HIST101 W7: reconstructing

Description

Choose one of the following questions to answer:

1. Do you believe that the failure of Reconstruction was primarily a failure of leadership? Or, to put it more concretely, that the outcome might have been different had Lincoln lived? Or had chosen a different vice president? Or had Andrew Johnson not been followed by Ulysses S. Grant?

2. Describe how everyday life changed for former slaves after emancipation. How did the agricultural system of labor change in the South?

3. “The persistence of racism, in both the North and the South, lay at the heart of Reconstruction’s failure.” Agree or disagree, and explain why.

4. List three major achievements of the radical governments in the South. Which do you think was the most important and why?

5. Some northerners wished to provide for a distribution of southern lands to former slaves. Describe that plan and the fate it met. Do you think Reconstruction might have had a chance of succeeding without some form of land redistribution? Why or why not?

1.What was the Enlightenment?  How specifically did it influence the American Revolution?

2.What event ensured French support for the Americans?  Why did they wait so long to formally support the Americans?

3. Republicanism was seen early on as an experiment and the Americans were uncertain if it would succeed.  What American event almost ensures the permanency of Republicanism in the future?  Why is it important?