Dr. Cathy Matson
Fall 2005
T/Th 9:30-10:45
Email: cmatson@udel.edu
Office Hours:
Thurs. after class, and by email appointment
Office: 121 Munroe
Hall
During the Fall 2005, this entire course will
be a Second Writing Requirement course. It will incorporate lectures,
readings, writing, and regular discussion of particular
problems about the American Revolution on a regular basis;
in addition, every student will be producing and revising written assignments
that accord with the departmental stipulations for the SWR. We cannot
cover all themes related to the Revolution, but we will study
some of the most important causes and consequences of this
momentous era, and we will use the
Objectives of the Course:
What do we want to accomplish in one semester? A
few possible approaches to this question involve:
To study major transformations of the Revolutionary
era, 1750-1800, using
To explore primary materials in groups, report to
the class, and write about our mutual findings in the primary materials. This
will include, among other things, locating and reading documents, writing vignettes about the historical context
and about the connections from one document to another, and writing reflections on the meanings
found in the documents. Working in small groups is an
important way to improve skills in researching, analyzing,
and communicating ideas. Group work will improve your
ability to find solutions, understand issues and historical
connections, and teach others about historical problems;
it improves your critical thinking and gives you valuable skills
that apply to many other parts of your life.
To communicate these findings and their meanings
to each other in small groups and to the whole class;
to compile together one of the possible "stories" – ours -- of one
Revolutionary city.
Becoming
a historical character:
Your
written work for this course will be based on lectures, readings, and your
own discovery of primary sources, but the written work you produce will
be done in a non-traditional format. You will, toward the beginning
of the semester, choose a particular kind of person -- by gender, occupation
or training or role in a colonial/Revolutionary urban society or other
place, age, and other personal characteristis; and you will build on your
understand of this character and your reflections on this person's place
in the revolutionary events, to bring the person to life in your writing.
You will not be creating purely fictional people, because they will be
closely attached to the events we study in class; rather, your goal is
to create a possible real-life person who might very well have lived in
revolutionary times. More on this as we move through the semester.
Possible examples of types of historical characters might include:
a merchant or shopkeeper;
a craftsman or farmer in the countryside;
a young man becoming skilled in a trade in a community;
a young woman who grows up in the turmoil of the Revolution
Documents
Analyses:
At times this semester you will be required to read
a document, prepare to discuss it in class, and write a summary of it. Your summary will be collected at the beginning of class
-- and because we will be discussing the documents
in class as well, you may not turn in late assignments. We will discuss this further as assignments
arise.
Required readings:
You will be given reading assignments from
different sources.
Some will come directly from internet sites --
these are not merely supplemental; they are required. You may read and take notes directly from the sites;
or you may copy them and have them for study. If you do not bring printed copies of the
documents to class, you will be expected to bring your reading
notes.
You will also be
assigned portions of books and articles that will become another
integral part of the course requirements.
See the Outline of class sessions below, and check
the class web site regularly. The Outline will tell you how to get articles
that are assigned, including URL's that might be necessary.
You will also need to buy three required books for the
course -- buy them NOW, as they will not stay on the bookstore’s
shelves very long:
Alfred Young, The Shoemaker and the Tea Party.
Ray Raphael, A People’s History of the
American Revolution.
Thomas Paine, Common Sense.
Grading:
4 documents analyses/reflections
40% total
draft of paper and response
to draft 30%
All assignments listed below are due on that date
Aug. 30 Getting started: requirements and goals in the course -- choosing your "character"
The role of "historical memory" in reconstructing
the past -- how you will create a memory -- the nature of 18th-century
diaries and journalism
Sep. 1 Lecture: Late Colonial Society:
Question for first document analysis:
The Seven Years'
War was conducted on a scale, and in a manner, unlike any previous
war colonial Americans had experienced. Using your two documents
assigned on the syllabus below, and lectures, discuss how the
conditions of frontier life and the presence of Indians affected
the nature of the war for colonial Americans.
You should do this from the point of view of your chosen character (see notes from first class). Remember that you are creating a piece of your draft paper, and that it should be a diary-like entry (writing to yourself or a friend/relative, or for a newspaper)
You will need to incorporate material from
the reading assignments and lectures in order to make a historical interpretation.
