Order 700957: Read Instructions

1)  One Spanish official remarked, “the maxim of the conqueror must be to settle.” Explain what you think he meant by this statement. Illustrate the various ways conquerors settled the New World, commenting on what worked, what did not work, and the consequences of those methods.

(2)  Once England decided to create an overseas empire, it did so with impressive speed. Explain the motives behind English expansion to the North American continent, including the Great Migration.

(3) Explain the impact on colonial life of the religious revival movement known as the Great Awakening. Be sure to discuss its social as well as religious effects. What do you imagine some of the Great Awakening’s “significant political consequences” alluded to by Eric Foner might have been?

(4)  Revolution is a dynamic process with consequences no one can anticipate. Explain the initial goals of the colonists in 1765 at the time of the Stamp Act and the evolution of their ultimate decision to declare independence in 1776. What were the political and social consequences of the Revolution that had emerged by 1783?

(5)  Identify the three major ways that the U.S. Constitution addressed the institution of slavery. Would you say the Constitution was a proslavery or an antislavery document? Explain your answer.

(6)  What liberties and freedoms of Americans were being violated by European powers prior to the War of 1812? How did Jefferson and Madison view liberty in terms of British and French behavior on the seas? How did the War Hawks view liberty? Was war the only answer by 1812?

(7) The admittance of Missouri to the Union sparked a national crisis. Describe the debates that led up to the final compromise. How does the Missouri Compromise illustrate that sectional issues would surely arise again?

(8)  Andrew Jackson, one historian has written, was the “symbol for an age.” How might Jackson be considered symbolic of certain ideas and trends in the early nineteenth century? Can you think of other appropriate symbolic figures for that period, and possibly for contemporary American politics as well?

(9)  Many Americans and immigrants from other lands believed California presented a magnificent opportunity for economic freedom once gold was discovered. However, the boundaries of freedom were tightly drawn in California. Explain the expansions and limitations of freedom there. Please include elements from the Daughter of Fortune story to support your arguments.

(10)  Explain how the various parties reacted to the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Be sure to discuss why the Whig Party failed, why the Democratic Party split, and why the Republican Party unified. How did each party view slavery and define freedom?