Sources for America’s History: Printed Page 338
Compare multiple perspectives over time on the issue of slavery’s expansion by identifying similarities and differences in the views of Calhoun, Sumner, and Thomas Jefferson (Document 8-5).
Evaluate and synthesize the evidence in this chapter to construct a persuasive historical argument explaining why the Civil War broke out in 1861.
To what extent does the concept of Manifest Destiny (or territorial expansionism) provide an appropriate historical context for understanding the political events during the period from 1844 to 1860?
What are the advantages and limitations of identifying 1844 to 1860 as a coherent period in United States history? What argument do historians make about American history by emphasizing this periodization?