Posted: September 13th, 2017

Essay Questions US History

Essay Questions US History

Order Description

Final Exam
Founding Ideas

Take-Home Final Exam
The final exam for this course will be an essay exam made available in the final week of class. This will be a cumulative exam and it will be designed to test your understanding of the material covered throughout the course. It will be an open book exam, and, although you are welcome to consult sources that were not assigned throughout the term, you will be able to excel on this exam using only assigned readings. 1. Revolutionary Characters What made The Founders Different. 2.The Ideological Origins Of The American Revolution Bernard Bailyn 3. Novus Ordo Seclorum The Intellectual Origins of the Constitution Forrest McDonald

Please answer three of the six questions below. Write ¾ of a page to 1 ½ pages for EACH question (your answers should be 3 ¼ to 4 ½ pages in total).

1) Today, The Bill of Rights appears to be an essential part of any democracy (liberal democracy), yet the Federalists, Washington, Madison, Hamilton, etc., at first opposed a Bill of Rights (even though Madison is the author of the Bill of Rights). Explain why they were opposed to it.

2) The Declaration of Independence seems to a very different document from the U.S. Constitution in what is espouses. In what way is it different?

3) In Federalist #10, Madison sought to remedy the problem with factions with more factions. Explain what he means by this.

4) Why did the Federalists prevail over the Anti-federalists, when it seemed that most of the non-elites seems to share the same views as the Anti-federalists.

5) The Founders agreed with many political and social theorists that society proceeds through stages. What does that mean and do they see America as the next stage?

6) Historians, including Gordon Wood, have characterized Hamilton as a nationalist. What does that mean? What was Hamilton’s vision for America?

Week One (Module 0): Introductions and ice-breaker discussions

Discussion: YES

Readings: Declaration of Independence (use whichever accurate online version you find easiest to access)

Week Two (Module 0): Interpreting the Founding

Discussion: NO

Reading: McDonald, Chapters I, II, III; Wood, Chapter I

Week Three (Module 1): The British Inheritance, Part I

Discussion: YES

Reading: Bailyn, Chapters I & II

Week Four (Module 1): The British Inheritance, Part II

Discussion: YES

Readings:

Continental Congress, Declaration and Resolves: https://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch1s1.html
Edmund Burke, Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies: https://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch1s2.html
Week Five (Module 2): Founding Characters, Hamilton & Madison

First Analytical Paper Due

Discussion: YES

Reading: Wood, Chapters on Hamilton and Madison

Week Six (Module 2): Republicanism and Virtue, Part I

Discussion: YES

Readings:

John Adams, Thoughts on Government: https://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch4s5.html
Other readings as assigned based on lectures. Readings will be drawn from The Founder’s Constitution collection, https://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/
Week Seven (Module 2): Republicanism and Virtue, Part II

Term Paper Proposal Due

Discussion: YES

Reading: No additional reading assigned this week. Students should be doing background reading for their term paper proposals.

Week Eight (Module 3): Liberty, Part I
Discussion: NO. In lieu of discussion this week, students should be reviewing assigned readings and doing research for their term papers.

Reading: Bailyn, Chapter III

Week Nine (Module 3): Liberty, Part II

Discussion: YES

Reading: Bailyn, Chapter IV

Week Ten (Module 3): Liberty, Part III

Second Analytical Paper Due

Discussion: YES

No New Reading Assigned (but please review previous reading assignments)

Week Eleven: Review and Term Paper Research

Discussion: NO. Please note that there will be no formal discussions this week in order to provide additional time for students to review previously assigned reading and to conduct research for the term paper. However, there is a reading assignment for the week.

Reading: Bailyn, Chapter V

Week Twelve (Module 4): Experiments with Democracy, Part I

Discussion: YES

Reading: Bailyn, Chapter VI; McDonald, Chapters VII & VIII

Week Thirteen (Module 4): Experiments with Democracy, Part II

Discussion: YES

Reading: Federalist Papers 10, 51, 72

Week Fourteen (Module 5): Hamilton and Madison Revisited

Term Paper Due

Discussion: YES

Reading: No New Reading Assigned (but please review previous reading assignments)

Week Fifteen: Review, Reflection, and Final Exam

Final Exam Due

Discussion: TBD