Topics for Fall Semester US History to 1877

Topics for Fall Semester – US History to 1877

1. Boston – City on a Hill? Was it? 2. Arguments for Loyalists vs. Whigs 3. Burr vs. Hamilton – the complete story 4. Attitudes of Founding Fathers regarding slavery 5. 1st and/or 2nd Great Awakenings – people, events, impact 6. Affect of the press on the American Revolution 7. 4 C’s and an S – compare and contrast (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek, Choctaw, and Seminole) 8. Quakers and Slavery 9. Battle of Yorktown – who, what, how? 10. Election of 1800 – the whole story 11. Election of 1824 – story behind the “corrupt bargain” 12. Lewis and Clark – up close and personal, what happened later? 13. Battle of New Orleans – details 14. Alien & Sedition Acts – civil rights and the VA & KY Resolutions 15. South Carolina demographics – effects on later developments 16. John Paul Jones – pirate or patriot? 17. Boston Massacre – the real story and aftermath (trial) 18. Federalist Papers – main concepts as reflected in the new government 19. Medical science – then vs. now 20. Constitutional Convention (1787) – who were these men? 21. Andrew Jackson – hero or tyrant? 22. Eaton Affair – what happened? 23. Mexican-American War – Major battles and leaders 24. Gold in development of Colorado and/or California 25. Steam power – impact on economic development and transportation 26. Henry David Thoreau – wacko or visionary? 27. Water – how was it managed? (Lowell mills and theories) 28. Columbian Exchange – a closer look and effects 29. Faith as expressed in our founding documents 30. Tecumseh – the man and the myth 31. Smallpox Pandemic of 1775-1782 – details 32. Clay’s “American System” – explain it 33. Andrew Jackson vs. Henry Clay – which was better for America? 34. John Brown – villain or hero? 35. Slave trade to North America – put it in perspective 36. Joseph Smith and the Mormon Church – impact on settlement patterns 37. Lucretia Mott – contributions to women’s rights 38. Underground Railroad – the real facts 39. Slave demographics – North vs. South – related to economy 40. Effects of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Beecher Stowe on abolitionism 41. Use of railroads in Civil War 42. Government of the Confederacy 43. Lincoln’s direction of the Civil War 44. Union Generals – who? which were better/worse? 45. Confederate Generals – who? which were better/worse? 46. Three most significant battles of Civil War – why are they significant 47. Cult of Domesticity – affect on women’s rights 48. Boston “Tea Party” – terrorists or patriots? you decide? aftermath 49. Daniel Boone – legend or what? 50. Iroquois Confederacy – who? effects on U.S. history 51. Women in the American Revolution 52. Northwest Ordinance – was there a hidden agenda? 53. Closer look at German immigration – where? why? 54. Closer look at Irish immigration – where? why? 55. History of NYC – Natives to Dutch to English to Metropolis 56. Importance of Philadelphia in U.S. history 57. American Colonization Society – beliefs and members 58. Burr’s conspiracy and trial for treason 59. Utopias – pick one or two and look closer 60. Art, Music, Drama – as an influence on history 61. Best sellers of the first half of the 19th century 62. John Wilkes Booth conspiracy 63. Entertainment in Early America – games, events, sports, theater, etc. 64. “Swamp Fox” and “Gamecock” – who were they, what did they do? 65. Alamo, Goliad, and San Jacinto – put them in perspective of Texas history 66. Role of Texas in Civil War 67. Young America Movement – who? what were the tenets? effects? 68. Mounted Warriors – Sioux and Commanches 69. Government policies regarding Native Americans prior to Civil War 70. Nicholas Biddle – tyrant or great American 71. Ben Franklin – hero? inventor? statesman? you decide 72. Dred Scott – what happened? Effects on Civil War