HIS 17A Final Exam Prompts and Thesis

John L. O’Sullivan’s 1845 editorial reflects the pervasive belief in Manifest Destiny, highlighting Anglo-American assumptions of cultural and racial superiority and justifying the displacement of non-Anglo peoples to facilitate western expansion.

John L. O’Sullivan’s 1845 editorial reflects the pervasive belief in Manifest Destiny, highlighting Anglo-American assumptions of cultural and racial superiority and justifying the displacement of non-Anglo peoples to facilitate western expansion.

1 Consider the selections from John L. O’Sullivan’s editorial on the annexation of Texas, published in 1845. What does it say about the attitudes held by many in the United States about western expansion? What does it say about Anglo-American attitudes towards non-Anglo-American “others” in North America? (Source 1)

The image contrasting slave plantations and industrialized Britain simplifies and distorts both realities, serving Southern pro-slavery propaganda while reinforcing ideological divides that spurred secession.

2 Examine the picture posted on the course Canvas comparing life on a slave
plantation to life in industrialized Britain (Source 2). Do you think this
picture accurately conveyed life on a slave plantation? How did the
sentiments portrayed in this picture relate to Southern defenses of the slave
system? How did it relate to southern states’ desire to secede?

Hinton Rowan Helper’s The Impending Crisis illustrates how the South’s reliance on slavery entrenched economic stagnation, political vulnerability, and cultural isolation, driving regional disparity with the industrial North.

3 In 1857, Hinton Rowan Helper wrote The Impending Crisis in The South.
Helper’s book argued that at the time of the signing of the Declaration of
Independence the North and the South were roughly equal in economic and
cultural terms. However, his book goes on to outline the many reasons the
North and South experienced regional differences. By drawing on Helper’s
work (Source 3) as well as information from the second half of the course explain
why the North and South differed politically, economically, and culturally

Angelina Grimké argued that the fight against slavery and the struggle for women’s rights shared a moral foundation, advocating equality in human rights as integral to social reform movements like abolitionism.

4 Consider Angelina Grimké’s discussion of women’s rights and anti-slavery
(Source 4). How does Grimké see the relationship between the antislavery
movement and the movement for women’s rights? How do Grimké’s opinions
relate to other reform movements? (You should pick one reform movement to
discuss.)

The American Revolution catalyzed limited shifts in women’s social and economic roles, expanding their participation in public life yet maintaining traditional gender hierarchies.

1 Compare women’s social roles before and after the American Revolution. In
what ways did their economic and occupational status change? How did social
expectations evolve in the decades after political independence?

The transition from British subjects to U.S. citizens intensified territorial colonization efforts, with new policies and ideologies justifying the displacement of Indigenous peoples.

2 On July 4, 1776, residents of the thirteen United States changed from
colonial subjects of Great Britain to prospective colonizers of the North
American continent. Do you think this shift being British subjects to being
citizens of the United States changed their approach towards colonizing
the interior of the continent? Why?

African slavery was integral to America’s development, sustaining its economy and enabling democratic ideals for white citizens, yet inherently undermining those very ideals.

3 The historian Edmund Morgan once argued that the paradox of American
democracy was that Americans had bought their freedom with slave labor. If
that was so, how central was African slavery in the growth and development of
the United States from the colonial period through the Civil War?

Despite George Washington’s warning, factionalism became a defining feature of American politics, evolving from Federalist-Anti-Federalist debates to sectional divides over slavery.

Upon leaving office, George Washington advised America not to split into
political factions. Do you believe that Americans followed his advice? How
did political factionalism evolve during from the early republic through the
Civil War?