Homework Five Answers - Student Seven

1\. Identify two of the most important outcomes of the Mexican War.

One important outcome of the Mexican War is that the border between Mexico and Texas was brought to the Rio Grande River, another outcome that we had to pay Mexico $15 million.

Excellent.

2\. During the time period covered by the lecture, a political party became very strong and then disappeared. Identify it, and explain why it disappeared.

The party was called the Whig Party. It opposed slavery and often sided with the north on matters. I think it disappeared because it often disagreed on matters with slavery.

Good, but could explain a bit more clearly (Minus 1).

3\. Lincoln v. Douglas: Why do you think Douglas beat Lincoln in 1858(say which election), but then Lincoln won the rematch in 1860 (identify the election)?

I think that the reason Douglas won the election in 1858 was because on the outside he was wittier, funnier, and a better negotiator (not that Lincoln was bad at any of these). But by the next election people had woken up to the fact that Lincoln’s views were better than Douglas’s

Terrific, may use as a model answer.

4\. Why were there so many one-term presidents in the 1840s and 1850s? Explain.

The reason that there were so many one-term presidents in this time period is based solely on the continuous debate over slavery between the north and the south. If a president was a Whig, chances are, the south would disagree with his views. If a president was a northerner, The Whigs would probably disagree with him.

Generally correct, but the sentence "If a president was a northerner, The Whigs would probably disagree with him" should refer to "southerner" rather than "northerner".

5\. Lincoln thought Harriet Beecher Stowe caused the civil war. What do you think?

She definitely was a part of it. She showed the unfairness and racism behind slavery in the states with surprising accuracy. Yet I DO NOT think she was the sole cause by any stretch. The Civil War was caused by ongoing bad decisions and wrong choices made by Congress. And a big part of it was also the popular sovereignty law that was passed, allowing each state to decide for itself on slavery.

Excellent, could use as a model answer.

6\. The biggest question of American History is this: Do you think it was possible to avoid the Civil War? If so, how?

It might have been possible if the Nebraska-Kansas act supporting popular sovereignty had not been passed, I highly doubt we could have avoided it though. Even if the law had not been passed, the conflict over slavery would still be strong between the north and south, but would not have affected every state so much.

Superb answer.

H1Is it ever justified for a President to lie to congress to accomplish a goal sought by Americans?

In almost all cases it is wrong to lie about anything. There are a few situations where it is necessary though.

OK.

H3 We now know the south obviously didn’t win the Civil War, yet I think that any side could have won the war.

Good, but it would be better to explain why. (Minus 1)

H4Slogans and gimmicks are very useful in politics and are an excellent way to get a point across using sarcasm or displaying the reality of something.

OK.

Daniel N.

Grade: 88/90. Good work.--Andy Schlafly 14:01, 13 March 2011 (EDT)