PET – Potential Essay Topics

1.) The Articles of confederation were unable to provide a solid monetary or money
system to protect commerce. The Articles of Confederation did not give congress
the power to enforce laws,pay taxes or unify the states. Also, the Articles did
allow congress to ask for money but never demand it. Now, congress could only
pass a law if 9 states approved it and still had no power to enforce those laws on
independent states.Also, unlike the state constitutions, the Articles did not
provide for a Governor of for courts.Moreover, the Articles of Confederation could
not ever be amended unless ratified in a unanimous vote by all 13 states making
it hard for congress to amend or change the Articles of Confederation
2.) Foreign Policy
Jefferson brought the country it's first real international involvement. There were
the Barbary Wars and the Embargo of 1807. It's not as serious as say the War of
1812 with Madison, but the embargo was certainly a major cause for that.
Washington and Adams both tried their best to stay neutral in situations where as
Jefferson really put himself out there. You could use Washington's Proclamation
of Neutrality and the XYZ affair to help support your case.

Judiciary
Marbury vs. Madison would have to be the main arguement here. The Supreme
Court gained a new power out of this case. This eventually allowed the court to
have more power in the country. That's really all about the Judiciary that I can
come up with.

Politics
The politics of the time mainly centered on the Constitution. The two-party
system was much more competitive that it was in the election of 1796. The main
topic of debate was whether to interpret the Constitution loosely or strictly. The
Louisiana Purchase definitely applies here because while Jefferson supported
strict interpretation, in order to authorize this purchase he would have to interpret
the constitution loosely and consider it part of his treaty-making abilities. That's
all I got here too.
3.) 1) The French and Indian war was a war fought between the British and the
French and their allies, the indians.
2) England won the war, but the war cost a LOT of money and England was left
with a HUGE debt.
3) The wealthy landowners in England balked at being taxed even more in order
to cover this debt.
 4) England put into effect certain measures aimed at generating revenues from
the Colonies, to have THEM help pay for the debt.
5) The colonies resented being taxed in any way because they did not have
parliamentary representation in England.
6) England and the Colonies engaged in a series of paper skirmishes related to
these various taxations -- England would levy a tax, then remove some portion of
it, then levy another, DIFFERENT tax.
7) Many Colonists began to think of themselves as Americans. Still English, but
at the same time separate from England. They wanted the right to govern
themselves, to make their own decisions about laws and taxation, etc.
8) England resented this newfound and arrogant independence and responded
with various punitive actions designed to punish the Colonies and cow them back
into submission

4.) There was a major shift towards equality (among whites) during the Jacksonian
period, including a major theme around "the common man." For instance,
Americans, regardless of their wealth or social status, wore the same clothes,
rode in the same rail cars, and went to many of the same shows.

a. Politics:
-Universal male suffrage (new admitted states put in their constitutions that
all white males could vote and hold office, and other states soon followed
suit) led to more commoners in politics. The number of participating voters
rose sevenfold from 1824 to 1840.
-Party nominating conventions were created which were open too all. This
led to a more democratic form of nomination where the common man had a
larger say, making him more involved in politics.
-States rapidly changed from only state legislatures being able to vote in
presidential elections to having a popular vote form where all could vote.
This meant that the common man now had a direct say in the presidential
election. As a result, presidential races now had to focus on nationwide
audiences, which led to a stronger two-party system and the common man
being more informed and important in politics.
-Jackson adopted an ardent spoils-system where he gave government jobs
based on loyalty. This meant that anybody who supported Jackson enough
could get into government regardless of their experience. Jackson held
contempt for experts and believed that ordinary Americans were more than
qualified to hold government jobs, as they knew the concerns of the
American people. As a result of these things, more common folk held
government positions and the common man rose in political power.
-Jackson started his own rotation system, where nobody was allowed to
serve more than one term in a government job under him. This meant that
more loyal Democrats got jobs, and in turn more commoners were admitted
 to working in the government, giving commoners a stronger power in
politics.
-Jackson was also the first president since G. Washington to not have a
college degree, showing that indeed a common man without a grand
education could hold the most important position in American politics.
-Jackson defeated Clay's proposal of rechartering the national bank,
believing that a national bank would be detrimental to the American people.
Because of this, the American people believed more that Jackson was
working for the common man and therefore elected him to a second term.
5.) Because the west had lots of cheap unoccupied land which allowed almost
anyone to move out there and start a new life
6.) Abolition:
Various anti-slavery societies were formed in the North (I'll you find out which
ones)
Religions began teaching that slavery was wrong
Religions began teaching that good works could help insure a spot in heaven
(like freeing slaves)

U.M.:

People began believing that people were capable of living together in harmony
People looked to religion as the means of improving society (such as Robert
Noyes, Mother Ann Lee, and Joseph Smith
People began seeing the evils of materialism and wealth