To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian Study Guide Name ____________________________ To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian Stephen Ambrose is a world renowned historian and writer. He was chosen by President Eisenhower to be his personal biographer: Eisenhower: Soldier, General of the Army, President- Elect (1890 – 1952); Eisenhower, The President; The Supreme Commander: The War Years of General Dwight D Eisenhower; Eisenhower and Berlin, 1945 & Ike’s Spies. In addition he has written several pieces about WWII, my favorites were Pegasus Bridge, Band of Brothers and The Wild Blue. He has also researched and written about 25 other books about the Construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, the Lewis and Clark trek across the west, and the Nixon Presidency and more. His work is highly researched and documented; it is presented in a manner that is appealing; Stephen Ambrose has the gift of Storytelling. To America is an interesting culmination of all of his research and writing, but under review. In this love letter to America Ambrose takes us on a journey of reflection. While many of his books discuss an event, his focus is on the humans who made it happen. Reviewing his earlier perspectives of the lives of our national heroes and to some degree villains, in the end he determines that most were men, humans - great humans who under some circumstances make mistakes, use poor judgment, however that should not necessarily summarily remove them from study. Read Ambrose’s arguments and then formulate your own thoughts. We will be discussing each of the chapters in small groups and full class. Your grades will be determined based on completed study guides and participation in discussion and on the vocabulary glossary you will compile on Quizlet.com. Read each chapter and answer the questions below, your responses should be reasonably thorough and give you the ability to participate in a small group and full class discussion. If you cite passages from the text to support your arguments – please note the page number and page placement (example p 47 PP 3) Your vocabulary terms need to be put onto your Quizlet account and at the end of the reading you will need to print out your To America glossary and hand in with your completed study guide. (If you do not have a Quizlet account we will set one up for you on Tuesday) You don't hate history; you hate the way it was taught to you in high school. _ Stephen Ambrose 1 To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian Study Guide Chapter 1: Founding Fathers ………………………(Undaunted Courage) 1. Ambrose observes of Jefferson on page 3 “ His writing showed that he had a great mind and a limited character.” Based on evidence from the text please discuss what Ambrose is arguing regarding Jefferson. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 2. Discuss the difference Ambrose makes between Jefferson & Washington. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 3. Ambrose points out that there are many historians/teachers who choose not to include Jefferson or Washington in their curriculum, what is their argument for leaving such men unrecognized? What is Ambrose’s counterpoint? Look at both arguments and then explain your point of view regarding this debate. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 2 To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian Study Guide __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Chapter 2: The Battle of New Orleans 1. What was the goal that led to the British attack on New Orleans? Neither side was aware that a peace treaty had already been signed, did that make a difference? What if Jackson had lost? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 2. Discuss Ambrose’s assessment of Andrew Jackson, over time and through study does his original assessment stand or does it evolve? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 3. What irony does Theodore Roosevelt point out regarding the free blacks that were part of Jackson’s ragtag army at New Orleans? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 3 To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian Study Guide Chapter 3: The Indian Country……………………..( Custer and Crazy Horse ) 1. Describe the different cultural expectations that Native American societies have compared to non native societies. (Traditional and modern) __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________