Download Study Guide For World History II Midterm Exam I. Map Questions (2

Dr. A. Bowdoin Van Riper
Study Guide For World History II Midterm Exam
I. Map Questions (2 @ 5 pts. each; one point per item unless noted)
Two of the following will appear on the exam; you will have to do both.
Blank maps, appropriate to the question and identical to those in this packet, will be included in
the exam.
On a map of the world, indicate the routes over which the following items moved in the 15001800 era. “Route” includes the starting and ending points, the approximate path between them,
and the direction travelled.
1. Sugar
2. Fur
3. Slaves
4. Guns
5. Opium
On a map of North America, mark the position of the following items with appropriate symbols.
Be sure to clearly label the thing you’re marking.
Indicate and label the approximate extent of the following:
1. Areas controlled by the Aztec Empire
2. Areas controlled by Spain in 1763
3. Areas controlled by Mexico, c. 1830 (post-independence)
4. Areas acquired by the United States, 1800-1863
5. Areas controlled by Spain in 1863
On a map of Europe (with 1860s national boundaries shown), label and
indicate by number countries that match the following descriptions. You must use a different
country each time; when you’re done, your map should have five countries numbered and
labelled.
1. A country extensively involved in the New World before 1600
2. A country that traded directly with Japan between 1650 and 1800
3. A country that lost large parts of its overseas empire in 1760-1860
4. A country that underwent a political revolution in 1760-1860
5. A country that had become industrialized by 1860
II. Chronology Questions (4 @ 5 pts. each)
Six questions, each consisting of three items from the following list, will
appear on the exam. You’ll have to do any four by noting the correct chronological order for the
three items (2 pts) and explaining how the three are related to each other (3 pts.)
Age-regiments formed in S. Africa
Annexation of California by the US
Europeans reach African interior
First American “bedroom suburbs”
First electric household appliances
First mass-produced automobiles
First mechanized factories
First practical steam engines
First sugar cane in the Americas
Japan expels European traders
Portugal 1st explores African coast
Rise of the Ashanti Empire
Rise of the Zulus under Shaka
Rise of urban culture in Edo, Japan
Sioux adopt a nomadic lifestyle
Spain 1st reaches New World
Spain’s American empire collapses
Tokugawa Dynasty begins
Transatlantic slave trade begins
US Declaration of Independence
Environmental crisis in S. Africa
III. Short Answer Questions (4 @ 5 pts. each)
Six of the following will appear on the exam; you will have to answer any four
in a paragraph or so apiece, backing up general claims with specific evidence.
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A noted scholar wrote: “The static societies of Asia and Africa finally achieved dynamism . .
. only under the influence of European culture.” Based on the material we’ve covered so far,
do you agree or disagree?
Compare and contrast the approaches of any two of the following groups to building and
running overseas empires: the British, the French, the Spanish, the Dutch.
Criticize or defend the following statement: “The United States emerged from its revolution
relatively free of the problems that plagued the Latin American countries after their
revolutions.”
History is full of instances where someone’s actions have unexpected consequences. Discuss
one example of this from the 1500-1800 period that you find particularly striking.
Imagine that you’re actively involved, on one side or the other, in the guns-for-slaves trade in
18C West Africa. State, in a sentence, the most frequent criticism of your activities raised by
members of your own society. Then, briefly respond to it.
Leaders of both China and Japan sought to preserve their countries’ traditional cultures.
Compare and contrast their attempts to do so. [You may focus on methods, results, or both]
The “Old Imperialism,” which began with Columbus in 1492, ended in the year _____
[1763? 1783? 1825?]. Fill in the blank with one of the three dates in brackets, or another of
your choice, and explain why you chose the date you did.
Three new power sources (steam, electricity, and petroleum) came into widespread use
between the 1770s and the 1920s. Which of them had the greatest impact?
Dealing With Public Controversies
World History – Essay Assignment #1
The Set-Up
Historical events often carry immense symbolic weight, and as a result they can become the focal
points of intensely passionate arguments. Historians usually wind up involved in these
arguments in one of two ways: 1) As revered expert witnesses who, people believe, know the
“real story” of happened; and 2) As targets of angry criticism from people who believe that
they’re distorting the “real story.” One person’s “expert” can, of course, be another person’s
“propagandist:” Witness the controversy over the Enola Gay exhibit at the National Air and
Space Museum.
Historians who write for the general public are particularly likely to wind up in these intellectual
minefields. This assignment puts you in the middle of one where the arguments have been
particularly intense.
The Assignment
Read, carefully, the set of articles on reserve at the library under the title “Columbus Packet.”
They represent a variety of historical perspectives on the legacy of the European encounter with
the Americas.
Write an essay of 2-4 pages (about 500-1000 words) that addresses the question: “Should we
continue to celebrate a national holiday honoring Christopher Columbus?” If your answer is
“Yes,” how do you respond to critics like Hans Koning and Kirkpatrick Sale? If your answer is
“No,” how do you justify your position to a public that views Columbus as a hero? Write for a
general audience like the readers of Time or the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Use selected
details from the articles to support your position, but don't retell the whole story of Columbus or
summarize the articles.
