HIS 282 - Sample Tests

In 3-5 pages, defend or refute the following statement, citing examples from Virginia's political, religious, social, economic, and/or military experience between 1776 and 1865:

    The members of the Virginia Dynasty (Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe) "were the last flower of the aristocracy of mid-18th century Virginia, not the first flower of a national spirit.  The revolution which the Virginia aristocracy did so much to make ... was the suicide of that aristocracy."

In 3-5 pages, respond to the following:

    "The only sane and constructive course to follow is to remain in the house of our fathers - even though the roof leaks and there may be bats in the belfry, rats in the pantry, a cockroach waltz in the kitchen, and skunks in the parlor....   We cannot take our inheritance and depart into a far country.  Where shall we go and to what shall we return?"

    Although J. Lindsay Almond, Virginia's Governor 1958-1962, made this statement in defense of his loyalty to the National Democratic Party and its nominee for President in 1948, he might have been describing 19th and 20th century Virginia leaders' tendency to invoke past glories at the expense of the Commonwealth's present and future.   Cite examples of the Old Dominion's worthy traditions whose substance has been sacrificed for the short-term political or economic benefit of Virginia's elite since 1800.  Are these traditions empty shells today, drained of all substance, or does there remain a foundation on which the house of our forefathers might be rebuilt, renovated, and made commodious for 20th and 21st century Virginians?

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