American History Homework Six Answers - Student Eight

VeronikaF

1.Was the main goal of the newly elected President Lincoln to end slavery, or save the Union? President Lincoln’s main goal was to save the Union because he wanted to keep the South and the North together. Abraham Lincoln was not very spiritual, but in his second term God touched his heart and he became more concerned about slavery.

Excellent! May use as a model answer.

2\. Explain the purposes of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution. The 13th Amendment made slavery illegal and it was ratified very quickly which angered the South greatly. The 14th Amendment intended to give Congress more power to protect the freed slaves so that they could have equal rights, but Congress had trouble ratifying it since it was very complex. The 15th Amendment helped protect a former slave’s right to vote because many white Americans had a different opinion about whether slaves should be able to vote.

Superb, except note that the opposition to voting by African Americans was primarily in the South. You may be interested in reading a bit more about the 15th Amendment's history: http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h415.html .

3\. Who was your favorite military figure from the Civil War, and why? George McClellan is my favorite military figure because by his attitude you could tell that he did not care how powerful someone was or about someone’s opinion if it interfered with his plans. For example, McClellan did not respond to one of Lincoln’s urgent messages, but decided to sleep. He was brilliant, but on the downside he retreated often which was not good for the Union. George did not like to attack and favored retreating rather than shedding more blood.

Excellent.

4\. How would you have handled Reconstruction differently? I would have passed a government regulation which would burden businesses so there would not be any business or government scandals. I also would have regulated the number of immigrants coming from China because many American citizens lost their jobs due to the fact that Chinese immigrants were willing to work harder for less pay. I think the North should have been more merciful towards the South because they had to get over loosing all their slaves; at that time slaves cost a great deal of money, and the slave owners’ natural reaction was to try to hurt their former slaves to make their lives depressing.

Good analysis. Note spelling: "losing", not "loosing".

5\. Abraham Lincoln was homeschooled. Do you see any characteristics in him that might have reflected his homeschooling, such as his independent thinking? Abraham Lincoln was a self-starter and he decided things by himself because he knew he was the president and with it comes responsibility. He was used to being different and did not worry what other people thought of him. Lincoln did what he thought was right and did not trouble himself over other people’s thoughts on how it show be done. I think Abraham had great characteristics which helped him to succeed in life.

Terrific.

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 was published in 1864 and the artists were Currier and Ives. The cartoon shows Lincoln dreaming of the election in 1864, late in his campaign. Lincoln was greatly worried that he would lose the election against General McClellan. It was known that Abraham took his dreams seriously. Lincoln is covered with a star embroidered sheet and the outfit he is wearing, while he is running from the White House, is very similar to the outfit he wore to his first inauguration while on the train heading for Washington D.C. Abraham was worried that someone might assassinate him on the train. The running Abraham is holding a scroll that has “To whom it may concern” written on it. Columbia, standing at the entrance of the White House is holding up the head of a black man. Located at the right of the cartoon General McClellan is climbing the steps towards the White House holding a suitcase with his initials on it. The press wanted to show how fearful and nervous Abraham Lincoln was.

Terrific answer again. Right on target.

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 was published on February 18, 1871 and the artist was Thomas Nast. Columbia, the symbol of America, is protecting the dejected John Chinaman, representing the Chinese immigrants, from public attacks. Harper’s Weekly , the publisher of the cartoon, defends the immigrants from China against the prejudice of the Americans citizens in the late 19th century.

Well done. As you noted above, however, it was not just "prejudice" that caused people to oppose the Chinese immigration. It was also the impact on American workers, as the Chinese would work for less money.

Perfect answers! Score: 70/70. One of the best in the class. Congratulations.