reaction to pp. 564-574

After reading pages 564-74, post two comments reacting to the following statement/prompt.  Your first comment will be your response to the prompt, and the second will be a reaction to your classmates.  Feel free to post more than twice.

In what ways did the US government fail to deal with the Native Americans in a fair way?

Reading questions

As you read pages 538-549 in your textbook, answer the following guide questions.

1. In what ways did Lincoln's assassination leave a void in terms of political power?

2. In what ways did Johnson's plan for Reconstruction compare to Lincoln's? (we discussed this in class, but the book adds a few things)

3. In what ways did the South defy (go against) Johnson's reconstruction policies?

4. What were the Black Codes?

5. In what ways were the Black Codes almost necessary in the South?

6. What was the purpose behind the Freedman's Bureau?

7. What was the message behind the two political cartoons on p. 543?

8. In what ways did Johnson go against the Republican party while President?

9. How did the Reconstruction Acts of 1867 compare to Johnson's plan for reconstruction?

10. What were 'carpetbaggers'?

11. What were 'scalawags'?

12. Why did Andrew Johnson get impeached?

13. What was the purpose in passing the 15th Amendment?

14. In what ways did the KKK attempt to disrupt elections in the South?

Civil War 1

OK, read from the bottom of 478-486 in your textbook and provide two comments to the following prompt.  Agree or disagree: The Confederacy had no chance of winning the Civil War because of the overwhelming industrial and population advantage of the Union.   Be sure to give thorough answers to the prompt as well as in your second post in response to your classmates. 

Slavery

After discussing the issue of slavery in class, whether the Dred Scott case, the slave trade, or the various revolts... why do you think it was such a difficult issue to deal with? Post two comments, the first one being your answer to the question, and the second a response to your classmates.

Slavery

Look at the chart on page 452 in your textbook, and post two comments on the question below.  Your first comment answers the question, and your second comment responds to your classmates.  Make sure you answer in complete sentences and use proper grammar.

Question: It's easy to see on the map how the concentration of slaves was connected to where the various cash crops were grown.  But how does the map also demonstrate how difficult it would be to free slaves at all?

Reading in the textbook

Read pages 424-428; 434-436; 440-447 and answer the following questions on a sheet of paper:

1. What were some examples of the tension that existed within Congress during the debates over adding California as a state?

2. Why was Webster's speech an important turning point in the debates over a fugitive slave law?

3. Why did 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' create so much controversy? Where did Harriet Beecher Stowe get her inspiration from?

4. We talked about how the 'new' generation of political leaders were different than people like Clay, Webster, and even Calhoun.  How did Stephen Douglas embody that difference?

5. Why did Abraham Lincoln re-enter politics because of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill?

6. What were the political consequences of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill?

7. How did Missouri play a part in the territorial elections in Kansas?

8. What were the Free-Soilers all about?

9. What was the result of the bogus elections in Kansas?

10. How did the Brooks-Sumner incident represent what was going on in the country at the time?

11. What political consequences did the Lecompton Constitution have for Stephen Douglas?

packet on Southern economic development

Hey guys, I hope that you checked the website for the project explanation and this reading packet, it's titled 'Southern economic packet'.  Here are the questions to answer as you read it:

1. Why did certain types of cotton present more challenges for those who wanted to harvest it?

2. To what extent did cotton production increase between 1790 and 1860?

3. What were at least three factors that led to the dramatic increase in cotton production?

4. In what ways was the South's dependence on cotton production not a good strategy in terms of economic development?

5. How did the cotton gin make cotton production easier than before?

6. How did cotton production affect the distribution of wealth in the South? How did that differ from the North?

Answer the questions in your notebooks, and remember to try and answer in complete sentences.

Economic Development packet

Sorry for posting this a day late... here are the reading questions for your packet.

1. How did transportation innovations affect the relationship between the different regions of the country?

2. How did immgration affect the growth of businesses like factories?

3. How did population density in the South compare to the North? Why such a dramatic difference?

4. How did the treatment of immigrants suffer as more of them entered the country?

5. In what ways was immigration a political issue?

6. In what ways were public projects like the Croton Aqueduct crucial to urban development?

7. How did technology affect every day life during the 1800s? How did it make things better?

8. In what ways would technology affect agriculture?

p. 299-307

As you read this section from the textbook, answer the following questions:

1. In what ways was transportation different before 1815 compared to after?

2. In what ways did the invention of the steamboat affect travel on rivers?

3. How did the advent of railroads affect canals?

4. In what ways did all these transportation improvements affect the speed and cost that it took to deliver goods?

5. Looking at the two charts on pp. 302-303, how did transportation development vary in terms of regions? Why do you think it varied so much?


