You will receive one of three questions below on the essay section.  You will not know which one of the three will be on the exam, so study for all of them.  Some pointers: answer the question as directly and clearly as possible.  Be sure to address all the components of the question.  Remember to integrate the relevant reading and lecture material to support your argument.  Always avoid vague generalizations.  Refer to specific events, policies, groups, ideas and individuals in your answers.  You must bring blank line paper on which to write your answers.  Do not make any markings, outlines, or notes on your essay answer sheets prior to the exam.   

1. In many ways the period from 1787 to 1800 proved as tumultuous as any other era in America’s political history.  Compare the ideas of the opposing factions particularly as represented by the arguments and policies of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson.  Include in your answer a discussion of the development of party politics.

2. Grievances against the British led to the War of 1812. Yet there were other issues that brought on the conflict as well.  Write an essay describing the basic issues and events that led to the war.  Why did some Americans support the war and others oppose it?  What was the final outcome of the conflict?

3. Andrew Jackson so profoundly shaped U.S. history that historians often call the period from the late 1820s until the early 1840s “The Age of Jackson.”  What were his policies and contributions?  What role did he envision for the federal government?          

If you are familiar with the terms and names below, it should help you considerably on the exam.  Remember, it is best to know the “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” and “why” of these.  The “why” or the significance of any term or name is most important.   

Shays’ Rebellion  
Interpretations of the US Constitution  
Bill of Rights
Alexander Hamilton  
The Federalist Papers 
John and Abigail Adams
Washington’s Farewell Address 
The XYZ Affair
Sally Hemmings  
“The Revolution of 1800” 
Republican/Jeffersonian Agrarianism 
Louisiana Purchase 
Lewis and Clark expedition
The War of 1812 
Dolley Madison 
Hartford Convention
The Monroe Doctrine 
James Fenimore Cooper
Hudson River School 
Cane Ridge 
Charles G. Finney
Shakers
The Bucktails
Dueling 
Daniel Webster 
“Five Civilized Tribes” 
Chief Justice John Marshall 
The Indian Removal Act  
John Ross
Eerie Canal
Nullification Crisis 
The Bank War 
Panic of 1837 
Whigs vs. Democrats 
“Tippecanoe and Tyler too”