| AP American History =^^=
Assignment Sheet #4 Unit: The Critical Period and the Early National Period The readings that are on the long side are underlined. Note that you have a midterm; last day for submission is 1/5. Due Thursday 12/4: Read in your textbook pgs. 166-177. Written homework due: (1) Explain the structure of the National Government under the Articles. (2) What were the specific weaknesses of the Articles? (3) What were the accomplishments of the government under the Articles? Include an explanation of the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest ordinance of 1787. (4) Prove that Slavery was an issue prior to the adoption of the Constitution. Due Friday 12/5: Read “Shays’ Rebellion: January 25, 1787” (from 10 Days that Changed America). Written homework due: (1) How did the Treaty of Paris impact colonial trade (2) Why were farmers in New England rebelling? (3) What were the 2 views of “the true nature of democratic government?” (4) How did the framers (aka founding fathers) structure the new government to both protect and limit popular will? (5) How did the Constitution specifically address the issues that had caused and exacerbated Shays’ Rebellion? (6) Write a reaction to this statement: “Fear of government shaped the Articles; fear of democracy shaped the Constitution.” (This sounds like a potential essay question to me) Due Monday 12/8: Make a chart outlining the successes/failures of government under the Articles of Confederation. Use your textbook, your class notes, and the internet. This is a potential essay question as well. Due Tuesday 12/9: Read Sunrise at Philadelphia. Written homework due: (1) Why is James Madison considered the father of the US Constitution? (2) Explain the Virginia Plan, the New Jersey Plan, the Connecticut Compromise (3) What powers were granted to the national legislature by the Convention delegates? (4) Explain why it significant that the Constitution was declared “the supreme law of the Land?” (5) How does the phrase “We the People” challenge the concept of state sovereignty? (6) In what specific ways did the Constitution legitimize slavery? (7) Identify “Publius” and the purpose of the Federalist Papers. (8) What were the arguments made for and against adding a Bill of Rights to the Constitution? Due Wednesday 12/10: Read the essay/handout on the Federalist Papers. Written hmk due: (1) Why are the Federalist Papers still considered some of the most important documents in American history? (2) Identify the specific issues addressed in Federalist 10, 51, 47, 63; explain how the author of each expected the Constitution to solve these issues/problems inherent in government. You may have to Google ® these items to get more specific information on them than that which is provided in the reading. Due Thursday 12/11: No homework! Due Friday 12/12: Read The Greatness of George Washington. Written hmk due: (1) In what ways was Washington a “man of virtue?” (2) What values did enlightened, liberal 18th century men hold dear? (3) According to the author of this essay, what impact did Washington’s lack of a formal education have on his personality? (4) Why did Washington agonize over the invitation to attend the Philadelphia Convention in 1787? (5) How, specifically, did Washington shape the office of the Presidency? (6) Why did Washington become disillusioned with American politics toward the end of his life? Due Monday 12/15: Washington’s Administration. Read in your textbook pgs 190-198. Written Homework due: (1) What problems/issues did President Washington face? (2) What were the terms of Hamilton’s Financial Program? (3) What were Jefferson’s objections to Hamilton’s ideas? Due Tuesday 12/16: Washington’s Foreign Policy. Read 198-202 Written Homework Due: (1) What must a president consider when formulating a foreign policy? (2) What were the specific terms of: (a) The Treaty of Paris 1783 (you’ll have to look this up elsewhere in your book, or Google it—make sure you use the correct date) (b) The Jay Treaty 1794 (c) The Treaty of Grenville 1795 (d) The Pinckney Treaty 1795 Due Wednesday 12/17: John Adams. Read 202-210 Written homework due: (1) What foreign problems did John Adams inherit? (2) Explain: (a) the XYZ affair (b) The Convention of 1800 (c) The Alien, Sedition & Naturalization Acts (d) The Virginia & Kentucky Resolutions Due Thursday 12/18: Read Thomas Jefferson and the Meanings of Liberty by Douglas L. Wilson. Written homework due: (1) What does Wilson mean by “present-ism”? (2) What is revisionism? (3) What were Jefferson’s accomplishments? (4) What was Jefferson’s reigning political passion? (5) What is Wilson’s thesis? (6) What do you think of his arguments? Due Friday 12/19: Make a chart of political, social, and economic developments in American society between 1775 and 1800. What were the similarities/differences in American society of 1800 in comparison to 1775? 