Your papers should
be 3 to 4 pages long, include your name and a title. They are
due (see syllabus below) at the beginning of class, Sept.
8.
Sep. 6 Lecture: Seven Years’
War, 1754-1763
Read: article on scalping in "Archiving Early America," at http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/1998/scalping.html
and "Everyday Life at a Frontier Fort," at http://www.scarborough.k12.me.us/wis/teachers/dtewhey/webquest/colonial/fort_life.htm
First
document analysis is due at beginning of class [we
will go over how you do these assignments on the first day
of class]
Sep. 13 Lecture: The Revenue Act
and the Stamp Act, 1764 to 1766
Read: Rafael,
A People's History, Chapter 1
Sep. 15 Lecture:
Sons of
Read:
Rafael, Chapter 2
Second
document analysis assignment: The topic isthe eyewitness testimony about
the Boston Massacre, the depositions of witnesses, biographies
of key individuals involved, and think about the Paul Revere
engraving reproduced at this site, all at: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/bostonmassacre/bostonmassacre.html
First of all,
if you have trouble linking from the blue entry above to the site
on the Boston Massacre, then just Google "Boston Massacre," and you
will find the site near the top of the list of entries. Or, type
in the url yourself. The site is there!
Then write a short paper of about 3-4 pages,
keeping in mind that you are still the same character for the duration
of the semester and that you are writing in diary or journalistis format,
answering the following questions:
Context: What are the most important
events and circumstances of the background that led up to the
massacre?
Evidence: What are the most important
pieces of evidence that were introduced during the trial testimony
and commentary about the massacre? Think about things such as
clothing, lighting, the nature of the location, what people were
shouting, and other things that witnesses say and pictures tell
you.
Judgment and argument: Why did the
Boston Massacre happen? Putting all the pieces together, what
do you believe is the most satisfactory way to assess the events
on that cold night?
This document analysis is due Sept. 27
at the beginning of class.
Sep. 20 Lecture: The
Sep. 22 Lecture: Colonial Divisions
and Imperial Tightening, 1772-1774
Second document analysis is due on
readings for Sep 15 and Sep. 17
Sep. 27 Lecture: The Decision
for
Your second document analysis is due
today at the start of class.
Your third document analysis will
be about another event of the imperial crisis, taking us closer to the
revolution, and using the Alfred Young book:
The main question: How did tea become
so important to colonists by 1773-4?
Consider the following in your essay: 1.
What is the meaning of tea for different kinds of people
in the colonies (men and women, upper classes and poor, etc.),
leading up to the years of the imperial crisis -- think about the
longer colonial era and the role of tea in every day lives, and
in trade.
2. How did tea become
incorporated into the political events of 1773-1774; how does
tea become a political instrument in the build-up toward Revolution?
Use lectures, Young, and Rafael
-- you will have lots of information in these places and do not need
to go anywhere else.
This paper should be 3-4 pages long, as
before, and it is due October 11
Sep. 29 Lecture: Common Sense and the Declaration
of
Read: Common Sense by Thomas Paine, and the introduction to the Penguin edition.
and Patrick Henry's speech, "Give Me Liberty,"
listed above.
Bring your copies of Common
Sense to class!
Oct. 4 Lecture:
Creating and Sustaining the War: Army, Militia,
Citizenry
Oct. 11 Your third document analysis is due today in class (see Sept. 27)
Lecture: Loyalists and Loyalism
Read: Rafael, chapter 4 ANDInternet readings as follows:
A PROCLAMATION
As I have ever entertained Hopes, that an Accommodation might have taken Place between GREAT-BRITAIN and this Colony, without being compelled by my Duty to this most disagreeable but now absolutely necessary Step, rendered so by a Body of armed Men unlawfully assembled, firing on His MAJESTY'S Tenders, and the formation of an Army, and that Army now on their March to attack his MAJESTY'S Troops and destroy the well disposed subjects of the Colony. To defeat such treasonable Purposes, and that all such Traitors, and their Abettors, may be brought to Justice, and that the Peace, and good Order of this Colony may be again restored, which the ordinary Course of the Civil Law is unable to effect; I have thought fit to issue this my Proclamation, hereby declaring, that until the aforesaid good Purpose can be obtained, I do in Virtue of the Power and Authority to ME given, by His MAJESTY, determine to execute Martial Law, and cause the same to be executed throughout this Colony: and to ****** the Peace and good Order may the sooner be restored, I do require every Person capable of bearing Arms, to resort to His MAJESTY'S STANDARD, or be looked upon as Traitors to His MAJESTY'S Crown and Government, and thereby become liable to the Penalty the Law inflicts upon such Offenses; such as forfeiture of Life, confiscation of Lands, &. &. And I do hereby further declare all indented Servants, Negroes, or others, (appertaining to Rebels,) free that are able and willing to bear Arms, they joining His MAJESTY'S Troops as soon as may be, foe the more speedily reducing this Colony to a proper Sense of their Duty, to His MAJESTY'S Crown and Dignity. I do further order, and require, all His MAJESTY'S Liege Subjects, to retain their Quitrents, or any other Taxes due or that may become due, in their own Custody, till such a Time as Peace may be again restored to this at present most unhappy Country, or demanded of them for their former salutary Purposes, by Officers properly ***** to receive the same.
