On
the Exam and how to prepare:
I will choose ONE of the five questions below to ask you on the mid-term exam. The best way to prepare for the exam is to work out answers to ALL of these questions. Then, prepare short outlines for each answer.
During the exam, I will let you use one (1) typed or hand-written page of notes (one side of page only)—you will turn this page of notes in with your exam. Consider using that page of notes for your outlines (to write down outlines with some key words or phrases to guide you in writing the essay).
Each of these questions requires that you think about ideas and examples from the lectures and from the Coffin textbook. Be sure that you understand exactly what the question is asking. Then review your notes on the lectures and on the readings to organize an answer for each question.
Remember that an essay MUST have:
1) An introduction that tells the reader what you are writing about and what your main point (thesis) will be.
2) Clearly organized paragraphs in the body of the essay:
---Each paragraph must be devoted to explaining a single issue or idea.
---Each body paragraph must have evidence or examples.
---You must explain how the examples connect to (demonstrate,
illustrate) the idea in the paragraph.
3) A conclusion that sums up your main point (thesis).
OK—here are the questions!
1.
How
were the concepts of Mercantilism and Absolutism related and how were both of
these concepts linked to the Scientific Revolution? First,
explain the main ideas of Mercantilism and be sure to give some examples and
explain how they demonstrate these ideas. Second,
explain the main ideas of Absolutism and be sure to give some examples and
explain how they demonstrate these ideas. Third,
explain how Mercantilism and Absolutism were related to each other.
Fourth, explain how these two concepts may have been related to the
Scientific Revolution. Be
sure to consider evidence from the textbook and
the lecture notes.
2.
What principles and methods of the Scientific Revolution influenced the
ideas of the Enlightenment and in what ways did Enlightenment thinkers criticize
Absolutism, Mercantilism, and organized religion? First, explain the basic principles and methods of the
Scientific Revolution and give examples. Second,
explain how these principles and methods influenced Enlightenment thinking.
Third, give examples of ideas of the Enlightenment that criticized
Absolutism, organized religion, and mercantilism.
Be sure to refer to specific Enlightenment thinkers in giving examples,
and be sure to consider evidence from the textbook and the lecture notes.
3.
How and why did the definition of citizens’ rights change during the
French Revolution (who had rights, what kind of rights, would rights have to
sacrificed for security, etc.)? First,
explain how the question of rights was connected to the outbreak of the
revolution in 1789. Second, explain
what the Declaration of Rights of Man (August 1789) had to say about the
rights of citizens. Third, explain why conflicts over citizens’ rights
remained during the first phase of the revolution (1789-1791). Fourth, give examples of how and why the definition of rights
changed in the Jacobin phase of the revolution (1792-94).
Fifth, explain how and why the issue of citizens’ rights changed in the
Thermidorian phase of the revolution (1794-99).
Be sure to consider evidence from the textbook as well as the lectures.
4.
How were changes in the organization of production related to the
process of industrialization and how did the industrial revolution affect the
lives of laboring people in the late 1700s and early 1800s? First, explain the difference between artisan-style
production and “factory” production. Second,
explain why business owners introduced factory-style organization and give
examples of where and when this happened. Third,
explain how the goals and methods of factory-style organization were related to
the ongoing introduction of new machines in industry.
Fourth, give examples of how this industrialization process affected
artisans and other laboring people: how
did it affect things like their control over their work and work time, their
standards of living, housing, family life, etc.?
(Keep in mind that the impact was complex—it was not all good or all
bad!) Be
sure to consider evidence from the
textbook as well as the lectures.
5.
How did major intellectual/artistic and political movements of the early
1800s respond to the legacies of the French Revolution and the Industrial
Revolution? Pick
two (2) of the five “movements” listed below.
First, explain the main ideas or principles of each of the two
“movements” you picked. Second, explain how each of the two “movements” you
picked responded to the legacies of the French Revolution or the Industrial
Revolution (or both). Be sure to consider evidence from the textbook as well as the lectures. Here
are your choices (pick 2):
A.
(early, pre-1848) Conservativism
B.
(early, pre-1848) Liberalism
C. (early, pre-1848) Socialism
D.
Romanticism
E.
(early, pre-1848) Nationalism
Remember, prepare outlines for ALL FIVE questions. Don’t try to guess which question will be asked! I will pick the question by drawing a number out of a hat, so the choice will be completely random. (Each individual question has only a 20 percent chance of being picked. In other words, if you guess that one question will be asked and concentrate on that question only, you have an 80 percent chance of guessing wrong. To be 100 percent prepared, be ready to answer all five questions!)