Because the education at the
Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) is so wretched, I teach my students in the New
Salem Educational Initiative most all of what they know in the major subject
areas. I am now in the process of bringing
two books to completion, one (Understanding
the Minneapolis Public Schools: Current
Condition, Future Prospect), which exposes with exhaustive factual detail
the multiple deficiencies of MPS, the other (Fundamentals of an Excellent Liberal Arts Education) that imparts to
my students the knowledge-intense education that they should have but do not
come close to receiving in MPS schools.
I have now actually generated three
versions of (Fundamentals of an Excellent
Liberal Arts Education) for my students, depending on the time for
knowledge acquisition that applies to given students. For example, in its fullest presentation, the
American History chapter runs 65 single-spaced pages. There is an intermediate length (30 single-spaced
pages) presentation, and there a micro-version that runs eleven (11)
single-spaced pages for those students who for various reasons need to acquire
as quickly as possible the essential facts and themes of American History.
A few days back, I entered the micro-version of this
chapter on the blog.
I now invite my readers to test their
own knowledge of American History through 1829 by taking the following exam.
I have generated an exam featuring my
own answers to serve as a model for my students in understanding the strengths
and weaknesses of their own responses.
After I surmise that readers have had time to take this exam, I will
enter the model exam on the blog.
Please now peruse and take the
following exam:
American
History: Micro-Fundamentals of an
Excellent Liberal Arts Education
Gary Marvin Davison, Ph. D.
Director,
New Salem Educational Initiative
I.
Identification (2.5 points
each)
1.
BCE
2.
CE
3.
Bering Strait
4.
Christopher Columbus
5.
Divide and conquer
(generally, and then particularly with
regard to organization of slavery on
British-American colonial and
early-United States plantations)
6.
Lousiana Purchase
7.
George Washington
8.
Loyalists (Tories, Redcoats)
9.
judicial review
10.
Monroe Doctrine (1823)
.
II.
Short Answer (15 points
each)
1.
Give an account of the arrival of those people who became the indigenous
peoples of the Americas (Native Americans), their geographical expansion over
the two continents, their individual distinctiveness, and common features in their
way of life.
2.
For the European powers of Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, and France,
give accounts of the general pattern of their settlement in the Americas: Explain where each power located colonies,
what economic return occurred as a result of colonialization, and the duration
of colonialization for each of the powers.
3.
Give a brief account of the American Revolution, including reasons for
occurrence, diverse patterns of participation and sentiment among the
colonists, general pattern of the fighting, important associated documents or
declarations, and outcome.
4.
Give a careful distinction between the Articles of Confederation (1781)
and the United States Constitution (1789).
5.
Explain the different stances of the Democratic-Republicans and the
Federalists, the two parties that dominated electoral politics in the United
States during the first three decades in the history of the nation.
