Final Exam.
Choose one question and write an essay of 750 to 1000 words. Do not use outside sources. You may use material assigned in the course: lecture, discussion, documents, and the course readings (textbook and monographs). Submit your exam through Canvas by 7:00 pm on December 13. Normal rules of citation apply to documents, the textbook and other books assigned in the course.
- The debate over the Constitution largely concerned the definition of citizenship, that is, who was to be given power in the new nation. How did the New Jersey exception challenge the notion of active citizenship in the new republic? How did New Jersey’s definition of citizenship compare to that of the other states? Were the state constitutions in general more or less democratic than the Constitution?
- The late 1820s through the 1830s have been called “The Age of Jackson.” Think of Jackson’s role in the removal of the Indians, the Nullification Crisis, and efforts to counter the abolitionist movement. How did Jackson’s policies and actions address the concept of sovereignty in these three events?
- Why did Northerners oppose slavery in the nineteenth century? How did their opposition change over the course of the first six decades of the century? To what extent was this a response to a strengthening of the South’s commitment to the institutions of slavery? How would you characterize racial attitudes in the North up to the Civil War and after?
- When South Carolina seceded from the Union in 1860, it’s leaders claimed legal and constitutional grounds for their decision. What evidence could they point to from the late eighteenth century to 1860 to support their view? Lincoln argued that the Union could not be broken. What did he base his position on?
