HIST405 All Week Discussions (August 2018)

Week 1 discussion

DQ1 The Cost of Expansion

Explain how and why slavery developed in the American colonies. Why couldn’t colonists use indentured servants as they had in the past? How would you describe the differences between slaves and indentured servants?

DQ2 Colonial Identities

The colonies of New England, the Mid –Atlantic and the Upper and Lower South developed their own forms of culture, conduct and commerce. Given the choice, where would you have preferred to live?

Week 2 discussion

DQ1 The American Revolution

How did the British colonists evolve from good citizens to revolutionaries who could compose and back something as special as the Declaration of Independence? What were the causes of the American Revolution?

DQ2 Confederation and Constitution

What were the main problems with the Articles of Confederation that led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787? How did the national government under the Constitution differ from the Articles of Confederation?

Week 3 discussion

DQ1 The Market Revolution

Discuss America’s transportation revolution that took place during the first half of the 1800s, including the development of roads, canals, railroads, and steamboats. How did they contribute to the “market revolution?” Elaborate.

DQ2 Manifest Destiny

Why did the Mexican War of 1846 take place? Was the war necessary? Was it a good thing? What does this war tell us about this period of American history? Was it God’s plan that the U.S. extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific, or were imperialists looking for a way to defend what they planned to do anyway? Elaborate.

Week 4 discussion

DQ1 The Civil War

In the beginning, each side in the Civil War believed the war would be brief and that their side would win. What advantages did each side hold that made them feel this way? Elaborate.

DQ2 Reconstruction

Lincoln had one plan for bringing the rebel states back into the Union; Andrew Johnson another; and the Radical Republican Congress a third. Discuss the aims of each president, and explain why and in what ways Congress took control of Reconstruction.

Week 5 discussion

DQ1 America and the Industrial Revolution

Describe the basic industries of America’s Industrial Revolution and explain what made the men who controlled them so successful. Select one industry to argue your point (such as the petroleum industry). Were the men who dominated this industry “robber barons,” as some suggested, or simply good businessmen? Explain your answer.

DQ2 Imperialism and America

Discuss the events that drew the United States into World War I. To what extent did ethnicity play a role in America’s neutrality from1914-1917? How significant was America’s contribution to the war effort? Elaborate.

Week 6 discussion

DQ1 The Great Depression

What were the underlying causes of the depression? Why did the Great Depression of the 1930s seem so much worse than any occurring either before or since? Can you see any modern parallels to the Great Depression? Elaborate.

DQ2 World War II

What were the underlying causes of World War II? Select one event that you think irrevocably led the world (and the U.S.) to war more than any other event. Argue your selection with details that support your answer.

Week 7 discussion

DQ1 The Cold War and America

How did the Cold War affect the social and political climate in the United States during the 1950s? In particular, how do you explain McCarthyism and the Red Scare? Can you think of any modern parallels to these events, when fear and paranoia threatened basic American liberties? Elaborate.

DQ2 Terrorism in the 21st Century

Discuss how you see the “war on terrorism” as of this date. Do you think the United States should be engaged in such a war? Give reasons for or against this war and whether or not we are giving up our own principles to wage it.