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History of the Americas
Explore questions in the History of the Americas category that you can ask Sparky!
- Daniel is an artisan who used to train apprentices but since the industrial revolution, he has begun hiring unskilled wage workers to help increase production. How is Daniel's relationship with his wage laborers different than it was with his apprentices?
- With the explosion of Midwestern agriculture in the 19th century, America was finally exporting goods at a higher rate than importing. Which major agricultural production problem was solved by the increase in transportation infrastructure during this time (railroads, canals, roads, etc)?
- Bessie works in a Boston Association mill and must adhere to a strict set of rules. These rules were instituted by the mill owners to help ensure the moral upkeep of the young women working in the mills. What were some of the rules Bessie had to follow?
- During the early to mid 1800s, self made entrepreneurs began to rival those with "old money"—people who came from generations of wealth. How did self-made entrepreneurs become a successful wealthy class on their own terms?
- Thomas has worked in a factory for many years. He is now considering leading a strike for better working conditions. What changes inspired Thomas and others to join in the early labor movements?
- Thomas was a subsistence farmer but now he grows a surplus and sells it at market. What developments in transportation allowed Thomas to change the way he farmed?
- What was the primary difference between Irish immigration and German immigration in the early-mid 19th century United States?
- The opening of the Northwest Territory to American settlers in 1795 was a key factor in the Panic of 1819 because it caused an increase in land speculation and jump-started the "boom-and-bust" economy in America.
- Agriculture became a major driver of inventions like the cotton gin and mechanical reaper. What East Coast manufacturing industry was the primary beneficiary of the increased agricultural production which these inventions allowed?
- Evaluating different perspectives of a historical event can help one understand the event better. How can evaluating different perspectives also help develop a stronger argument about that event?
- What effect did the emerging middle-class mentality have on labor laws, particularly as they related to women and children?
- In order to create a strong argument, one must support an argument with valid sources. What sources can be used to make an argument more valid?
- James is a middle class factory owner who does not understand why his workers feel like they are not treated well. What argument does James use to defend the low pay, long hours and dangerous conditions to which he exposes his workers?
- The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop. Europe has a set of primary interests which to us have none; or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves by artificial ties in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities. Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice.George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796Courtesy of The Avalon Project at Yale Law SchoolIn his farewell address, how did George Washington attempt to influence the foreign policy of the United States?
- How did the established economic elite of America view and treat the new class of "self-made" inventors and entrepreneurs who entered their social sphere in the 19th century?
- Which conditions of industrial laborers most directly contributed to the beginnings of Westward Expansion in America?
- When formulating a historical argument, you must be able to support your inquiry with facts. From what sources can you gather facts to provide this foundation?
- Based on what you have learned in this Historical Hack, after you have chosen basics like your general topic and type of argument, what is the most important step in the process of building a historical argument?
- Which demographic/social shift in the U.S. was the primary driver behind inventions like the steamboat and the telegraph?
- Consider the following position:People who supported the free labor ideology during the industrial revolution argued workers would benefit from the changes by being able to work when and where they wanted.What would a counterargument to this position sound like?