Midterm

Question 1

Possible reasons why the D of I intro was written (who was the audience?)

Answer 1

• Americans
• People who were on the fence about independence
• Other countries who they need recognition from

Question 2

Connection between Englightenment thought articulated by John Locke about “natural rights” that appears in the D of I.

Answer 2

“Life, liberty and property” - John Locke
“Life, liberty and pursuit of happiness”- D of I

Question 3

Religious viewpoint of D of I writers (Deism) and why the word “Creator” might have been chosen.

Question 4

The Enlightenment view of the role of government, and the “fourth right” guaranteed if it doesn’t do its job.

Answer 4

right to overthrow the government if they do not follow the three (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness)

Question 5

Early examples of representative legislatures in the English North American colonies (Virginia, Massachusetts) and the degree to which these were actually representative of the population (who got to vote, who got to serve);

Answer 5

House of Burgesses- white land owning males (when upon independence nothing changes)
Right to vote was determined by states based on property

Question 6

Difference between unicameral and bicameral legislatures;

Answer 6

unicameral- a legislative body having a single legislative chamber
bicameral- consisted of two chambers

Question 7

why the U.S. Congress is bicameral?

Answer 7

British influence - House of Commons + House of Lords

Question 8

Great Compromise

Answer 8

think Senate, population having same number of seats (wyoming vs. California- states not represented in proportion to population

Question 9

How are representatives and senators allocated to each state

Answer 9

Representative- proportion to states population
Senate- 2 senators per state

Question 10

“At large” vs. district representation

Answer 10

At large- states with only one representative
District- ??

Question 11

Where the right to vote initially came from?

Answer 11

Right to vote was determined by states based on property

Question 12

Right to vote for African Americans

Answer 12

1870 (just after Civil War)

Question 13

Right to vote for women

Answer 13

1919 (just after WW1)

Question 14

Voting age 18

Answer 14

1971- (Vietnam War)- women drafted in army but could not vote

Question 15

Size of House of Representatives has not changed since 1910s despite tripling of U.S. population–implications of this;

Answer 15

Less representative then it could be ….

Question 16

Ways in which the following have made Congress a less representative body:

Answer 16

• Rigidity of state borders and existence of the Senate;
• Use of gerrymandering in the redistricting process
• “First past the post” elections (as opposed to other methods, such as “ranked choice” or “runoffs”);

Question 17

Apportionment

Answer 17

the determination of the proportional number of members each US state sends to the House of Representatives, based on population figures.

Question 18

Redistricting

Question 19

Gerrymandering

Answer 19

when a political group tries to change a voting district to create a result that helps them or hurts the group who is against them

Question 20

Citations

Answer 20

• Must be in alphabetical order by author’s last name
• If no author, then title

Question 21

Who made the “Louisiana Purchase”, what did it do to the size of the United States, and what was the role of Lewis and Clark?

Answer 21

Thomas Jefferson arranged purchase of France’s territory in North America (the Louisiana Terr.), doubling the size of the U.S. Lewis and Clark were hired to conduct an expedition of this territory (with a corps of 40 or so) and were the first white men to cross from the Mississippi R. to the Pacific (as far as we know).

Question 22

Of the 50 Native American tribes encountered by Lewis and Clark, name one:

Answer 22

Blackfeet - North Dakota and South Dakota

Question 23

Who were the first four presidents of the United States (in order)?

Answer 23

Washington
(John) Adams
Jefferson
Madison

Question 24

Where is the Erie Canal (be able to identify what waterways it connects and also identify its location on a map) and why was its construction so important to the development of the United States?

Answer 24

Located roughly in the center of New York State, it connects the Hudson River to the Great Lakes. Made it possible for Americans in the Midwest to participate in international trade and made NYC the economic capital of the U.S.

Question 25

What is the significance of Fort Sumter?

Answer 25

South Carolina’s attack on Fort Sumter is considered the start of the U.S. Civil War

Question 26

What did the Southern states do (collectively) that ultimately resulted in civil war, and what is the correct way to spell this word?

Answer 26

They seceded from the U.S.

Question 27

Who was U.S. president during the entirety of the Civil War?

Answer 27

Lincoln

Question 28

Who won the U.S. Civil War? (You’d be surprised. Many years ago a student told me “the East beat the West!”)

Answer 28

The “North” (the states comprising the Union).

Question 29

What was “Reconstruction” and when did it occur?

Answer 29

The time period just after the Civil War (lasting about 12 years) in which attempts were made to restore southern “seceded” states back to the union and to grant citizenship rights to about four million who had been emancipated from slavery. Does NOT refer to a physical rebuilding of the south but a political one.

Question 30

What was a “Jim Crow law”?

Answer 30

A law (mostly used in southern states) designed to segregate African Americans from white society and to maintain them in second-class status. These types of laws began to be passed about twenty years after Reconstruction ended and continued until the 1960s.

Question 31

Approaches to History

Answer 31

• The “Great Man”
• The “Marxist”
• Political
• Intellectual
• Cultural/sociological/psychological
• Multiple narrative/multi-variate

Question 32

The “Great Man”

Answer 32

• Highlights the impacts of influential men
• Does not matter whether this person is good or bad, just impactful and influential

Question 33

The “Marxist”

Answer 33

• societal, economic, and social classes are pitted against each other
• The society’s action taken to make a difference is what makes history; not a single person

Question 34

Political approach

Answer 34

• History results from the conflicts over POWER
  *Key words- CONTROL, REPRESENTATION, POLITICAL CONTROL, POWER

Question 35

Intellectual approach

Answer 35

• History results from the adoption of powerful ideas that influence people’s thinking and responses to events and challenges

Question 36

Cultural/sociological/psychological approach

Answer 36

• Coming of age approach
• The history of the relationship between England
  *Key words: RELATIONSHIP, MOTHER COUNTRY

Question 37

Multiple narrative/multi-variate approach

Answer 37

• difference of opinion
• foolish to limit it to one cause