Intro to American Politics

Midterm Exam

You must answer three essay questions.  Each of your essays should be at least one page long (typed, double-spaced, one-inch margins).  All of your essays must be carefully argued and well organized.  If you have writing problems, bring your exam to the Writing Center before you hand it in on Tuesday, October 29.  All students must use the Term Paper Checklist in order avoid common mistakes.  If careless errors indicate that you failed to proofread your work, you can expect to receive a very low grade on this exam. 

Note: If you plagiarize any part of this exam, you will fail both this exam and this course. 

• Summarize the main points made in James Madison's Federalist #10.

• Summarize some of the ways in which the Bill of Rights has shaped the relationship between the people and the government in the United States.

• Summarize the rationale behind one of the ten amendments to the original Constitution.

• Explain the reasoning behind "strict constructionism."

• Summarize the majority opinion in Dred Scott v. United States.

• Explain why Dred Scott is often cited as a harbinger of the Civil War.

• Summarize Booker T. Washington's Address to the Atlanta Exposition.

• Summarize the main points made by Frederick Douglass in "What the Black Man Wants."

• Summarize the main points made in Plessy v. Ferguson.

• Summarize the main points made in Lochner v. New York.

• Summarize the main points made in Muller v. Oregon.

• Summarize some of the arguments advanced by the Anti-Suffragists

• Summarize some of the major features of F.D.R.'s New Deal

• Summarize some of the major features of Huey Long's political philosophy.

• Summarize the made points made in Brown v. Board of Education.

• Summarize the main points made in the Statement of Purpose written by the founding members of the National Organization for Women.

Honors Students/Extra Credit