GIVEN under my Hand on board the Ship WILLIAM by Norfolk, the 7th Day of November in the SIXTEENTH Year of His MAJESTY'S Reign.
DUNMORE
Remember that you are still
in character, and this will be another component of your final paper!
This last short paper
is due October 20 in class
Oct. 13
Lecture: Occupying
cities:
Oct. 18 Lecture: Scarcities,
supply movements, public commitment, secret committees, foreign trade
Read: http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/history/spies
Oct. 20 Lecture: Families
and households at war; spies,
and runaways
Oct. 25 Lecture: The Frontier during the War: a multicultural arena; and:
How the War was Paid For.
Read: Rafael, Chapters 5 and 6
Internet assignment and reading:
four-part series by Stephen Mihm in "Common-Place:"
http://www.common-place.org
Nov. 1 Lecture:
Nov. 3 Lecture: Internal change during the war: new states, new institutions, new roles, new opportunities, disrupted lives
Read: Rafael, chapter 7.
Nov. 8
Lecture: The Critical
Period -- A New Nation or a Collection of 13 Republics? The
Articles of Confederation
The
Price of Independence and the Promise of Change --
the great public debate about veterans, returning Loyalists,
slavery
Your paper drafts are due today! At the start of class! They
should be complete through the assigned material up to Nov. 3!
Drafts
will be returned to you on November 17
Main question: During the Critical Period, Americans began to see the potential for developing the new republic with manufacturing, banking, and free trade. The readings below under Nov. 12, and the lectures for this week, point you toward some of the ways that people in our region -- the mid-Atlantic -- talked about this potential. Write an essay of two to three pages that explains what they talked about.
Nov. 15
Lecture: The Constitutional
Convention – What Got Done? What Was Philadelphia Like
in the Aftermath of Revolution and Once the Constitution was Approved?
Internet Assignment and
2. Start at http://www.librarycompany.org
Go to "Exhibits," scroll down to "Risky Business," and within the
pages of this exhibit, look at the images for "Wetherill & Bros.
White Lead Manufactory," retailers' shops, merchants counting houses.
As you look at the picture of the Lewis family store
in Philadelphia, think about the size of it, what it contains, and
how it compares to later American stores. Keep in mind that the Lewis'
made a fortune in the China trade.
Then go to http://www.ushistory.org -- and go
to the page entitled, "Birch's Views of Philadelphia in 1800." Note
the kinds of public spaces in these images, the size and appearances
of the buildings. What differences do you see with the other images
at the "Risky Business" exhibit?
3. Read the pages on Oliver Evans at http://www.greenbank.org If you cannot
get to this site by the link, google "Greenbank Mill," and go the
page "History and Restoration." Read this page, and then click on
"Oliver Evans" and read that page. Look at the pictures too -- what
is rural life like in the 1790s?
4. Philadelphia and milling: Pennsylvania
Gazette, March 28, 1792 (#78200); May 13, 1795
(#80437); February 24, 1796 (#80977)-- to be found in the
"Databases" collections, as above.
Nov. 17: Lecture: The Federalists
and the Federalist Essays
-- Antifederalists and other Opponents of the Constitution
Read: Federalist essays
No. 1, 10, 11, 35, 36. You can find these documents by Googling the
Avalon Project (Yale Law School), going to "Eighteenth
Century Documents," and scrolling down to "The Federalist Papers."