6. What effects did the improved transportation network have on the economic development of the South?

7. Why did farming in New England start to decline during the early part of the 19th Century?

8. How did the technological advancements make life on a farm much easier than before?

Quiz

Copy/paste the following questions below onto an email and answer them before 5 PM today.  No answers posted on the blog will be counted.  Answer in complete sentences.  Good luck!!! Enjoy the snow!!

1. What causes the Panic of 1837? Provide two causes and prove HOW they caused it.

2. How did Van Buren's actions during the Panic hurt his chances at re-election in 1840?


3. What were two factors that contributed to record voter turnout in the 1840 election? Again, prove HOW they contributed.


4. In what ways were the Whig Party and Democratic Party similar in their attempts to get votes?


5. How did the Whigs and Democrats compare in terms of who supported them?


6. How did the portrayal of William Henry Harrison during the campaign compare to reality?



7. How did the Whigs portray Van Buren?


8. How did Harrison's unexpected death affect the Whigs long term plans?


9. How did Tyler make things difficult for the Whigs while President?

10. Why did Texas want to be independent from Mexico?

11. How did Texas actually get its independence from Mexico?

12. To what extent were the reasons for the Mexican War legitimate/not legitimate?

13. What was one reason why Polk lost alot of support during the war itself?

14. How did the land acquired from the Mexican War lead to even bigger problems regarding slavery?

15. Even though Clay, Calhoun and Webster all had different ideas for fixing the problem of slavery, how were they different from the guys that came after their deaths?

16. How did Harrison die?

17. How did Zachary Taylor die?

Texas Question/Mexican War

Go on my teacher website and find the link for the reading packet.  As you read the packet, answer the following discussion questions on a separate sheet of paper:

1. Do you agree with the assertion that Manifest Destiny was not selfish? Why/Why not?

2. Why did Texas declare independence from Mexico?

3. Why was the annexation of Texas such a controversial issue?

4. To what extent did Oregon present a problem for the United States?

5. Why did people want to go to Oregon?

6. How did James Polk secure the Democratic nomination for President?

7. How did the annexation of Texas affect the relationship between the US and Mexico?

8. What steps did Polk take to lead us to a war with Mexico?

9. Do you think that Polk deliberately led the US into a war with Mexico? Why/Why not?

10. What were the reasons for those that opposed the war with Mexico?

11. What was the consequence of the Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo?

12. Do you think that our actions with Mexico and the reasons behind the war ignored any potential long term consequences? Why/why not?

State of the Union Address

If you watched or read President Obama's speech on Wednesday night, you saw that he spoke a great deal about how many Americans are sick and tired of the stuff going on in the government.  Go on CNN, Fox News, New York Times, whitehouse.gov, or any of the major network sites and read a transcript of the last ten minutes of the speech (the speech was around 69 minutes long).  This was the time he devoted to talking about the responsibility both parties have in fixing our current state of affairs.  After reading this section, how do you feel about some of the things he talked about? Do you agree/disagree with him? Why... post two comments about this.  The first comment should be your response, and make sure it's thorough and you provide SPECIFIC reasons why/why not you agree with it.  The second comment should be a good response to your classmates.  Same holds true for this one, be SPECIFIC in your commentary.

I really want to encourage you to start making sure you are informed on issues.  That is why I am having you read the actual speech as opposed to a commentary on it.  Make a decision or stance based on what YOU think of the speech, not someone else.  OK???? And it's also OK to not understand everything you read, just for now read the actual speech.

Jackson

After our discussions about Andrew Jackson, how did his interpretation of Presidential power compare to that of his predecessors? Use specific examples, but also think of the things he did while President.

p. 385-398

This blog post will be a reflection on your reading of pages 385-395 in the book... this section primarily deals with Andrew Jackson's rise to power and some of the first issues he faced during his tenure in office.  For this assignment, you are to post two comments... one will be an answer to the question, and the second will be a response to your classmates.  When responding, of course be thorough and specific in what you refer to.

After reading this section, explain whether you agree or disagree with the following statement: Andrew Jackson routinely fulfilled the image of a 'common man' in his actions as President.  Cite at least two or three examples in your answer.