Consider the following questions:
1. To where did the traders and settlers of the westward migrations described in this chapter go? How connected did they remain to the economy of the eastern seaboard and why?
2. What caused the "Era of Good Feelings?"? What were the reasons for its demise?
3. Describe the nation's most important economic needs during the early 1800's.
4. Discuss the development of the Monroe Doctrine, its effect on nationalism, and the pros and cons surrounding it.
5. In what ways did Andrew Jackson try to minimize the power of the federal government? In what ways did he strengthen it? Do you see any ideological consistencies in his positions and, if so, what are they?
6. What was the "second party system?"? How did the ideologies of the Democrats and the Whigs differ? To what elements of the electorate did each party appeal? How did the rise of this system change American politics?
7. Analyze the growing tension between nationalism and states' rights, as particularly reflected in the nullification crisis and the Webster-Hayne debate.
8. What caused of the Panic of 1837, and how did it effect of the panic on the presidency of Van Buren?
9. How did the dominance of cotton affect the development of the Southern economy, including the industrial and trade sectors?
10. How did the slave system affect the lives of white Southerners, including planters, non-slaveholders, and women? How much did the lives of slaves differ depending upon their particular situations? Consider issues of region, urban versus rural locations, and gender, among other factors.
11. Discuss the cultural shift in America during the Jacksonian era, including the rise of the middle class/"common man." What was Andrew Jackson's philosophy of government and how did this impact the office of the presidency. How would you describe the meaning of "Jacksonian Democracy," and Andrew Jackson's relationship to it?