There will be a complete index, by number, of all of the
essays.
Of course, if you have a printed copy
of the Federalist essays, you can use that.
Nov. 22/24 No class -- work on papers! I will be available on email
through the coming week. Happy Thanksgiving!
Nov. 29 Lecture: Slavery
and freedom after the Revolution; indentures, artisans
and entrepreneurs:
Read: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/home.html
You have read from this site
before, which is called "Africans in America" (and you can google
this if necessary). Go to Part 3, and read the following pages: Introduction;
Map of the Growing Nation; Philadelphia -- and within this last page,
read sections called "Map," "Pepper Pot," "Back of the State House",
"Accident on Lombard Street", and "Founding of the Pennsylvania Abolition
Society."
Dec. 1 Lecture: Americans
looking outward from North America: Revolution in
the
And looking to the West
Dec. 6 Reports on your papers
Course evaluations
Final papers are due Dec. 9 at 5 P.M. Please drop off
at 121 Munroe Hall or my mailbox in the History Department office; do
not leave papers outside my office door!
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When you begin to outline and draft your short papers,
the form that your narration will take will be one of two types: (1) in
the first person as a series of diary reflections or a letter to someone
with whom you are close; OR (2) in the third person as a series of editorial
articles you are writing to a local newspaper such as the Pennsylvania Gazette,
the New York Packet, or some other. You are not "omniscient" -- you are
close to the action and ideas, and you have individual insights and responses.
We will read a few good examples from previous years, so you can see how
this all work.
Each of your four pieces of writing will constitute PART of
your final draft of a paper, but you will have to write connecting material,
or fill in some places where you wish to provide continuity and connections.
The due date for your drafts, and for your final papers, are above --
we will talk more about the final papers as the semester goes along, and
more information will be added at this location in the coming weeks.
The list of web sites below does not exhaust the possibilities for you and yourstudents – far from it! But they include many valuable documents, readings, maps, and other materials that you can use to prepare classes on the Revolution, or assign students at various levels.
A. General Sites that include documents, images, and scholarly
articles:
A very large site with perhaps the largest existing
compilation of documents about the American Revolution.
Among the many gems in this site,
you will find, e.g.:
Seven Years' War – various kinds of documents
Boston Tea Party, Boston Massacre, Stamp Act – original
documents and scholarly commentary
Tom Paine writings – including the entire Common
Sense
Articles of Confederation
Documents about loyalists
Albany Plan
Correspondence during the revolutionary war
Journal of A. Waldo, a war surgeon
ETC.
http://www.longman.awl.com/nash/ --- a long, good site that gives you maps, quizzes, links to other sites, study guides for your textbook, etc.
http://www.nara.gov/education/cc/main.html --- images of the American Revolution, including maps
http://www.americanrevolution.org/
has numerous letters, excerpts from documents, journals
of soldiers, etc.
see, e.g., the Journal of Daniel Flohr
the Journal of George Ewing (linked from this site)
documents about black loyalists
stories from the front
George Washington letters from Trenton
Letters from spies
Tom Paine's Common Sense
Nonimportation agreements
Articles of Confederation
The Newburgh Address
The Paris Peace Treaty
Autobiography of Ben Franklin
And more . . .
http://www.ushistory.org/
-- numerous links to Valley Forge information, Diary
of Albigence Waldo, occupation of Philadelphia
and the social nature of army life and warfare;
also the "Touring the Old City" pages.
--also has the Birch illustrations and information
about images of the Old City
http://u-s-history.com/
-- fornonimportation
http://www.earlyamerica.com/
this site grows by leaps and bounds, so keep checking
it.
Many 18th century newspapers, maps, magazines, portraits.
Also includes a discussion forum and bulletin boards
where you can see historians at work, and
magazine articles that you can print see, also,
"notable women of early America", including short
bios of Molly Pitcher, Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren,
and others in "Archiving Early America," see article
on scalping from Spring 1998; article on spies from
Winter 2004; and article on New York City fire of
1776 from Fall 2003.
http://www.revolution.h-net.msu.edu/
http://www.sin.fi.edu/franklin
this site is constantly changing, but is sponsored
by the Franklin Institute in Philly, and highlights
Ben Franklin materials – so given that his birthday
tercentenary approaches, you will find lots of new
material going onto the site
http://www.clements.umich.edu/spies/
some good letters from spies are reproduced at this
site.
