Prof. Greg Hall

Department of History

Fall 2007

History 420 (G)

 

Study Guide for Midterm Exam #2

 

Exam Questions:

(Three of these questions will be on the final exam.  You will write on two)

 

1) Evaluate the successes and failures of the labor movement in Illinois during the late 19th century.  In your essay, be sure to explain why a labor movement developed after the Civil War, discuss the labor institutions of the time period, and treat the era’s major strikes.

 

2) Compare and contrast the pre-railroad merchant’s world with the post-railroad merchant’s world in chapter seven of Cronon’s Nature’s Metropolis.

 

3) What were the safety problems at the Centralia and West Frankfort mines and why was it so difficult for them to be adequately addressed before disaster struck?

 

4) Compare and contrast the political management of Chicago from the 1890s to the 1920s with post-World War II Chicago, particularly in regard to the period in which Richard J. Daley was mayor. 

 

5) Evaluate three historical themes in postwar Illinois.*  Be sure to explain how these themes changed the state, e.g. suburbanization, economics, education, politics, the 1970 constitution, civil rights for minorities and women. 

 

*Because of the nature of the readings and lectures, you can focus on Chicago.

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

 

Prof. Greg Hall

Department of History

Fall 2007

History 420 (G)

 

Study Guide for Midterm Exam #1

 

Exam Questions:

(Three of these questions will be on the final exam.)

 

1. Compare and contrast Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian Native American societies in Illinois.  In your essay, explain their social structures, economies, cultures, and adaptation to their natural environment. 

 

2. Explain the process by which Illinois became a state.

 

3. Based on your reading of Sugar Creek, evaluate family life, especially the social and cultural spheres of men and women in the frontier.

 

4. Based on your reading of Nature’s Metropolis, explain the impact railroads had on Chicago and the Midwest countryside.  

 

5. Explain the political evolution of Illinois during the mid-19th century.