Need help with American History.
1. Explain how conflicts and rivalries among European nations both helped and hindered the American struggle for independence.
2. Compare and contrast the British and the American conduct of the war. How did each side propose to “win,” how realistic was its assessment of the situation, and how did this prewar assessment influence the ultimate outcome of the war?
3. Take into consideration the “Where Historians Disagree” areas of your test. Review the descriptions of the various schools of historical interpretation and describe which one you agree with and why.
4. Examine the relative successes and failures of the Articles of Confederation. Do you think that this government was capable of providing the stability that the new nation needed? Why or why not?
5 How did Revolutionary ideology challenge the way minorities were treated in America? What changes in this treatment resulted from this challenge, and why did some minorities find their circumstances improved while others did not?
6 Explain how the political ideology that was the foundation of the American Revolution influenced the writing of state constitutions and the Articles of Confederation
7 Explain Hamilton’s motives for proposing his plans for taxation, assumption, and currency regulation. What was it in his motives that so upset Jefferson and Madison?
8 The Bill of Rights is generally recognized as protecting the citizens of the US from their government; but what safeguards are contained in the Constitution to protect the states from violations of their rights? What additional safeguards were proposed by Jefferson and Madison in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, and what were the implications of these resolutions with regard to the growth of the central government?
9 Compare and contrast the political, economic, and social philosophies of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Explain the sort of nation each wished to create.
10 During the period of Hamilton and Jefferson, two opposing political parties arose. Both had their roots in the era governed under the Articles, but unlike competing groups during that period, both factions claimed to support the Constitution. If both felt that the Constitution created the best form of government, what was the basis for their disagreement? Compare and contrast the two parties—their goals, methods, and philosophies.
11 During the “Federalist era,” events in other countries did much to shape political-party growth and domestic policy. Look at American relations with England, Spain and France; analyze these relations affected the two political parties that emerged during this period; and explain the way the government responded to this foreign influence on the parties.
12 Why was education “central to the Republican vision of America”?
13 What effect did Republican ideology have on education in the US during Jeffersonian times?
14 Explain the “cultural independence” that Jeffersonian Americans sought. What means of expression did this “independence” find?
15 What were the obstacles faced by Americans who aspired to create a more elevated national literary life during Jefferson’s presidency? What efforts were made to overcome these obstacles?
16 Examine the development of the system of railroads and canals during Jackson’s time. What geographical factors contributed to this? What sections did this transportation system link together, and what effect did this have on the economy of each? How might this transportation network have influenced political alliances?
18 It has been said that the most conspicuous changes in American life in the 1840s and 1850s took place in the Northeast. What were these changes, and what impact did they have on the northwestern section of the nation?
19 What effect did the economic changes of the Civil War era have on the American family and especially on the lives of American women in the Northeast? The Northwest?
20 What were the major technological inventions and innovations prior to the Civil War? How did they both unify and divide the nation?
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