A History Major's Journey

[Westerner]

DSST History of the Vietnam War

~Test date: May 2013
~ Score: 74
~ Length of study: 3 relaxed weeks
~ Resources used: InstantCert, SEF, especially a study guide posted there, Wikipedia's "Vietnam War" page, Official DSST fact sheet and practice Qs, Free-Clep-Prep practice test, Sparknotes & its PT, Snazzlefrag's notes
~ Tips: I only used online resources for this test, which was definitely enough Would've liked to watch the PBS documentary too, but didn't get around to it.
-IC was AWESOME! This the first test for which I've relied on it heavily and that was totally fine...it covered everything you need to know
-IC's Specific Exam Feedback--a gem, as always. There is a study guide posted there that was TREMENDOUSLY helpful in reminding you of the "little" important things!
-The FCP PT was too easy, but it's good way to get some details not covered in the other resources. My scores on that were 78% and 87%.
-The Official DSST fact sheet was very detailed and thorough
-Sparknotes was terrific as well, as was its ending quiz (I got 84% on that) Somehow, bolded terms just make the subject so easy to understand!!
-Snazzlefrag's notes were perfect to review from on the go.
-Here is a list that the awesome Snazzlefrag of DegreeForum compiled and I modified. Know everything on here—it's all important.

Bao Dai
Eisenhower
Ho Chi Minh
Le Duan
Le Duc Tho
Pham Van Dong
Vo Nguyen Giap
Duong Van Minh
Ky
Thieu
Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngo Dinh Nhu
Madame Nhu
Nguyen Khanh
Dulles
Fulbright
Harkins
JFK
RFK
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Muhammed Ali
Johnson
Rusk
McNamara
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
McGeorge Bundy
Nixon
Kissinger
Truman
Acheson
Westmoreland
King Sianouk
Lon Nol
Pol Pot
Gerald Ford
Jimmy Carter
Champa
First Indochina War
Laos
Cambodia
Versailles Peace Conference
Paris Peace Accords
Hmong people
Dien Bien Phu
Geneva Accords
Ap Bac
Gulf of Tonkin
1964 US Election
Pleiku
Flaming Dart
Rolling Thunder
Ho Chi Minh Trail
Ia Drang
Operation Cedar Falls
Central Office of South Vietnam (COSVN)
Phoenix Program
Khe Sanh
Tet Offensive
Saigon
My Lai Massacre
Kent State
Agroville
Strategic Hamlet Program
Spring Offensive (Easter offensive)
Quang tri
An Loc
Paris Peace Accords
The Killing Fields
Democratic National Convention in Chicago (1968)
Vietnamese Nationalist Party (VNQDD)
Viet Minh
Khmer Rouge
National Liberation Front
Pathet Lao
Students for a Democratic Society
Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Foreign Assistance Act
Self-immolation by Buddhist Monks
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Great Society
War on Poverty
Guns & Butter
Americanization
Escalation
Vietnamization
Containment
Domino Theory
War of Attrition
Peace with Honor
Pentagon Papers
Fulbright (Senate & opposition to war)
Moratoria
Detente
War Powers Act


DSST Civil War and Reconstruction

I passed in June 2013 with 68, praise God! I spent about 2 weeks studying.

Resources: Instantcert, SEF and study guides posted there, DANTES Test Prep Study Guide, Sparknotes, Snazzelfrag's notes, http://www.basicversity.com PTs

Tips: online resources are all you need, though a textbook would be helpful.
—I barely got through IC once
—the SEF is invaluable, as always. There's a neat list of battles, generals and outcomes posted there. The tips are spot-on.
—I copied and pasted the Civil War and the Reconstruction Sparknotes into a document that I made into a PDF, to read when I didn't have Internet. Those were great! The Reconstruction SN is especially helpful for that part of the test. There are also 50-question quizzes for both the "Civil War" and "Reconstruction" sections. Take those!! I got 82% on the CW one and 74% on the Reconst. one.
—the DANTES Test Prep Study Guide was amazing!! Despite poor grammar, it was so helpful. You can download it for free. It also has a 50-question practice test, on which I got 88%.
—Snazzlefrag's notes are a neat, condensed version of all the important facts from the IC cards
—I didn't get to watch the Ken Burns documentary, though I would've liked to! It's free online, just so you know
—Civil War and Reconstruction Flashcards––very thorough.
—List of BasicVersity tests on the subject of Dsst has several short PTs which I took the night before my test. They're too easy (except the one on Names) but a good way to make sure you know what you need to know! There were 1 or 2 things I learned here that I wasn't able to find elsewhere.
—a "gotta know" list I wrote up:

