Final Exam - History 2010 - Ramey - Wayne G. Basler Library at Northeast State Community College

Essay Question #1

Both Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson had a specific vision for the future of this country by 1794. Whose vision of America's future was closer to reality by the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877?

(500-750 words)

Don't forget to cite your sources!

Resources are provided below to help you find information to supplement your class readings, if you need or desire.

Databases and Articles for Essay #1

U.S. History (Gale OneFile)
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Search over 457,000 journal articles for coverage of current and historical events such as the colonization of American, Civil War, Native Americans, folklore research, the Supreme Court, urban history, the war in Afghanistan, the 2012 presidential election, and more.
America - History and Life with Full Text
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Covers the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present.

The strategic vision of Alexander Hamilton.
Alexander Hamilton was an immensely sophisticated economic thinker who shaped the American economic system as it developed under the Constitution. Hamilton took a strategic approach to economic problems that allowed him to view the newborn United States as a great federal republic. As President George Washington's Secretary of the Treasury, he instituted an economic plan that forced the American “confederation” into a tighter union. He had the national government assume all state debts from the Revolution, created the Bank of the United States, and supported a full-blown industrial policy for the developing country. His policies facilitated the release of immense economic energy in the private sector and helped to shape the distinctive American balance between political stability and economic growth. Hamilton's difficult childhood, his experiences during the Revolution, his marital relations, and his participation in the Constitutional Convention are discussed..
Reforming Republicanism: Alexander Hamilton's Theory of Republican Citizenship and Press Liberty.
The writer analyzes Alexander Hamilton's reconceptualization of republicanism in the face of withering criticism during the political contests of the late 1780s and the 1790s. The divisions between most Federalists, particularly Hamilton, and their political adversaries are best understood as competing views over whether confidence or vigilance is the proper virtue of republican citizens. It was in the context of these opposing visions that Hamilton's own ideas were formulated. Moreover, he developed his theory of republican citizenship in a series of legal issues that involved press liberty, cases where he reluctantly, narrowly, and belatedly incorporated the virtue of vigilance in a manner that indicates the limits of his theory of republican citizenship. As long as democracy remains vulnerable to demagoguery, Hamilton's theory of an energetic, elitist republicanism remains worthy of careful and measured attention..
Jefferson, Adams, and the American future.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were bitter rivals and adversaries during the political battles of the 1790s and early 1800s, but they became great and abiding friends. Cemented by revolution and diplomatic service, their friendship was steadied by a political partnership that facilitated their reconciliation in 1812, and they spent their final years corresponding with remarkable thoughtfulness about the American experiment. The writer discusses what the two men's correspondence reveals about U.S. politics..
Thomas Jefferson's Federalism, 1774-1825.
The article discusses the political views of former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, arguing that he was a federalist in favor of the rights of state governments. Topics include Jefferson's views on the powers of the Virginia state General Assembly, Jefferson's views on the General Welfare Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and his conflict with former U.S. President John Quincy Adams on the role of the U.S. federal government. Jefferson's essays "Draft Declaration and Protest of the Commonwealth of Virginia, on the Principles of the Constitution of the United States of American, and on the Violations of Them" and "A Summary View of the Rights of British America" are addressed..

eBooks for Essay #1

Burr, Hamilton, and Jefferson: A Study in Character by Roger G. Kennedy
Publication Date: 2000
The Ordeal of the Reunion: A New History of Reconstruction by Mark Wahlgren Summers
Publication Date: 2014
Reconstructions: New Perspectives on the Postbellum United States by Thomas J. Brown (Editor)
Publication Date: 2006

Essay Question #2

2. Historians have long debated whether the issue dividing the North and the South before and during the Civil War was essentially political (“states’ rights” vs. “an indestructible Union”), economic (an agrarian vs. an industrialized economy), or moral (slavery vs. “Free Labor”). Discuss these three possibilities and identify which one best describes the nature of the conflict between North and South during the Civil War. Cite facts from the historical record to support your answer.

Don't forget to cite your sources!

Resources are provided below to help you find information to supplement your class readings.

