Essay Questions for Thinking through Sources 9

Consider Art as Historical Evidence: The old adage tells us that a picture is worth a thousand words, but how does this idea stand up when we use paintings as historical sources? How does the information about the impact of the panic of 1918 depicted in the painting “Auction in Chatham Square” compare with the information presented in the text-based documents? What does the image reveal that the documents do not, and what do the documents tell us that the image cannot? Is it relevant that although the image depicts 1820, it was not created until 1843?

Reflect on the Relationships between Economic and Political Change: What do these five sources reveal about the economic changes that were taking place in the 1820s? What do they tell us about the political issues that came to the fore at the same time? Based on these sources, make an argument about the relationship between economics and politics in the United States in the 1820s. To what extent did the panic of 1819 transform American politics, and what does this case suggest about the ways that economic and political changes are linked?

Consider Change and Continuity: What do these five sources reveal about which social groups were most visible in the public economic and political debates that were taking place in the 1820s? Which social groups were less visible in such debates? Are the groups represented here similar to or different from the groups that influenced American society in the eighteenth century? Based on these sources, would you say that American society in the 1820s was more or less “republican” than it had been forty years earlier?

Seek Additional Sources: Notice that all of these sources, even though they represent different experiences and points of view, were created by literate white men. What additional types of sources would you need to locate and consult if you were seeking information about the economic experiences and political perspectives of less privileged white men, women, African Americans, Native Americans, and others during this period? What specific questions might you have as you examined such documents?