Essay questions for Midterm Exam #2
(remember, the multiple choice section of the exam covers chapters 20, 21, 22, and 23!)
General Directions:
Your essay should have an introductory paragraph, in which you state your main points (your basic answer to the question).
Your essay should have at least three "body" paragraphs, in which you explain your main ideas (the main points of your answer).
Your essay should have a concluding paragraph that again summarizes your main points.
It is a good idea to prepare in advance by writing an outline for each question, and by thinking very carefully about what you want in include in each section of your answer to each question.
You may bring with you to the exam ONE page (front side only) of notes, which should include outlines for both of these questions as well as some additional "reminder" notes. (Your notes must NOT include any complete sentences or sections of your essay; you are to write the essay in class! Any material in your notes that is quoted from the textbook or from the documents MUST be put in quotation marks, and you must use quotation marks properly in your exam as well. If you are unsure about how to do this, see the following linked directions: On Plagiarism vs Quoting.)
Here are the two possible questions (I will chose one in class by tossing a coin):
A) This question focuses on the history of the first phase of the French Revolution (the "moderate" revolution of 1789-1792) and the history of the second phase of the revolution (the Jacobin, or "radical" period of 1792-1794).
Two of the central ideas of the French Revolution (1789-1799) were that France was a "nation" and that the national government must protect the liberties of citizens. Exactly what these concepts (the nation and liberty) meant in practice, however, changed as the revolution developed.
Explain what the concepts "the nation" and "liberty" seem to have meant in 1789 and explain how the meanings of these two concepts seem to have changed (if you think that they did change) during the Jacobin period.
To answer this question, be sure to use the lecture notes, the Coffin textbook, and the following documents from Brophy:
Abbé Emmanuel Sieyes, What is the Third Estate?
National Assembly, The Tennis Court Oath
National Assembly, Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
National Convention, Levée en Masse Edict
National Convention, The Law of Suspects
Be sure that you refer to specific examples from the documents!
B) Although the Industrial Revolution had many positive results, these came at the cost of great social dislocations and disruptions. Not all rural dwellers accepted the ways in which the new capitalist economy was transforming their lives. Rural folk and urban artisans alike often resisted the introduction of new industrial work patterns and declining wages. In cities, the problems of industrial labor were complicated by overcrowding, filth, and disease. These were only a few of the conditions that contributed to social tension in the early 1800s (which, in turn, fed into political unrest in 1848).
Based upon lectures, the Coffin textbook, and documents listed below, explain at least four causes of social tension between laborers (workers) and capitalists (the owners of commercial farms and of factories) in early 1800s (1800-1850).
Use these documents from Brophy:
Rules of a Factory in Berlin
Anonymous, An Address by a Journeyman Cotton Spinner.
Anonymous, The Life & History of Captain Swing
Engels, The Condition of the Working Class in England
Be sure that you refer to specific examples from the documents!