Why the United States went to war with Mexico in 1846 The following is my study guide for my American History final. It consists of 7 short answer questions and 5 essay questions. Our essays are required to at least be 550 words.
This is our study guide:
Section I (worth 15 points each=30 points total) Short Answer– should be about 2 paragraphs
Section II (worth 35 points each=70 points total) Essays– 5 paragraphs- Intro, Body, Conclusion
Treat your exam the same as a research paper, etc. Please give credit where credit is due—review the statement on the syllabus concerning plagiarism. DO NOT use any outside sources—the textbook and the American Record are more than sufficient to answer the questions. Any questionable sources will affect your grade.
Section I (worth 30 points total):
1. How could one argue that William Lloyd Garrison both helped and hurt the cause of abolition?
2. Explain why the United States went to war with Mexico in 1846.
3. Assess the ideology known as Manifest Destiny. Looking back, was it more helpful or hurtful? Explain.
4. Which battle—Vicksburg or Gettysburg—was more significant in determining the outcome of the Civil War? Explain.
5. Why was Andrew Johnson impeached? Did he deserve to be removed from office? What was the final outcome?
6. Describe the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. How successful was each in practice? Why?
7. Assess the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant.
Section II (worth 70 points total):
1. What were the reasons for the Union victory and the Confederate loss of the Civil War? Was the outcome inevitable? Why was the war as prolonged and as destructive as it was?
2. Describe the reasons for the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. What effect did it have on the war? On both sides?
3. Describe the motivating factors in American territorial expansionism. What were the different foreign territories that were added to the United States from 1783 to 1860? What areas were desired but never annexed? How did the territorial expansionism affect American life?
4. Describe the plans for Reconstruction offered by Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and Congress. What was the goal of each plan? How did each plan propose to accomplish its goal? Explain the outcomes.
5. “The slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery.” Explain this assessment by W. E. B. Du Bois of the
Reconstruction Era by offering the historical evidence which supports each of the three parts of the quote.
Only use the readings from Brinkley and Graebner, adding outside sources will result in point reductions.
All essays must conform to the following stylistic requirements: typed, double-spaced, no more than one-inch margins, standard font {i.e. Times New Roman, 12}, internal citation for all direct quotes and direct references or footnotes, pages numbered, longer quotes of two or more lines must be single-spaced and indented. The bibliography must be included.
These are the only 2 sources that we can use to complete our assignment:
• Alan Brinkley, American History, Connecting with the Past Volume I, 14th ed. 2017. McGraw-Hill
• William Graebner and Leonard Richards, The American Record, Images of the Nation’s Past, vol. I, 5th edition. 2017. McGraw-Hill
