Midterm Study Guide

America’s Ethnic History / Andrews (Fall 2012)

Midterm Study Guide

All  questions on your midterm will be in Short Answer format. You will be asked to write on 8 of the following topics. You should spend no more than 5 minutes on each response, for a total of 40 minutes. Then spend the remaining 10 minutes reviewing and revising your answers.

Why do some people object to calling US citizens “Americans”?

What is meant by the American “singularity”?

What is meant by “American exceptionalism”?

What is the “problem of history” with regard to American Indians? Is there a similar problem of history with regard to Americans whose ancestors were slaves from Africa?

Discuss Erlandson’s theory of the Kelp Highway. In what ways might this theory threaten or disrupt our traditional ideas about what it means to be an “American”?

Discuss Ravenstein’s laws of migration, with particular attention to push, pull, means and efficiency. Use examples from students’ oral history presentations to illustrate these laws.

In what ways is the notion of the United States as a “melting pot” a myth?

Were African slaves immigrants? Why or why not?

Discuss the role of indentured servitude in the peopling of America. Which groups resorted to this practice and why?

How did transportation options to the Americas evolve as migration patterns changed over time?

Why is it important to read first-hand accounts like Equiano’s?

What do we know about the African history and culture slaves brought with them to America?

What are some of the challenges involved in attempting to trace the immigration histories of various groups such as Germans, Poles and Jews?

How can the Cajun experience be used to illustrate the impact of a group’s attitudes towards assimilation?

What are the roots of Anglo-conformity? Why was the founding concept of American-ness so Anglicized?

What is meant by the “ethnic escalator”?

Why did some consider early Chinese and Japanese migrants “sojourners”? Were they considered immigrants? Why or why not?

Who were the “paper sons”?

In what ways and why did Polish immigrants maintain their national heritage while residing in the United States?

In what ways were Irish settlers involved in US politics?

How could attitudes towards education have an effect on a group’s success or failure in the United States?

Why did males outnumber females in the immigrant populations from so many different countries? Discuss the impact of the male/female ratio of two of the groups we’ve studied.

What is the “Turner thesis”?

Today is Columbus Day. Should the US continue to celebrate this holiday? Why or why not?