McClellan's faults
Sherman waged total and psychological war
Copperheads, their leader (Valladingham) and their motto
Wirz of Andersonville POW camp was only CSA soldier executed by US
Carpetbaggers—some were politicians, some wanted to help
Clara Barton helped on the battlefield but hadn't yet founded the Red Cross
Women helped a lot though the US Sanitary Commission
Women helping with Confederate war effort
There were ~620,000 casualties
Antietam was the bloodiest day
Antietam gave Lincoln the chance to issue the Emancipation Proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation—how Lincoln justified it, and what kind of document it was
Custer's role in the Union army
Custer seized CSA supplies at Appomattox Court House
Lee planned to join Johnston at Davis
Rivers in the East and those in the West
Speaker Pro Tempore Wade would've become pres after Johnson
What Johnson's Reconstruction plans entailed
The 7 original CSA states
4 more states seceded after Lincoln called for troops
Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri—border states
Kentucky was neutral but soon joined the Union
Webster favored the Compromise of 1850
Minie balls and rifles were used in the war
Confederates escaped to Mexico after the war
Especially important battles: anything that stood out, strategies of winner, why loser lost, plans of Lee and opposing Union general,
-Chancellorsville
-Fredericksburg
-Shiloh
-Vicksburg (cut Confederacy in 2)
-Antietam
-1st and 2nd Bull Run
-Atlanta
-Savannah
-Chickamauga
Lincoln's reelection plans
How Lincoln felt about the war in 1861
Lincoln's primary goal was to save the Union
Buford held an important position and bought time for the Union at Gettysburg
Shenandoah Valley—USA Sheridan vs. CSA Jeb Early
Jeb Early's threatening of Washington DC
Ft. Sumter started the war
Secession wasn't mentioned in either the USA or CSA Constitutions
What Jefferson Davis' CSA Conscription Act said
Blacks serving in armies of both sides
Lincoln told Horace Greeley he wanted to preserve the Union above all
William Lloyd Garrison founded "The Liberator"
McClellan's peace platform in the 1864 elections
There were TWO CSA Johnstons!! AS Johnston who died at Shiloh and Joseph Johnston in the East first, then Atlanta against USA's Sherman
How Johnson and Congress felt about the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments
Kansas-Nebraska Act's impact
John Fremont was the Republican nominee in 1856
Freeman's Bureau and all it did for the blacks and poor whites
Compromise of 1877 included Republicans pulling troops out of the South
What happened to abandoned land in the South—who got control of it and who it was given to
Dred Scott decision—if it was referenced
Lee's invasion of the North ended poorly at Gettysburg
Some pro-slavery arguments tried to use the Bible for justification
Lee surrounded Hooker at Chancellorsville
John Brown killed 5 people in Kansas before Harper's Ferry
Command of Army Act said all orders to the military had to come through Grant
Meade was the Union General at Gettysburg
What the Compromise of 1850 said
The new Fugitive Slave Law was the South's favorite part of the 1850 Compromise
Terms of surrender given by Grant to Lee were lenient
Johnson's "swing around the circle" speeches had the opposite effect of what he'd hoped and put Republicans in power
California's statehood was in the Compromise of 1850
Lee's win in the Peninsular Campaign was ironic because if it hadn't happened the war would've ended with much less devastation of the South and slavery would've survived
War Democrats vs. Peace Democrats
Britain & USA almost went to war over the "Trent" affair
Definition of "Paper blockade"
Most soldiers on both sides were volunteers
CSA paid for war mostly by printing money
USA Grant, Sherman & Buell vs. CSA Johnston at Shiloh
Wilmot Proviso proposed outlawing slavery in territory won in the Mexican War
Bread Riot in Richmond was the worst
Lincoln's assassination was a conspiracy by John Wilkes Booth
Harriet Beecher Stowe had some firsthand experience with slavery when she wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
Sherman was pretty harsh with the South on his March to the Sea
Relationship between Lincoln and McClellan
McClellan was fired after the Peninsular Campaign
Union General Pope was surprised at his loss to Lee at 2nd Bull Run
Hampton Roads Peace Conference
Chesapeake Bay—location and any significance
Jefferson Davis fled after Lee surrendered
Grant and Lee first met at Wilderness
Lincoln stressed that Vicksburg was "the key"
Grant was promoted as a result of his Vicksburg victory
How siege/fall of Petersburg affected siege/fall of Richmond
Start of the Republican party and their position on slavery
Chickamauga was the last Confederate victory in the West
Grant regretted the Battle of Cold Harbor the most
Tennessee was the first Confederate state to be readmitted to the Union
After the war and Lincoln's assassination, Louisiana's constitution was rejected by the Radical Republicans because it was drafted under Lincoln's lenient Ten-Percent Plan

—more than a passing knowledge or interest is needed to pass this one; they do go into some obscure details. But have no fear; study up on the above mentioned resources and you'll be well on your way to victory! Have fun!