Assignment:
Discussion 1
Read the Monroe Doctrine. Once all reading is complete, respond to the following items:
The Monroe Doctrine became one of the crucial foundations of American foreign policy over the next century; what was the occasion for Monroe's articulation of this doctrine, and what were the circumstances motivating its adoption?
What reasons were used by Monroe to justify this foreign policy pronouncement, and how do they relate to arguments made during the revolutionary and early republic periods?
Discussion 2
Read the information included in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl; scroll down the document at this website and read through Chapters V, VI and VII of the account by ex-slave Harriet Jacobs. Once all reading is complete, respond to the following item(s):
What does this account reveal about the nature of slavery and how slavery affected southern society?
Discussion 3
Read the Emancipation Proclamation. Once all reading is complete, respond to the following items:
In early 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Why did Lincoln decide to issue the Proclamation at this particular time?
What factors determined this decision?
What did the President hope to gain?
What were the limitations of the Proclamation, and what was its larger historical significance?
Discussion 4
Read the information included in the Mississippi Black Codes. Once all reading is complete, respond to the following item(s):
During Reconstruction, Black Codes were enacted in several former states in the Confederacy. A Republican controlled Congress would later react to suppress these codes.
What ultimately were these codes designed to do?
Precisely how did the codes aim to accomplish these objectives?