12/20 through 1/4—Holiday Break J **Midterm project Final Submission Date is Monday January 5. After that, there will be a 10 point/day penalty for lateness. Read handout Ch. 3 from The American Presidency: The Presidency in History by Clinton Rossiter (1956). Answer the questions below. This assignment must be typed. It will count as an exam grade; you will be graded on the effort/thought that you put into your responses. You may either answer each item separately or you may merge your responses into a short paper. 1. What steps did the framers of the US Constitution take to ensure that the American President would be a strong office that would be independent of the legislature but that would also have limited power? 2. According to Clinton Rossiter, how and why has the American presidency evolved beyond what the framers envisioned? 3. Rossiter wrote this widely acclaimed assessment of the Presidency in 1956; please comment on what you see as the changes in the American Presidency since then. 3. What do you think of Rossiter’s assessment of George Washington? 4. What do you think of Rossiter’s assessment of Thomas Jefferson? 5. What, specifically, does Rossiter mean when he asserts that Andrew Jackson “presided over the radical reversal in the roles of President and Congress as instruments of popular power and targets of popular feeling?” 6. Relate this idea (from #5) to the current political climate in America. 7. Abraham Lincoln and Woodrow Wilson were two wartime presidents with distinctly different wartime leadership styles. Which of these two do styles you think is preferable and why? 8. Which founding father would agree most vigorously with Theodore Roosevelt’s stewardship theory; why? 9. Develop a list of your own three specific criteria for presidential “greatness” and explain each. Then, using your criteria, rank the following six presidents from highest to lowest Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, Nixon, LBJ, Reagan. Briefly explain why each falls where he does on your list. 10. What do you think Clinton Rossiter would think of your list and why? Due Monday 1/5: Jefferson. Regular Homework: Read 211-228 in your textbook. Written homework due: (1) What were the major developments of Jefferson’s Administration? (2) In what ways did Jefferson’s actions as President sometimes depart from his personal political philosophy? (3) Many historians rate Jefferson as a great president mainly for his accomplishments outside of the presidency—what do you think of this? Due Tuesday 1/6: Read in your text p. 247, 250-51 and The Great Chief Justice by Brian McGinty. Written Homework due: For each of the following Marshall Court cases, explain (a) the background of the case (b) the decision of the Supreme Court (c) the importance/impact of the decision: (1) Marbury vs. Madison (2) The Dartmouth College Case (3) McCulloch vs. Maryland (4) Gibbons vs. Ogden (5) What does the term “judicial nationalism” mean? (6) What is McGinty’s thesis in his essay on John Marshall? Due Wednesday 1/7: Madison. Read in text 228-231 and 233-242 Written hmk due: (1) What were the major events of Madison’s presidency? (2) Explain the significance of: (a) the War Hawks (b) the Battle of New Orleans (c) The Treaty of Ghent (d) The Hartford Convention (3) What was Henry Clay’s American System? What founding father would have most appreciated it? Due Thursday 1/8: Monroe. Read in text 242-247 and 251-255. Written Homework due: (1) What was the Era of Good Feelings? (2) What impact did the Panic of 1819 have on westerners? (3) What was the dispute over the Tallmadge Amendment and how did it foreshadow the Civil War? (4) What were the terms of the Missouri Compromise? (5) What territories did the United States obtain during Monroe’s Presidency? (6) What were the provisions of the Monroe Doctrine? Due Friday 1/9: The election of the “favorite sons” and the rise of Andrew Jackson. Read p. 256-265 in your textbook Written Homework due: (1) What circumstances surrounding the 1824 election made Jacksonians “cry foul”? (2) What disadvantages did John Quincy Adams face as president? (3) Describe the 1828 presidential campaign; how was it different from previous campaigns?. (4) How was Andrew Jackson completely different from all of the presidents who preceded him? (5) How did the “spoils system” shore up the party system in America? Due Monday 1/12: Review Sheet is due today. We will be wrapping up the unit—Critical Period through Early National Period Tuesday 1/13: Essay Examination Wednesday 1/14:: Multiple Choice Examination |