Summing Up The Century
World History II – Essay Assignment #2
The Set-Up
Colonial independence movements. The rise and fall of communist governments. International
air travel. The most destructive war in human history. The UN. Communications satellites.
The automobile. Levi’s in Lenningrad. Big Macs in Beijing. The emergence of AIDS. The
eradication of smallpox. Gandhi. Hitler. Roosevelt. Ataturk. George Marshall. Mao Zedong.
Nelson Mandela. Golda Meir. CNN. MTV. The Olympic Games. The World Cup. Battleship
Potemkin. Rules of the Game. Star Wars. Sarajevo. Camp David. Munich. Dayton. The Sea
of Tranquility.
To paraphrase, just slightly: “What a long, strange century it’s been.”
The Assignment
Write an essay of 2-4 pages (500-1000 words) in which you do one of the following three things:
1) Pick the most significant individual of the 20th century, and explain why you chose the
person you did.
2) Pick the most significant event of the 20th century, and explain why you chose the event
you did.
3) Pick the most significant long-term trend of the 20th century, andexplain why you chose
the trend you did.
Whichever option you pick, you must demonstrate that the individual, event, or trend you’ve
chosen is one whose significance is global--not merely local or regional. Do not recount the life
of the individual, the history of the event, or the nature of the trend in detail. Instead, use
specific, carefully selected examples to support your claims for its significance, and be sure to
clearly explain why they support your claims.
Study Guide for World History II Final Exam
I. Map Questions (5 pts. each; two on exam, you do both)
Map A (Caribbean)
For each of the five items below, indicate (by number) and label a country that fits the
description (you must use a different country each time):
1. Member of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)
2. Participant in NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)
3. Communist government took power since 1945
4. US intervened here before 1920
5. US intervened here since 1980 [1 bonus point for year(s)]
Map B (Middle East)
For each of the five items below, indicate (by number) and label a country that fits the
description (you must use a different country each time):
1. Part of the Ottoman Empire until the end of WWI
2. Partially occupied by Israeli military forces [1 bonus point for year]
3. Attacked by one or more combatants in the Persian Gulf War of 1991
4. Developing nation with per capita GNP <$1000
5. Developed nation
Map C (East Asia)
For each of the five items below, indicate (by number) and label a country that fits the
description (you must use a different country each time):
1. Achieved independence since 1945
2. Communist government took power since 1945
3. US military intervened during Cold War [1 bonus point for year(s)]
4. Developing nation with per capita GNP <$1000
5. Developed nation
II. Short Answer Questions (5 pts. each; six on the exam, you do any four)
Answer the following in about a paragraph each. These questions are open-ended: There is no
single “right answer.” To deal with them, you’ll have to take a logically coherent position and
support it with at least one specific piece of evidence whose relevance you make clear.
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Criticize or defend the following: “The Cold War was basically a replay of the New
Imperialism, with Western nations competing for allies instead of colonies.”
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Criticize or defend the following: “The most pressing global problems of the late 20th
century are direct results of Western colonialism.”
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Criticize or defend the following: “In the long run, Josef Stalin hurt the USSR more than he
helped it.”
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Criticize or defend the following: “The empire-builders of the ‘New Imperialism’ era failed
in their self-proclaimed mission to ‘Westernize’ the inhabitants of the areas they colonized.”
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Pick one of the following countries and discuss how events that took place there in 1945-95
illustrate the nature of superpower competition during the Cold War: Korea, Cuba, Germany.
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World War I marked the beginning of many long-term changes in world affairs. Which one
of these changes was most significant, and how was it connected to the war?
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The 20th century has sometimes been called “the violent century.” What one factor do you
regard as most important in explaining this century’s extraordinary level of violence?
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What talents, personality traits, etc. did the leaders of African and Asian colonial
independence movements have in common? Cite specific leaders as examples.
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Colonial independence movements pitted the colonies’ native citizens against their European
governors. What other sets of conflicting agendas shaped these movements?
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Western-style “high technology” is spreading rapidly into the developing world. Should we
be pleased or worried by this? Why?
III. Chronology Questions (5 pts. each; six on the exam, you do any four)
Each question will consist of three items. Your job will be to put indicate their correct
chronological order and explain WHY this is the right order by explaining the relationship
between the items.
Balfour Declaration by Britain
Britain wins (1st) Opium War
Cease-fire ends WWI fighting
End of WWII in Europe
Gold Coast becomes independent
India granted virtual self-government
Israel wins Six-Day War
Kemal becomes pres. of Turkey
Matthew Perry “opens” Japan
Nazi leaders pass anti-Jewish laws
Revolution in Iran topples Shah
Russo-Japanese War
US ground troops enter Vietnam
Berlin Blockade & Airlift
Camp David Accords signed
Cuban Missile Crisis
Gandhi joins Indian ind. movement
India becomes independent
Israel declares independence
Japan conquers Southeast Asia
Kenya becomes independent
Meiji Restoration
Ottoman Empire dismantled
Revolution in Russia topples Tsar
Stalin’s first “Five Year Plan”
US-USSR partition of Germany