Example Exam Questions

Is monarchy more or less effective than democracy?

• Thesis: Monarchies are much less effective than democracies because of they are led by a single ruler instead of an entire nation.

• Primary Sources:
• "TO ALL FREE MEN OF OUR KINGDOM we have also granted, for us and our heirs for ever, all the liberties written out below, to have and to keep for them and their heirs, of us and our heirs"
• King John of England in the Magna Carta: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/magnacarta.html

• "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."
• The Declaration of Independence: http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/freedom/doi/text.html

• "I have brought together these acts of his [Nero], some of which are beyond criticism, while others are even deserving of no slight praise, to separate them from his shameful and criminal deeds"
• Suetonius talking about Nero, the Roman Emperor: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/suet-nero-rolfe.html

What's So Wrong With Social Orders?

Thesis: Social Orders create unrest between the higher and lower social classes.