Reference no: EM131504701
1. The divisions between the commercial and industrial East, and the frontier and agrarian West, were for most of American history more important than the better known divisions between North and South.
Trace these important East-West divisions from colonial times until the beginning of the Second World War.
Be sure to mention Jefferson's and Hamilton's visions of America's future. You should also make reference to Shays' rebellion, the 1814 Hartford Convention and the Jacksonian revolution.
Consider as well East-West tensions from 1870 to 1914 (created by railroad construction, the gold standard and massive immigration). How were these differences revealed in the cultural and political divide (between the "two Americas") of the 1920s? How were they reflected in the 1928 presidential election between Al Smith and Herbert Hoover?
How were these revealed in 1940-1941, during the foreign policy debate about the war in Europe?
What are the fundamental reasons for this division in each period? To what extent do these divisions continue to exist today, and why?
How might theses reveal themselves in current national politics?
2. Why were the Founding Father suspicious of strong central government? What were their assumptions about the nature of the federal government, state government, and the freedom of individual citizens? What kind of power did the Federal government originally have? What kind of power did the states originally have? Which was more powerful and in what ways? Give specific examples.
Despite all the efforts of the Founding Father, and those who came after, the Union broke apart in 1860-61. Why
In what ways did Abraham Lincoln violate the rights of states? In what way was this a break with the past? What was his justification for doing this?
What is Progressivism? In what way is this break with traditional American notions about a weak central government? How can you account for this change? Was for example the creation of an income tax just? Who was this supposed to help, and who did it hurt? How does this fit with traditional notions of weak government?
Trace "Progressive" federal legislation from the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt (1900- 1908) through that of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933- 1945). Why were Franklin Roosevelt's programs so popular? What did they accomplish?
What kind of power dose the Federal government have today? What were the most important reasons for the increase of federal interference in the states from the 1860s through the 1960s? Give specific examples. What powers have been left to the states today? Is this appropriate?