Exam Essay

MIDTERM EXAM/REVIEW 100 Points HIS 1110 G. J. Giddings, Ph.D. Answer the mandatory essay and 2 other essays, one from each section below -2 pages per essay – approximately 6 pages total -All essays should be in a single MS Word document, attached/uploaded to the assignment prompt. Support every part of each essay answer with course resources; construct each essay with a descriptive/unique title, introduction, body, and conclusion; proof read your writing for accuracy, clarity, grammar, plagiarism, etc. 35 points per essay; 30 points mandatory essay; 10 points of extra credit for a 3rd essay

MANDATORY Essay A sample title: “Enslavement Roots of the Sate of African America”

(Use the study guide on pages 3-4, to prepare for this mandatory essay) MANDATORY (30 points) Use ALL of the following 20 words/concepts to discuss, in essay format, what each concept means within the context of our course themes thus far. How do these 20 concepts help tell of the African American story from Africa, through enslavement and emancipation and the present? History Rift Valley; Africanisms in Black Culture; Bantu migration; Queen Njinga; Enslavement characteristics; Resistance to enslavement; Crispus Attuck; Phillis Wheatley; Ethnology; Thomy Lafon & Julien Hudson (1800s); D. Walker, N. Turner & W. L. Garrison; Frederick Douglas; “1850 Compromise”; John P. Parker; Kansas-Nebraska Act; Dred Scott; Prudence Crandall; “Black people’s CNN”; and Jesse Jackson. Use the attached fill-in-the-blank worksheet to practice/verify your understanding of the 20 concepts.

ESSAY OPTIONS

Section #I. Present as Prologue (choose only one) A sample title: “The Deep Roots of the Present State of Black America”

Essay #1. Describe/explain today’s state (condition) of African America in terms of the disparities (compared to the white population) in the areas of employment, health, incarceration, wealth and politics/power. Did the slavery experience contribute to these disparities between Blacks and whites; how so or how not so? Despite the disparities, what do you see as specific current strengths (Hip-hop, elected officials, Black live matters movement, etc.) of the African American community and how do these strengths specifically work to relieve the relatively poor state/condition of African America? Essay #2. Consider the 4 Africanisms as explored in Giddings’ “Afrocentric Jay-Z” essay: communal, oral, spiritual, matrifocal. What is the meaning and significance of each Africanism in African American culture and history, according to Giddings? What evidence/support is given for each of the 4 Africanism; are you convinced or unconvinced; and why or why not? What are at least 2 connections you can draw between Giddings’ arguments and what the other sources (i.e., F&H text, chapter 1) presents about African culture? Essay #3. Consider the various historically significant personalities, events, initiatives/actions and structures that make up over 150 years of Wilberforce history. What specifically in this history has ensured the survival (against the odds) of Wilberforce and Central State Universities today, and their ability to serve current students, professors, alumni, community members and leaders? Do you think Wilberforce and CSU play any unique role/s among HBCUs; is so what, and if not why?

Essay #4. Consider the obvious importance of politicians whom we elect to represent us in the U.S. congress (House of Representatives and Senate) by exploring their website and other related sources. Identify (name, party, background, etc.) your U.S. Representative (from your residential congressional district) and your 2 Senators (representing your state) and answer the following questions about these politicians: What are the issues important to all of any one of these 3 leaders and what is your own view on these issues? What other issues, important to African Americans, do you wish these government representatives would address (i.e., police brutality, incarcerations, employment disparities, health disparities, food deserts, etc.)?

II: African Background & Enslavement (choose only 1)

A sample title: “A New, Surprising and Impactful System of Slavery in America”

Essay #5. Consider the unique and varied forms of slavery/enslavement in Africa prior to encounters with Europeans. How was slavery in Africa different from chattel slavery as practiced specifically in the U.S.? Discuss 3 forms of enslavement as practiced in Africa, and explain how each was different from U.S. chattel slavery.

Essay #6. Consider/review U.S. enslavement holocaust as a four part/characteristic system. What are at least 2 examples of enslavement, characterized/described as: forced, legal, resisted and contradictory? Concerning the many ways in which the enslaved resisted bondage, what is at least one example of the following forms of resistance: day-to-day, cultural, escape, and revolt, and how effective, in your opinion, were these forms of resistance?

Essay #7. Consider/review the militant abolitionist movement of the 1830s and the 1850 national events leading up to the U.S. Civil war. Describe any 3 militant abolitionist events: “The Liberator,” “Appeal to the Coloured …,” and Turner’s South Hampton revolt, and explain how each event was upsetting to the enslavement system of the southern U.S.? Furthermore, explain how the following 1850s national events, eventually contributed to 11 southern states seceding from the U.S. (Union): the 1850 Compromise (fugitive slave law), the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision of 1857, John Brown’s revolt of 1859, Harriett Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, and Abraham Lincoln’s 1860 election to the Presidency, etc.? In your view, which one of these events was/were most influential in causing the southern secession and thus the U.S. Civil War of 1860- 1865?

Essay #8 (Challenge). Read the attached history essay by Rhett Jones, “Why Blacks are Committed to Blackness” and answer the following questions: What is Jones’ thesis; how do each of the three ingredients of Blackness shape this concept and African Americans’ commitment to the concept of Blackness; and of the reasons Jones offers for the one drop rule, which to you is most convincing and why so? Rhett Jones’ essay: ..\..\Lectures\Enslavement\RhettJonesBlackness.pdf