Sample Essay Questions
for students deciding which exam option to take

Choose one from Section A and one from Section B

Section A

1. How did conditions in Europe help to promote the exploration and settlement of America? How does the location of American colonies reflect the geographic situation of the mother country?
2. Note the differences in the geographic features of New England and the Chesapeake region. Consider the different motives for settlement and the societies that settled in these regions. Now describe how geographic conditions in the New World, combined with cultural attitudes brought from the Old World, shaped the pattern of settlement of these English societies.

Section B

1. How did the goals of those who settled Massachusetts Bay differ from those of the Virginia colonists? How and why did these goals change during the first half-century of the Massachusetts Bay colony? How did conditions in both Massachusetts and Virginia affect their respective goals and ultimate social organizations? How did opponents of change in Massachusetts deal with those changes that did occur?
2. In what ways did England apply the principles of mercantilism to its North American and West Indian colonies? Were there any critical differences in execution and/or enforcement of imperial policy? How did the various colonial interests respond to British mercantile policies?
3. Why did England begin to view Massachusetts as a "troublemaker" (if not an outright enemy) after about 1660? Why did the people of Massachusetts Bay hold similar opinions of England? Explain the evolution of British imperial policy toward Puritan New England between 1660 and the end of the seventeenth century. How did the Puritans respond to the various efforts to control them?

Choose 1 essay from choices 1-3. Choose 1 essay from choices 4-5.

1. From 1800 - 1860, the northern and southern sections of the United States developed in entirely different ways. Why were their developments so disimilar? In particular, which aspects became the most problematic and inevitably led to irreconcilable differences by the time of the Civil War?
2. European observers frequently criticized the United States as being culturally backward, intellectually barren, politically chaotic, and morally destitute. If you were an American in 1840, how would you react to these charges? Would you refute them? If so, on what grounds? Or would you feel compelled to agree (again, on what specific grounds)?
3. Do you feel that the reforms undertaken in the 1830s and 1840s reflected a spirit that was basically optimistic or pessimistic? (spectrum -> romantic vs. order & control) Explain why, citing specific examples.
4. Examine the connection between slavery and territorial expansion. How were they interrelated? To what extent did attitudes toward slavery influence attitudes toward expansion? Consider all of the territory acquired in the 1840s in your discussion.
5. What were the various formulas for addressing the matter of slavery in the territories in the half-dozen years before the Civil War? Examine the different proposals, identify their authors, and explain why none was universally acceptable.

Choose one question from Section A and one from Section B.

Section A

1. The conflict that broke out in 1861 has been called the following: 1) The Civil War, 2) The War Between the States, 3) The War for Southern Independence, 4) The War of the Secession, 5) The Second American Revolution, 6) A Civil War within a Civil War, 7) The Second American War of Independence, 8) The War of Yankee Aggression, 9) The War for the Union, 10) The War for Southern Self-Determination, 11) The War for Freedom, 12) The Brothersí War. Which of these terms, in your judgement, is least in accord with the facts and which is most in accord with the facts?
2. Giving reasons, discuss which item in each of the following pairs did more to win the Civil War for the North: a) the McCormick reaper or the skill of the Union generals, b) the blockade of Southern ports or the attitude of foreign powers, c) the statesmanship of President Lincoln or the superior resources of the North.

Section B

1. Discuss the validity of the assertion that Radical reconstruction, even more than the Civil War, drastically and permanently altered the nationís political and social structure.
2. What were the worst blunders of Reconstruction that might have been avoided, and what were the blunders that could not have been avoided? Explain.
3. Comment on the following statement: ìIf the Radical Republicans were friends of the ex-slaves, then they certainly did not need any enemies.î