Google “The Avalon Project”: --- a treasure trove of documents!From
earliestfoundings to the present.
On the AmericanRevolutin, see, for
example:
An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, 1780
Paine, The American Crisis
Alien and Sedition Acts
Barbary Treaties
Albany Plan
Constitutions and Charters of all colonies and states
The Federalist Papers
Documents of diplomacy and foreign affairs
Opinions on the Constitutionality of the BUS
Treaties with native Americans
Documents of the Whiskey Rebellion
http://%20www.mountvernon.org/
virtual tour of GeorgeWashington’s mansion,
archaeological sources, educational resources,
materials about farming and plantations in the era,
and grist mills
http://www.historyplace.com/
for everything from Stamp Act to Congresses, Tea
Parties, Patrick Henry, etc.
has the best timelines for the Revolution, too
For the Stamp Act, see Colonial Williamsburg's called "Teaching Resources" for documents and commentary that cover both north and south during 1765.
http://www.law.umkc.edu/
--
for valuable information about the Boston Massacre,
and a complete transcription of the depositions
of witnesses, the trial testimony, and biographies
of key players in this event. Good pictures as well.
This is the best site on the event.
http://www.bostonteaparty.nl/
--
for a pretty good site on this event. There are no
excellent ones, but some prove adequate.
http://anza.uoregon.edu/archives.html --California andOregon during the 1770s, much of it in Spanish; timelines, biographies, maps, diaries and letters of two expeditions of the Spanish to colonizeCalifornia in 1774-1776
http://www.msstate.edu/archives/history
--- many different topics, mostly
revolution era
http://www.memory.loc.gov/
--- Library of Congress collections; some
excerpts from Jefferson and Washington papers, and
from other early republic events.
http://www.fisher.lib.virgina.edu/
-- early census data
http://www.libertynet.org-/-
revolutionary era and its aftermath;
esp. from collections of the David Library of the Amer.
Rev.
http://www.h-net.msu.edu/
http://www.h-net.msu.edu/
http://www.oup.usa.org/anb -- American National Biography
http://www.digitalhistory.org/--- good documents on the 7 Years' War and Revolution beginnings; excellent place to read about daily life of soldier; includes some items related to life inside a fort on the frontier during the 7 Years' War.
http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/bcortez/rev%20war
--- mostly military history
http://www.lives/gwlife/--Washington
biography; use to link to other bios
of the era's leaders
http://www.accessible.com/
--- to sample the Pennsylvania Gazette
on line
http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/
--- excellent trove of graphics on the Rev.
http://www.plpsd.mb.ca/amhs/history--
linksto many events, and esp. good
on Loyalists
http://memory.loc.gov/ammen/gwhtml/.
For the complete Library of Congress collection of
George Washington Papers; the original and first
part of the released papers included his writings
through 1799, a great source for teaching how to use
documents in multiple different ways.
http://www.maritime-scotland.org.uk/
For Scottish in the Atlantic
World, settling to North America, and links to secondary
scholarship on Scottish
http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinContents/Contents01.html
-- a very large site with articles and numerous pictures,
colonial, Revolutionary, and early national
http://www.cal-neva.com/money/coinage1.htm
http://www.cal-neva.com/money/coinage1.htm
http://www.cal-neva.com/money/coinage1.htm
http://www.cal-neva.com/money/coinage1.htm
http://www.common-place.org/vol-04/no-04/mihm/
A
good article by Stephen Mihm on counterfeiting in early
American history -- is in four segments.
http://www.revolution.h-net.msu.edu/essays/wulf.html
-- a good article about Quakers and indecision, divisions
http://earlyamerica.com/review/winter2000/loyalists.html
-- “Why theloyalists lost”
http://earlyamerica.com/review/fall96/loyalists.html
-- reply to Paine, and onloyalism inMaryland
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part2/2narr4.html
-- African-Americanloyalism – good documents and
commentary
http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/k12/history/blacks/dunmore.html
--Dunmore’s Proclamation
www.americanrhetoric.com
-- Patrick Henry’s speech – good comparison to loyalist
rationales
www.earlyamerica.com/review/2003
-- on NYC occupation, spies, warships, and early
arrival of runaways
www.plpsd.mb.ca/amhs/history
United Empire Loyalists
southernloyalism
if you “google” “loyalists” or “loyalism” you will come up with
over 100,000 sites – be careful! Narrow the search!
