Study
Questions & Essay Topics
Always use specific historical examples to support
your arguments.
Study Questions
1. How effective
was the national Congress under the Articles of Confederation? Why
were the Articles replaced by the Constitution? How was the federal government
different under the Constitution?
2. Which political
group do you believe had a more profound effect on the formation
of the United States, the Federalists or the Democratic-Republicans?
3. Which nation
was responsible for the War of
1812, Britain
or the United States? What caused the war?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. How did the Anti-Federalists
help shape the United States?
2. Did the “elastic clause”
justify acts such as Hamilton's excise tax and Bank of the United
States or Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase?
3. How would you characterize
Anglo-British relations in the years after independence?
4. Describe how three of the
following affected the formation of the federal government:
a) Marbury v. Madison
b) the Louisiana Purchase
c) the Bank of the United States
d) the Alien and Sedition Acts
5. Was the Constitution written
to be a self-consciously landmark document or was it simply a compilation
of compromises? Support your argument.
