This week in chapter 14 you are reading about the growing polarization and division between, not political parties, but between the region of the North and the region of the South. These divisions developed in the context of two regions whose culture and society were growing in different directions: the white south clinging to the institution of slavery to enrich themselves, and a society in the north becoming more diverse and a bit more tolerant of many peoples with an economic focus on capitalism and wage labor.
Preparing to Write
Read chapter 14 of The American Journey: A History of the United States Volume 1 – 1877 by Goldfield.
Note what happened, why it was a crisis and how it leads to deeper division between the North and the South.
Choose four of these events to write about. They should be the ones you have determined were most significant in leading to the breakdown of the United States.
Write a four paragraph response, one paragraph for each of the events of the 1850s that you chose above. In each paragraph cover the following –
what are the details of the event (what happened)
how this divided the North and the South
how this event led to an even deeper partisan divide
What I am looking for is that you have read the chapter and understand the political divides that came from the cultural transformations of the North and South.
Formatting Guidelines
Each paragraph should be approximately 250-350 words total.
Use only material from the text and lectures for this assignment.
Cite any sources as we have throughout the semester, using parenthetical references for any information quoted or used.
