Political Parties and Test-Taking Strategies

First Party System

• Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans: Original U.S. political parties.
  • Federalists: Supported Hamilton's economic policies.
    • National bank.
    • Federal government assuming state debts, enhancing government credit and loyalty: $credit worthiness$, $spread of the loyalty$
    • Tariffs to raise revenue and protect manufacturing.
  • Democratic-Republicans: Supported Jeffersonian ideals.
    • Opposed tariffs, favored states' rights, and limited government.
    • Popular in the South due to agrarian interests and states' rights views regarding slavery.
    • Supported the idea that "The government that governs least, governs best."
• Federalist Decline: Opposition to the War of 1812 weakened the Federalist Party, leading to the Era of Good Feelings.
  • Federalists were strong in New England and concerned with the war's economic impact on maritime commerce and trade with England and France.
  • Their opposition to the war, particularly near its end, discredited them.

Split of the Democratic-Republican Party

• Era of Good Feelings: Brief period of unity after the War of 1812, with most politicians identifying as Democratic-Republicans.
• Emergence of New Factions: By the 1820s, the Democratic-Republican Party split into:
  • Democrats: Traditional Democratic-Republicans favoring states' rights, small government, and opposing tariffs. Origin of the modern Democratic Party.
  • National Republicans (later Whigs): Advocated for a national bank, tariffs, and internal improvements, continuing Federalist economic policies.

Second Party System

• Whigs vs. Democrats: The Whig Party, inheriting Federalist ideals, clashed with Democrats, mainly over economic policy and the power of the executive branch.
  • Whigs: Essentially, old Federalists supported government intervention to boost the economy and internal improvements like roads and bridges.
    • The name "Whig" was chosen partly to oppose Andrew Jackson, whom they viewed as acting like a monarch, reminiscent of the English Whigs who curbed the king's power.
  • Democrats: Supported Andrew Jackson.
• End of the Whig Party: The slavery issue divided the Whigs in the 1850s, leading to the party's demise.
  • Southern Whigs supported slavery, while Northern Whigs opposed it.

Rise of the Republican Party

• Emergence of Republicans: The Republican Party formed in the 1850s from anti-slavery Whigs (Conscience Whigs), Free Soilers, and some anti-slavery Democrats.
  • Abraham Lincoln: A former Conscience Whig became a Republican.
• Democratic Party as the Party of the South: With the rise of the Republican Party, the Democratic Party became predominantly Southern, solidifying the "Solid South" until the mid-20th century.
  • The term refers to the South's consistent support for the Democratic Party.

Modern Party Alignments

• Realignment: Starting in the 1970s, Republicans, under Nixon's "Southern Strategy," appealed to Southern conservatives, shifting the party's orientation.
• Current Trends: The Democratic Party now tends to perform well in the Northeast and Far West, while the Republican Party finds strength in the Southeast and Midwest.
• Republican Economic Focus: Post-Civil War, the Republican Party emphasized economic policies such as tariffs to promote business growth, a stance that continues today.

Third Parties

• Nature of Third Parties: Usually focused on a single issue, limiting their longevity. Their agendas are often absorbed by major parties.
• Liberty Party: Arose in the 1840s, opposing slavery on moral grounds, driven by religious and ethical convictions.
• Free Soil Party: Emerged after the Mexican War (1848), opposing slavery for economic reasons, aiming to prevent competition between free white laborers and slave labor in new territories.
  • David Wilmot: A Democrat who was against slavery for economic reasons.
• Populist Party: Formed in the 1890s from agrarian discontent, advocating for the coinage of silver to inflate the money supply and ease farmers' debt burdens.
  • William Jennings Bryan: Democratic nominee endorsed by the Populist Party in 1896, advocating for similar policies.
  • The Populist party aimed to ally with factory workers and advocated breaking up monopolies and government control of railroads and telegraphs.
  • The Democrats played the race card in the eighteen nineties which caused the populace to lose a lot of support.
• Bull Moose Party: Led by Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, representing progressive Republicans advocating for reforms like the Pure Food and Drug Act and worker protections.
  • The split Republican vote allowed Democrat Woodrow Wilson to win the election.
• Socialist Party: Advocated for government ownership of businesses to improve working conditions, though it struggled to gain widespread support.
  • Eugene Debs: A five-time presidential candidate who did not win any electoral votes. The party also promoted better pay, fewer hours, and safer working conditions for blue-collar workers.

Test Taking Strategies - Multiple Choice

• First Instinct: Trust your initial answer choice unless there's compelling evidence to change it.
• Elimination: Narrow down choices by eliminating obviously incorrect answers.
• Polar Opposites: If two answer choices are polar opposites, one is likely the correct answer.
  • Determine which of the extremes is most similar to other choices. Then choose the one that is the least similar to the other answer choices.

Test Taking Strategies - Short Answer

• Answer Concisely: Provide specific examples directly addressing the question.
• Limited Word Count: To filter people BS'ing their way through the exam.
• Primary Source Question: Interpretive questions focusing on the document's time period or point of view, not just its literal content.
• Secondary Sources Question: Compare and contrast two historians' interpretations; provide an example supporting one viewpoint.
• Preview Questions: Read all parts of a question before answering to avoid redundancy and plan strategically. You cannot refer to any points/arguments you have already used.

DBQ Strategies

• Identify Mission: Determine the essay's focus (compare/contrast, evaluate, continuity/change). You want to be doing one of the four historical skills on the exam.
• Skim Documents: Evaluate which way the sources lean to take that approach.
• Complex Understanding: Demonstrate counterarguments or other historical skills. There are multiple ways to satisfy the complex understanding point.
• Fail-Safe: Blend seven documents OR source all four to get the complex understanding point.
• Sourcing: You may only source two of the documents. It is better to source the first two documents as this reduces the workload later on.
• Blending: The essay should connect the use of information to better communicate between concepts.
• Contextualization: Utilize three examples, however only one needs to be from a time-period, with the other two coming from the outside.

French and Indian War

• French colonial expansion led to conflict with British colonists. Resulted in George Washington getting dispatched.
• British victory led to territorial gains but also increased debt and restrictions on colonial expansion.
• Restrictions led to colonial discontent (no westward expansion) and taxes without representation, fueling revolutionary sentiments.

First and Second Great Awakenings

• First Great Awakening (1730s-1740s):
  • Focus on personal salvation and individual religious experience.
  • Emphasized individual control over their relationship with the church.
• Second Great Awakening (1820s-1830s):
  • Combined personal salvation with social reform.
  • Inspired movements for abolition, women's rights, and temperance. People were inspired to go out and make the world a better place.