments.
• Study them with a fine-toothed comb (read the side-bar info).
• Be prepared to write true and false statements about them tomorrow.
• DO NOT WRITE OUT THE STATEMENTS YET...I HAVE INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOU TOMORROW.

Amendment HW

1. Translate all of the amendments (1-27) into your own words (not the book's or the cheat sheet on the side).

2. 1-2 sentences each (more for longer amendments).

3. Have this ready for Tuesday.