Civil War Test Questions

I need to remind you that these may not be the test questions that you get in class. However, they should give you a sense of the major topics areas. Remember to substitute various people or battles into the appropriate question. For example, the question on Gettysburg could also be asked about Antietam or the Wilderness Campaign. Good luck and feel free to ask any question that you may have.

Explain the arguments for and against slavery?
To what extent was slavery a benign institution?
To what extent did slaves maintain their African culture?
Explain how slaves passively and actively resisted Southern slaveholders.
What was the most significant cause of the Civil War?
To what extent were Northern demographic advantages responsible for the Union’s victory?
Explain how the South prolonged the war despite obvious union advantages.
Why didn’t Britain and France formally assist the South?
Compare and Contrast Lincoln and Davis’s effectiveness.
To what extent was Lincoln responsible for the Union's victory?
Did Lincoln overstep his authority during the Civil War?
What role did African Americans play in the Civil War?
http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/history/aa_history.htm

Why is Lee considered the reason the South survived for so long?
How did Grant’s strategy differ from his predecessors?
What was the critical factor in the North winning the war?
Assess the advantages of the North vs. the South?
In light of overwhelming disadvantages, how does the South prolong the war for four years?
Assess how foreign powers affected the Civil War.
Compare and contrast the role of foreign powers in the Civil War vs. the U.S. Revolution.
Was Lincoln the critical factor in the North winning the Civil War?
Why was Grant a particularly effective commander?
Was Gettysburg the critical battle of the Civil War?

Extra Credit Discussion Blog

Welcome to our extra-credit discussion thread. Feel free to post questions for the next discussion day or ask any questions that you need answered by me. I have listed our meeting times below. Make sure your assigned reading is completed on time.

Meeting 1-Lunchtime 12/3

Meeting 2-Lunchtime 12/8 Read up to "The First Day"

Meeting 3-7:30 A.M. 12/11 Read up to "The Second Day"

Meeting 4-Lunchtime 12/15 Read up to "Friday"

Meeting 5-Lunchtime 12/17 Finish the Book

Slavery Projects

Here are some websites that may help you with your assignment.


http://www.usnationalslaverymuseum.org/learningcenter.asp

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/home.html

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/resources/online.html

http://www.theblackmarket.com/slavefaq.htm

Possible Essay Topics for Growth of the Nation Test

Constitutional Period
Describe the deficiencies in the Articles of Confederation.
To what extent were the problems in the Articles of Confederation addressed by the Constitution?
What led to the U.S. Constitution being created?
How does the Constitution protect against both tyranny of the masses and tyranny of an individual?
Some historians have referred to the Constitution as a bundle of compromises. Do you believe this to be true?
Was the Constitution a conservative document designed to protect the money interests?

War of 1812
How effectively did U.S. foreign policy from 1789-1811 address the challenges posed by the European powers?
What caused the War of 1812?
What were the short term and long term effects of the War of 1812?
To what extent should the U.S. view the War of 1812 as a success?
One historian commented that the war of 1812 was the wrong war, fought at the wrong time, against the wrong enemy. To what extent do you agree with this statement?
To what extent did the war of 1812 create a new era of Nationalism in America?

Mexican-American War
What caused the Mexican-American War?
To what extent was the United States the aggressor in the Mexican-American War?
What were the political, military, and philosophical arguments against the Mexican-American War?
What were the benefits and costs of the Mexican-American War both immediately and in the future?
Should Polk be considered a great President?
Was the Mexican-American war inevitable?

Final Founder's Project Post

Hi gang,

If you have any questions about the founder's project, please feel free to post here. Throughout the weekend, I will be checking it. Also, I have listed a few websites for that last minute research. The last one has some significant bias issues, but it is an interesting read. Good luck.

http://www.americanrevolution.com/
http://www.pbs.org/georgewashington/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/
http://ap.grolier.com/browse?type=profiles
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/B/index.htm
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/all/
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/ham/hamilton.html
http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/
http://www.aaronburrassociation.org/

Founder's Project due 10/27

Just a reminder that the founder project will be due soon. Don't procrastinate!

Possible Essay Topics

Here are some essay topics to consider prior to the test on Thursday.

1) Considering the early history of the colonies (1607-1750), was revolution inevitable?
2) Evaluate Charles Beard's assessment of the cause of the American Revolution?
3) To what extent was British mismanagement responsible for the American Revolution?
4) Identify the three parts of the Declaration of Independence and the significance of each section.
5) Why is George Washington considered the indispensable figure of the American Revolution?
6) How did Saratoga affect the outcome of the American Revolution?
7) In what manner did Ben Franklin help American gain its independence?
8) How did the Revolution effect African Americans and women?

Founder's Project Part II

For those of you looking for some videos that would help you with the founders project, here are a few recommendations. The italicized ones can be found in the FHS library.

Liberty
John Adams
Founding Fathers
Ben Franklin (biography)
Thomas Jefferson (biography)
The American President Vol. 7 & Vol 10
George Washington: The Man Who Wouldn't be King
The Duel

FOUNDERS PROJECT

Periodically, I will be posting some sources to assist you with your founders project. Here are a few books that I have found to be particularly good. If you are going to read one of them in its entirety, I would strongly recommend Founding Brothers. Don't forget that the project is due on October 20th.

John Adams by David McCullough

Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis

Angel in a Whirlwind by Benson Bobrick

Presidential Courage by Michael Beschloss

Syllabus

Here is your class syllabus.  If you lose yours, this is the place to go.  If you need some nighttime reading, this is the place to go.  If you need great literature, see Mrs. Brown.