Assignments

Text: Divine, Chapter 12 & 13, pp. 380-397: 4/4/00

Special Topics: The Mormons and Manifest Destiny
                        Slave Life in the Old South

Answer one of the following text questions:

• Define the phrase "Manifest Destiny" and explain its significance to U.S. history in the 1840s.
• Explain why Mexico was important to the United States at this time.
• Describe and explain the relationship between immigration and industrialization in the United States in the twenty years before the Civil War.
• How important was slavery to the American economy in the first half of the nineteenth century?  To the economy of the South?

Choose one of the following:

1) "Slavery: Mr. [John C.] Calhoun's Letter to Mr. [William R.] King, August 12, 1844" De Bow's Southern and Western Review (August 1850)

Before reading this letter, consult your text (especially pp. 358-359) for background information.

Source: DeBow's Review (August 1850), pp. 184-191.

Answer at least two of the following primary source questions:

• Who was John C. Calhoun?  Where did he come from and what government post did he hold in August 1844?
• Based on the contextual evidence, who was William R. King and what government post did he hold in August 1844?
• Why did Calhoun write this letter to King?
• What arguments did he make to support the position he takes in this letter?
• Do you find his arguments convincing?  Why?  Why not?

Answer at least two of the following primary source questions:

• Why did president Polk give this address?  What was its purpose?
• How and why did Texas figure into his thinking?
• What can we learn from this address about President Polk's role in foreign relations?  About the presidency and foreign relations?
• How do Polk's views, as presented in this address, compare with what the text says about the same events (p.362)?