Diary of Martha Ballard online, with a number of pages about how historians
work and bibliography related to women's economy:
http://www.dohistory.org
Films about the Revolution:
Mary Silliman’s War
Martha Ballard
JohnnyTremain
Revolution!
Liberty!
Last of theMohicans
The Crossing
A Little Rebellion now and Then
Timelines:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/bdsds/timeline.html
http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/gn
www.pbs.org -- see the segments in
Africans in America for timelines
The exam will take place in our regular classroom,
at the regular class time, Wednesday, Nov. 3. You do not need
to bring a blue book, but you will be required to write in pen, so
bring more than one with you that morning. You will have the entire
class period to write.
How to prepare for the exam:
1. Complete all the assigned reading on the
syllabus.
2. Make sure you have done all the Internet
assignments, and use your writings to help study for the exam.
3. Check your lecture notes to be sure you have
everything outlined and defined to the best of your ability.
Ask questions if you are unclear!
4. Study your notes and your quizzes; try to
identify and connect large, general themes with specific details.
5. Work with other people in class whenever
you can – talk about the issues, go over notes and Internet assignments;
get together with each other to review your notes.
The format:
The exam will be worth 40 points, or 20% of your
grade.
A. Essay – 25 points
You will write one essay out of two or three choices.
Plan to spend 25 to 30 minutes writing this essay. There are a
number of examples of possible essays below; these are questions
that will be very much like the ones that will appear on the exam.
Your score on this essay will be determined by how well you structure
your answer, how well you select the best available information about
the topic from the readings and lecture notes, and how well you make
an argument about the historical material you include. Your essays should
not be just a list of factual information, nor a few opinions you have
about the issues; it should weave detail and generalization into a
coherent argument. Phrases that are not complete sentences will be docked
points.
B. Short Answer – 5 points each
You will choose three terms or phrases from a list
and write a short definition or explanation of the terms. Plan
to spend about 15 minutes on this part of the exam. Pay special
attention to terms put on the board or overhead projector in class.
Your short answer to each of these should write two or three good
sentences that explain both the content AND the significance of that
particular historical concept, event, or person.
SAMPLE ESSAY QUESTIONS
The exam questions will not be phrased exactly
as these examples, but will be similar in scope and themes. You
need to think about large themes we have covered in class and discussions.
Organize details around these themes. Notice that there are many
opportunities to use information in your readings and notes more
than once. Also, be aware as you study that what you know about some
events and relationships might apply in many different ways to questions
like the ones that follow.
1. Discuss the Seven Years’ War: what were
the objectives of the various groups involved, and what were
the results of this event? What lessons did the American colonists
learn from their war experience?
2. What was the Stamp Act about (not only its
provisions, but its purposes), and how did it become the first
source of significant colonial protest against imperial authority,
as well as a source of colonial divisions within North America?
3. What were the causes of the Boston Massacre,
and what made it a new level of the imperial crisis?
4. What was nonimportation all about, and in
what ways – and to whom – was it a significant kind of colonial
protest? [hints: connect these episodes directly to the imperial
crisis, and to particular kinds of people in the colonies]
5. Making your best evaluation, what was the
most decisive event between 1763 and 1776 leading to American Independence?
Explain the event, why it was a turning point, who was involved,
and the responses of various groups involved.
6. Why did the Tea Act cause such a stir in North
America, and what kinds of responses did colonists make during
the months following its passage?
7. What were the most important accomplishments
of the First and Second Continental Congresses?
8. In Common Sense, Tom Paine pushed colonists
to consider their place in the empire in more far-reaching ways
than anyone before then had done. What were the most important things
he argued to colonists, and how did he make his arguments?
9. What was the significance of the Declaration
of Independence?
10. Pick a kind of person who could have lived
in one of the colonies at the end of the imperial crisis, and explain
how such a person could have become a loyalist. Discuss the ideas
this person might have had, the social or economic condition that might
have influenced this person, and how the person would have communicated
his or her decision to be a loyalist. [for example, you could be a
governor, a housewife, a farmer, a merchant, the daughter of a southern
tutor, or many other kinds of people]
11. How did colonists enter their Revolutionary
war during its first year? [consider things such as the army,
occupation of cities, blockades, fire and confiscations, committees
developing, what kinds of governments existed, how people survived,
how Congress worked, and more – use your notes!]
