2013 Midterm Essay Possibilities

On midterm day, I will post 2 of the 6 questions below. You will choose one of those questions to write a response to. I would strongly encourage you to work through and prepare responses to questions over the break (or even before!). I'll respond to email over break, but I can't promise how quickly....

2013 Midterm Essay Possibilities

1. Compare the ways in which TWO of the following reflected tensions in colonial society: Bacon’s Rebellion (1676); Pueblo Rebellion (1680); Salem witchcraft trials (1692); Stono Rebellion (1739)
2. Although the power of the national government increased during the early republic, this development often faced serious opposition. Compare the motives and effectiveness of those opposed to the growing power of the national government in TWO of the following: Whiskey Rebellion, 1794; Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, 1798-1799; Hartford Convention, 1814-1815; Nullification Crisis, 1832-1833
3. The Era of Good Feeling (1816-1824) marked the appearance of issues that transformed American politics in the next 20 years.  Assess the validity of this generalization.
4. American reform movements between 1820 and 1860 reflected both optimistic and pessimistic views of human nature and society.  Assess the validity of this statement in reference to reform movements of THREE of the following areas:

Education                               Utopian experiments

Temperance                          Penal Institutions  

Women’s Rights

5. The South never had a chance to win the Civil War.  To what extent, and why, do you agree or disagree with this statement?
6. Discuss the political, economic, and social reforms introduced in the South between 1864 and 1877.  To what extent did these reforms survive the Compromise of 1877?