Study
Questions & Essay Topics
Always use specific historical examples to support
your arguments.
Study Questions
1. How did the
Market Revolution affect the United States socially, politically,
and economically? What major developments contributed to the Market
Revolution?
2. Many of Andrew
Jackson’s enemies called him an autocrat because of his leadership
style. What effect did Jackson have on the office of the presidency?
Did he ever act unconstitutionally? Was this accusation deserved?
3. Do you believe
that Polk was justified in asking Congress to declare war on Mexico?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. Compare and contrast the North and the South during
the antebellum period. Were their social, political, and economic differences
reconcilable or was civil war inevitable?
2. How did Christian revivalism
in the mid-1800s
affect American politics and society?
3. How was the abolitionist
movement different from other reform movements during the mid-1800s?
4. Who should be given credit
for the Monroe Doctrine? Was it ultimately a success or a failure?
5. Historian Frederick Jackson
Turner once argued that westward expansion was one of the fundamental
experiences in American history. Do you agree or disagree?
6. Compare and contrast the
Missouri Crisis and the Nullification Crisis. Which was more divisive
at the time, and which had a greater effect in the long run?
