History 17A
Laurene Wu McClain

                         GUIDELINES FOR THE FIRST EXAM

           The first exam in the course will consist of two parts--multiple-choice questions and one essay.  The exam will cover a) class materials, including lectures and discussions, and b) the first four chapters of your textbook. The only people and dates that will appear on the exam will be ones specifically mentioned in class.  I do not expect you to remember specific years, but you should know in which century and which part of that century (such as early l600s, mid-l600s or late l600s) an event occurred.

I.  Multiple-Choice Questions:

          The multiple-choice questions will cover major themes, concepts, ideas, personalities, and events from both class materials and the required readings in the book. While the book presents you with many facts, try to emphasize the main ideas in your readings.  You might want to highlight or outline those main ideas, and then study those major ideas as much as you can for the exam.  The sections entitled "Conclusion" at the end of the each chapter can be particularly helpful.   For the purposes of the multiple-choice questions on the first exam, you will not need to remember the following:

           a) the names of individual Indian tribes described in Chapter 1 of the book;

           b)  details of King Philip's War, Bacon's Rebellion, Wars in the South, King William's War, Queen Ann's War, War of Jenkins's Ear discussed on pp. 72-75, and pp. 100-101 of the book.  You should know, however, that these wars involved attacks against Indians, or were intended to take Spanish or French lands in North America, or were fought over the exclusive right to supply slaves.

 II.  Essays:

              For the essay portion of the exam, I will give you three topics, and you will write on just one of them.  Try to be well-organized, analytical, accurate, and thorough.   Assume that the reader knows nothing about the topic.  You might practice writing essays within a 45-minute time period, so that you can become accustomed to organizing your thoughts, and writing as thorough and thoughtful an essay as possible within that time period.  Jotting down an outline before you actually write your essay can be very helpful.  I will not be grading your essays on the basis of your English language ability as long as I can understand the content of your discussions.  ( I will, however, be making corrections in grammar, spelling, etc. so that you can improve your writing in the future.)  The following are the major subjects upon which the actual topics on the exam will be based:

              a) comparison and contrast of Spanish colonies in Mexico with the English colony of Virginia, including the treatment of non-European peoples (Africans, Indians, or both) in each area;

              b) the respective reasons for the founding of Virginia, the New England colonies and Pennsylvania, and your opinion regarding the values, way of life, and government of those colonies;

               c) the relations between England and its colonies, expecially the attempts made by England to impose control over the colonies during the l600s.          

             If you have any last minute questions before the exam, please do not hesitate to contact me at (415) 239-3283.  Good luck on the exam!

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                        GUIDELINES FOR THE SECOND EXAM

           The second exam in the course will use the same format as the first exam.  There will be multiple-choice questions and one essay.  The exam will cover a) class materials, including lectures and discussions taking place after the first exam, and b) Chapters 5, 6, and 7 of your textbook.  The only people and specific years that will appear on the multiple-choice part of the exam will be ones specifically mentioned in class.

            Please refer to the Guidelines for the First Exam regarding how you should prepare for the essay portion of the exam.  The following are the major subjects upon which the actual topics for the essay portion of this second test will be based. Remember that you will be writing on only one of the topics on the exam. 

            a) the French and Indian War of 1754-63:  the reasons for the war, the problems and successes of each of the nations involved (France, England, and Spain), the positions of Indian tribes, the outcome of the war and its impact on future events in the 1700s.

            b)  the forces that led to the American Revolution.

            c)  factors and events in the late 1600s through 1700s which respectively (1) tended to divide the people living in the English colonies, and 2) tended to unify them, and  (3) the reasons for replacing the Articles of Confederation with the Constitution.

              There will be an optional short answer, bonus question based on "The American Revolution: Causes of Liberty" [the Michael Douglas-James Woods] film in which you can earn one to two extra points on the exam.

             If you have any last-minute questions before the exam, please do not hesitate to contact me at (415) 239-3283.  Good luck on the exam!

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                                  THIRD EXAM GUIDELINES

             The third exam in the course will consist of 45 multiple-choice questions.  The materials covered will consist of a) main ideas from the textbook's Chapters 8 and 9, and pp. 273-291, b) subjects covered in the small group discussions on constitutional issues, and c) topics discussed in class after the second exam.

              There will be an optional short-answer, bonus question based on the video on the Donner Party, in which you can earn one to two extra points on the exam.

               If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at (415) 239-3283.  Good luck on the exam! 

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                                FINAL EXAM GUIDELINES

               The final exam in the course will use the same format as the first and second exams.  There will be multiple-choice questions and one essay.  The exam will cover a) class materials, including lectures, discussions, and films starting with our class session on the Missouri Compromise, and b)  pp. 291-307 and Chapters 11, 12, 13, 15, and 16 from the textbook.  The only people and specific years that will appear on the multiple-choice part of the exam will be ones specifically mentioned in class.

               Please refer to the Guidelines for the First Exam regarding how you should prepare for the essay portion of the exam. The following are the major subjects for the essay portion of this final exam.  Remember that you will be writing on only one of the topics on the exam.

               a)   the reasons for the formation of the Whig Party during President Jackson's term, the differences betwen the Whigs and Democrats, and whether you would support the Whigs or the Democrats on each issue.

               b)   the major political, economic, and social issues leading up to the Civil War, and which issues you consider to be the most important.

               c)   the different perspectives on slavery by William Lloyd Garrison, the Free Soil Party, Judge Roger Taney in the Dred Scott decision, Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, European immigrants working in Northern cities, and John Calhoun, and your opinions about these perspectives.

                If you have any last-minute questions before the exam, please do not hesitate to contact me at (415) 239-3283.  Good luck on the exam!      .