Final possibilities, Spring 2017, American Heritage; Dr. Bradley Birzer
This comprehensive final examination covers all assigned readings, all handouts, all lectures, etc.
Section 1. Possible Essay Questions. Two of the following will appear. Worth 40% of your final exam grade.
- Through a strange series of mishaps, H.G. Wells grabs Aristotle and transports him to Washington, D.C., May 2017. H.G. Wells moves on, but Aristotle has coffee with a historian (who shall remain nameless, but who teaches at a small, traditional college with very bright students in the upper American Midwest). The historian explains to the ancient Greek philosopher how much he and his ideas have shaped and influenced the development of American politics and culture. What exactly does the historian tell Aristotle?
- Through a strange series of mishaps, George Washington, during his second administration, finds himself in the Woods between the Worlds. He steps into the pool leading to Washington, D.C., May 2017. Once there, he encounters Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts. Roberts—in an objective fashion—explains to the first president the state of the world and the history of the United States since roughly 1800. What does Washington think of the history of the country he made for us?
- Through a strange series of mishaps, Lenin does not actually reside in his tomb in Red Square. That “honor” belongs to some poor schlep that inconveniently happened to look like Lenin. Instead, two just aliens, Kudos and Kang, abducted Lenin prior to his death. They deposit him (alive) in Chicago, Illinois, in May 2017. Tried for crimes against humanity in the twentieth century, Lenin sits anxiously as a number of witnesses walk through and testify: Pol Pot, Stalin, Whittaker Chambers, Ronald Reagan, Russell Kirk, and Pope John Paul II. What do they say? And, what is the verdict?
Section 2: Possible Ids/terms/definitions. Worth 40% of your final exam grade; you will answer four of six.
- Abraham Lincoln
- Alexis de Tocqueville
- Calvin Coolidge
- Clarence Darrow
- Common Law
- Communism
- Conservatism
- Constitution (any part of it, including the Bill of Rights)
- Edmund Burke
- Franklin Roosevelt
- Frederick Jackson Turner
- George Washington
- George Whitfield
- ideology
- John C. Calhoun
- John Winthrop
- Lorenzo Dow
- Khmer Rouge
- Mayflower Compact
- Nationalism
- New Deal
- New Left
- New Right
- Old Left
- Pragmatism
- Progressivism
- Puritanism
- republicanism
- Ronald Reagan
- Russell Kirk
- Scopes Trial
- SDS
- Second Great Awakening
- Texas Revolution
- Thomas Jefferson
- Tradition
- Walter Lippman
- William Jennings Bryan
- Woodrow Wilson
- YAF
Section 3. Short answers, quote identifications, multiple choice, etc. Worth 20% of your final examination grade.