Articles for Essay #2

The Causes of the American Civil War.
The article explores the causes and historiography of the American Civil War. The author notes the election of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln led to Confederate forces firing upon Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina and the secession of the eleven Southern States that formed the Southern Confederacy. Other causes considered include abolitionist literature such as the periodical "Liberator" edited by William Lloyd Garrison and the book "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe, the pro-slavery philosophies of politician John Caldwell Calhoun and social theorist George Fitzhugh, and the extension of slavery into the Western states.
Was War Inevitable?
The article examines the causes of the U.S. Civil War, focusing on six incidents which the author believes were potential turning points in the build-up towards armed conflict. These include U.S. Secretary of War John Floyd's decision to disregard a warning about abolitionist John Brown's planned raid on an arsenal at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, U.S. Presidential candidate Stephen Douglas's loss of the 1860 election, and U.S. President James Buchanan's proposal to discuss secession.
What Twenty-First-Century Historians Have Said about the Causes of Disunion: A Civil War Sesquicentennial Review of the Recent Literature.
The article reviews history writings related to the causes of the U.S. Civil War written from 2000 to the present which includes the books "Texas Terror: The Slave Insurrection Panic of 1860 and the Secession of the Lower South," by Donald E. Reynolds, "The Black Hearts of Men: Radical Abolitionists and the Transformation of Race," by John Stauffer, and "Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War," by Charles B. Dew.
Slavery, the Constitution, and the Origins of the Civil War.
The article discusses the roles of slavery and the U.S. Constitution in the U.S. Civil War. Particular focus is given to the constitutional protections afforded to slavery in the antebellum period. According to the author, it was only the secession of several southern states which allowed U.S. President Abraham Lincoln to legally issue the Emancipation Proclamation for slaves in the Confederate States of America. Details related to Lincoln's personal and political positions on the issue of slavery are presented. Other topics include the 13th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, fugitive slaves, and the District of Columbia.
Using Confederate Documents to Teach About Secession, Slavery, and the Origins of the Civil War.
The article discusses the use of primary historical documents from the Confederate States of America in teaching students about the causes of the U.S. Civil War. The author critiques what he sees as the widespread misconception that issues surrounding states' rights, rather than conflict over the institution of slavery, were the primary motivators of southern secession. He urges teachers to help students think critically about the messages they receive from media and textbooks. Neo-Confederates and the historiography of the U.S. Civil War are discussed. The text of South Carolina's declaration of secession from the U.S. is also presented.
Slavery and State's Rights in the Old North State.
An essay is presented which discusses whether slavery or the concept of states' rights inspired states to secede from the Union during the U.S. Civil War. The author suggests that attitudes of North Carolina residents indicate that both the preservation of slavery and Southern political autonomy were motives for secession. He comments on economic and social benefits of slavery in North Carolina and notes beliefs that abolitionism would decrease states' constitutional rights.
North-South Divide.
The article presents a discussion regarding the ideological underpinnings of the American Civil War. The author presents a contrary interpretation of the conflict's primary historiography, suggesting that the northern Union forces were not so concerned with abolition as they were with economic and legal matters. Quotations from President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State William H. Seward are cited to support the point.
A Soldier Views the Secession Crisis
The article presents a pair of 1861 letters from Colonel Joseph King Fenno Mansfield (1803-1862), Inspector General of the Army, to lawyer John H. B. Latrobe (1803-1891) of Maryland. Topics discussed include the secession of Southern states from the United States prior to the start of the hostilities of the U.S. Civil War, the causes of the crisis, and the prospects for reconciliation.

eBooks for Essay #2

United States Civil War : Causes, Course and Effects 1840-77 by Alan Farmer
Publication Date: 2012
Why the Civil War Came by Gabor S. Boritt (Editor)
Publication Date: 1997
What Happened? : An Encyclopedia of Events That Changed America Forever by John E. Findling (Editor); Frank W. Thackeray (Editor)
Publication Date: 2010
Everything You Need to Know About Political Causes of the American Civil War by Storie, Melanie
Publication Date: 2012

History 2010 - Ramey: Final Exam