American History Homework Six Answers - Student 0.5

Joseph M. American History Homework Six Instructor: Andy Schlafly

Read the lecture first.

1\. Was the main goal of the newly elected President Lincoln to end slavery, or save the Union? Even though many textbooks say that his goal was to end slavery, Lincoln said his actual purpose was to save the union, and that ending slavery was a bonus.

Correct!

2\. Explain the purposes of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution. The purpose of the Thirteenth Amendment was to abolish slavery, the Fourteenth Amendment gives all slaves equal rights, and the Fifteenth Amendment gives all races the right to vote.

Correct again!

3\. Who was your favorite military figure from the Civil War, and why? My favorite figure from the Civil War was Stonewall Jackson because he was an extremely good tactician and a great general, possibly the greatest general the United States has ever had.

Superb point about his tactical skills.

4\. How would you have handled Reconstruction differently? The only way I would have handled the reconstruction differently would be to greatly uphold the Fourteenth Amendment which Andrew Johnson did not. I also would not have so openly controlled the South. I would have put figurehead leaders up but actually I would be pulling the strings from behind the scenes.

I think you mean "strongly enforce the Fourteenth Amendment," rather than "greatly uphold" it. I doubt anyone would have been fooled by figureheads.

5\. Abraham Lincoln was home schooled. Do you see any characteristics in him that might have reflected his home schooling, such as his independent thinking?  I think that many characteristics carried over, such as his thirst for knowledge, and also his honesty, which earned him the nickname honest Abe.

Superb, am including in model answers!

6\. Please interpret the cartoon about the dream to the right. Its title is "Abraham's dream!--'Coming events cast their shadows before.'" Lincoln is fleeing to left while wearing a Scotsman's plaid cap and a cape. He declares, "This don't remind me of any joke!!" This cartoon has Lincoln having a nightmare about losing the election of 1864. Columbia stands at the door of the White House with the severed head of a black man and is kicking Lincoln out of the White House. Lincoln is wearing a plaid Scottish cap, the same hat he wore on the train ride to Washington.

Good analysis.

7\. Please interpret the cartoon with Columbia below. The caption is, "The Chinese Question." Columbia says, "Hands off, gentlemen. America means fair play for all men." This cartoon represents the issue of the Chinese immigrants coming in and taking jobs away from union workers. The cartoon shows a mob (presumably union workers) searching for the Chinese man, and it shows Columbia (America) protecting him.

Good, but state the view of the cartoonist (he was pro-immigration here). (Minus 1).

Honors Questions These questions require answers that are a bit longer than the answers above. Answer three out of the following questions (in addition to the questions above):

H1. Which do you prefer, inflation or deflation? In your answer explain whether deflation or inflation is encouraged more by "hard money" (a gold standard for money). I prefer deflation because when the price is lower I can buy more things for the money I spend. The gold standard would encourage deflation, because the amount of money you print has to be tied to the amount of gold you have, and since there is a limited supply of gold the amount of money around would lessen thus causing there to be lower prices, and deflation. The American government acted on this principle following the Civil War, putting the dollar on the gold standard in order to prevent rampant inflation.

Superb analysis.

H4. Andrew Johnson: misunderstood or incompetent? He was both. He was misunderstood and slandered when the Republicans spread a rumor that he was drunk, but also he was a little incompetent in not knowing how to deal with the Republicans and in being such a dull speaker.

Excellent.

H5. Your view of Abraham Lincoln, please. I think that Abraham Lincoln was an honest man of goodwill who was strong and never gave up. Wen he started the Civil War he came with a goal and that goal was to restore the Union and that is precisely what he did. He also was a great at thinking on his feet as when he wrote the Gettysburg address on the train to Gettysburg.

Terrific.

Great work! Score: 99/100.--Aschlafly 20:26, 24 October 2008 (EDT)