Problem
What were the principles that guided American independence and how did the nation live up to these promises in the decades after 1776? What steps did Americans take to protect and promote these ideals in the United States from the 1770s to the 1870s? Discuss, in detail, at least three specific examples of the ways the United States embraced the principles of the Revolutionary Era through its actions over the next hundred years. At the end of our course, had the United States fulfilled its original promises and principles yet? Discuss at least two examples of ways the United States failed to achieve these principles, or identify issues that remained unresolved by the end of our course (1870s). In your conclusion, be sure to make an argument as we reassess the progression of American history from early colonization, through independence and civil war: Was there any progress? Decline? Stagnation?