1. The antebellum years saw the birth and development of the Federalist, Jeffersonian Republican, Democratic, Whig, and Republican parties. Discuss how and why each of these parties began. Who founded each? To which groups did each one mainly appeal? What led to the demise of the Federalist and Whig parties?
2. Each of the following men was in some way involved in the sectional conflict that eventually led to the Civil War: Thomas Jefferson, John C. Calhoun, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and Stephen A. Douglas. Discuss the views and activities of these men regarding the sectional conflict.
3. Trace Abraham Lincoln's position on blacks and slavery from the time of the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858 to the time of his assassination in 1865. Why did he modify his stands?
4. Discuss the causes of the Civil War. Cite as many facts as possible to back up your analysis.
5. Compare and contrast Andrew Jackson's handling of South Carolina's nullification of federal law in 1832 and James Buchanan's handling of that same state's secession in 1860.
6. Explain the causes of the Mexican War and its impact on sectionalism.
7. Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, "There is no strong performance without a little fanaticism in the performance." To what extent could this observation be applied to the abolitionists and other antebellum reformers?
8. In 1820, 1833, and 1850 sectional compromises were agreed to and the Union was preserved. What accommodations were made each time, and why did the attempts to reach one more compromise in 1860-1861 fail?
9. If the enduring vision of America is embodied in the Declaration of Independence's statements about equality and universal rights to justice, liberty, and self-fulfillment, how much progress toward those ideals had blacks and women made by 1877? Back up your evaluation with as many specific facts as possible about the status of blacks and women at the end of Reconstruction.
10. In what respects was the Constitution of the United States as written and ratified in 1787 undemocratic? How was the American political system democratized between 1789 and 1877? What undemocratic features remained to be addressed? Give as many specific examples in your answer as possible.