12. What kind of life is soldiers have in the
Continental Army? [consider not only fighting and military conditions,
but daily life as well, pay, attitudes toward citizens, privateering,
and more – Rafael chapters have a lot of information, and you have
a lot of notes on these issues]
13. How can we explain how the states hung together,
or how little they hung together, during the Revolution? [consider
supply, requisitions, currency matters, political authority
in states and Congress, the conduct of citizens in the cities
and on farms, etc.]
14. How were new states created during the Revolution,
and what character did they have?
Short Answer Question Samples – These are samples;
there could be others! You will have a choice.
Tea Act
Sugar/Revenue Act
Albany Congress
Cajun removal
Sons of Liberty
consent
Proclamation Line of 1763
Earl of Dunmore
Nonimportation
George Roberts Twelve Hewes
Patrick Henry
Valley Forge
First or Second Continental Congress
Olive Branch Petition
Oaths
Petitions
Tarring and feathering
Requisitions
Organization: “Law and Order”
Imagine you are a trial lawyer, preparing to argue
a case. You have a basic position you want to prove. In order
to persuade the jury, you must provide specific and pertinent evidence
for your argument in a way that presents each point in its strongest
possible light. You will make a stronger case if you can anticipate
the weaknesses in your argument that lawyers for the prosecution (your
friendly teachers) will pinpoint. At the end of the trial, you will sum
up your case to the jury, tying all your evidence together and linking
it to your original argument.
Get Organized: Take a couple of minutes to outline
your main points on the side of the paper and to organize your
essay paragraphs.
Think about the main themes that will best answer
the question. You are going to construct an argument that you
can support with detailed specific examples.
Write an introductory paragraph that contains your
THESIS STATEMENT. Your thesis statement is a concise, direct
statement of your argument.
In the next paragraphs of your essay, you will
support your argument with specific, detailed examples. Choose
information from the quizzes, readings, lecture notes and Internet
assignments that best supports your argument. Don’t be afraid to
take a stand. It’s OK to express your opinion, just MAKE SURE YOU
BACK IT UP WITH SOLID EVIDENCE. The evidence you use should not be simply
a list of facts. You need to explain how and why this evidence supports
your argument.
Your concluding paragraph should summarize your
argument, bring all the subpoints together into a strong finish.
Convince your reader of the worth of your argument.
Each paragraph should have a topic sentence, and
the other sentences in the paragraph should relate to that topic.
Make sure you write in complete sentence, use proper punctuation
and grammar.
You will have enough time to write your essay if
you are well-organized and know the material well. Try to leave
enough time to reread your essay to catch errors, such as
a. agreement – subjects and verbs must agree;
plural subjects do not go with singular verbs
b. tense – use past tense; history happened
in the past
c. make sure your sentences identify WHO did
the action, not just WHAT was done. In other words, for example,
do not write “Snowballs were thrown and shots were fired during
the Boston Massacre.” Try to write instead, “Rowdy crowds of colonists
threw snowballs at English soldiers, who fired into the crowd.”
GOOD LUCK!!
The exam will take place in our regular classroom, at the
regular class time, Wednesday, December 8. You do not need to bring
a blue book, but you will be required to write in pen, so bring more
than one with you that morning. You will have the entire class period
to write – but no longer than that.
How to prepare for the exam:
1. Complete all the assigned reading on the syllabus.
2. Make sure you have done all the Internet assignments, and
use your writings to help study for the exam.
3. Check your lecture notes to be sure you have everything
outlined and defined to the best of your ability. Ask questions if you
are unclear!
4. Study your notes and your quizzes; try to identify and
connect large, general themes with specific details.
5. Work with other people in class whenever you can – talk
about the issues, go over notes and Internet assignments; get together
with each other to review your notes.
Refer to the advice about how to write essays in exams that is
posted above for the mid-term.
Content:
The final exam will cover everything from the mid-term exam
to the end of the semester.
The format:
The exam will be worth 40 points, or 20% of your grade.
It will mirror the mid-term exam in format.
