Dbq apush

OVERVIEW OF THE TIME SPAN: This unit deals with the years immediately following the American Revolution. We will examine the early or “Critical Period” of the new nation as it moved from being a loosely bound group of states to a more solid union of states under the new Constitution. During this period problems in foreign and domestic affairs were dealt with by the fledgling government.
YOUR OBJECTIVES:
SOURCES:
1. As always, become familiar with the people, places, and events which helped shape the history of this era
2. To understand the “big ideas” of this era:
− The United States under the Articles of Confederation and
Constitution
− Problems, both domestic and foreign in nature, faced by the young nation and attempts at solving them
− The presidencies of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and
Monroe
Newman & Schmalbach: Chapters 5 (pg 83) -8
QUIZ DATES (subject to change)
Chapter 6 (and part of 5): Tuesday, October 15
EXAM DATES
Chapter 7: Tuesday, October 22 Chapter 8/9: Wednesday, October 30
Unit 2 DBQ: Monday October 28-Tuesday, October 29 Unit 2.1 IDs: Friday, October 25
Unit 2.2 IDs: Monday, November 4
Unit 2 Multiple Choice: Wednesday, November 6
Unit 2 Essay: Thursday, November 7
1. Which of the social changes brought about by the Revolution was the most significant? Could the Revolution have gone further toward the principle that “all men are created equal” by ending slavery and/or granting women the right to vote? Should the Founders’ general elitism and indifference to the rights of people, women, African-Americans, and Indians be held against them?
2. Was the USA in a crisis under the Articles of Confederation, or was the crisis exaggerated by the Federalists just to justify their movement? Could the USA have survived if the Articles had stayed in effect?
3. What was really at stake in the debate between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists? Did the Federalists win primarily because of their superior political skills or because they had a clearer view of the meaning of the Revolution and of the future of the nation?
4. Why did Hamilton move so rapidly to create large financial commitments by the federal government? Since we normally think of the federal debt as something bad, why was Hamilton so adamant that the new federal government must do this?
5. Why were political parties viewed as so dangerous by many of the Founders? Why did parties come in to being at all, and why did they come to be accepted as legitimate ways to express political disagreement?
6. Contrast the Hamiltonians belief that the wealthy and well educated ought to run the government with Jeffersonian belief that the common person, if educated, could be trusted to manage public affairs.
7. In what sense, if any, is the idea of a “Revolution of 1800” justified (Note that Jefferson himself always considered that his election represented a genuine “revolution”-but what did he really mean or understand by that term in this context?)
8. How did Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase transform America’s understanding of itself and its future? Was it inevitable that the west would become part of a much greater United States, or was their real danger in efforts like Aaron Burr’s to break those areas off from the country? What benefits and problems did westward expansion create?
9. Was the USA’s ill-prepared stumble into the War of 1812 avoidable? Was the USA stuck in an impossible situation between Britain and France, or was the war brought on by poor decisions by the USA?