Document 9.1 Auction in Chatham Square (1820)
Document 9.2 JAMES FLINT, Account of the Panic (1820)
Document 9.3 VIRGINIA AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY, Antitariff Petition (1820)
Document 9.4 JAMES KENT, Arguments against Expanding Male Voting Rights (1821)
Document 9.5 NATHAN SANFORD, Arguments for Expanding Male Voting Rights (1821)
INTERPRET THE EVIDENCE
How might images such as the one of the public auction (Document 9.1) have shaped public opinion about the panic?
How does James Flint (Document 9.2) describe the panic, and what comparisons does he make between American society and conditions in Europe?
On what grounds does the Virginia Agricultural Society of Fredericksburg protest the tariff (Document 9.3)? How does it place its struggles within the context of American history?
Compare the arguments of James Kent (Document 9.4) and Nathan Sanford (Document 9.5) in the debate over voting rights in New York. How do they conceptualize the principles of justice, rights, and equality? Which arguments do you find the most convincing, and why?
Do you think the members of the Virginia Agricultural Society would agree more with Nathan Sanford or with James Kent? Would they agree with James Flint or the creator of the public auction image?
PUT IT IN CONTEXT
How did the devastating impact of the panic of 1819 shape state- and national-level debates over economic policies and political rights?
How did the policies implemented during and immediately after the panic of 1819—particularly voting rights and tariff laws—change the U.S. political and economic landscape over the following decade?
Thinking through Sources forExploring American Histories, Volume 1Printed Page 66