A. Essay – 25 points
You will write one essay out of two or three choices. Plan to
spend 25 to 30 minutes writing this essay. There are a number of examples
of possible essays below; these are questions that will be very much
like the ones that will appear on the exam. Your score on this essay will
be determined by how well you structure your answer, how well you select
the best available information about the topic from the readings and lecture
notes, and how well you make an argument about the historical material
you include. Your essays should not be just a list of factual information,
nor a few opinions you have about the issues; it should weave detail and
generalization into a coherent argument. Phrases that are not complete
sentences will be docked points.
B. Short Answer – 5 points each
You will choose three terms or phrases from a list and write
a short definition or explanation of the terms. Plan to spend about
15 minutes on this part of the exam. Pay special attention to terms
put on the board or overhead projector in class. Your short answer to
each of these should write two or three good sentences that explain both
the content AND the significance of that particular historical concept,
event, or person.
SAMPLE ESSAY QUESTIONS:
The exam questions will not be phrased exactly as these examples
are, but will be similar in scope and themes. You need to think about
large themes we have covered in class and discussions. Organize details
around these themes. Notice that there are many opportunities to use information
in your readings and notes more than once. Also, be aware as you study
that what you know about some events and relationships might apply in many
different ways to questions like the ones that follow.
1. What were the Articles of Confederation, why did they take
so long to pass? What were the accomplishments of Congress under the
Articles, and what were the limitations of such an arrangement?
2. Explain the significance of land for Americans, during the
Revolution and during the Critical Period afterwards. Consider confiscations,
bounties for soldiers, the meaning of the West as an important concept,
the role of the land ordinances, the scale and pace of migration, and
other things in your readings and lecture notes. Don’t forget to consider
native Americans. [This is a question about linking different parts
of your readings and lecture notes!]
3. Why did Shays' Rebellion happen, what unfolded during the
revolt, and what were its outcomes?
4. What were the issues involving the return of loyalists to
North American after the Revolution? What did they want, how would they
get it (or not)? What was the significance of Rutgers vs. Waddington?
5. What was the city of Philadelphia like during the Critical
Period? Use your lecture notes, readings, internet assignments.
6. What did the Revolution and Constitution accomplish with
respect to the lives of slaves? What kinds of discussions did Americans
have about slavery in this era, and what possibilities were never considered?
[use readings and lectures both; link parts of your notes right after the
mid-term, with those for the Constitutional Convention, and then with those
for the 1790s and the internet documents you read]
7. By the end of the Revolution, a number of important issues
loomed as crises that faced Americans. There could be an essay on the
exam that asked you to enumerate these issues, and explain what made
them so critical. Or, there could be an essay that asked you to discuss
which issues were partially solved, and which ones presented obstacles
that were overcome only in the future with new resources, or new government,
or some other kind of means available to Americans to move forward.
8. Explain the differences between localists and nationalists
– why does it matter to think about such divisions in American life
and politics during the 1780s?
9. What was Robert Morris’s plan for America at the end of the
Revolution? To what extent do you believe it was useful, or perhaps
even crucial for bringing the war to a close, or setting Americans on a
path of true independence after 1783?
10. Explain what the problems with commerce were about during
the Critical Period.
11. Explain what kind of manufactures Americans were imagining
they could make (ideal of prosperity and abundance, plus practical examples
you read about), vs. what kind of productivity they were really able
to achieve before 1800. [use images as well as readings to think about
this]
12. Writing an essay of three solid paragraphs (you will have
about 25 to 30 minutes), explain what was accomplished at the Constitutional
Convention. I would be looking for you to be specific! Do not simply
generalize about creating a nation or the nationalists winning their
point of view – what measures were put into the document, what kind of
blueprint did they provide for a government?
13. Explain how nationalists (Federalists) promoted the Constitution,
and how it was ratified in the coming 2 ½ years. Be sure to consider
the opponents of the Constitution, too!
SAMPLE TERMS TO KNOW AND DEFINE:
Remember, these are examples, not the entire set of possibilities:
Land cessions
Overlapping claims
Impost
New Jersey Plan
Virginia Plan
Regulators
Orders in council
China trade
Repudiation of debts
Higher law
Necessary and proper
Annapolis convention
Democracy (18th century use!)
Add to your list the kinds of terms that came from your reading of the Federalist essays, plus those in your readings from internet and book assignments.