Review Questions for Wyoming History, First Exam, Spring 2008
The exam will consist of three parts:
1. essay question (you may choose one of three or four questions to answer)
2. brief identifications (you may choose three names/terms to identify, indicating the significance to Wyoming history
3. a question on the book (Rising from the Plains)
Sample Essay Questions:
Three of the following questions may appear on the first exam. Use these questions to prepare a study outline or familiarize yourself with the materials. You must write out your answers in class. No prepared notes/essays will be accepted. Examination bluebooks must be blank at the beginning of the exam hour.
Essay Choice #1. What were the rendezvous? Where were they held? What kinds of people were present? What typically occurred at rendezvous? How did international events, changes in fashion, environmental factors, and development influence the success/failure of the rendezvous system? What role did Native people have in the rendezvous? Identify the "organizing concepts" that could be used to describe the fur trade rendezvous.
Essay Choice #2. Identify at least three of the trails through Wyoming and describe the types of emigrants primarily utilizing each. How did each trail influence the development of military/trading posts, towns, and later transportation routes through Wyoming? What effects did each have on the Indians, if any? Take into account various army/Indian encounters in your answer.
Essay Choice #3: Compare and contrast the typical travelers using the Oregon Trail with those using the California Trail. What were the priorities, the means of transport, and the goals of each group? What effect, if any, did each have on development of Wyoming?
Essay Choice #4: Identify the various ways in which transportation and communication evolved during the mid-19th century and how Wyoming was influenced by these changes in modes of transportation and communication. (Remember the Pony Express, the Overland stageline and the transcontinental telegraph when thinking about this question).
Essay Choice #5: Describe the "boom and bust" in the cattle industry in Wyoming in the 19th century. What factors led to the boom? What factors led to the bust? How did the boom and bust affect Wyoming history? What influence did federal land policies have over the boom and bust? Who were the investors in the cattle industry in Wyoming in the 19th century? What were the goals of most cowboys and investors in the cattle industry? Be sure to use examples in your answer
Essay Choice #6. In a cogent essay (not an outline), compare and contrast the “fur trade boom-and-bust” with the “cattle boom-and-bust.” Who were the owners? Who were the employees? How did international events, changes in fashions, environmental factors, and world trade influence the booms/busts? (Be sure to describe the types of people involved in each industry, the owners of the various companies, the reliance on certain "natural resources" and the causes of the "busts.")
Essay Choice #7: What influence did each of the three Fort Laramie treaties have on relations between the federal government and the Native Americans in Wyoming? What events caused violations of the treaties or attempts at renegotiation of them?
Essay Choice #8: Compare and contrast the Grattan fight with the Fetterman fight. What were the main causes of each event? (The "Mormon cow" story for the Grattan fight and misunderstandings over ownership of the cow. For the Fetterman fight, the Bozeman Trail and trespassing across Indian treaty grounds. In both cases, army officers who knew little of the conditions on the plains and taking impetuous actions).
Essay Choice #9: (a variation on #8 above): Throughout the early period in Wyoming history, instances of "cultural misunderstanding" complicated relations between the U. S. Government and the Native people. Identify instances of these "misunderstandings" and describe the circumstances in each case. (Some possible points might include the Grattan fight, the Fort Laramie treaties, the Fetterman fight, and the entire question of opening "trails" across Wyoming
Essay Choice #10: What is the significance of John "Portugee" Phillips' ride and why was it made? What "organizing concept" might be applied to what happened as a result of the incidents leading up to the ride?
Essay Choice #11. Gov. John A. Campbell said territorial government “was rendered necessary by the building of the railroad.”
a. Based on the facts from lectures, analyze why this was true.
b. What influence, if any, did the federal government and national events have on the location, construction, and financing of the transcontinental railroad. Be sure to take into account such factors as land, wars, sectional rivalries and fuel requirements.
Essay Choice #12. Because of an action taken by the First Wyoming Territorial legislature, Wyoming later became known as the "Equality State." Describe how that event (passage of the Suffrage Act) occurred and the significance it had to how others viewed Wyoming (state and territory). Be sure to name and identify significant individuals were took part in the action. What role, if any, did Esther Morris have in the passage of the suffrage bill? William Bright? John A. Campbell?
Essay Choice #13: According to the lecture by Emily Arendt, how did Wyoming's experience with women suffrage fit into the broader context of the history of women's rights in the United States in the 19th century? How has Wyoming's early adoption of women suffrage influenced women's rights in Wyoming? (for example, equity in pay? women holding political office? women on juries?)
Essay Choice #14. How did the federal government encourage construction of the transcontinental railroad? How did these various methods influence Wyoming land ownership? (Remember how the city of Laramie is located on "checkerboard sections" of the railroad--lands that were given to the UP by the federal government. You can use this as an example of how our town's development was influenced by the federal policy of land grants).
Essay Choice #15: According to John Crowley in his diary, what significant events brought about the location of the city of Laramie? What role, if any, did Crowley have in Laramie's origins?
Essay Choice #16. Describe the various ways that the Federal government transferred land to private ownership. (The railroad land grant--the so-called "checkerboard sections"-- and homestead laws are examples). How was land "measured out" for homesteading? Identify at least three federal land acts that were used to pass federal land to homesteaders. (Homestead Act of 1862, Timber Culture Act, Desert Land Act are three of these).
Essay Choice #17: John Wesley Powell urged Congress to change the homestead laws in order that families would have greater opportunity to farm successfully in the West. What were his recommendations and how did Congress respond to them?
Essay Choice #18: What was the Rock Springs massacre? What were the primary causes? According to the essay by Dudley Gardner, how did Chinese adapt to living in Wyoming in the 19th century?
Essay Choice #19: John Clay once said that the demise of the cattle industry in the 1880s was the result of “ill luck, mismanagement and greed.” Comment, utilizing evidence from lectures and readings in your answer.
Essay Choice #20: What was "book count" and what influence did it have over the boom and bust in the cattle industry in the 1880s?
PART II: BOOK QUESTION:
You will be asked to identify one of the main characters in the book, Rising from the Plains, and explain the significance of the character to the broader theme(s) in the book. What organizing concept, if any, does this theme involve?
PART III: SHORT IDENTIFICATIONS:
Five or six names/terms will be provided. You will be asked to identify three (3) of the individuals/events and explain the significance of each to Wyoming history.